There’s nothing quite as anxiety-inducing as hearing the ear-splitting sounds of a firetruck as it races past your car or through your neighborhood at night. A chilling blend of high-pitch sirens, ringing alarms, and loud honks, the presence of a firetruck during an emergency is always heard. But do all those different sounds mean anything specific? Sometimes firetrucks will honk three times — is this a particular warning you should know?
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Most firetruck horns are jarringly loud (like a train horn for your car almost), reaching over 125 decibels in many cases. It may hurt your ears and sound unpleasant, but that’s sort of the point. A firetruck’s horn is meant to be heard easily, even if you are at a distance on the road or inside a house. While oftentimes it can sound chaotic, there are some moments where the horn can be distinctly heard honking three times. When you hear this, it could mean several things, but all of the reasons are quite important — even life-saving.
Why does a firetruck honk its horn three times?
According to firefighter code and regulations in some counties, the evacuation signal should be rapidly repeated air horn short blasts for 10 seconds, then 10 seconds of silence. This should be repeated three times, totaling 50 seconds. This evacuation warning was echoed by Nick Frieden, a firefighter and paramedic with over 13 years of experience on the scene. He explained: “If we are on an emergency scene, such as a fire, three spaced-out horn blasts are used in conjunction with the radios to signal emergency evacuation of all crews due to impending building collapse, rapid change in conditions, etc.”
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Frieden stated that upon hearing those three blasts, the crew (and other people inside the burning structure) has to leave as fast and safely as possible right at that moment.
But it isn’t quite that straightforward — evacuation warnings can vary by state, county, and even firehouse. While Frieden confirmed that the three-honk signal for evacuation is well established in the industry, other firefighters from around the country have also shared their own evacuation signals. This includes holding the horn down for up to a minute, five or more blasts from the air horn, and evacuation announcements over a radio. Watching footage of evacuation warnings on YouTube also revealed a wide range of styles that were not consistent with each other or with the official regulations. The reality is that each department likely has its own way of announcing an emergency evacuation that they find most effective.
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What does it mean if a firetruck honks three times in traffic?
While the most common reason you’ll hear three honks in a row from a firetruck’s horn is to declare an evacuation, many drivers have heard a firetruck honking while in traffic. According to Frieden, there is “no official honk pattern” when a firetruck uses a horn in traffic. Instead, a firefighter will use however many honks it takes to get the job done.
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When a firetruck honks in traffic, it means that the drivers in front of them must pull to the right to give them the right of way, usually because the truck is needed at an emergency scene. Even if you are parked at a stoplight, the requirement is to move to the right. A firetruck may also honk while racing down the street to warn vehicles in the vicinity — as well as pedestrians — to stay out of the way. Of course, this hasn’t stopped some self-driving cars from displaying some troubling behavior around emergency vehicles.
Firetrucks are a more common emergency vehicle you’ll encounter on the road, but keep an eye out for robots, planes, and other surprising emergency vehicles when there’s a fire.
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