You may have seen the “fire car” in town in the past several weeks and wondered what it is used for and what is in it for equipment. 

The car serves many purposes; however there are two primary tasks: a tool box, and a command center on wheels. Some of the tools we keep are flares, binoculars, emergency books, maps, a scene layout board, gear, meters, and a first aid kit. Actually there is a lot more. 

The idea is to carry what we may need to manage and deal with the variety of issues we face in emergency services. This material was previously stored in milk crates behind the seat of my pickup truck. This is less than ideal when something is needed quickly. The equipment is now placed neatly in a cabinet in the back of the car.

Thankfully, not every emergency call requires the use of this Incident Command System (ICS) beyond a few radio calls. However, when the incident commander drives up to a building fire, he or she is going to get very busy very quickly. Approximately 50 firefighters and more than a dozen fire trucks will be heading in his direction, all asking for an assignment or information. 

Thankfully the officers and firefighters in Andover and surrounding communities understand how the ICS works and will receive assignments as the incident unfolds. A key component to ICS is communications. The fire car is set up with three multi-channel radios and portables. The incident commander can operate on the fire ground, water supply, and the Lakes Region channel from the command console in the back of the fire car. 

The back of the car is the incident command operations location. Incident command requires quick decisions based on constantly changing data and conditions.

Having organized communications and a well-lighted workplace is priceless.  We thank the people of Andover for this tool and will use it properly.