APPLETON, WI (WTAQ)- The bitter cold is hard on everyone, and that includes firefighters.
Ethan Kroll, Battalion Fire Chief in Appleton says the cold weather can cause some big problems in fire fighting efforts.
“Some of the lines are smaller lines and even in route, when it gets this cold, we can start to have some of our equipment freeze up, which provides a challenge.”
Kroll says firefighters are often in the elements for a long period of time, and that means despite being by fire, they are freezing
“We have protective clothing that gives us some warmth, but as soon as it starts getting wet that will deminish the ability to protect us from that” Kroll said.
Kroll said firefighters can run into multiple issues with the cold, which can include problems breathing.
“We are exhaling moisture and that gets in our mask and the cold temperatures can freeze up the masks, and if that does not work, we can’t go into the building.”
Frozen water hoses, slippery surfaces and being out in the cold for a long period of time are also common hurdles to cross.
Common causes of fire this time of year are cooking, dry Christmas trees and fires from plugging portable heaters into extension cords.
