According to a report from AZFamily, after Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department (PFD) firefighters fought two massive fires over the weekend in high temperatures, concern for crew safety rises.
The PFD always faces danger in these circumstances; the heavy gear members wear combined with temperatures near the fires that can reach 115°F force members to look for ways to prevent trips to the hospital. One way they are doing this is by having IV fluids on scene.
On Saturday, a recycling fire escalated into a six-alarm inferno near 35th Avenue and Buckeye Road, resulting in the largest response in PFD history. PFD member David Ramirez said more than 200 firefighters were on scene, with some fighting multiple fires on Saturday.
On Sunday, PFD crews responded to a massive pallet fire at 29th Avenue and McDowell Road, which scorched one business and shot flames and smoke into the sky. Concerning these incidents and others like them, the department has been thinking ahead to prepare for what could come next.
Ramirez said each PFD apparatus will carry about 20 IVs full of a water and salt solution, with paramedics joining them to administer them to both firefighters and citizens on scene who are struggling with heat-related illness. Although their bottles allow members to work at a fire for 45 minutes, in heat this extreme, a PDF firefighter can only usually last 15 to 25 minutes without hydration.
Now that summer weather conditions have arrived, the department will immediately call any house or building a first alarm right away to get more personnel there to replace, rather than recycle.
The next few weeks could bring some more dangerously high temps; the monsoon season doesn’t officially start until later this month, so the Valley hasn’t experienced the monsoonal moisture to help when these flames erupt.
