Keeping it Safe: ‘We Don’t Have the Compartment Space’

A second set of gear, preliminary exposure reduction (PER) equipment and supplies, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) out of the cab, a hose cleaner, rescue personal protective equipment (PPE), wildland PPE, plus all the other equipment we have (and want)—and we have no place to store it all in our apparatus.

That is a common lament among firefighters today, as protecting our health while mitigating incidents is changing fairly rapidly.

If we, and hopefully we do, embrace the healthier firefighter as it relates to fireground contamination and incident heat stress by wearing clean and task-specific PPE, we have significant logistics challenges. A bit of explanation: We should stop wearing structural firefighting PPE to all incidents that do not require structural protection. This includes helmets. I recently watched a very well researched presentation by Lieutenant Brady Robinette of the Lubbock (TX) Fire Department at the F.I.E.R.O. PPE Symposium. He showed the shortcomings of wearing structural helmets at roadway incidents. His research has indicated that a new helmet should be designed and certified for working roadway incidents—unless there is fire involved and the SCBA is being used. For now, a rescue-style helmet provides much better protection. His research is prompted by a death and a severe injury involving his department while working on the highway.

The logistics challenge is simple to identify: lack of storage space on the apparatus. However, we should not ignore our health by excusing the lack of storage capability. We are creative enough to meet the challenge.

There are several things to consider, including the following:

1. Assess the need for the existing equipment on the apparatus. Is it all still needed? Is it there to simply meet an Insurance Services Office (ISO) requirement (think the hose jacket)? Perhaps it is time to remove those pieces of equipment. I am often perplexed when I see an apparatus (often in a large metro area) that does not even have high-side compartments on both sides of the rig.
2. Reorganize the existing compartments to maximize the use of cubic footage available. The European fire service has long been very adept at doing this, and the United States fire service has made tremendous strides in recent years. It is so important to use as many of the cubic inches above the square footage inches as possible. In particular, compartments can have slide-out trays. If the trays are mounted high, a tilt-down feature is advantageous. Slide-out vertical boards are an excellent way to access and store tools, which can be mounted on such boards.
3. Select tools and equipment that are designed to be compact in nature when possible. Manufacturers of larger items such as positive-pressure fans are addressing this issue, and more needs to be done.
4. This one is a more bold approach: Consider a “warehouse-on-wheels” approach. This can be a large cargo trailer or a transport delivery-type truck (think a UPS truck or a beverage delivery-type vehicle). These trailers or trucks can be loaded with reserve and clean PPE and equipment, be capable of transporting (and isolating) contaminated PPE and equipment, and carry PER cleaning supplies and equipment. For smaller volunteer and combination departments, this approach could be regional so there is a shared cost. For larger metro departments, this could be an approach for each battalion.
5. This is another bold approach: Maybe it is time to reconsider the two-piece engine company. This was the model used in a few cities earlier last century. Perhaps the best known was in the District of Columbia Fire Department and the departments in its surrounding area. They were referred to as the pumper and the wagon. Typically, the wagon was on the attack end and the pumper was at the hydrant. I recall seeing a two-piece engine company on a response one day when I was in D.C. One of the rigs was an old commercial cab apparatus that looked like it had been through a few wars, and I’m pretty sure it did not have a muffler. I don’t know if the siren was working or not. It didn’t need one, as you could hear it blocks away. It was having no problem keeping up with the custom engine in front as they were responding. I was impressed by the sight and sound.

Another approach to this concept is the “ladder tender” model used in the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department. As I understand it, the ladder companies are assigned two vehicles. One is the aerial device and the other is a smaller, four-door commercial cab with a rescue-style body. It is up to the captain to determine which vehicle to take on a call or both.

This overall approach is to have a second vehicle respond with the engine or ladder that is loaded with the needed equipment that would not be on the engine or ladder. This “support vehicle” would not need a pump, tank, or water. It would be inexpensive compared to the engine and ladder, and it might also serve as the blocking vehicle on roadway incidents.

ROBERT TUTTEROW retired as safety coordinator for the Charlotte (NC) Fire Department and is a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. His 40-year career includes 10 as a volunteer. He has been very active in the National Fire Protection Association through service on the Fire Service Section Executive Board and technical committees involved with safety, apparatus, and personal protective equipment. He is a founding member and president of the Fire Industry Education Resource Organization (F.I.E.R.O.).