Mount Kisco weighs request for traffic lights outside firehouses

By MARTIN WILBUR

Traffic control devices outside Mount Kisco’s three firehouses could be installed after the Board of Fire Commissioners unanimously agreed to ask village officials for them as a way to increase safety for firefighters and the public.

The request from the commissioners came as a result of an accident involving a car outside the Green Street firehouse and two near-misses that exposed firefighters to danger as they were quickly leaving to go on a call or returning.

“There have been several incidents recently, when fire trucks were backing into the Green Street Firehouse,” the four commissioners wrote in a letter to the Village Board last month. “Some civilian drivers are not giving fire trucks the right-of-way, when they are backing into a firehouse.”

In the Oct. 5 correspondence, commissioners said it would allow for a faster emergency response, be safer for firefighters who would control the device when they leave or return to the firehouse, reduces the chance of collisions with traffic and alerts motorists to the presence of the firehouse, which would be helpful at night or in bad weather.

A significant hurdle is that each one of Mount Kisco’s firehouses is on a street overseen by a different jurisdiction and would need approval from the proper level of government, said Mayor J. Michael Cindrich. Green Street, which is home to the Hook & Ladder and the Rescue Fire Police, is a village street. Therefore, the village can decide whether to install the device but would have to find funding for it, he said. Officials would be looking for grant money to help defray the cost, Cindrich added.

The Independent Fire Company is located at 322 Lexington Ave., a county road, and the Mutual Engine & Hose Co. #1, located at 99 Main St., is on a state road. Cindrich said the request will be forwarded to the offices of County Legislator Erika Pierce, Assemblymember Chris Burdick and state Sen. Pete Harckham.

“They’ll be a full-blown stop signal — red light, orange light, green light — and they’ll be activated whether they are inside the firehouse or actually in the truck upon leaving the firehouse,” Cindrich said of the device. 

Trustee Tom Luzio suggested that the Village Board forward the request to its traffic consultant to receive professional feedback.

Meanwhile, the mayor indicated he would ask Westchester County Police to temporarily respond to the firehouses to help with traffic control while the trucks leave and return to their stationhouses.