Fire Department Preemption with the ELiMiNATOR®
Intersections may be the highest risk environment your crews face on a daily basis. Responding through red lights and congested corridors exposes engines, ladders, tankers, and command vehicles to dangerous conflicts with cross-traffic.
While driver training and emergency procedures are essential, they can’t control what drivers at the intersection are doing. The ELiMiNATOR® is designed to help engines, ladders, and tankers move more safely through signalized intersections and corridors by coordinating the traffic signal controller with your apparatus.
Why Intersection Preemption Matters for Fire Departments
Statistics from national studies and incident reports show a hard truth: a significant portion of firefighter line-of-duty deaths occur in traffic crashes, not only on the fireground. Intersections are a major contributor to that risk, especially when apparatus enter on red or move against stopped queues of traffic.
Modern vehicles are quieter inside than ever before. Soundproofing, loud music, mobile devices, and general distraction mean that many motorists either react late to lights and sirens or do not react at all. EVP gives your intersections more notice and a clearer path to react.
Heavy apparatus are slower to maneuver and stop, and often have limited sightlines due to vehicle height, bodywork, and equipment. Busy urban intersections can include multiple lanes, turn pockets, and pedestrian movements, adding to the complexity.
These factors combine to make intersections one of the highest-risk environments firefighters face. A system that gives the intersection more awareness of your responding units can help reduce close calls and serious crashes.
How EVP Helps Fire Departments
The ELiMiNATOR® is designed to improve these circumstances by combining long-range 900 MHz radio with local decision-making at the intersection:
- Equipped intersections see your apparatus earlier as it approaches.
- Signals have more time to terminate conflicting movements and clear queues.
- Intersections behave more predictably during emergency responses.
Instead of relying on drivers to see and hear you through distraction and congestion, the intersection itself is aware of your approach and can act accordingly.
EVP deployments can be tailored to the way your department operates: high-risk corridors, routes to the hospital, and busy downtown grids can all be prioritized. Apparatus assignments and response plans can be reflected in which units get EVP and where intersections are equipped.
Corridor-based deployments allow you to start with your highest-risk areas and expand over time as budget and priorities allow.
Why a 900 MHz Radio Platform Matters
The ELiMiNATOR® was designed around 900 MHz licensed-band radio for several reasons:
- Licensed spectrum is less prone to interference than crowded unlicensed bands.
- 900 MHz offers better non-line-of-sight performance than higher frequencies.
- Radio links can operate even when cellular or broadband connectivity is degraded.
The ELiMiNATOR® is intentionally built on a radio platform suited to mission-critical traffic operations. EVP should not depend solely on public cellular networks or WiFi coverage that may be spotty at intersections.
By keeping the critical communication path between apparatus and intersections on a purpose-built radio system, you maintain control over the performance and reliability of your EVP deployment.
Local Decision-Making at the Intersection
The ELiMiNATOR® keeps the intelligence close to the intersection, using local radio and cabinet equipment to integrate with your traffic controllers.
- Preemption logic lives at the intersection, not only in the cloud.
- Intersections can respond even if wide-area networks are unavailable.
- Event logs can be stored locally for after-action review.
In real incidents, multiple pieces of apparatus may converge on the same corridor or intersection. Local decision-making allows intersections to apply priority rules and handle multiple requests safely.
EVP should fit your department’s operations and procedures; local logic makes it easier to configure behavior that matches how you respond.
Operational Modes and Use Cases
The ELiMiNATOR® is designed to support operational modes that help departments manage risk and resources, such as:
- Full preemption for critical incidents and first-due apparatus.
- Corridor-based priority where units frequently respond.
- Support for mutual-aid departments and shared corridors.
EVP is not a substitute for safe driving policy or training, but it can support both. Event logs and consistent signal behavior can be used in driver training, after-action reviews, and policy updates.
A clear, predictable EVP system gives departments another tool to reduce risk while supporting faster, safer responses to the community.
Ready to Talk About EVP for Your Fire Department?
Whether you’re evaluating your first EVP deployment or expanding an existing system, we can walk through how the ELiMiNATOR® would fit your apparatus, routes, and signal infrastructure.