Check Out Your Equipment — Before It Checks Out On You

By Raul A. Angulo

Daily apparatus and emergency equipment checks are kind of like pre-fires. You want to do them before the fire happens. Equipment constantly needs to be in a state of readiness in case of emergency. You want to be confident that whatever piece of equipment is taken off the rig, it will be ready for use without any surprises. Apparatus and equipment checks are everyone’s responsibility, but the primary responsibility falls upon the driver, engineer or chauffeur. In Seattle, we use the term “driver.”

Firefighters are human and sometimes drop the ball, except for a few “Type A” personalities who count every bean and check off every check-off box. The rest of us have to work at staying diligent and disciplined to complete all our assigned duties. But with life, things get missed and overlooked. Sometimes the reasons are legitimate, like constantly being interrupted with alarms (which is really our job); and other times we just become lazy. The biggest enemy of having a productive crew is the television. The TV is seductive and is always competing for our time. Whatever the reasons, if the company officer notices a slacking off on apparatus and equipment maintenance, he has to be assertive in correcting the complacency.

Firefighters come to work wanting to do the best job possible. The equipment that usually gets overlooked is the equipment that infrequently gets used. Other equipment only gets a visual check when it should get a physical check. Many items get overlooked at times. Yes, even on Engine Company 33. Though rare, we too have been guilty of missing these checks. The problem is that every one of these checks could directly impact firefighter safety and the outcome of an incident. The following is a list of items I believe get overlooked too often:

• Nozzles loose on the pre-connected attack lines.
• Gasket twisted inside the 2½-inch nozzle.
• Foam eductor reassembled backwards.
• Containers of foam missing from the minimum inventories.
• BP cuff missing from the first aid kit (usually left on a patient being transported).
• Oxygen bottle below 500 psi at shift change.
• No nasal canulas in the vent kit at shift change.
• 2½-gallon pressurized pump-can fire extinguisher under-pressurized, not recharged after the last use, or less than 2½ gallons.
• Apparatus fuel level below three-quarter tank at shift change.
• No recording cassettes or paper in automatic defibrillators.
• Discharge ports left open on manifolds, appliances or pump panel.
• Passport accountability system not updated.
• Portable radios or handy talkies not logged on computer or battery not changed.
• Chainsaw blade on backwards.
• Low SCBA bottles.

Many of them get neglected after that last alarm at 04:30. The company returns to quarters; they’re tired; and everyone goes back to bed for that last hour and a half of sleep. The officer doesn’t say anything because he assumes it will get done. The other firefighters think the junior firefighter will take care of it, and the junior firefighter thinks the driver will do it. And it doesn’t get done. The oncoming shift arrives, the bell hits before the morning checks are started and somebody gets caught short.

There are always areas that get neglected and overlooked, e.g. housework, cleaning windows, waxing floors; but there are no immediate life threatening consequences attached them. That’s more an issue of station pride. Emergency equipment is not one of those areas.

To pull an attack line at a fire, only to find the nozzle loosely attached by a couple of threads, is dangerous. To fight a flammable liquid fire using foam, only to run out of concentrate right before extinguishment, is embarrassing. To respond to a CPR call and run out of oxygen or other respiratory equipment that should be there in full compliment is inexcusable. We are professionals; and because we are, we can be held liable if a lack of equipment maintenance directly contributes to a firefighter or civilian injury or death.

It’s not good enough for drivers to simply look if the equipment is there. The vibration of the rig shakes things loose, and equipment shifts and bangs around in the compartments. If equipment has fluid levels, swivels or movable parts and mechanisms, they need to be physically inspected for proper setting and assembly. Drivers are being paid premiums to maintain the apparatus and equipment for immediate emergency service. The importance of equipment checks cannot be overemphasized. No firefighter likes to be caught off guard using equipment that should have been checked. There is an expectation that the equipment will function as designed, and firefighter lives as well as civilian lives depend on it.

These are my experiences with equipment checks. There may be other checks unique to your own fire department, but I suspect these problems are common throughout the country.

Before you start screaming, yelling and doling out discipline, make sure you have clearly established your expectations regarding equipment checks. You have to have laid out the start times and frequency and who is responsible for what before you start holding people accountable. If you have not established your expectations, any discipline measures may end up backfiring and reflecting on your poor management style instead of the member’s actions. Lay down the ground rules first. Firefighters like to know the rules of the game. Remember to focus on the behavior and not the individual.

Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint when this inattention starts. As long as nothing is said, the situation slowly digresses until something serious happens. Then the blame game starts. If the thoroughness of apparatus and equipment maintenance isn’t important to the captain, it won’t be important to the lieutenant, the driver and the firefighter. Then what used to be important five years ago in the “old days” is no longer important.

The captain and company officers will ultimately be responsible for the readiness of their company. Who needs the guilt of a firefighter injury or fatality that resulted from neglected equipment checks on your shift? Be serious about checking out your equipment before your equipment checks out on you.

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