Report Number: 08-0000314
Report Date: 06/28/2008
Event Description
We have a mid-ship pump and behind the pump panel and before the hose bed starts, there is a box that stores the chainsaw, circular saw, fuel, spare chains. There is no good access to this box. On the driver's side we have flip down steps you can use to climb up and retrieve the saws. The location of the tools puts you in an awkward position to safely retrieve them. The steps are only wide enough for one foot at a time and are not directly in front of the box you are reaching into. This forces you to lean to your left and forward to try and grab the saw you need. This causes your weight to be out in front of you. This is hard on your back and an awkward position.
This morning, during our thorough weekly inspections, the firefighter stumbled and almost fell from this elevated position. It was noted that this was not the first time this has happened. A fall from this height could cause serious injury upon impact with the road.
Lesson Learned
We submitted a near-miss report to our internal reporting system so this can be addressed. We are looking at moving equipment on our apparatus so lighter, less used items can be placed in the location the saws are. The location is poor in design because of the steps not being directly in front of the box. It is suggested no heavy equipment is stored there or make retrieval a two person operation. Have one person climb completely on top and hand the item down to the second person standing on the pump panel step.
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