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One engine volunteer fire companies
I was wondering about one unit volunteer companies. Wether its an engine, rescue or ladder what do you do with extra manpower. We had a problem in our company that people were missing the engine because the same people were always around. so we decided to take a 2nd engine. But what do you do with one piece, I almost said only.
Not knocking the one piece station. We went from 4 to one...which still makes me sratch my head.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ashfire on
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My station use to run everything out of the house on a call but now our county will only allow one unit a call unless the call requires a second unit like the ambulance or the brush unit to respond or the engine goes out undermanned.
If we have enough crew in the station say the engine can go but if there is a crew for the ambulance or the truck it will sit unless its requested by a chief officer or communications.
I would guess its a money saving thing or a way to control response of units enacted by the county.
We have two engines, a truck, ambulance and brush unit but one pumper is in service at a time and sits until placed in service. Its a save ware and tear thing enacted by our membership plus equipment has to switched around from one engine to the other.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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We do not allow personal vehicles on fire scenes, so if one is going to the scene he or she better make it on the apparatus. We are fortunate to have multiple engines, tanker, etc. If we were a one-engine company I'd be in favor of allowing POV's on scenes. Ten years ago in a district about 20 miles from here several guys showed up on a working structure fire in POV's, but --- initially, anyway --- no one brought an engine. :-/
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Any thoughts about getting a driver training program set up? This way, if you run all qualified members through the program, you'll never be short a driver again. Just a thought.
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Permalink Reply by John Dobson on
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Craig not sure I am following your post correctly. If we roll one truck then every one else comes in there POV my department covers 100 square miles. We can't sit there and wait for some members to drive 15 miles to get in a truck. All of are trucks have commercial cabs with two or three seats.
There are a few of us that live within a few blocks of the station that roll the trucks. The ones that respond in trucks keep are gear at the station. The ones that don't carry there gear in bags in there POVs they also carry jump kits with O2. I would like to see some at the far reaches of are area carry AEDs also.
I know of no dept close that does not allow POVs on the scene if they did every fire would just about be a total loss.
We know who is responding where by marking in route right after the call. If I am going to the station I mark inroute to station. To the scene I mark inroute to the scene.
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Permalink Reply by Just Plain Craig Moyer on
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What I meant was the department only having one piece of equipment. You have one engine or ladder but what happens when other FF's start complaining about missing the piece. It happened at our station but we had 3 units. Members stopped resonding because the usual 5-6 guys were always at the firehouse. It was worse because of live ins. No one would come to the firehouse.
Sorry I was cooking breakfast at the same time and didn't explain my meaning very well.
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Permalink Reply by Stormey Tucker on
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We have three stations that cover almost 700 square miles and if its a structure fire their is always a captain or the chief on board the first engine out and mutual aide is called in. We also have our tender following closely behind the engine and if anyone shows up after the first is out then they take engine two or we get another engine from our other station to head our way. Anyone that shows up afterward and we already left then they call in and let us know that they are showing up in their pov's or they can jump on board with the ambulance or they can call and say that they will meet us there and we will throw their gear on either the engine or the ambulance.
On MVA's we always roll an engine and an ambulance and if the engine is not needed for traffic safety or for a car fire or extrication then we are cancelled in route.
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Permalink Reply by Talbot Brooks on
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I can understand the frustration in Craig's department, though I must ask what constitutes "extra manpower" as I don't think I've ever had that problem.
Short answer: SOP's and duty rotations.
Longer answer:
While my department is huge (9 stations, 27 pieces, 125+ volunteers covering 928 square miles and 13 municipalities), I think I get the problem at a personal level. By way of example, I run out of what would be considered the "Headquarters" station - the one with the most apparatus and volunteers (when everything is working, we run 3 engines, a tanker, a rescue, a brush rig, and a multi-purpose squad truck). For most calls, everything hits the road in an order determined by SOP. When I first joined, I was one of the closest members to the station and was typically the chauffeur on the first due. Then new members signed on an got qualified and I'm lucky to catch the last truck out of the house. I got especially ticked off because I didn't feel that some driving the first due had the experience needed to do so. After a little soul searching, it really comes down to this: Did you join to drive/ride in a firetruck or to serve your community? It might be gut check time for a few of your members...
If you have two engines, I would gently suggest that your department re-evaluate from a strategic perspective as not running both that may well leave them open to future trouble: What happens if you get another run while working the first; if your primary piece has a malfunction enroute or on scene; or if the call quickly gets out of hand where having that second engine on scene or enroute would have saved life or property? This is the sort of thing lawyers love too...
We are by no means the "model" volunteer department, but here's how we handle things:
Five of our 9 stations only have one engine. For any reported structure fire or smoke condition, including alarms, it's the equivalent of 3 and 1 assignment (with the third engine being a tanker and the one ladder is a rescue (non-ambulance type) with truck company tools).
All members carry their gear in their POV. All members MUST respond to the station until the last piece has responded. The first engine on scene will work the job while other arriving apparatus will stage as placed by the OIC. Lines, tools, and water will remain untouched on the additional apparatus unless otherwise ordered by the OIC. In this way we're a little more ready for multiple calls, equipment failures, and the unexpected.
I think the biggest risk/problem isn't wear and tear but the risk associated with responding. Solid driver training helps mitigate that risk, but will never make it go away completely, so we typically cancel additional responding units as soon as possible.
A final thought - there is a huge difference between someone driving apparatus and engineering. Getting your engine on scene and water on the fire or a rescue underway should be the priority. All of our members get at least a 12 hour class on driving apparatus from the state fire school, about 10 hours of road time with each piece, and a few hours learning basic pumping. However, this does not make them engineers who can perform complex drafting operations, relay pump, run multiple diameter hoselines of different lengths, etc... They will typically get the engine their, pull a line and charge it, pack up, and by then the engineering team is taking over. Making such a designation clear might help you resolve the issue diplomatically.
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Sounds like an issue that could be fixed with a simple policy/SOP. (Anyone who drives an apparatus should also be qualified to operate the pump) Then whoever decides they want tp drive understands that once at the scene, they're also the Engineer.
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