If you’ve never been to the Big Apple, it’s not a great city to drive in, especially the downtown areas. The streets are narrow, horns are always blaring, cyclists and pedestrians are weaving between gridlocked cars, and parking is a nightmare. The city’s parking rules are strict, and fines for violations are steep. And for the city’s firefighters, vehicles often pose a frustrating operational hurdle.

One Mercedes-Benz SUV driver learned the hard way why it’s never wise to park in front of a NYFD firehouse. Blocking the entrance to a firehouse is not only unwise, but it’s incredibly illegal in the state, resulting in an expensive tow and a $115 ticket. 

The firefighters were responding to an emergency when they spotted the white, $89,000 SUV. It was parked in such a way that the ladder truck couldn’t leave the station. So, instead of waiting for a police tow truck to remove it, the firefighters took matters into their own hands. 

It took four GoJacks, four firefighters, and just a few minutes to move it

With one firefighter behind the camera, four more firefighters rushed to the Mercedes-Benz. Using GoJacks, they were able to lift the SUV and slip the jacks under the wheels.

“A 10-75 [fire call that prompts full fire response] comes in, and somebody’s parked in front of the firehouse,” said the man behind the camera, posted to Skyler Fire. “It’s ridiculous that someone has the nerve to park right across the street from a firehouse.”

While the firefighters were moving the Mercedes-Benz, the recording firefighter said two more emergency calls came through to the station. The video was only four minutes long, but that’s four minutes the firefighters were busy moving an illegally parked car.

With the use of the GoJacks, the four firefighters were able to push it further up the street and move the firetruck out of the building.

Viewers realized first responders deal with this more often than they should

Naturally, all 300 viewers were on the firefighter’s side. One person noted that they seemed fairly composed, like they’d done it several times before. 

“Imagine that happening so often that they have jacks at the ready to deal with it,” they wrote. “Unbelievable.”

Another noted a lack of proper signage and a red curb. Still, many felt that it should be common sense not to park near a firehouse due to the size of the firetrucks and the relatively small firehouse entrance. 

“People’s lives are at stake, and it seems so sad for the ‘entitlement’ to use a spot like that for personal parking,” they wrote. 

Someone else said the firefighters were risking themselves by moving a car while responding to an emergency. 

“Nothing like risking a back injury just trying to leave the damn station, shame on that driver.”