Lights? Siren? Action?

Before barreling out of the firehouse, consider the response needed

The call goes out—somebody called the fire department because they need us, so we get there as fast as we can … but should we?

We get sent to structure fires so close to our station that we can see the header of smoke as we pull out of the apparatus bay, but we still must get there as fast as we can with due regard for our safety and the public’s safety public.

But what about the cat-in-the-tree call?  Don’t laugh. Each of you reading this knows someone who’ll run code for a cat in a tree and then drive like a bat outta hell to get back to the station and smash the crack (aka, sit down).

Almost every day we read about an apparatus crash or privately owned vehicle (POV) crash somewhere in the good ol’ USA. A few years ago, a ladder truck was hit by a train. The driver, the sole occupant of the ladder truck, was killed. He was returning to the station after responding to a false alarm.

Prior to that incident, another fire apparatus was hit by a train. Two firefighters were killed; three were injured, two seriously. Fifty-seven passengers were also injured and 13 cars, including the two locomotives, were derailed, totaling more than $1 million in damages. The emergency response involved fire apparatus from six counties and included more than 15 engines, 38 ambulances, eight rescue squads, seven helicopters and other equipment, six police departments, the U.S. Army, etc. They were responding to a car fire.

Back in the 90s, a deputy from my own county was killed while en route to a structure fire when he lost control of his patrol vehicle on a rain-slicked road. The vehicle spun out, crossed the center line and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. The structure he was responding to: a dog house.

I could spend the rest of the day picking similar examples from www.firefighterclosecalls.com, www.firefighternearmiss.com and other informational resources. The bottom line: We must control ourselves (for you drivers), our personnel (for you company officers) and our apparatus and personal vehicles when we respond to a call.

We must also decide if we need to run lights and siren to everything. Do all fires need an emergent response? The answer isn’t “no,” but “hell no.” The same is true for medical emergencies. Not all of them require a fire truck, much less an emergent response from one.

Civilian-driven vehicles causing accidents with apparatus notwithstanding, there are very few—very few—incidents involving fire apparatus that are truly unavoidable. Almost each and every one that’s occurred could’ve been avoided by driving with due regard for the safety of the firefighters involved and the public.

In some cases, apparatus design may be a factor. Are we building an overloaded or under-braked vehicle? Is the vehicle too tall for the wheelbase/apparatus width?

How about our maintenance program? Is someone performing the necessary preventative maintenance, and do we have the intestinal fortitude to take unsafe apparatus out of service?

Lastly, do our officers have what it takes to discipline personnel who drive like maniacs, whether in one of your fire apparatus or their own POV on the way to the call?

Scott Cook is a firefighter with the Granbury (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department, where he previously served as chief. He’s also a contributing editor for FireRescue.