Collection: Volunteer Firefighter Lights: Magnetic Light Bars and Strobes for POVs

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Volunteer firefighter lights solve a problem the apparatus never has: the vehicle is your own truck, it is a personal vehicle 23 hours a day, and the light has to go on in the driveway and come off at the station without leaving holes or a wire hanging out of the headliner. The other half of the problem is legal. A volunteer's light is a courtesy light in most states, which means it asks traffic to yield and does not give you the right of way, the color you may run is set by the state and not by the department, and most states require the chief's written authorization before it goes on the roof. Black Oak builds the POV layer on the same Low Pro and XDR platform as the apparatus: the 17 inch Low Pro on magnetic feet is the POV classic, the 30 inch on magnets covers a full-size pickup roof, and XDR-5 and XDR-4 heads in the grille cover the intersection. Every Low Pro is certified to SAE J845 and SAE J595 Class 1 and sealed to IP69K. Designed and engineered in Sarasota, Florida.

What color may a volunteer run?

This is the first question and it is decided by your state, not by what is for sale. Some states authorize red for volunteer firefighters on a POV. Some assign blue to volunteers and reserve red for the apparatus. A few allow green, and most require written authorization from the chief and a permit on file. Red and blue together is reserved for authorized emergency vehicles in every state and is not a volunteer color anywhere. The practical answer: ask the chief what the department's SOG allows, read the state code, and then pick the colorway on the product page. The 17 inch Low Pro is offered in red, red and white, blue, red and blue, green and amber combinations, so the same bar covers every state's answer. The emergency light bar guide covers the state table.

Why the 17 inch on magnets is the POV standard

A POV bar has to come off. Magnetic feet rated to 65 pounds each hold the 17 inch at road speed on a clean steel roof, the socket lead plugs into the cab, and the whole thing is in the back seat in under a minute. The 17 inch is lit around its full edge including the ends, so a single bar on a pickup roof reads front, rear and side, which matters because on a POV it is usually the only warning light on the vehicle. The 17 inch ships with a socket controller with a power rocker and a pattern button, not the full wired controller, which is the right trade for a bar that moves. The 30 inch on magnets (three pairs of feet) is the choice for a full-size pickup or SUV roof where the 17 looks lost; both come off the same way. Magnetic feet are not offered above 43 inches.

Grille strobes: the part most POV builds skip

A magnetic roof bar is invisible to the driver coming through the cross street until you are already in the intersection, because the A-pillars shadow it from 45 degrees off the nose. Two XDR-4 or XDR-5 heads in the grille, mounted with two screws and wired to a dash switch through a 5 amp fuse, are what that driver sees. They are also the only part of a POV build that stays on the truck, and at 3-7/8 inches the XDR-4 disappears behind the grille slats when it is off. Order them in the same color the state allows on the roof.

Running it responsibly

A courtesy light does not clear an intersection; it asks. The pattern that reads best on a single bar is a slow, steady alternate rather than the fastest strobe, because a slow alternate holds a fixed point in the mirror of the car ahead. A favorite pattern, programmed by holding the pattern button for five seconds, comes back every time the bar is plugged in, so the bar is consistent even when the volunteer is not thinking about it. Run the simulator above to see each pattern before you choose.

Chief and department vehicles

A chief's or officer's assigned vehicle is a department vehicle and runs the apparatus colorway: a 43 or 49 inch Low Pro on door jamb brackets, red and white, with the full wired controller, traffic advisor and Halo scene light. Those are on the fire truck light bars page. Departments running a station-wide POV program can request fleet pricing for a mixed order of 17 inch bars and grille heads in one colorway.

What color lights can a volunteer firefighter use?

It varies by state. Red is the most common POV color, blue is assigned to volunteers in some states, green in a few, and most require written authorization from the chief. Check your state code and your department before you order.

Can I use a magnet mount on a POV?

Yes. The 17 inch bar's magnetic feet are made to hold at road speed on a clean, dry steel roof. Wipe the roof and the magnets before mounting and route the lead through the door seal, not the window. An aluminium or composite roof needs the headache rack brackets instead.

Do these include a siren?

No. These are warning lights only.

Are there dash or visor lights?

Black Oak does not build a dedicated visor bar yet. The XDR-4 strobe mounts on a dash corner or visor edge with the 90 degree bracket and covers the forward position until the interior line ships.

Volunteer firefighter lights sit under fire and EMS lights in the Black Oak emergency lighting range, next to mini light bars and emergency strobe lights. Backed by a limited lifetime warranty, see each product page for details.