Rescue Assignment - Standard
auto accidents, with no fire or special circumstances, get the following
response:
1 Engine & 1 Rescue
Street Assignment - Automatic
fire alarms (AFAs), gas leaks, odor investigations, etc. get a standard
Street Assignment. This consists of:
2 Engines & 1 Ladder
Box
Alarm - Any time we have a confirmed fire, or the dispatcher believes
there is a potential for a confirmed fire or people being trapped
in a structure, our response is automatically upgraded to a Box Alarm which
is:
4 Engines, 2 Ladders & 1 Medic
2nd Alarm
- As requested by the Incident Commander, consists of:
4 Engines, 2
Rescues, 1 SRU/Command Vehicle, & 1 Medic
Additional Alarms
- As requested by the Incident Commander is:
4 Engines, 2 Ladders/Rescues,
1 Medic
*Note: There are only 2 Ladder companies in the
2 County area.
We are often asked why we call Mutual Aid so often.
There is a very simple answer for that. SAFETY!!! Anyone
who has ever worked a fire, even a room and contents fire, knows how
physically demanding our job is. Our Box Alarm Response generally
yields 20-25 firefighters on the scene within 10 minutes. Our
deparment may only turn out 10-15 firefighters on the 1st alarm and
this is not nearly enough for a working fire.
Other departments
in our county, and the surrounding area, work structure fires
with less than 15 personnel. This is not safe for the firefighters
operating on the scene.
We ensure the safety of our firefighters
by calling for help early & often. We normally have the
fire knocked within 10 minutes, often before our Mutual Aid companies
even arrive. But they are there in the event of an emergency
or to help us with salvage & overhaul.
