SHAMOKIN, Pa. — A fire by itself is nothing easy to handle, but add in below-freezing temperatures or snowfall, and fire officials at Shamokin Fire Bureau say there's more than just putting out flames you need to worry about.
"Some of the dangers we look for obviously are falls, falling people slipping on pavement, sidewalks," said Lester Yohe, Shamokin Deputy Fire Chief.
Shamokin Deputy Fire Chief Lester Yohe was in charge on the bureau's most recent call, where temperatures were just below freezing.
"Icy boots and metal ladders don't tend to go together, putting people on roofs to ventilate very slippery conditions, so our fall issue is a major concern of ours," said Yohe.
In his career, Shamokin Assistant Fire Chief Ken Pilkus has had and seen his fair share of injuries due to poor winter weather conditions.
"We were at a working car fire in heavy snowfall, and I end up spraining my ankle and end up in the hospital. We had another working fire in the south end of town with entrapment, and our fire chief slipped and fell and broke his leg," said Ken Pickus, Shamokin Assistant Fire Chief.
The firefighters aren't the only ones taking a beating in cold temperatures. Their equipment is as well.
"We can shut a hose line off in the summer and not think if we shut it off in the winter and they need to use it again, it could be frozen or mostly frozen," said Yohe.
Shamokin Fire Chief Stephen Jeffrey explained that a tanker which can up cost upwards of $500,000, can be destroyed by the weather if the right steps aren't taken both on and off a fire scene.
"A fire truck sitting that is not pumping water, it's not circulating, it's gonna freeze, then we get it back to the fire station, it thaws out, and stuff starts breaking, that's when you notice it," said Stephen Jeffrey, Shamokin Fire Chief.
Despite the added challenges of fighting a fire in winter weather, Jeffrey says the firefighters in Shamokin will always be ready to answer the call.
"I can't tell you how many times that we've gone to houses, and they're like, I'm so sorry for calling the fire department out here, and my answer to them is if you're not sure, call us. We're volunteers, but we are not gonna tell you no. We are going to get somebody out there. We are going to look and see what's going on and make sure you are safe," said Jeffrey.
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