Drive Through Bays

[Captain 12]

Drive through Bays, are the worst thing the fire sevice ever did.

The driver's forget how to back up. Some times we need to back up at a fire sceen IE Hazmat call you want your equipment facing outward. Bad address, move out of the way for a ladder company,,, and I know we all have a firefighter at the rear of the truck when we are backing(NOT) working fire call...

If every time you returned from a station you had to back in, You get better, that's why we drill over and over,

A Fire truck, is NOT an SUV or pickup, car whatever you drive every day...

PRACTICE YOUR DRIVING SKILLS EVERY TIME YOU RETURN TO THE STATION....

CAPTAIN 12

be safe

[FHandz17]

You are correct sir.

Not only that, the spare bays get used for boats, trucks, haz mat stuff, which eventually gets stored behind the trucks, eliminating the drive through and creating a storage problem you wouldn't have if the back wall was masonry, not glass.

[daysleeper47]

Youngstown has several stations with drive-through bays, but all of the guys back the truck in. They know that the drive-in bays were not built for them to use...they were built for the horses. Ever try to push a team of horses and a steamer backwards? Didn't think so!

[Waterboy620]

You never forget how to back up a truck. Drive through bays rule. It eliminates the need for the guy in the back having to get out and watch the veteran driver who could back into the bay drunk, blind, and having a seizure without hitting the damn wall. Of course, our 4 million dollar station with drive through bays is so full of crap reserve trucks we never get to use it.

[BillyMott]

I would rather take my forgetfull drivers out to a local large parking lot and let them pratice backing up there, instead of backing in off of the 4 lane street in the front of my station. The secrect to keeping drive-thru bays open is to build them so they are to short to fill with other pieces of apparatus.

[Waterboy620]

Amen Billy Mott! But no matter how short the bay is, there is always room to store a 5 gallon bucket of foam...which is what would be waiting for me as I pulled up on the approach.

[Dalmatian90]

Back, Back...

Works for Oxen anyways, not sure about those dumb horses

[larrycook]

Any good truck driver worth his salt ought to be able to back up just by using his mirrors with or without smeone guiding him. Ask RJE about this. I know that some people cannot backup trailers too good. So maybe for tillers you need drive thrus. I drove an 18 wheeler down a one street one time hoping that i would not get caught. got caught and had to back down a city block. did not do that again. Larry

[SFD13]

We run out of two halls, our newest is a drive thru the other you have to back in. Before you can drive any of the apparatus you have to pass driver training, which includes backing up. Are old hall you had 2 inches on either side so us old timers know how to backup. Drive thru halls aren't the problem, its the lack of driver training.

[570eck]

I must agree drive thru bays are not the culprit. If you can't back it don't take it. A decent driver should be able to back with just mirrors.

[LACAPT]

Drive thru bays are the primo!! If you can't back em up you should't be drivin em up. If you don't have to back up a rig into the station thats great because it eliminates potential hazard situations. Personaly I always liked driving forward anyway

[RJE]

We had drive thrus at one station, back in at the other two. It shouldn't matter.

You don't drive until you can drive, including backing up using just the mirrors. SOP says you ALWAYS have a spotter, but that the driver is still responsible.

BTW, my shop has all drive thru bays. Do we need 'em? Not hardly, but when you compare 5 minutes (possibly) to back in a trailer that needs new brakes, versus 30 seconds to pull it through!!!... time is money you know.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Drive-through bays are convenient. Three of our four bays at HQ are drive through...the other is where the District's Tactical Ops unit is kept, and the two command vehicles at HQ have to back into quarters.

Brainstorm in progress!!!

Maybe if we made sure that the people driving the fire trucks can actually drive them there would not and should not be a problem. Spotters should be used as a precaution. Rear vision camera systems would also be a plus.

[Dalmatian90]

Probably also depends on your district. I bet most of our drivers have more experience backing apparatus up in places *other* than the fire station.

Most of our houses are set off the road, so the 1st due Engine-Tank and Ladder usually go up the driveway -- that's at least 50' to back out of. Have seen it be 600' with a bend in the middle for a long driveway.

Going around the block might be a mile-and-a-half detour. So quite often apparatus back into a driveway to turn around.

On ambulance calls down long driveways, 1st arriving officer (and maybe 1st responder) only should go up the driveway POV. They'll see if they're is a turn around, and if not tell the rig to back in -- which may be several hundred feet. If they don't get word to them soon enough, we'll back out several hundred feet.

Interesting topic though!

[ 08-27-2001: Message edited by: Dalmatian90 ]