@austinnelms65 Me too man. I was a volunteer FF for about 8 years. Left due to the politic bs. Miss it a lot. But as my one buddy says who is still in the fire service says “once a ff, always a ff.”

Austin- what happends if your in your shift and yall get a call and your in the bathroom or if your belly hurts when yall get a call.

I agree. Given the risks they take, the time away from family, the city/county should contribute or reimburse them for their meal while on the job.

We do a lot of training. District wide organized training - usually at our training center- and, company officers often hold trainings of their own at the fire station. Station 8 is our dive team station, so they have even more training that's required each year for the firefighters to be certified as Public Safety Divers. After firefighters graduate from Academy, they are required to complete task books on each of the apparatus- engine, tower, medic (ambulance). So, if a newer firefighter is working at a station, each crew member might work with the newer firefighter to help get items checked off, and make sure that they're mastering the skills. This is a profession where there's always something new to learn and practice.

@@WestMetroFire thank you for your service sir appreciate it

@@WestMetroFire thank you for your service sir appreciate it

Yes- the alarm went off at the hospital while the medic was there.

The crews wear the pants for EMS calls and wildland/urban interface fires.

Hi Jerry: not a permanent assignment. Jake was doing his tower task book at Station 8. All new firefighters have task books for each apparatus and will be assigned a station to complete that task book.

send an email with your contact info to: pio@westmetrofire.org

Cost and maintenance are factors in whatever apparatus we purchase. The ambulances (medics) we run deliver a smoother ride for both firefighters and patients- with better suspension. We do have some four-wheel drive medics in use at our WUI (wildland/urban interface) stations, where crews may have more challenging terrain to navigate.

@@WestMetroFire Makes total sense. Im currently assigned to an F550 4x4 chassis medic unit, however came from the econoline chassis. Thanks for the info! Stay safe!

We're in the Denver, CO metro area. Our headquarters are in Lakewood.

Tac (tactical) 2 is one of the radio channels used for active calls. Tac 3 is the radio channel we use for structure fires. Basically, using those channels frees up the main dispatch channel and directs radio traffic on that particular call to its own channel. It makes it easier for dispatch and crews to monitor and respond to the radio traffic linked to that particular incident.

An engine is dispatched with an ambulance because the engine crew is often closer to the call and they can initiate care sooner before the ambulance arrives. There is at least one paramedic on board every West Metro apparatus. Also- the extra hands on scene improves efficiency in care, and ensures adequate resources when the patient's condition is more critical than initially dispatched.

It's actually a real person. The crews call the voice "Lola"- short for locution system.