ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Two houses caught fire on the northeast side of Rochester early Tuesday morning, requiring firefighters to battle the flames in intense heat. Due to the extreme temperatures, an additional crew was requested to assist with one of the fires.
RELATED: Crews battle two house fires on city’s northeast side; Children and adults displaced
News10NBC’s Erin Mahon visited Engine 2 Firehouse on Clinton Avenue to learn how firefighters stay safe during heat waves. Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to a home on Avenue D where the front was engulfed in flames, making the structure too dangerous to enter. As a result, it took about 45 minutes to extinguish the fire from the outside.
Lt. Jackeline Sierra, public information officer for the Rochester Fire Department, explained how they prioritize safety.
“We typically have a rehab station. Firefighters will go there after working for, you know, 20 to 30 minutes. They’ll sit out. They’ll get their vitals taken. We want to make sure that they’re, you know, good to work, that their blood pressure isn’t too high, their heart rate isn’t too high,” Sierra said.
AMR provides “rehab stations” where firefighters’ vitals are monitored to determine if they need to be pulled from the scene. If a firefighters vitals are not in the safe zone, they swap out with another responder and wait to cool down. This is part of a culture that promotes the idea that “hydration starts the day before,” Sierra said.
“So when they train, they have periods of work followed by periods of rest. And then we also there’s like certain temperatures where okay, at this let’s say it’s 100 degrees outside. They need 20 minutes of rest for every 40 minutes that they’re working. That’s just an example,” said Sierra. “So we follow those same guidelines, you know at an emergency team. Obviously our main concern is putting the fire out. So once the danger is kind of mitigated, then we start the rehab procedures”
Sierra also highlighted the heavy, insulated jackets worn by firefighters, which can be removed at rehab stations to help them cool down. Firefighters wear these jackets along with an additional 70 pounds of gear for hours at a time.
Sierra noted an increase in fires around July due to Independence Day fireworks and grilling. To prevent fires, she advised grilling 10 to 15 feet away from homes and cars.
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