Today Firehouse18 began operating with three Driver/Engineers (DE).  This is an upgrade for the past level of service where only one DE, Justin Deen, was responisble for Engine18.  With DE Deen's promotion to LT recently there were three open positions for DE at Firehouse18.

The term Driver/Engineer refers to the main jobs associated with the position.  The DE's first responsibility is to drive in a safe and expedient manner in order to safely deliver the crew at the incident in order to handle the emergency.  On a fire scene the role also includes applying, or engineering, the correct pressure to the hoselines in order to move large volumes of water.

The benefit of having an assigned DE is two-fold serving both the members assiged to the engine and the department.   By having assigned drivers, the daily, safe operation and responsibilty for the $300,000 fire engine is placed squarely on one persons shoulders.  Over time the DE will learn the individual truck's characteristics and how to anticipate problems. 

The crew will recieve another member who typically looks out for safety issues and the general wellbeing of the crew. 

A Shift will remain the same with FF Joe Romani promoting to DE.  B Shift will recieve newly promoted FF Daniel Tew from Station 17.  C Shift will recieve DE Dave Morey from Station 28.