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Fire department equipment gets tested on regular basis

Daily. Weekly. Monthly.

For the Morgantown Fire Department, making sure vehicles are equipped and ready to roll when called upon could very well be the difference between life and death.

For that reason, the department's vehicles routinely undergo a series of  increasingly thorough checks.

"The trucks are checked on a daily basis. They go through a multitude of checks for safety reasons, preparedness and everything else," Morgantown Fire Department Chief Mark Caravasos said. "Every day of the week, the first thing after morning radio checks, the operators start checking vehicles, making sure all equipment is on board, fuel tanks are full and supplies are in place."

On Monday mornings, the vehicles undergo a weekly check, which is a bit more thorough. Monthly checks are even more extensive.

"This is pretty standard for any fire department. Obviously any emergency agency is going to be constantly checking their  equipment. EMS does the same kind of things," Caravasos said. "Morning truck checks have been going since long before I ever came on with the department."

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During the morning equipment check at the Morgantown Fire Department, Derek Porter (top) and Jayson Nicewarner check the nozzle on the extension ladder. (Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post file photo).