Editorial: The heavy burden of fighting fires

The weight of a fire truck is hard to bear.

The average fire vehicle comes in between 19 tons and 30 tons, according to PennDOT. It’s the equivalent of six to 10 nice big pickup trucks.

The weight is important. It’s part of what makes them work. They carry a lot of equipment. Different trucks have different jobs. Some have ladders to reach upper floors of tall buildings to rescue people or chop into roofs to facilitate battling the blaze inside. Some have towers to get higher for a better angle with the hose. Doing that means balancing force, and that means having enough weight and position to anchor.

And then there’s the water. Tankers and pumpers can hold large reserves to get water to places outside the reach of a hydrant. An average is about 500 gallons, but that can go to three or four times as much. Water is heavy. One gallon weighs 8.34 pounds; 500 gallons tips the scales at 4,174 pounds.

That makes supporting fire trucks a real and physical burden. Would your garage floor support that much mass?

Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Company’s wouldn’t. That’s why the garage on Freeport Road is getting a new concrete floor to support the one that was crumbling. That process has a price tag of $725,000.

That act of infrastructure investment does more than make things look nice. It even does more than keep the trucks themselves from being safe. It improves response times as the firefighters respond to emergencies since they will be able to use that garage space rather than keep the heavier new engine in a basement spot that takes longer to exit.

That is what addressing infrastructure means — crucial minutes, which can translate to lives or property.

It is also the value of support.

The fire company didn’t have to sell hoagies, fry fish or host bingo to come up with the money for the project. There was $675,000 secured through the Department of Community and Economic Development with the help of state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, and another $100,000 from Allegheny County.

The problem is that volunteer fire companies don’t always get this kind of support. Despite the fact that they already are offering their lives and their bodies to do the work of protecting people and property, too often fire companies are expected to come up with the money to accomplish that goal.

Fire engines and firefighters need our support — as taxpayers and as individuals — because their mission is our safety.

And that’s a heavy weight to bear without help.