[quote name='JM82' timestamp='1342136418' post='491956']
Yep, they'd switch over to the '87 Arrow when it snowed. They also did it years ago with their newest pumper, the Pierce Dash, where they'd run the '94 Arrow in the snow and leave the Dash in quarters. I guess that was the chief's decision, but I don't know for sure. It just seemed like backwards thinking, when they had a pumper with an enclosed cab, which was warmer and safer for the firefighters riding the jumpseats, but when it snowed they'd switch over to the '87 Arrow where the jump guys would be cold and not nearly as safe if they were to be in a collision.
I don't mean any disrespect to the Brentwood firefighters, but I didn't agree at all with that policy of switching rigs just because it snowed. That's one of the reasons for carrying insurance!
[/quote]My chief had us doing the same thing when we got our new engine a couple of years ago. We took delivery in November that year. Anytime it started to snow more than a dusting we were told to move into one of our reserve engines. He was worried about it getting damaged since it was brand new. Made no sense to me. The rotating twin engines it replaced were 12 years old at the time. They got the job done, but they had a number of issues and we were able to get a new engine because of that.
Considering that our on-duty staffing was 5-7 FFs at the time and that a heavy snowfall would lengthen the time that they'd be operating at a fire before our off-duty personnel and mutual aid could arrive, using our new engine rather than an older one at risk for breaking down made the most sense to me. However, my opinion and that of some others weren't welcome.
On a related note, the reserve that got put into front line service during a major snow storm that year had practically bald rear tires. While running the initial round of calls, the chains on it started to break. I expressed my concerns over running around the city in a vehicle with bald tires and broken chains. My concerns were immediately dismissed by the chief. 20 minutes later, I was stuck sideways on a hill with that engine for about 2 hours. The street I was stuck on was basically the only way in/out of this part of that neighborhood and 2 of the 3 ambulances in my city were blocked in (with a patient, fortunately non-serious) for a significant amount of time.
3 days later, with most of our secondary streets having a couple feet of virtually unplowed snow on them still, I was driving the new engine to a car fire. Even with new tires and new chains, it was still pretty tough to get around while having to dodge numerous cars left wherever they got stuck. Apparently I (unknowingly) clipped a mirror of one of those cars on the way to the fire. The only damage to the engine was a scuff or two on the scotchlite on the front/side of the officer side and 4 or 5 of the plastic chrome lug nut covers came of and were either lost or broken. He about had a caniption over it and was considering writting me up for it. Which was pretty funny considering how lax he was with any sort of disciplinary action in general and that others have had worse or more than one accident without being disciplined.
Gotta love it.
Yep, they'd switch over to the '87 Arrow when it snowed. They also did it years ago with their newest pumper, the Pierce Dash, where they'd run the '94 Arrow in the snow and leave the Dash in quarters. I guess that was the chief's decision, but I don't know for sure. It just seemed like backwards thinking, when they had a pumper with an enclosed cab, which was warmer and safer for the firefighters riding the jumpseats, but when it snowed they'd switch over to the '87 Arrow where the jump guys would be cold and not nearly as safe if they were to be in a collision.
I don't mean any disrespect to the Brentwood firefighters, but I didn't agree at all with that policy of switching rigs just because it snowed. That's one of the reasons for carrying insurance!
[/quote]My chief had us doing the same thing when we got our new engine a couple of years ago. We took delivery in November that year. Anytime it started to snow more than a dusting we were told to move into one of our reserve engines. He was worried about it getting damaged since it was brand new. Made no sense to me. The rotating twin engines it replaced were 12 years old at the time. They got the job done, but they had a number of issues and we were able to get a new engine because of that.
Considering that our on-duty staffing was 5-7 FFs at the time and that a heavy snowfall would lengthen the time that they'd be operating at a fire before our off-duty personnel and mutual aid could arrive, using our new engine rather than an older one at risk for breaking down made the most sense to me. However, my opinion and that of some others weren't welcome.
On a related note, the reserve that got put into front line service during a major snow storm that year had practically bald rear tires. While running the initial round of calls, the chains on it started to break. I expressed my concerns over running around the city in a vehicle with bald tires and broken chains. My concerns were immediately dismissed by the chief. 20 minutes later, I was stuck sideways on a hill with that engine for about 2 hours. The street I was stuck on was basically the only way in/out of this part of that neighborhood and 2 of the 3 ambulances in my city were blocked in (with a patient, fortunately non-serious) for a significant amount of time.
3 days later, with most of our secondary streets having a couple feet of virtually unplowed snow on them still, I was driving the new engine to a car fire. Even with new tires and new chains, it was still pretty tough to get around while having to dodge numerous cars left wherever they got stuck. Apparently I (unknowingly) clipped a mirror of one of those cars on the way to the fire. The only damage to the engine was a scuff or two on the scotchlite on the front/side of the officer side and 4 or 5 of the plastic chrome lug nut covers came of and were either lost or broken. He about had a caniption over it and was considering writting me up for it. Which was pretty funny considering how lax he was with any sort of disciplinary action in general and that others have had worse or more than one accident without being disciplined.
Gotta love it.
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