Zanesville Fire Department Responding in Winter Weather

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Winter weather emergency calls for first responders can be difficult at times.

The winter weather can cause issues with transportation to the scene as well as equipment while at the scene. Zanesville Firefighter Alan Graham said usually their responses are delayed around this time of the year because of road conditions.

“As far as actual conditions at the fire ground, dealing with ice, snow, it’s cold. Pumps freeze up, hoses freeze up, especially like today it’s pretty cold. So that’s one thing we’ll have to deal with if we have a fire today,” Graham said.

Knowing that these issues can arise, the Fire Department makes sure to prepare for the worst. They have different ways to avoid the freezing and malfunction of equipment.

“Turbo heaters underneath the pump panels, keeps everything thawed out. As far as hoses freezing up, if we set a hose down for a minute we’ll keep it cracked to keep water moving in it. It won’t freeze up that way usually but there’s no sure-fire way of having stuff not freeze up,” Graham said.

The most common kinds of fires they see in the winter time are chimney fires from debris and space heater fires. Graham said that you just need to be careful when it comes to any kind of fire or heat in your home.