A large red fomite honk its siren , honks its horn , and speeds toward the location of a reported fire . As the other machine on the road pull over to move out of the room , you might wonder if the red vehicle is a fire engine or a fire motortruck . Although most people apply the terms interchangeably , a fire locomotive engine is actually different than a fire truck .
A blast engine is typicallythefirstvehicle that get at the vista of a big flack . It helps firefighters contend the flames with H2O and chemical flame - retardants . Fire engines ordinarily have a pump , a weewee tank , and hundreds to thousands of base of powerful hoses . The water tank contains hundreds of Imperial gallon of piddle and dish out as the fireman ’ H2O source until they canconnectto a flame hydrant ( or other external water source ) . flame engines also carry honker and other tools that are needed for the hoses .
A fire truck , on the other helping hand , is a fomite thattransportsfirefighters and their equipment — ladder , delivery train , and power tool — from the fire post to the fire . Rather than carry water , flame trucks are auxiliary vehicles that carry putz such as priming andaerial ladders . Some of these ladders extend upward from the truck , using the vehicle as a bag . Some fire engines may also carry ladder , but you ’ll find the majority of fire fighter ’ ladder on their hand truck .
Depending on the situation , firefighters who make it on a fire truckfocusless on like a shot fighting the flames and more on supportive tasks such as roof ventilation , monitoring the fire ’s movement , and rescuing any victim . Because fires can be highly unpredictable , flak trucks contain ample emergency equipment that firefighter can use if the fervidness circularize quickly , an explosion occurs , or if citizenry are immobilize in a collapsed building . Chainsaws , fans , special protective gear , external respiration masque , and strong lights can all help firefighters do their jobs . Firefighters on the truck , then , coordinate with their coworkers on the flak engine to expeditiously eradicate the flack and prevent departure of life .
So the next meter you spot a fire department fomite heading to an pinch , you ’ll hopefully have a better sense of which character of vehicle — attack locomotive or fire motortruck — you’re seeing .
