“If you see a fallen traffic cone at a fork in the road or at a crossroads in the forest or on country lanes, please leave it where it is and do not set it up again. This traffic cone has not fallen over, but serves as a guide for the emergency services that are moving up,” says the note text of the fire brigades.
Background: In the case of fires in impassable terrain or simply in wooded areas that are difficult to reach with heavy emergency equipment, the emergency services do not necessarily reach their destination with the navigation device. As a simple means of communication that every fire engine has on board, the traffic cones have established themselves as a sign of forces moving up. If the cone at the fork points to the left – or to the right – the driver of the approaching reinforcements knows where to go. Of course, this only works as long as no ignorant passer-by, whether hiking or walking with dogs, puts the traffic cone back up supposedly “correctly” in a tidy manner.
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