What’s In A Truck? Rescue 5-13

Ever wonder what’s in a fire truck?

The Haddam Volunteer Fire Company maintains 11 emergency motor vehicles, two boats, a Gator All-Terrain Vehicle and four trailers. The fleet has everything from a brush truck to a marine rescue boat to a 2,000-gallon water tanker.  

Today we’re looking at our Rescue 5-13.

A rescue truck is basically a “toolbox on wheels.” It’s the go-to response vehicle for motor vehicle accidents – fender benders, rollovers and multi-car crashes in which occupants must be extricated. If there’s an accident, chances are 5-13 will be there, often as a “blocking” vehicle to protect firefighters working in high-traffic areas. It’s also a key apparatus for major medical calls, Hazardous Materials spills and Carbon Monoxide concerns, among other things.

A well-designed fire truck is all about maximizing storage space, and I can’t think of an apparatus that hides its hand better than 5-13. There’s a lot going on inside those compartments.

“In an emergency, you want to be prepared for everything,” said Haddam Fire Chief Gary Klare. “We’re very lucky to have a rescue truck that’s outfitted as well as Rescue 5-13.”

Let’s take a peek at what’s inside.

The Cab
The driver and passenger, usually an officer, sit in the front of the cab. Firefighters sit in the rear of the cab, in fold-up seats known as “jumpseats.” Self Contained Breathing Apparatus are mounted inside the seatbacks, allowing firefighters to get fully geared up en route to a call. Once the shoulder and waist straps are secured, all a firefighter has to do is pull a bracket release to free it from the mount and disembark.

A large cabinet between each pair of seats contains an accountability board used to track interior firefighters, an automated external defibrillator (AED), a triage pack for large-scale medical emergencies and a variety of reference materials and smaller equipment. The rear cab also carries box lights, a bank of radios and an air-quality meter.

Side Compartments
Four side compartments open to both sides of the truck, with retractable shelves and slide-out panels for easy access.

The front driver’s side compartment holds electric cord reels, small portable lights, a generator and positive pressure fans. The second spacious compartment contains stokes baskets, backboards, mats/salvage covers, a bucket of chimney chains, dry chemical “chimney bombs,” Speedy Dry absorbent, road flares, scene tape, traffic cones and power tools – a rotary saw, roof-venting saw and chainsaw. The third compartment contains a variety of medical bags, a “Little Giant” A-frame ladder and three fire extinguishers. Inside the fourth compartment are hand tools such as Sawzall reciprocating saws, Glas Masters (used to cut out windshields), axes, Halligan bars, closet hooks, pike poles, bolt cutters, shovels and brooms, mounted to each side of two slide-out panels. An additional shelf holds various tool bags and a portable hydraulic generator.  

Passenger side compartments largely feature vehicle-stabilizing equipment like Res-Q-Jack struts, auto cribbing and heavy plastic cribbing. Cribbing is used to create temporary structures that secure an overturned or unbalanced vehicle during extrication. Cribbing consists of step chocks, wedges and rectangular blocks that can be stacked to form box-like supports.

Taking it out is the easy part. Getting all the pieces to fit back together is a real world game of Tetris.

For extra lift, Rescue 5-13 also carries an air-bag system consisting of an air supply (SCBA cylinder), regulator, pneumatic hoses, controller, remote shutoff valves and air bags of different sizes. A RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) bag and four spare SCBAs round out the third compartment.

The rear passenger side compartment contains extra SCBA cylinders and a cylinder refilling system used at prolonged events in which air bottles are constantly switched out.  

Rear Compartment
Next to the rear compartment are two portable tripod lights, but the most important tools in the back are hydraulic. The Hurst®-brand spreader, cutter and various ram-bars help free people pinned inside a car after a serious accident. Whether we need to pop a door, remove a roof or push a steering wheel off of someone trapped, these heavy, powerful tools do the job. The rear compartment also contains manual rescue tools, come-alongs and assorted chains.  

Top Compartments
There’s a lot of storage space up top too, and not an inch goes to waste. Here is just a sampling of what’s up there: large step chocks, Haz-Mat materials like Level B suits, decontamination nozzles and pools, rescue ropes, water rescue suits, helmets and lifejackets, and extra medical gear like splints.

The top of the truck also features a telescopic pole light that is remotely controlled from the ground to quickly light a scene.  

That doesn’t cover everything in Rescue 5-13, but those are the major tools in this toolbox. To think I was so proud about my car having an outlet.  

Next time we’ll take a look inside Engine 1-13. That big boy carries water, drafting equipment and specialty tools like a Thermal Imaging Camera.


Do You Have What It Takes? Find more information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved at our website www.HaddamFire.com, or connect with us on Facebook.