Phoenix Fire Station Nicknames

[n0doz]

Thank you, guys. But.... OK, I'm a little lost. I thought the Squads were ambulance bodies. Did they keep the same rigs or trade up to a bigger unit? I don't get into town much these days, and my recollection from 5 years ago is an ambulance box, not a "rescue" the size of an engine.
Coming from Denver over 9 years ago, this is a different world with Ladder Tenders, etc. The most exotic fire rigs I was around were Oshkosh 8x8s at Denver Intl Airport. Got to ride in one of those once....awesome!
Thanks for the help!

 

[Foresigt]

The Phoenix Squads were never ambulance bodies. At least in Phoenix the Squads, with the exception of Squad 19, have been Heavy Rescue Trucks for at least 10 years and have even had Heavy Rescue labeling above the side roll up doors. With the recent changes that were made, they now are called Heavy Rescues. Since you are in San Tan Valley maybe some of the east valley departments did something different.

 

[gilbert12thman]

Thank you for the update.

Didn't know that about the 25x units.

New Nickname and it is confirmed:

Engine 38 is now "The Caddyshack" as of Today and Engine 56 "Northern Outpost" is also known as "Carefree Express"

 

[gilbert12thman]

The Phoenix Squads were never ambulance bodies. At least in Phoenix the Squads, with the exception of Squad 19, have been Heavy Rescue Trucks for at least 10 years and have even had Heavy Rescue labeling above the side roll up doors. With the recent changes that were made, they now are called Heavy Rescues. Since you are in San Tan Valley maybe some of the east valley departments did something different.

Mesa Squads 204, 206, and 219 have had similar styles to Phoenix. Squad 289 from Chandler has also been similar.

 

[n0doz]

The Phoenix Squads were never ambulance bodies. At least in Phoenix the Squads, with the exception of Squad 19, have been Heavy Rescue Trucks for at least 10 years and have even had Heavy Rescue labeling above the side roll up doors. With the recent changes that were made, they now are called Heavy Rescues. Since you are in San Tan Valley maybe some of the east valley departments did something different.

OK, thank you for that. I'm clearly way off. It looks like I am mistaking the ambulance units for "squads."
I worked a part-time job out of Tempe for a couple of years that took me all over the metro area and past several PFD stations several times a day, and I've always had a habit of looking to see if I could see what apparatus was being used. I think if I'd known when I started with DPD what I learned over the years, I would've been a FF instead.
EDIT:
OK, I see where I went wrong.
I went to 5280Fire's photo site and grabbed this photo. "This" is where I got confused. "Rescue" is an ambulance, "Heavy rescue" is a real rescue apparatus.

 

[Foresigt]

Hey it's all good! Some of us have been involved for a lot longer than others.

As I remember, years back Tempe did have a Rescue/Squad truck. For those that don't remember, in the early years of the paramedic progrms within the fire departments Glendale did have a squad...Squad 51 which I always thought was funny. That was before the CAD auto aid system when they added the extra digits for east and west side.

 

[KB7MIB]

Back in the second half of the 80's, Peoria had a mini-pumper (type 5 or 6 brush truck) that was designated Rescue 91. When the frame cracked on it, they replaced it with Glendale's crewcab and chassis that had a rescue body. Later, Glendale used that, or a similar one, as LT152.

John
Peoria

 

[n0doz]

Thanks, guys. One last question (I promise.)
Is a separate crew on shift for a ladder tender, one of those 900-series units or any specialized unit like hazmat?
I won't even ask how PPD numbers their units. I saw a little of it, the number and letter combinations, and it was baffling, especially coming from a department with a more "conventional" system for district and patrol area numbers (similar to DPS.) Thanks again.

 

[KB7MIB]

The Big Ladder and the Ladder Tender are co-manned by the same crew. The captain decides which unit to respond in based on the nature of the call.

I believe that HazMat units are crewed by one driver, and usually respond with their engine company.

The 900-series units are fully crewed with their own crews. They are frequently the second unit in stations with a high call volume (E18 and E918, for example) but are also tasked with move-ups to help cover areas when a large incident pulls multiple units from an area for an extended period of time. In a few cases, they are the only unit in a particular station that doesn't yet have it's own permanently assigned apparatus. (For example, I think it was station 72 that had a 900-series engine rather than E72 assigned, until recently.)

John
Peoria

 

[n0doz]

Thanks John...appreciate it!

 

[gilbert12thman]

The Big Ladder and the Ladder Tender are co-manned by the same crew. The captain decides which unit to respond in based on the nature of the call.

I believe that HazMat units are crewed by one driver, and usually respond with their engine company.

The 900-series units are fully crewed with their own crews. They are frequently the second unit in stations with a high call volume (E18 and E918, for example) but are also tasked with move-ups to help cover areas when a large incident pulls multiple units from an area for an extended period of time. In a few cases, they are the only unit in a particular station that doesn't yet have it's own permanently assigned apparatus. (For example, I think it was station 72 that had a 900-series engine rather than E72 assigned, until recently.)

John
Peoria

Correct.

Engine 929 was also co-staffed by Squad 29 "The Fightin' Squid" before the Squad and Squad Tender became Heavy Rescue and Heavy Rescue Tender 41.