04/27/2026
This is intended to provide general information to the public on why so many different apparatus respond to a fire.. It is not an attempt to gain accolades. Public education is part of our duties.
Informational post. Following the residence fire we had in town late March, several comments and questions arose and I thought others in the community may also appreciate the answers and knowledge sharing.
First, one assumption was made that since other fire departments were there that NWFD did not show up. This is false. Engine 11 was there as well as the Fire Chief, the Division Chief, and our Fire Marshal.
We were also questioned as to why we needed those other departments if we were there? Well, on a fire, there are many activities happening simultaneously. Not every situation is the same, but in a basic fire scenario you typically have a crew on fire attack with a second crew assisting, a crew on search and rescue, a crew providing ventilation to remove smoke, a crew ensuring water supply is established, someone monitoring safety, someone securing utilities, a crew on standby (RIT) in case of a firefighter emergency, at least 1 medic crew, and incident command. Then there are a couple of additional crews available so we can rotate as needed to give firefighters a break or time to change air bottles. The larger the fire, the more of these crews are needed to ensure the safety of our members and the incident is mitigated as quickly as possible.
This is a very simplified example, but hopefully sheds some light on the strategy in place.
If you have other questions or want to know more about our approach to emergency response, please send a message and let us know.
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