You are probably quite familiar
with the site of the big red Brentwood Fire and Rescue Fire Trucks, but if
you’ve ever wondered who is driving one of the fire department cars, pickup
trucks or SUVs, this station life entry should help answer your questions. With
only a few exceptions, all white BFR vehicles are assigned to a member of the
command staff. The vehicles that are the exception to the rule are former staff
vehicles that have been retired to daily usage by line personnel. Typically the
command staff members of the department work a traditional Monday through
Friday work week. They are subject to recall for emergencies, but they go home
at the end of the business day instead of working the two days on, four days
off schedule that the line personnel work.
Each of these vehicles is
equipped with emergency lights and sirens as well as custom front license
plates. The example above belongs to Car 5, an SUV assigned to the Training
Captain. All of these vehicles are also striped and badged to mark them as
official fire department vehicles.
Car 1, assigned to Brentwood Fire Chief Brian Goss. Chief Goss is the
head of the department and handles the administrative aspects of the department
in addition to responding to major incidents.
Car 2 (in the foreground), assigned to Assistant Chief David Windrow.Chief Windrow is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the fire department and filling in for Chief Goss if he is not available.
Car 3, assigned to the Shift Commander. There are 3 Captains assigned
as Shift Commanders, one for each shift of firefighters. These Captains are the
only members of the Command Staff who work 48 hours on, 96 hours off, the same
as the firefighters on the engines. The Shift Commander is responsible for all
on-duty personnel. Once he arrives on the scene of an incident he takes over as
the Incident Commander. The red color of the vehicle denotes that it is tasked
to shift working personnel.
Car 4, assigned to Captain Nancy Jones, BFR’s Fire Marshall. In
addition to overseeing the inspection and construction of all commercial
buildings in the city, Captain Jones’s other responsibilities include Brentwood
Fire and Rescue’s Public Education programs and investigation of all fires that
happen within city limits.
Car 5, assigned to Captain Russell Peterson of the Training Division, is the newest vehicle in the staff car fleet. Captain Peterson is responsible for the safety of the firefighters on the scene of a major incident. When not responding to emergencies, Captain Peterson is responsible for a wide variety of training related tasks as well as risk management for the department.
As you can see, not all
firefighters ride in the big red trucks. Any time you see a vehicle with red
flashing lights and a siren, remember to pull over to the right and let them
by!
