Colored Lights On Side Of Engine?

[joshlost818 6]

I was always wondering what the lights on the side of certain firetrucks near the drivers door. There are 4 lights that look like marker lights and they are usually green, blue, yellow, and red. A great picture is on the side of Engine 19-2-1 from Mahopac Falls. There is a great picture on the website!

http://www.emtbravophotos.com/SpecFeat/MahopacFallsFD.html

[DOC22 1]

They are water tank level indicators.

[irishfire2491 24]

from what i was told in class Intro to Fire Officer is that the Lights are there to tell you the amount of water in the tank. Upstate where and it sometimes seems down here with lack of man power the pump operater can put the truck in pump and then take off and go in side the building to help put the fire out. The Lights would indcate how much water is left so they can look out of the window and see when they have to Retreat from the building. I guess it is a good idea if you ever got stuck in a jam and only a few people show up.

[antiquefirelt 994]

I was always wondering what the lights on the side of certain firetrucks near the drivers door. There are 4 lights that look like marker lights and they are usually green, blue, yellow, and red. A great picture is on the side of Engine 19-2-1 from Mahopac Falls. There is a great picture on the website!

http://www.emtbravophotos.com/SpecFeat/MahopacFallsFD.html

The lights are tank level indicators. many engines and tankers now put these lights on the sides so personnel can see from a distance the water tank level.

[Bnechis 3,961]

from what i was told in class Intro to Fire Officer is that the Lights are there to tell you the amount of water in the tank. Upstate where and it sometimes seems down here with lack of man power the pump operater can put the truck in pump and then take off and go in side the building to help put the fire out. The Lights would indcate how much water is left so they can look out of the window and see when they have to Retreat from the building. I guess it is a good idea if you ever got stuck in a jam and only a few people show up.

Its a good idea for everyone on scene to know the status of the water. Sometimes when no radios are available also a quick glance saves asking.

If the MPO needs to go in and help, then maybe that dept should not be doing interior attack. This is a good way to get the whole crew killed.

If you do not have enough members to meet 2 in / 2 out it is time to rethink what good you are doing.

[TRUCK6018 50]

........ with lack of man power the pump operater can put the truck in pump and then take off and go in side the building to help put the fire out. The Lights would indcate how much water is left so they can look out of the window and see when they have to Retreat from the building. I guess it is a good idea if you ever got stuck in a jam and only a few people show up.

Please tell me you're kidding! The only time the pump operator should be away from the engine is if the engine is parked down the street not being utilized. What would happen if one of the hundred things that can go wrong, does and the MPO isn't at the panel to address the problem? Additionally, with a structure fire, it's gonna take a lot more than to just "look out the window" to see the lights.

The best idea if you're stuck in a jam with limited man power is wait for the calvary to show up. If you don't, your are going to loose a lot more than a house.

[irishfire2491 24]

Please tell me you're kidding! The only time the pump operator should be away from the engine is if the engine is parked down the street not being utilized. What would happen if one of the hundred things that can go wrong, does and the MPO isn't at the panel to address the problem? Additionally, with a structure fire, it's gonna take a lot more than to just "look out the window" to see the lights.

The best idea if you're stuck in a jam with limited man power is wait for the calvary to show up. If you don't, your are going to loose a lot more than a house.

I never said i agreed with the idea i think the driver should always stay at the truck. This what i was told about the lights.

[ja3kfd 34]

Well in an ideal world yes the MPO should be by Engine, but that does not and can not always be the case.

Yes that is what multi color lights are for to be able to see what water level is on a pumper or tanker ideally they would be on all four sides of truck, but usually on back left and right side.

There are quite a few paid and volly depts that we all know of that have to drive and than run the line, hopefully some day all that can change.

[brian19fd 22]

In the Falls- our MPO stays with the engine and never leaves it while it is in pump... The lights are more for the IC of the scene so he can see what he has for water, and can plan an attack from there, whether he needs to call for more water or he is staisfied with what he has on the scene already...

[jcoppola 52]

Its a good idea for everyone on scene to know the status of the water. Sometimes when no radios are available also a quick glance saves asking.

If the MPO needs to go in and help, then maybe that dept should not be doing interior attack. This is a good way to get the whole crew killed.

If you do not have enough members to meet 2 in / 2 out it is time to rethink what good you are doing.

Funny thing comes to mind...many years ago, departments would buy rigs with larger booster hose diameters i.e. . One of the lines of thinking I heard come out of the mouths of old-timers is that the sole-arriving MPO could put the rig in pump, charge the booster, and go in and start knocking down the fire by himself. The intent to do good was there, but the chance of killing the MPO outweighs the benefit.

JVC

[Oswegowind 17]

In the Falls- our MPO stays with the engine and never leaves it while it is in pump... The lights are more for the IC of the scene so he can see what he has for water, and can plan an attack from there, whether he needs to call for more water or he is staisfied with what he has on the scene already...

Second this post!

The lights are so everyone on the scene, more importantly, the Incident Commander can glance quickly and be on top of the whole incident. God forbid an MPO gets caught up in pumping and loses track of his supply and it leads to someone else's demise! This is a check, in the world we live in, of checks and balances! I don't think I ever say anywhere that it was so the MPO could leave his post altogether! That is fiction in my book!

[VAEMC 10]

from what i was told in class Intro to Fire Officer is that the Lights are there to tell you the amount of water in the tank. Upstate where and it sometimes seems down here with lack of man power the pump operater can put the truck in pump and then take off and go in side the building to help put the fire out. The Lights would indcate how much water is left so they can look out of the window and see when they have to Retreat from the building. I guess it is a good idea if you ever got stuck in a jam and only a few people show up.

"I guess it is a good idea if you ever got stuck in a jam and only a few people show up." NEVER A GOOD IDEA!!

[TRUCK6018 50]

I never said i agreed with the idea i think the driver should always stay at the truck.

Roger that, my mistake.