Firefighting In The Bitter Cold Is Not An Easy Job

The National Weather Service says the thermometer got down to negative 31 degrees this past weekend in the Sheridan area, and if you thought it was bad enough just to go outside, try being a firefighter on a call.

Fire crews were called to a structure fire just before 6am this past Saturday, and the negative 31 degree temperature was recorded about 1 hour later.

On top of the cold, a nearby fire hydrant froze and was unusable, hence firefighters had to use water tanks.

Sheridan Fire Chief Gary Harnish says there’s not many opportunities to train in the extreme cold, but the gear that firefighters wear offers some protection, and crews are rotated in and out when one firefighter is unable to personally handle the cold temperatures anymore.

As for the water and the fire hoses in the cold, fire crews handle that situation like a homeowner is supposed to when trying to stop water pipes from freezing.

“We don’t let water stop flowing, so when we get to a point where the fire is substantially out, or we’re moving to a new location, we let those nozzles trickle enough water to keep water moving and then it doesn’t freeze.”

Although it ended up not being used, Harnish says one of the department’s large supply line hoses was damaged when crews tried to roll it back up.

The hose was intended to be used for the fire hydrant which ended up not working.