Why did they stop?

Why do emergency services sometimes turn their lights off?

Emergency vehicles respond to a wide variety of situations, from 000 calls to requests for assistance from other crews.

When an incident is first reported, it often triggers a large response. But emergencies are dynamic: as the situation comes under control, not all responding vehicles are required. When that happens, crews receive what’s called a ‘stop message’, a direction that their response is no longer needed.

Simply put, that’s when we switch off the lights, turn around, and head back to station, ready for the next call.

So next time you see an emergency vehicle turn off its lights or sirens, it doesn’t mean they’ve ‘given up’, it means the situation is being managed, and those resources are now free to respond elsewhere.