All first responders  know that when they get the call a quick response time is critical. It contributes to saving lives, containing fires, and ensuring the safety of the community. Fire fighters use various resources at their disposal to accomplish what is needed while ensuring their safety and the safety of those around them.  

Working as a firefighter places great demands on you as a person, your professional skills and your education. The development of equipment and vehicles also accelerating and today's fire trucks are
advanced and complex. It is important that the driver and the firefighter team know their firetruck and its equipment. Poor equipment can have consequences for the emergency response time.

The moment an emergency call is dispatched it is a race against time. For the crew and ambulance every second counts. Therefore, it is essential that they are equipped with everything needed to handle a large variety of circumstances in a timely manner.

Are you new to driving rescue vehicles or a seasoned driver? No matter your level of experience, sometimes it’s as easy as figuring out when and how to use the equipment that exists on the vehicle today.

Automatic tire chains continue to be a top choice of rescue drivers. The challenges faced in this profession are unique and those challenges play to the strengths of an automatic traction solution.

First responders are trained professionals who are the first to arrive and provide assistance in rescue or emergency situations no matter the weather conditions.

Typically, our first thought of a rescue operation is the fire. At a major fire event, an ordinary person can do nothing but sound the alarm and possibly warn others, then wait for the arrival of fire trucks with skilled firefighters using the right equipment to put out the fire. Here, the public is entirely dependent on the rescue team and their operation. However, there are situations when the actions of the public are crucial for saving lives when the professional rescuers are not first on scene. Here is why seconds may count.

It’s the time of year that we all begin to think about silent nights, sleigh bells ringing, and the joy of spending time with loved ones by the fire. It’s the time of year when the everyday heroes go to work so that we can enjoy the comfort and kinship of the holidays.

In your profession, driving a vehicle is not just a mode of transportation, it’s one of the tools that allows you to save lives. As such, your vehicle must be equipped with the best equipment to get the job done.

The most widely used response time standard in the United States is the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 1710 which requires “the arrival of an ALS (Advanced Life Support) company within an eight-minute response time to 90% of incidents.” This standard resulted from a 1970s cardiac arrest survival study by two Seattle physicians.