We know first responders are on their way when we hear sirens and see flashing lights, but more departments in the Pittsburgh area are paying for a service that alerts drivers differently to give them more time to slow down and move over.

The Aliquippa Fire Department is the latest to add the relatively new safety tool.

First responders put themselves in harm's way to save lives, and one of the most dangerous places they work is on the road. Crashes are a leading cause of death and injury for emergency responders and other workers on the road.

"We have been involved in some close calls or near misses, we would call them, where somebody's just not paying attention," said Chief Timothy Firich of the Aliquippa Fire Department. "Usually, distracted driving, driving under the influence, texting and driving, switching radio stations or switching media," he added.

The Aliquippa Fire Department is equipping its fleet with Safety Cloud by HAAS Alert after they test it out in one truck next week.

Firich said a transponder in their vehicles will give drivers an advanced warning when firefighters are approaching, or working on an emergency scene ahead.

"It could be a fire, it could be a crash, whatever emergency that we would be responding to, and whatever emergency scene that we would be supporting on the side of the road somewhere," he said.

When their firetrucks' lights and sirens are on, drivers will receive the alert on their car's in-dash systems in brands including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram vehicles, as well as on GPS apps Waze and Apple Maps.

"We're already going to bad situations, so if there's one thing we can do to fix it up, we're going to take that step," Firich said.

Several other Pittsburgh-area fire and EMS departments already use the technology, including Penn Hills Volunteer Fire Company No. 7 and Ross/West View EMS.

The alert system will cost the department about $2,000 per year. Chief Firich said it's worth every penny.

"If I could do one thing to make their job safer at a relatively minimal cost, and it saves just one life, one injury, one crash for us or the general public, it was money well spent," he said. "We ask everybody to slow down; the state law is to slow down, move over."

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This story was originally published by Jessica Guay at KDKA News