I’m usually not big on response videos but sometimes the journey is the story. This dash-cam video Chief Glenn Usdin of Command Fire Apparatus sent my way is an example.
It’s from Virginia’s Eagle Rock Volunteer Fire Dept. (Botetourt County). The video was taken during a 14-minute response down an ever-narrowing set of roads and dirt paths that appears to include the fording of two creeks (or maybe just some large puddles). Must be interesting in February.
Here’s the description with the video from the November 25 fire:
Company 5 toned out as first due engine company to a single story wood frame residential structure with fire originating in the wood stove flu . Upon Lt. 5’s arrival, access will be rough and the structure is fully involved. Attack, truck, as well as tanker responded all together for one of our best response times.
Also interesting was this response by the department to a question in the comments about siren use:
Anyway, one of our older firefighters was in the seat this run and our chief was driving. Being a fast growing and once only rural department, our eldest members aren’t very big on the sirens when we hit the back roads or at all for that matter. You can always tell who is in the seat. All of the younger ones including myself never let the Q wind down and the older ones almost never wind it up. It all depends on where we are going and who happened to fill the seat on that run. We have a very unorthodox way of doing things here but it all gets done none the less.
