The neighborhood's Engine House 28

Our neighborhood Fire Station is located one block north of Delmar just east of Euclid on Enright. It has been on my list to write about ever since I started this blog, and a couple of weeks ago I stopped by to see if anyone was home...they were, and had a little time to chat.

The reason we hear the sirens so frequently, as the firetrucks criss-cross the Central West End, is that our Engine House 28 was, until last year, the busiest fire house in the City of St. Louis. Now the Fire Department's Headquarters downtown claims the "busiest" title. 

Amazingly, second place means there were 3300 calls last year for the pumper truck alone. The pumper is called for car and dumpster fires, calls that turn out to be false alarms, and medical emergencies which account for 60% of its use. The fact that the Fire Department is used for medical emergencies is a trend across the country both because there aren't as many ambulances as there once were, and because all firemen are trained at an EMT level.  

Engine House 28 covers an area that stretches from Union to Vandeventer and St. Louis Avenue to Manchester. There are times though when our firemen are called outside the boundaries in a "mutual aid" agreement between the city, county and sometimes even cities in Illinois. This House is one of two in the region that has a Hazardous Materials truck, so the firemen are called into action in different parts of the region for that reason as well.

 

Standing in front of new Hook and Ladder Truck 5 (purchased in January '10 at a cost of $850,000), are Firemen Dan Hill, Michael Love, Dezi Frenchie, Jeff Nicewaner, and Mike Barnes. The Hook & Ladder goes out on structural fires---the ladder can stretch up to 125'.

Gone are the days of the stereotypical fireman tipped back in a chair just waiting for something to happen. When not out on a call, every day has a routine which starts with cleaning the station. I was there on a Monday--"apparatus day," when roll call of all the equipment is called in to Headquarters. Tuesday is lawn day, and since one of the firemen is also a landscaper, the yard and garden are well-manicured, etc., etc.

Each fireman's gear is stationed at a truck ready-to-go. Pictured above is Battalion Chief Steve Simpson's gear. Every station has a chief, four firemen assigned to the pumper, and four to the hook & ladder truck. Interestingly, though there are no women assigned to Engine House 28, there are ten women in the St. Louis Fire Department, one of whom is a Battalion Chief.

The firemen work ten 24-hour days a month, which works out to a 52-hour work week. Most of them have second jobs as landscapers, plumbers, electricians, etc.

It was news to me that as a public safety measure, firemen will install smoke alarms in your home or office, and even change the batteries in the alarms when needed. To arrange for this service, which has made a noticeable difference in saving lives, call  Headquarters at (314) 533-3406. The smoke alarm will be sent from Headquarters to Engine House 28 and one of the firemen will call to set up an appointment.  

And if you would like to take your own tour of our Fire Station, schedule an appointment with Headquarters (see number above). A big "thank you" to the firemen at Engine House 28 for generously sharing all this information with me. You are truly appreciated!

Comments

[connie]

I love The "St. Louis Fire Dept." monogram on the sides of the trucks!

[Heather B. Navarro]

I've always wondered why the trucks go down Euclid instead of Kingshighway - did you get any insight into this?