Engine companies in Lakeside have been putting in a lot of time lately training their firefighters to take the upcoming engineer promotional exam. The engineer position on the fire department (sometimes referred to as apparatus operator) is the firefighter responsible for driving and operating all of the assigned fire apparatus including pumpers, aerials, and rescues. In order to qualify to take the exam, a firefighter must have several years on the job.
In addition to operating the apparatus, engineers are tasked with preventative maintenance and other duties to ensure the constant readiness of all district rolling stock.
One of the most important aspects of this training is to practice pumping hoselines and utilizing both pressurized (hydrants) and static (tanks) water supplies. Engineers are required to calculate pump pressures using complex formulas that involve consistent, real world scenarios. To that end, our engine companies may be seen flowing hoselines during drills.
With the ongoing drought conditions in California, our fire crews are very sensitive of the need to minimize our water use during these drills. Please be assured that we are taking every precaution to use the least amount of water possible while providing realistic training for our engineer candidates.
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| FF-PM Steve Russo (l) at E-1's pump panel while Engineer Robert Williams assists. |
Post by: Captain Scott Culkin, Lakeside Fire District
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