Upon a Winter's Day

Tips for staying warm on cold-weather calls

When the bell rings, we don’t turn on the weather channel to check the conditions. We get on the rig and go. Although it’s futile to fight Mother Nature, we can do many things to help ourselves deal with winter weather. Following are a few tips:

• If you start out cold, you’ll never warm up. Leave sweat pants and shirts and your turnout gear near (not on) heat registers along the pathway to the fire apparatus, so you can easily throw on toasty-warm garments on the way to the call.
• Consider wearing bigger boots in the winter. I wear boots that are a half-size bigger than my regular size so I can double my socks. The extra room also allows for an air pocket around your feet, which limits the conduction of cold through the walls of your boots.
• Pack a small bag to take on the rig with you that includes a towel, extra gloves, socks and hoods. After the fire is out and you must pick up equipment, these dry items can make a big difference.
• Cold fingers? Remove your gloves and exhale into them, then put them back on. You can also hold your glove over the tailpipe of nearby rig. This will quickly heat up your gloves, and your fingers. Similarly, heat up cold, booted feet by placing them under the tailpipe.
• Keep turnout gear away from a thawing rig. When back in quarters after an icy run, the apparatus will start to warm up, causing any ice that formed on it to melt and drip on the floor, which is usually where we leave our turnout gear. On the next run, you might find your turnouts soaking in near-freezing water.
• Use caution and common sense. Rotate crews when the weather is just too cold to work for very long. After cold-weather calls, remain out of service long enough to put on dry clothes and warm up. Dry your turnouts as soon as possible after returning to the station, so you won’t be caught in the cold with wet gear.

Peter F. Kertzie is an 18-year veteran of the Buffalo (N.Y.) Fire Department, currently serving as captain of Truck 14. He is a New York State-certified Municipal Fire Training Officer and holds a bachelor’s degree in business and an associate’s degree in fire-protection technology. Photo Peter F. Kertzie