TEXAS RIGS

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[quote name='biotelbob' post='156006' date='Oct 14 2007, 21:14 ']Just to add to the answers you've received so far, here in Dallas the boosters were mainly sent on grass/brush fires with 2 men staffing it off the engine or truck at the station. They also made box alarms and were sometimes very helpful with their extra supply of water to put out a fire that often spared the second up engine from having to lay their 5 inch hose. A few of suburb cities- Plano, Grand Prairie to name a couple actually used their booster trucks on standard engine calls. The engine only ran on box alarms. the engine had a 1 man crew and the boosters had a 3-4 man crew, usually 3 back then in the small cities. All the cities have since gone to using engines for all their calls and the boosters are used mainly for brush/grass fires. In the summer up here it gets very hot/dry and there are a lot of fields, woods that burn readily. Plus passing trains throw sparks onto dry grass a lot and those are a big problem as well. Robert.[/quote]



First off... EXCELLENT photos Robert. I've really enjoyed what you've posted and hopefully we'll see alot more!



Secondly... to add to what Robert posted about the Boosters (or "A" Wagons as the old timers call them)... Dallas does not man boosters with constant staffing. When one (or more than one) is needed, they are special called and dispatched to the incident scene. All members of a booster's assigned station are trained in its use and one will drive and operate it to and at an emergency scene when it is needed. If everyone is already on a run when a booster is needed, typically the next closest available (meaning personnel are there to drive it) will be sent. One person drives the unit there and is aided by manpower of the fire companies already on location.



If a run is dispatched for a station housing a booster, the station officer has the discretion to add the booster to the assignment if he feels it may be needed. This typically occurs at outlying stations with grass fires or in areas where a booster has been needed in the past due to terrain or access. Typically, we use them for grass & brush fires as well as car fires in parking garages due to the restricted height. Our boosters are designed to have as minimal a height as possible. If you see a picture of our current boosters, you will notice that they do not have a lightbar. All warning devices are no higher than any part of the body.



Post away Robert!