Snow Stand Bys

[firemn23 8]

WIth the impending snow storm, so they say, how dows your department decide on snow stand bys. MY department has the chief decide, usually if it is a night snow storm when he wakes up in the morning. Also they usually wait till there is about 6 inches on the ground before calling it, they have trucks where they have no problem driving in the snow. Also while we are on teh topic of snow who still uses chains and no on spots.

[afd65 4]

in delhi i have no gone on too many stand bys for snow b/c we haven't had any. but i can tell u our rescue and engines both have spot chains. idk about our tanker b/c i haven't looked. also our ambulances have spot chains and they work great for us.

[doug_e 0]

On-spots are only good in 6" or less. Above that amount you need to install chains. We usually begin our stand-bys at that time. Usually it takes a few hours to complete the task so we're covered during that time.

We've had some discussion about who calls stand-bys. I contend that as a senior line officer I have the authority to do so, at the company level. The Chief can call one at the departmental level.Some disagree. My belief is that I can call impromptu work details and other types of details, why is snow different. Also, as a line officer my primary responsibility is the safety of those assigned to me and if I can improve that margin of safety by having a detail then it's within my pervue as Captain.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

6" for spot chains? My personal experience is they are useless in anything over 3", if that. They are great if you get caught before you put your chains on, or in tandem with regular road chains. They are absolutely useless on ice for they don't really aid in slowing down or stopping.

In fact the last time I reviewed on-spots manual I believe they only recommend using them in 3 to 4" or less. They also can drain your air pressure quickly.

[doug_e 0]

ALSFF - Technically you're right.

Though, as a rule of thumb we install chains at 6" at which time on-spots become unusable. Up to that point we find (in my experience)that we can navigate with them considering that DPW plows have been making passes along main roads.

[cas2383 22]

On spots are great, like posted prior, if you get caught before you're able to put on real chains, or if it is just a small amount of snow. As for draining your air supply, they only use a small burst of air to raise or lower the unit to apply pressure to the inner wheel, it shouldnt deplete your supply greatly, if it does maybe theres a leak, get it checked!

[x635 4,066]

On-Spots are nice to have. So are chains.

The best way to get to a call in a snowstorm is to have a good, experienced driver in a well maintained 4x4 vehicle with proper tires. Everything else is just a luxury, lol.

As for standbys, absolutely essential. Anybody who doesnt do one in volly agencies at the appropriate time is risking both the lives of their members and those of the people they serve.

[DMA327 12]

On-Spots are great until you reach those high inches of snow on the roads when the snow is coming down too fast and the town stops plowing till it slows down. Thats when snow chains come in handy.

As for the stand-bys... It is usual for us to have an in-house stand-by when we're supposed to get a lot of snow or really bad weather (i.e. bad flooding, downpoors, ice storms, etc.)

As 635 said...Very essential bc then you don't have all the vollies trying to get to the firehouse without crashing all over. Why risk peoples' health when you don't need to. Luckily for me, I am in a company where everyone hangs out at the firehouse when there is bad weather even if a stand-bys isn't called.

So even if there is no stand-by, if you don't have anything to do, and you don't have 4-wheel drive, just hang out at the firehouse. No reason to get urself killed for a stupid run!

[SteveOFD 176]

The On-Spots on our rig just don't cut it when backing slightly uphill back in to quarters. Had to gently get to the bottom of the hill then back down hill into quarters.

[Guest x2371]

on spots do not work in reverse. The chief calls the department stand bye but usually the die hards are already at the fire house and the truck already have the chains on.

[Guest DFFD227]

That guy dispatching Somers for standby sounds like a pro! :-P :wink: 635

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Actually you can use on-spots in reverse if necessary, its in the manufacturers manual. Perhaps the models of onspots we used in virginia were older, but air pressure was needed to keep the mechanism pushing the flywheel against the tire. Where I work now, we rarely use them due to they generally suck and the hills we have. Unless its using all of them at once, onspots and tire chains which has occurred on occassion and I can foresee some of the guys doing tonight if god forbid they go out. Tonight is the type of night I use to keep my fingers crossed that I wouldn't have to.

[Guest]

my chief made the call in the middle of the day when he saw that it was going to be as bad as they called for he called for all manpower to respond to their firehouse for snow stand-by 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)