BILLINGS - Winter weather brings about different challenges for firefighters, but for the most part, it's like any other time of the year.
Engine 1 is among the first trucks that get called out from Fire Station 1.
Firefighters responded to a call for a broken pipe at a downtown business on Wednesday afternoon
Carmen Salazar, owner of Don Luis restaurant, shut the water off before firefighters arrived.
Billings firefighters inspected the leak and then turned off the water to the overhead sprinkler system.
The lack of sprinklers brought about a fire watch situation for the restaurant.
“The owner or whoever is designated now will have to stay here until the system's fixed, and call into the dispatcher,” said Patrick Branger, Billings firefighter engineer.
Salazar is happy to have the firefighters' help.
"I appreciate it," Salazar said. "Any of the officers, police, and firemen that come when you need them. It's a great, great service to our community."
Broken pipes may be revealed more as the weather gets warmer.
The firefighters will be ready.
"They call 9-1-1, they're calling us for a reason," Captain Chase Little said. "So we'll go there and do the best we can and help them out with whatever they need."
Little oversees the response, Branger drives the truck, and firefighter Jake Linnell sits in the back.
The number of responses is about the same in the winter, but it's the types of calls, including carbon monoxide or CO.
"We get more CO calls because of people heating their homes, might get a little bit more CO in the house," Branger said.
"Frozen pipes, water leaks, sprinklers, stuff like that this time of year," Little said. "When it comes to fires and medicals and all that, it just seems to be pretty well the same."
The temperatures also cause hoses to freeze, which then need to be thawed at the station.
On this day, Linnell finished up his six-month probationary period, and he and another firefighter made the crew dinner to celebrate.
“Pretty excited,” Little said. “It's a good tradition.”
“I love being with all the crews,” said Linnell. “I love being around the guys. These are my kind of people. It's been awesome just getting to hang out with everybody and meet everyone.”
The fire department asked citizens for help in clearing the snow from the fire hydrants, and their teamwork also shows with this type of work.
“Everybody becomes family, and that kind of helps build that trust with each other,” Branger said.
