Perhaps this is just one of my epiphanies, and perhaps it won't work. It would require some work and some practice. But I've noticed that we do a horrible job of placing our apparatus. We line the cross-lay hosebed right in line with the front door, and don't leave room for the Truck. Beyond that, we are almost always staffed with 3. Now I don't like this, but it's reality.
So, why don't we use the reverse lay? It would require the first in engine to drop a pre-determined amount of 2 1/2 (hell, bundle some 1 3/4 to it, if you are so inclined) and move to the closest hydrant. Most of the time, it wouldn't require us to pull more than 300 feet of hose, depending on the neighborhood. The officer and nozzleperson take the line and go to work. The FAO hits the hydrant. The truck has room. The second (or third) engine can take their own water supply to pull a backup line.
Again, I'm not advocating this in every circumstance...but I do think that it is an evolution worth practicing. It would require us to pull less LDH, and would also REQUIRE the first pumper to take their own water supply. They should only operate on tank water for as long as it takes to get their own water supply.
Instead of doing bullshit, why don't we get out into our neighborhoods and see what works? Develop a little bit of a standard, so there is less guesswork.
The picture that I posted is from Chicago. They see a lot of fire. And they are SERIOUS about Truck work. And that means they leave room for the GD Truck!
Think about the past few fires where using a truck earlier might've made a difference. And I'm not talking about lights and fans. I'm talking about using the big stick to the roof or to a window. The Truck is our toolbox. Let's use it. We shouldn't have purchased them primarily to piss water from up above...they should be used for Rescue and Ventilation FIRST.
And in order to do this, we need to place our apparatus correctly. LEAVE ROOM FOR THE TRUCK!!!!
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