Reply to Are NoVA and other DC areas prepared to handle forest fires near populated areas?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well arlington isn't.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/arlington-county-fire-companies-brown-out-staffing-shortages/65-6eb6d89b-fbe7-4cff-b27b-23c04a32c934[/quote]

Big problem in Maryland including Montgomery County now due to water main breaks-  restricted water use since fire departments need normal supply to hydrants https://wtop.com/local/2025/01/wssc-water-urges-residents-in-prince-georges-montgomery-counties-to-conserve-water/

ARL article was 10/21/24.  County was short 35 firefighters and had to temporarily shut down the Ballston station on a Sunday morning.   . Arlington and Fairfax Counties have full time fire and EMT.  Loudoun  does have some volunteers who perform the actice fire and EMT [?] work.  The February 2024 propane tank explosion sadly took the life of a fireman who was a volunteer.

Montgomery County MD is loaded with volunteers- fighting fires, driving trucks, EMT, etc.  Some are non fire EMT trained volunteers and others can be picking up shifts from full time fire/emt in other jurisdictions I guess.

Montgomery County MD does NOT fully fund their personal use safety equipment etc -  on the same level as Fairfax County VA.[/quote]

Thank you for answering! This is the kind of information I’m after. I’m not anticipating wildfires on the same scale as California. I am concerned whether our first responders are adequately staffed as determined by their departments and some accepted standards  (eg, x number of personnel per residential buildings or however they calculate that). That they have working equipment (trucks and water supply, etc.).

Sounds like water mains are temporary issue. [/quote]

The above is a great example of focusing on the wrong thing, IMO. Water mains that break are a major issue, even if any individual break is temporary. But it's expensive to fix water mains, and unpopular because you have to dig up streets and people's yards, and the connection to firefighting is not as obvious. It’s much more satisfying to buy a new fire truck.

If you are worried about fire department capacity, time to train, etc, it might be useful to look at what [b]the most common calls are that firetrucks respond to (I'd bet it's not fires)[/b] and address those issues with, e.g., paramedic response, traffic safety measures, etc. [/quote]

As far as I know, it's car crashes.[/quote]

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