Houston Fire Department Apparatus

[ninjamedic2293]

 Thanks that does help. I'm from Chicago which is probably where Houston got the idea of 2-11 and up from. In Chicago we don't have a 1-11 however. When we call for more equipment above a "still alarm" (structure fire) we call it a Still and Box alarm instead of a 1-11 alarm like you do in Houston. If we need any additional equipment without calling for an full extra alarm we just request what we need. It is sometimes known as a special call. You shouldn't confuse a special call with a special alarm however. In Chicago if we need more extra alarms above a 5-11 we call those alarms special alarms. So what some fire departments call a 7th alarm or in some cases a 7-11 , in Chicago we would call it a 5-11 alarm and 2 specials.

 

Considering that the Houston Fire Department is 20 years older and only 6 stations shy of Chicago FD's size, it might be percieved as just a little arrogant to assume they "got the idea" from them don't you think?  Probably a common result from the technological limitations of the older dispatch systems.  Departments in the south dont just sit around with a box of tissue and a bottle of lotion watching Backdraft or the new CFD flavor of the week on TV trying to figure out how to fight fire . . .