VIDEO: One of the last places you would want to be when it’s 90 degrees is close to a fire, but firefighters across West Michigan need to be prepared to do exactly that at any given time.
“We can’t, obviously stop our operations. We still have to respond. We still have to fight fire,” said Jack Johnson, Deputy Chief of Operations for the Grand Rapids Fire Department. “We still have to wear all that fire gear that keeps that body heat inside and increases their core temperatures.” Johnson said they try to keep their firefighters comfortable throughout the day, whether they’re on a call or at the station. “We have them dressed down into their athletic shorts and t-shirts to just kind of stay cool in the off time when they’re not responding to fires or medical calls,” said Johnson. “We make sure they’ve got lots of water when they’re on those scenes, to rehydrate after they’ve, you know, burned off some of that water weight.”
