SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — The frigid temperatures aren't making life easy for anyone, but that's especially true for Spokane Valley firefighters.
"It's really brutal," battalion chief Sean Barrett said.
Barrett's worked for the department for more than 20 years, which isn't the first time he and the fire department have dealt with extreme cold like this.
"Crews are very vigilant when they get back to the stations. And they'll check those small drains and pipes and stuff like that, to make sure that we don't have any freezing problems," Barrett said.
He also says the cold impacts three areas of their operations.
"One is the safety on the roadways, number two being the equipment and number three being our personnel," Barrett said.
Because of these impacts, the department made sure to prepare for the season's coldest stretch, so far. Just like pipes freezing in homes, so do the pumps at fire stations.
Barrett said, "We encourage intimate apparatus checks every morning to make sure that we don't have any water in our pumps."
The subzero temperatures have the firefighters on high alert, they're even bringing in warming vehicles.
"We look for avenues to get our personnel back into apparatus cabs that are warmed or we'll bring in alternative vehicles," Barrett said.
This time of year isn't any easier for firefighters, since fires are more likely to break out.
"People start plugging in space heaters to extension cords or whatever it may be," Barrett said. "And that's the type of fires that we commonly see during these sub zero temperatures."
Even when these frigid temperatures go away, the Spokane Valley fire department says it's already preparing for any potential issues with the next severe winter event.