Ladder Truck Companies

[ggtruckie]

I've run with a couple Truck companies and I prefer to run on the truck than ride on anything else. I was wondering how many other people are with me, and if your truck is set up for any other task than basic truck work, you know, ground ladders, ladder pipe, and forcible entry. We just added a set of extrication equipment on our not much but some for minor wrecks. Just looking for ideas and thoughts.

[ 09-01-2001: Message edited by: ggtruckie ]

[rcbadabing182]

gg,
i'm in an engine company and love it..i like riding on the truck when it goes on mutual aids..but remember have you ever seen a pike pole put out a fire..

[Fire Eater 07]

I always wanted to be a truckie..but damn, ill leave the ventilation to the big boys and ill stay with the nozzle
anywho, in my city it doesnt matter, very rarely will the Tk. get used the way its suppose to be used...ooops...did i say that??
stay safe

[trumpeter75]

I LOVE working off our truck. Engine work has its place, of course, and I enjoy it, too. But there's really nothing like truck work.

Our rig is primarily set up for basic truck work (ventilation, ground ladders, pikes, etc) but we also operate as elevated master stream off the platform. Also, we've got some members pushing for use in rope rescue. We've started putting some basic equipment on board, but we're a long way from finished.

I've never seen a pike put out a fire, but I have seen a truckie with an extinguisher do it!

[firemedic1122]

Truck work, is exactly that, WORK! While I have equal amounts of love for both engine and truck work, engines pretty much are moths to a flame. Find the fire, put it out. Truckees pull walls and ceilings, do searches, force entry. That's not including all the other work truck companies are doing that are not fire related. For example, confined space, vehicle extrication, and rope rescue are just a few things a truckee at my dept. must be qualified in. To be a truck comp. ff you must be a "jack of all trades." But it's still fun just breakin' stuff!!!

[ffguy083]

Check all the books... Truck Cos are for the real Firefighters... put the rookies on the Engines... anyone can squirt water... Let the Truckies open up the building, save the lives, then take the nozzles away to get the fire put out....

hahahahahahahaha

But seriously.... Truck work is so much more challenging than Eng work... to me anyway... anyone can use a nozzle, but it takes skill to open the roof in the right spot, see the changing fire conditions and reacting...

[CLWFWFD]

I couldn't agree with you more ffguy083. Unfortunately our's is a quint, but we use it as a truck.

[tom420]

my town has one truck and 4 engine/hose co's, god forbid we dont show up first due, engine guys forget they have hose on their rig and go running inside with poles or irons, then come running back outside if its a job as we're going in cause they need the hose...one day we're gonna start pullin line off their rig.....truck work is real work, i thought it was just breaking stuff.. bad misconception.

[firemangeorge]

Truck. Hands down. I left a busy engine to go study for Lt on a truck company. After 2 months, I put promoting out of my mind. There's nothing like passing the nozzle nuts on the stairs while they're waiting for water (And rolling over when they cross the threshold for another late night EMS run is nice too).
Putting it out is gratifying, but search, vent, salvage, and overhaul makes it feel like you really did some work. Cutting the hole in the roof really puts a little giddyup in your step too! And knowing you might make a grab one day really makes it worth it.

"The bigger the hole, the better the view!"

[kfd232]

Let me first say it must be nice to have the choice in your city.
We have 2 stations in our town and on a first alarm residential fire we get 2 engines. That translates to 6 firefighters to handle the call. Not only do we have to do the initial truck work of ventilating, we have to do the engine work of putting out the fire. If you want to know who really works hard... it's us folks in little towns that have to do it all and don't get back up. oh yeah, we do the overhaul, and pick up all on our own too.

Our local 3293 just had a great victory on maintaining our personnel.. (city wanted to do cuts) We hope to be running 4 man companies within a short time.

Be safe all and keep up the hard work.

[truckie_ladderco_147]

Truckies are highly paid vandals. I love the work plus busting windows and all.Our "truck"is a quint but we call it our truck company(usually after a fire and we say sorry we are a truck company we dont roll hose )Our Rescue carries all the heavy toys that we all love to play with.
Usually there are a few of us on scene to break open a building but if you are missing these people the officer usually has to remind the other guys to do the ventilation and forcible entry.Face it not everyone wants to carry all those tools up use them then bring them back to the rig and then clean them back at the house.But I wouldnt trade it for the world!

[towermanat7]

dear gg the truckie guy,
i to have ridden on a ladder tower and prefer it over the engine as well. i think u need to go to rescue engines unstead of carrying extrication equip on the ladder, lol, and also whoever said that u cant put out fire with a hook and need and engine to do it should not ride on the ladder and stick with their umbillacle cord (hose line). have a nice day and stay safe.

[dmleblanc]

So what's up with this thread? It's not enough that we have to have these constant volly vs. paid arguments, now we have to break it down to truck co. vs. engine co.! I guess if I'm not a paid truckie then I might as well hang it up...I thought that we all had the same job...make the fire go out! And I have to get on board with Scott Reasor....You city guys don't know how good you've got it....in my department we have to do ALL the work, both "engine" and "truck", usually with very limited personnel. Hell, it's all firefightin' to me. We have to be good at everything, we can't afford to specialize. Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for you city guys, I'd love to ride with you sometime...but let's lay off this divisiveness. All it ever does is **** everyone off. We're all here to do the same job, aren't we? WTC did not care who were the "engine" guys and who were the "truck" guys....they were all firefighters, and that's all that matters....

[ggtruckie]

Dwayne,

There is no divisiveness here, no fighting, just looking for other peoples expiriance on ladder companies, to better our own. That is all.

[dmleblanc]

ggtruckie,
I can absolutely see from your original post that you were just looking for input...but somewhere down the line it sort of degenerated into little bit of a "my job is more important than yours" bashing session. Just my opinion.