Engine/Pumper Drivers

95 Comments

Comment by SMOKEnPipesJim 3 hours ago

Going Back over 20 years I was"reprmanded" ON the scene ofa BRush Fire BY 1 The departnment Chief and Captain, because I was At Station 1when the call ame in and responded with a Class A pumper Rather then ourVietnam eraJeep Pckup with sludein 250 Gallons Forestry hose etc.. for a reported BRush fire. which happeend tp be located IN the Rear of our"ace Hardware & Mini LuMberYard. and an old cemetary.. THe TIme of day was a FACTOR IN the desision, it was 4:15 PM Day shift was trying to get home andnight shift was trying to get into work, at the time, I had a !4 yo cadet riding with me and oddly I was The ONLY one who Bothered TO BRINGa fire truck....lol... Water supply was a hydrent about 4,000 out FRont on the street so Bringing a Class a pump with 500 Gallons mademuch more sense to me then bringing a scat unit with 230 gallons ...The OTHER Stationhoused an older R Model cornbinder Class a that we usedmore as a Brush rig then a attack pump..... So the conversation Began.... YOU screwed up YOU BRoke the RULES and you did this and you did that wrong, I was LIKE ummmm BUtATLeast I BROUGHT a Fire truck to the call, YOU guys planning on seeing a header and then GOING to geta rig The Call came in and the first thing I THought OF was a Bowstring timber truss structure housing LUMBER inside and out being IMpindged upon INa limited water supply area at the worst possible hour of the day for OUR Company RIGHTas you "paid" guys are heading homeas all the vollies are trying to get home or to secnd shift work,... I took It Upon myself TO Bring what I wanted TO MY personal FIght and I didnt block access with MY POV LIke the captain here....BUT IF Tommorrow the same thig happened Guess what Chief I would do the same thing..so IF YOUR gonna repromand me or suspend my driving privlages keep that in mind along with Just how effective your CRown VIC is with a 2 lb dry powder and pretty "CHIEF paint JOb" and resusitator in the trunk.... The Cadet with me Must have learned a thing or two in his time with us, he went on to become A FDNY Firefighter assigned to squad 41 bronx & harlem.... YOUCan correct, Just be prepared to justify YOUR actions and be sure YOUR 100% correct..:)

Comment by Bull Collier on November 11, 2009 at 8:05am

I agree with you. however the other side of that is; when you work with a Rural Department there are some roads that you cannot get a full sized Class-A pumper down, much less one of theose monsters you call a Rescue pumper. In order to better support those in the district it may be necessary to have a MIDI or MINI pumper. As far as what vehicle you should take or not, the best thing to do is have a set protocol for what truck rolls to what incident. That way the decision is already made you get in the truck and go.

Comment by Mark Berg on November 10, 2009 at 5:56pm

Brings to mind people that buy a big "rescue Pumper", current movement int he country. In minnesota, there big, like a boxcar, and got stuff I never dreamed of on an engine when I was a captain. Then, these nice people go out and buy a mini pumper, so they can go to car fires and shed fires, and truck fires. Hey, first out decisions should not have to be made by anyone, can you imagine for a jake that is not looking at the fire, or the exposures, to make a decision about what the hell to drive ou t of the fire house? Time after time Ive seen this, ive seen a truck fire where the tire was on fire, jumped upinto insulation of the refer, and barbecued 40 thousand pounds of pork belies. So , save your money and buy whiskey, miny pumpers are for sissies with a shor t purse.

Comment by Travis Bowers on November 10, 2009 at 5:21pm

awsome, you never know what you might need until it actually happens, good advice, thanks

Comment by David W. Daniel on November 10, 2009 at 1:31pm

I found that striking the window in the lower corners (like with our axe or bars) that the tool works well. A square, forceful strike is best.
Hope this helps.

Comment by Travis Bowers on November 10, 2009 at 11:47am

We have those and they are yellow with all the same features, they seem to be pretty tough. Hope it works great for you.

Comment by Patrick J Cronen on November 10, 2009 at 9:34am

ok just doesn't seem like its strong enough for that.. I will go to a junk yard and try it. thanks

Comment by doug on November 10, 2009 at 6:43am

Patrick if its the one I'm thinking of you just strike the corner of the window with that little steel point and the window will break.

Comment by Patrick J Cronen on November 9, 2009 at 7:58pm

I had a good weekend.. We had a few calls..4 AFA and a few Motor Vehicles accidents..
I have a strange question.. I recently had a birthday.. My kids spoke to one of the fireman at my station and purchased me a rescue wrench.. I has a gas shit off, o2 wrench, spanner wrench, seat belt cutter and a window punch..
The question is does anyone have this and how do you punch a window out with this??
Thanks in advance for the help.
pj

Comment by Travis Bowers on November 8, 2009 at 6:52pm

Hope Everyone had a nice weekend, guys and girls please post on this group and lets get some new livley discussions going, if we all do that we can actually help train each other with good advice!!! Hope to hear from everyone soon thanks.

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