Frequently Asked Questions

Check out this article that walks through the steps for a safe reentry to your living space.

Why does a fire truck respond when I wanted an ambulance? Because firefighters can and do get there first, and time is critical in a medical emergency. Every Concord Township Fire Fighter is cross-trained in Emergency Medical Services. What does that mean to you, a citizen phoning 911? Simply read on…

In the early days, fire stations were strategically located so the crews could quickly get to burning buildings. Obviously, time is an important aspect of firefighting, because flames can rapidly spread through a building. The ability to quickly respond to a fire provides more time to rescue people inside, and save property by suppressing the blaze in the early stages. It soon became apparent that the firefighter’s ability to “get there fast” could be used for other types of emergency response, such as heart attacks, strokes, and trauma.

Every minute counts for someone who has experienced a heart attack, injury, or other life threatening illness. The heart and brain have a better chance of full recovery they receive oxygen and/or medications in a timely manner. After that, a person can suffer brain damage or worse. Our firefighters, many of them educated to the level of a paramedic, can use life-saving techniques including defibrillation and medications to help prevent death or permanent injury. These life-saving techniques are much more effective if they can get to a patient within the first four minutes.

Each Concord Township Fire Station is part of a much larger, intricate dispatch system. The system is designed to provide adequate emergency coverage for the citizens who live and visit here, by carefully managing response resources. Fire stations are not isolated or randomly located. They are strategically positioned to provide the best coverage with the least expenditure of resources.

When you dial 911 for a medical emergency, expect a Concord Township fire truck. The expertise that they bring is truly lifesaving.

Two reasons: First, these inspections are conducted by on-duty engine companies that must be ready to respond to an emergency call from the field. Second, an important part of the value of the public safety inspection is to familiarize your local firefighters with the buildings and business in Concord Township. While they check for hazards and consult with property owners on how best to eliminate or minimize the likelihood of a fire, they also familiarize themselves with access points and the layout of the facility.

Firefighters ventilate smoke, superheated, poisonous, or explosive gases for safety and visibility. This allows firefighters to get inside the building to find and extinguish the fire, thereby reducing property damage. This also reduces the chance of a possible dangerous explosion. The environment inside a burning building is not like the movies portray it. Often firefighters cannot see their hands in front of their faces. They crawl to try and remain below smoke and heat and feel their way through the hostile environment. Reducing the smoke in the building allows more efficient rescue and extinguishment of the fire.

Career Firefighters work 24-hour shifts while part-time firefighters work 12 to 24 hours because unlike police, firefighters cannot go out and perform training, inspections etc. during the nighttime. It would take more firefighters to cover 8-hour shifts. Firefighters at Concord Township work a 48 hour work week and the 12/24 hour shift allows this. This type of schedule is the most cost-effective work schedule to provide fire protection and is the most common.

Because the crews work a 24-hour shift, they must eat their lunch and dinner at the station. At times firefighters all eat the same meal, as a group. The crews pay for their food out of their own pockets. So, after the equipment is checked and the housework completed, one of the fire trucks may make a quick trip to the grocery store to purchase the food for the shift if necessary. All crews remain in service to respond to calls during this time and only crews with a store in their “first response territory” will be at the store. This ensures there is no delay in responding to calls.

Your Concord Township Fire Department is an “All hazard department”. We do much more than fight fires. We respond to calls for medical aid, including illness/accidents at home and work, and injuries resulting from vehicle crashes. Other calls for emergency response involve hazardous materials releases, technical rescues, response to fire alarms and other calls for public assistance as well as maritime emergencies. We also work to educate the general public about fire safety. Firefighters also spend much of their time maintaining equipment, doing routine public safety inspections for businesses and rental housing, training for all types of emergency responses and filling out the reports and paperwork associated with these activities.

When it is safe to do so, you should pull over to the right and stop until all emergency vehicles have safely passed. If you cannot safely maneuver to the right, simply stop and stay stopped so the vehicles can go around you safely. Depending on the emergency, multiple apparatus may be responding. Be sure to check for additional emergency vehicles prior to pulling back out into traffic.

Most modern smoke detectors will chirp to alert you the batteries are low, you should replace the batteries and test your detector. Detectors can be purchased at any hardware or large commercial department store. Did you know your detector has a life span? Check it for an expiration date to ensure your safety.

We block traffic lanes for the safety of our personnel and our patients. Blocking extra lanes keep our personnel safe when they go back to our apparatus to get more equipment and help protect the victim we are trying to stabilize. Over 25 firefighters are killed or injured each year while working at incidents on streets and highways.