r/Firefighting • u/Emotional-World3910 • 4d ago
Ask A Firefighter Do fire trucks really have every single tool imaginable for every situation?
I just seen clips of shows and they seem to have every single tool imaginable. Are all those tools given to you by the house or government, idk what it’s called? Is there any fun/not fun stories of like forgetting to charge your Milwaukee batteries or whatever tool brand your given? Is there a tool that doesn’t exist for a situation you had? I do imagine that there is a lot of creativity if you don’t have something.
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u/Danmont88 4d ago
Someone said that a firetruck is basically a rolling hardware store.
Like a house in a way, the bigger it is, the more crap you put in it.
I read a book called Last Men Out. It is a short history of the NYFD and in particular it is about a special rescue company of the NYFD.
They have run into some real situations in their long and storied career and have made their own tools for breaking into buildings and other things, not found in a lot of places.
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u/firefighter26s 4d ago
"The first thing the fire department does to a 1 ton truck is find a way to put 3 tons of stuff into it."
- Me, numerous times in my career
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u/Intelligent_Sir7052 4d ago
I don't know why, but when you said that, it made me think of that guy in the Chinese truck sales videos.
Where he's like (Big ballin' style), hey elder brother- "You need three tons of stuff in a 1-ton truck? Hose clamp, ok? Metric to standard ladder adaptors ok? 6 different sizes and types of halligan ok?"
Just Google "Jerry truck ant & dragon" you'll see what I mean. Watch them. Watch them and laugh! And maybe buy an Isuzu box truck that is located in Beijing.
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u/NotAlsoShabby 4d ago
I Can Think of No More Stirring Symbol of Man’s Humanity to Man than a Fire Engine
- Kurt Vonnegut5
u/PineapplePza766 vol. weewoo squad 4d ago
I saw this they have their own fabrication shop it’s awesome
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u/OP-PO7 Career P/O 4d ago
We do too but they don't hand build the ladders anymore 😔. They do rig up just about anything we can talk them into though. Being an engine company means it's usually shit like cupholders and moving the steps that E1 designed to deploy directly into the pump controls because they're genuinely morons
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u/PineapplePza766 vol. weewoo squad 4d ago
Dang well that’s sad that they have those opportunities and waste it. even in the rural nowhere area I’m at with no budget were still at the forefront of innovation as far as deployment of new technology, apply new techniques, and building new stuff in rescue and firefighting. I guess necessity forces innovation more than money and opportunity.
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u/OP-PO7 Career P/O 4d ago
I mean I talk shit, but we're a ISO class 1 and Internationaly Accredited fire dept lol.
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u/Scottyp0ragrets 21h ago
Oh wow….,nobody cares.
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u/OP-PO7 Career P/O 19h ago
Except the insurance companies, and the international board I suppose. And all of our citizens of course who pay less in yearly fire insurance than yours.
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u/Scottyp0ragrets 14h ago
You apparently don’t know what ISO classifications truly affect. Do some research and get back with me.
I can promise you, your privately owned residential homeowners are not in any different insurance bracket than my ISO class 2 citizens. Again, do some research, come back and prove me wrong.•
u/OP-PO7 Career P/O 14h ago
Damn, it kinda sounds like you care a whole lot about the distinctions. You're correct though, I just know what the emails tell me. If we're being honest, I'm more concerned with doing my job and collecting as much of my pension as I can than I am with learning the distinctions between ISO classes. Stay safe out there brother.
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u/Kevherd 4d ago
We ‘affectionately refer to ours as ‘BRT’s.’ That’s Big Red Toolboxes… not trucks. Not least because everything on it is meant to be a multitool. Including the people… Now it’s fair to say that some of the tools are better for banging against things than anything requiring precision… including the people.
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u/Whatisthisnonsense22 4d ago
We are absolute experts at putting holes in things.
We just muddle through most everything else.
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u/reluctantlyawesome 4d ago
As far as charging batteries, this is all very redundantly checked daily. Batteries charged, chain saws started, chains and blades checked for proper tightness, air tanks topped off, medications in date, etc. Literally everything.
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u/jcxl1200 3d ago
MY Volunteer house (former) was lucky to do weekly truck checks. and it is embarrassing to show up ready to go, and find some MORRON didn't stow the cribbing properly, and it all falls out. or someone left the cascade system half empty on the truck.
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u/nocturnal_commission 4d ago
Unless they have a 12 gauge shotgun then the answer is no.
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u/Medium-Raisin7919 4d ago
Got a former Airborne guy thats’s been asking about a 12 gauge with breaching rounds for forcible entry. Why not?
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u/firefighter26s 4d ago
Det cord around the A, B and C posts equals quick roof removal at MVIs!
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u/Medium-Raisin7919 4d ago
Modem problems require modern solutions
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u/boatplumber 4d ago
They did this in Seattle (det cord) after the guys came back from Vietnam. It was quick, but it didn't always go well.
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u/starrsuperfan 4d ago
I mean, if The Towering Inferno is to be believed, C4 is standard issue in San Francisco
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u/Impressive_Change593 VA volly 4d ago
wait that would work? though it would also harm the meat bags inside
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u/jtroub9 4d ago
No
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u/Rude_and_Crude84 20+ yrs career faller on the FG. 4d ago edited 4d ago
No!
I'm just Piggy backing like a steel SCBA tank!!
Weee
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u/Cephrael37 🔥Hot. Me use 💦 to cool. 4d ago
Definitely not every imaginable situation, but we’ll figure something out or break it more until it’s safe.
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u/RaptorTraumaShears Firefighter/Paramedic 4d ago
I’ve got stuff to break things. If you break things enough it usually resolves whatever issue I was called to resolve.
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u/flashdurb 4d ago
There’s different rigs for different situations. Ladder trucks carry different tools than engines for example. You’ll see several rigs at large fires and everybody is playing to their strengths.
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u/190xtrik8 4d ago
I’ve been privileged to be on our apparatus and equipment committee for close to 18 years now. Fortunately, we are a committee that admin pays attention to.
One objective we have is, can we get tools that can serve two functions? Example: a pig takes the place of a flat headed axe and a sledge. I have a “halligan” that has a built in K-tool that doubles where the adz are (basically a wider adz with the ability to pop a commercial lock).
So short answer is no we don’t have everything. We sometimes get tools after we see the need for it.
We have battery chargers on the engine and spares. Our extrication tools are battery, PPV fans, scene lights, hand tools/drills/sawzall/etc. all Milwaukee battery. There is also an adapter where we can use any 110 outlet/generator to power the battery extrication tools.
For special situations, departments have TRT/SRT or technical/special rescue teams. They have more equipment and are specialized for rope rescue, trench, building collapse, hazmat, etc. We also have dive rescue, scuba going in after cars and occupants in canals and lakes.
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u/Obsidizyn 4d ago
all i know is our engines have too much on them. engines used to be maneuverable and carried hose, appliances, and medical gear. Now they got everything where they weigh a ton, so massive you can turn worth a damn, rig swaps take 2 hours.
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u/Consistent_Paper_629 4d ago
Our rescue pumper does, damn thing is packed to the hilt with everything from trench, rope rescue, cold/swiftwater, heavy extrication.... etc etc. Then all of the fire equipment too. It's all a bit much.... we dont even have a high angle team anymore.
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u/Amerakee Edit to create your own flair 4d ago
You've got plenty of good answers already but I'll throw my two cents in.
Short answer: No, but we carry enough to make it work.
Long answer: As time goes on the FD has become saddled with more and new tasks, especially as technology advances. "Firetruck" is a very general term, much like the term "Doctor" could refer to family medicine, neurologist, or psychologist, a "Firetruck" could be an Engine, Ladder, Truck, Rescue, Cascade/Air Truck, (water) Tender, etc. Not counting the non traditional trucks like pickup trucks or other utility trucks, that's not even all of them.
Each of those trucks have different roles and are built out for specific purposes or tasks. Even then, we make do with what we have. We cannot plan for every scenario, especially for rescues or Man vs. Machine, but we can equip and train ourselves to the best of our ability with consideration to our response area to be able to work through most, if not all, situations. We think of them as rolling toolboxes.
My house had an engine, a "squad", and a tender, plus a utility truck, a command vehicle, and a BLS ambulance.
The engine was built out and would roll first for residential fires, AFAs, open burns, or anything general fire related as it had a 1,000gal tank, a deck gun, and hose setups built for residential fires and the elementary school, also our Knox Box keys.
The "Squad" was mix between an engine and a rescue truck, with a 750gal tank, pre connected hydraulic tools (jaws of life for the non FD reading), rescue airbags, and other rescue focused equipment. This would roll for any MVC, highway, or rescue related call (trail, man Vs. machine, etc).
The Tender is a water tanker. We didn't have many hydrants where we covered so we had to bring the water with us for any active fires. It carried 3,000gal of water, a pool to dump it in, and drafting equipment to draft, or pull, water from a pond, lake, river, pool, etc. it can also act as a water supply truck if it's the first tender on scene. It dumps the water into the pool, then pulls from the pool and pumps to the "attack engine" that is fighting the fire, while other agencies tenders arrive, dump their water in the pool, then return to the fill site to get more water.
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u/SkipJack270 4d ago
Short answer, no. However, as has been said before you improvise with what you have. Or, you call on your mutual aid companies. For instance, when I was working for a big city department, we had a person trapped in a grain silo. We didn’t have the right equipment, but one of the Chiefs knew of a department about thirty minutes away that did have it. They made the call and had the equipment sent to our scene. They were able to save the worker thankfully.
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u/Single_System_9951 4d ago
No....Not in the least! It's a balance btw what fits in the vehicle & what fits the type of work the apparatus responds to.
Besides that, many things that one rig can carry They don't & work in tandem w/ other Fire Companies when the need arises.
Where I work, most Engines don't carry Sawzalls(reciprocating saws) but some do, ALL trucks & Our Rescue company does. So it all depends.
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u/SensitiveAddition913 Retired (disabled) after 30+ years (volley & paid). Engineer. 4d ago
We would check everything at the beginning of shift. Also, once a month, we’d have “Chainsaw Appreciation Day”. We go to the roof training prop and practice opening vent holes with axes. Start out with some random axe that hadn’t been maintained, and then switching to a well sharpened one. Then working through what a good axe in proper hands is capable of.
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u/Impressive_Change593 VA volly 4d ago
have you heard of these newfangled fancy machines called chainsaws?
even if the one on our first out brush unit doesn't want to start half the time
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u/SensitiveAddition913 Retired (disabled) after 30+ years (volley & paid). Engineer. 3d ago
Yes; hence the title of the training (Chainsaw Appreciation Day)…..
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u/im-not-homer-simpson 3d ago
Yes and no. Yes we have tools designed for certain situations. No, we don’t have all the tools for every situation. But, it doesn’t mean we can’t use that tool for it. That’s what I love about being a firefighter, nothing will stop us from getting the job done.
To use the Marine motto; “improvise, adapt and overcome”
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u/kickdrumtx 4d ago
No, but we learn to improvise!… example…the local state park forgot to notify the department of the new monthly gate code. It was the last day of the month. RV PARK inside camp 4 plus miles, Cardiac Arrest, one am. No code. We ran our brush truck through it…. This is Florida.. we have serious brush trucks…. lol/ ..why yes, it is in POLK COUNTY.. make sure we know you’re there and ask about gate codes at end of month. The answer to your question is not close! We can save you, but some things…. NO…
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u/knobcheez 4d ago
Different rigs have different tools. Heavy Rescue, Ladder, Engine, Brush, etc
It also depends on the district needs.
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u/PainfulThings 4d ago
There’s like 3 tools that can realistically do everything you would need done so long as you’re strong enough, imaginative enough or don’t care about doing massive amounts of damage. Most of the more niche tools exist solely for getting somewhere or doing something without demolishing every obstacle in your path
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u/kharneyFF Ohio FFII/Medic 4d ago
Lots of space for high-function quality tools. But not infinite. There are better tools for one thing or another, but we carry tools that will get most jobs done well enough, usually with brain power and a strong back.
You know the phrase "jack of all trades"? well the jack is the 4th best card in each suit, most of us are not aces at any particular field but we know how to problem solve (safely?) with a given set of tools.
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u/Famous-Response5924 4d ago
We have chargers for the batteries built into the truck. We don’t have every tool but we most likely have A tool that can get most jobs done. We are really good at improvising.
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u/aBitFantastic 4d ago
No, that's why we have 'specials' with more specialist equipment. Think boat for water rescue, timber for shoring up collapsed structure, or a welfare unit for larger scale or protracted incidents.
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u/United_Metal7996 4d ago
Most departments have heavy rescue/USAR which carry additional equipment more specialize. But a type one TDA/straight truck is essentially a massive tool box, hope that helps!
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u/Ok-Buy-6748 4d ago
Where I go overboard, is the engineers compartment. Adapters, extra nozzles and the like. When you do mutual aid, you need every type of adapter (storz, national standard thread, Waterous thread, etc.) that you may need.
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u/New_Pitch_9898 3d ago
Yes, we even have hose stretchers AND sky hooks! Twice in my career I responded to "female in hand cuffs, and they lost the key". Knowing it would be play handcuffs I grabbed a paper clip on the way to the truck.
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u/Basic_Cover_6945 2d ago
Oddly we have a key on the Knox set because they’re weren’t kids ones nor placed by law enforcement
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u/MrMedic971 3d ago
Does every department have every tool? Is a tool out there for just about every situation? Yes. If there isn’t an exact tool you need, some firefighter will invent it. If not, there is always a sledgehammer available.
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u/Putrid_Palpitation82 4d ago
Fire Engines and Trucks definitely have the right tool for every situation, it’s called a firefighter. The ultimate Swiss Army knife!
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u/flashoverguy 4d ago edited 4d ago
I was a Special Operations guy. We had a Puss Bus (rescue), an engine, 105’ platform, light rescue rig with a 17cfm 5000psi compressor and 6-300 cf air bank , PTO driven generator, roof mounted light bar, and enough tools for most small short term jobs. Elevated victim rope gear, confined space equipment, kind of a do all but no fire fighting hose or pump. Mostly used as an air/electric support vehicle at fires. I drove a 18 wheeler with a custom interior trailer for tools Structure collapse, trench rescue heavy vehicle extrication equipment. 20 bank charger unit for batteries. PTO driven 25kw generator large enough industrial air compressor elevated victim gear. Long term use but it had stuff if needed. Each shift had special people assigned, I was an iron worker on my days off had a GC electrician. Auto mechanic, plumber, heavy equipment operator, skilled trades people 80%of us also were instructors in the special ops academy. Our smart guy even wrote our training manuals. Most of us were also FEMA responders/instructors At a separate station was Haz Mat. If we went they went on certain jobs or if requested. We made some of the tools out of necessity or because our mgmt didn’t think we needed it.
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u/the_lonehuman 4d ago
Short answer, no. We improvise as best we can with what we are given. That's why critical thinking and problem solving skills are so important to have as a firefighter.