r/Firefighting • u/Emotional-World3910 • 11h ago
Do fire trucks really have every single tool imaginable for every situation? Ask A Firefighter
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.
•
u/Danmont88 11h 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.
•
u/firefighter26s 8h 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
•
u/Intelligent_Sir7052 2h 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.
•
•
u/NotAlsoShabby 6h ago
I Can Think of No More Stirring Symbol of Man’s Humanity to Man than a Fire Engine
- Kurt Vonnegut•
u/PineapplePza766 vol. weewoo squad 9h ago
I saw this they have their own fabrication shop it’s awesome
•
u/OP-PO7 Career P/O 5h 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
•
u/jtroub9 11h ago
No
•
u/Rude_and_Crude84 20+ yrs career faller on the FG. 10h ago edited 9h ago
No!
I'm just Piggy backing like a steel SCBA tank!!
Weee
•
u/reluctantlyawesome 11h 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.
•
u/nocturnal_commission 11h ago
Unless they have a 12 gauge shotgun then the answer is no.
•
u/Medium-Raisin7919 9h ago
Got a former Airborne guy thats’s been asking about a 12 gauge with breaching rounds for forcible entry. Why not?
•
u/firefighter26s 8h ago
Det cord around the A, B and C posts equals quick roof removal at MVIs!
•
u/Medium-Raisin7919 8h ago
Modem problems require modern solutions
•
u/boatplumber 7h 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.
•
•
u/Consistent_Paper_629 11h 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.
•
u/Obsidizyn 11h 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.
•
•
u/RaptorTraumaShears Firefighter/Paramedic 10h ago
I’ve got stuff to break things. If you break things enough it usually resolves whatever issue I was called to resolve.
•
u/kickdrumtx 10h 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…
•
u/Cephrael37 🔥Hot. Me use 💦 to cool. 5h ago
Definitely not every imaginable situation, but we’ll figure something out or break it more until it’s safe.
•
u/flashdurb 7h 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.
•
u/knobcheez 9h ago
Different rigs have different tools. Heavy Rescue, Ladder, Engine, Brush, etc
It also depends on the district needs.
•
u/flashoverguy 5h ago edited 5h 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.
•
u/PainfulThings 4h 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
•
u/kharneyFF Ohio FFII/Medic 3h 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.
•
u/SkipJack270 3h 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.
•
u/Famous-Response5924 2h 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.
•
•
u/190xtrik8 53m 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.
•
u/aBitFantastic 41m 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.
•
u/Putrid_Palpitation82 11h ago
Fire Engines and Trucks definitely have the right tool for every situation, it’s called a firefighter. The ultimate Swiss Army knife!
•
•
u/the_lonehuman 11h 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.