Battalion4 said:
what is the normal assignment of men per company per shift?
Truck
Engine
Squad
Rescue
Has this changed much from the past?
6 in a Truck, Squad or Rescue company. (1 Officer and 5 Firemen)
5 or 6 in an Engine. There is roughly 60 companies with a 6th man and this is because of the city trying to save $$$ which in-turn becomes a contract issue.
* For engines not much has changed in about 50 years when they did away with 2 piece companies (1 engine and 1 hose) and started making engines with hose carrying capabilities. For trucks it's about 40 years when rearmounts and tower ladders came into being late 60's early 70's (?), all ladder companies were tillers and had room for a 7th man. When rearmounts came out they cost alot less than a tiller and took up less space so they bought them with a phone booth like compartment for the 7th man.
* Don't quote me on the years but it's a rough guess, but basically with apparatus evolution man power has adjusted.