Vehicle and Equipment checks

[VanIsleEVT]

I'm curious how often other departments perform vehicle and equipment checks. No offense, but I'd like to hear from career departments preferably. We currently perform checks on both at the start of each shift which accounts for twice per day. I'm affraid that because we do it so often, and this will sound strange, but things aren't being checked thoroughly. I can see doing the pre-trip that often, basically it's the law, but the equipment?

[ecfd933]

I am on a career department.
We have a pre-trip inspection that must be done daily. I personally check each piece of equipment every shift I work. I just figure that the previous shift may have missed something during their inspection and plus I want to make sure what I have to work with is in working condition. The apparatus operator is responsible for each piece of equipment so basically our policy is that everything is checked every day. We work 24 on, 48 off.

Dan

[chopper12]

Same here. We are a combined career\volunteer department. The operator is responsible for his truck and all equipment on board, and he is to check the apparatus at the start of his shift. There are also monthly apparatus checks that go into more detail with things like transmission fluid, etc. - things that aren't easily checked on a daily basis.

[fireman4949]

We are a 100% career dept.

The D/O on every unit performs a complete equipment inventory, equipment check (both fire and medical) and pump test at the beginning of each 24 hour shift, and the unit itself is gone over from stem to stern every Saturday.
The paramedics on all ALS units are responsible for their assigned units ALS medical equipment, drugs and supplies.

All daily and weekly checks are logged and signed.



Kevin

[Just a new name]

We are career.

We check the trucks out completly in the morning. At the next shift change at 6:00 the air packs and radios and TIC's are checked again.

[ptfd19]

The main department I dispatch for does a "basic" check of every vehicle every morning (fuel, fluids, air, etc) and every 6th day a group of vehicles gets a "complete" check (everything pulled, started, moved, etc). For example, this morning every truck will get the basics checked while those in "group #1" will also get a complete top to bottom check..... tomorrow morning every truck will get a basic check and those in group #2 will get the top to bottom, etc, etc, etc.

The POC and the Volly departments that I'm a member of does an "advanced" check every day with specific equipment being checked on specific days. For example, if today was Friday, the XXX from the engine, the YYY from the rescue and the ZZZ from the brush truck need a complete check. Plus both departments do a once a month complete inventory of every truck.

[fire0099881]

The one volunteer dept. I used to be on, we had what we called duty weekends, since they ran ems also, what that was is it was broke down into 4 weekends, with about 6-8 people on it per weekend, it was setup so you only had one weekend a month, it meant that if you was on for that weekend that you had to make sure you was around for calls, and no you didn't have to sit at the station all weekend either ( now we didn't have that many calls per year I think my last year there we had 280 ems, and 85 fire calls(included are accident's, and any type of medical call that needed and engine there)) so it's not like you couldn't have family time on the weekends, and if you wasn't gonna be around, you could usually call someone and see if they would be around for a few hrs. so you could go out to eat or whatever. then on sun mornings they would go down to the station and do a complete check of all the apparatus( engine compartment, light's, air packs, generators, pumps, etc. etc. etc.) anything that was on the trucks would be checked. and if it was nice out, we would take the trucks out and drive them around, just to make sure everything was operating ok, or go out and pump water for a hr. or 2, and it made for some great public relations too! since they would see you out doing something, and when they would see you back at the station they would bring there kids down, just to see the trucks and everything. then mon. night's would be our training night's, we would try to find something new and interesting to do every week. to try and keep the new member's involved and teach them new things, and at times teach the older people new things too!!!

[ecfr1978]

I work for a comb. dept. The career personnel do a complete truck check every Monday (fluids, clean compartments, run all equipment, clean and dust inside the cab, etc.) The rest of the time we just check the power equipment, pump, and warning lights. Not sure what the volunteers do.

[Eng3ineer]

We are also a career dept... And also have to check all equipment and the trucks everyday... They also make us fill out check-off sheet so that helps make sure everything is checked every shifts...