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Big red fire engine >> Welcome to the decidedly low-tech world of fire prevention and disaster relief by PHILIP PREVILLE
The city has 110 large vehicles, some with ladders, and some, such as this one at Station 26 on the Plateau, without. Their main cargo: 2,000 feet of old-style weaved hoses, plus 500 gallons of water. No computer chips there.
The fire truck's main job is to control water flow. The hydrants are connected to the truck, where the water flows through a turbine to increase the rate and water pressure of the firefighters' hoses. (Firefighters never connect a spray-hose directly to a hydrant). That turbine is as high-tech as it gets.
The rest of the truck is a collection of relics, which firefighters say don't need to be replaced because they get the job done. Amid the axes and cast-iron wrenches, the most impressive museum piece is this manual-pump extinguisher, a firefighter's version of the dustbuster, which is standard-issue on all trucks. "This model's been in service at least since I joined the force 24 years ago," says Captain Bedard of Station 26.
All trucks also carry some kind of absorbant to help them control any oil or chemical spills. They used to carry a specialty brand, but budget cutbacks forced them to find a cheaper alternative. So, yes, all fire trucks now carry a few bags of peat moss.
Final factoid: In 1998, the year of the ice storm, the Montreal fire department responded to 32,819 emergency calls--a few thousand more than usual, all of which came in a very short time period. Though officials doubt that scenario will repeat itself, they're preparing for it just in case.
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On Monday the city of Montreal proudly announced that all its firefighting and emergency-response equipment is Y2K-ready. But the only thing about emergency response that's fully computerized is the 911 dispatch system. As for the equipment on the fire truck, well, most of it has been Y2K-compliant for decades.