Winter is a busy season for fire departments across the region. While flames fill the houses, that's not the only battle that firefighters face. During this recent cold spell the department has to make sure that their hoses and pumps do not freeze over. Jake Campbell is a firefighter paramedic at the Rhinelander Fire Department. He says that a nozzle froze over this morning, but fortunately it happened towards the end of their call to the scene.
"If that were to happen with an actual fire where we're covering some structure that's outside, its just not good because it doesn't allow us to function the same way that we'd be able to if our equipment was functioning properly," said Campbell. He says that it's a matter of minutes before the parts can start to freeze. and damage the equipment
Campbell asks that people also follow protocol of clearing the snow around nearby fire hydrants.