Zach Pfeifer, a firefighter with the Butler Bureau of Fire, demonstrates the water circulation levers firefighters use in the winter to keep the water stored in the firetrucks from freezing on Saturday, Jan. 4. Eddie Trizzino/Butler Eagle

Firefighters at the Butler Bureau of Fire perform regular checks on their vehicles to ensure they are prepared to operate in the winter, when responding to fires is made a little more difficult because of the snow.

Zach Pfeifer, a firefighter with the Butler Bureau of Fire, said Saturday, Jan. 4, that slippery road conditions can make navigating the tight streets of Butler in a firetruck even harder, especially when firefighters are making their way to an emergency. The crews at the bureau station on North Washington Street go through checks regularly to ensure safety when traversing the roads.

“A firetruck, the tower weighs close to 8,000 pounds,” he said, “our roads, whenever they’re snow-covered and slippery, it could lose traction very easily.

“They’re definitely more difficult to drive in the inclement weather.”

According to Pfeifer, firefighters had to pour salt up and down a road Friday, Jan. 3, when responding to a call, because the firetruck they were in could not gain enough traction on the snow-covered streets to get up a hill.

While the snow was mostly gone from the city streets Saturday, Pfeifer explained that winter vehicle checks are still important because of the increased potential for snow or icy conditions.

“We’ll check the tire pressure, check the fluids, make sure the wipers are working,” Pfeifer said. “The two engines have drop chains, so we make sure they are operating as they should be. They run under the tires and come back up.”

When responding to a call on dispatch, fire crews have to actively prevent the water in the trucks from freezing in the tank. Pfeifer demonstrated Saturday the two levers that have to be activated on a firetruck to circulate the water inside.

“Whenever they go outside for an extended period of time for calls, all the pumps recirculate water to make sure they don’t freeze up,” Pfeifer said. “We have to put the truck into pump themselves, and once we put them into pump we’ll open the pump lever and circulate the water that way.”