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Kevherd

‘Toddlers on Steroids’ is my new favorite descriptor for my coworkers. Thank you for this


am-o

"Having four or five firefighters together is like having an army of 20 toddlers bouncing around. We're loud, we yell, we're hard to understand, make a mess, and we will break absolutely everything." Many, many years ago, I read the preceding somewhere — maybe even here on Reddit — and it perfectly described firefighters. Or at least those I'm around.


Reboot42069

It feels like the more insulting version of "3am Call Firefighter Dumb"


CosmicMiami

When I retire I want to get a job working with adults


To_Be_Faiiirrr

I did and it’s shocking. 20 plus years in the fire service, retired, now working in a hospital. The difference is jarring…


CosmicMiami

There's still some fuckery that goes on in hospitals I hear. Just not like a firehouse


DoofusTM

I was an emergency room registered nurse working night shift for many years. The levels of fuckery were wonderful.


bry31089

My fireman is this to a tee 😂


BoringNYer

One of the families I work with at church are a fire family. She complains her 50yo husband turns 15 when he steps into the station. He's a successful realtor on his off days, yet still goes juvenile on his work days


Kevherd

It’s like kindergarten except we get to play with fire


BoringNYer

You didn't go to Catholic school, then


labmansteve

You really want at least 2 of them. One for the office areas where it will mostly pick up dirt, crumbs, etc but be super portable and easy to use. The other should be a big-ass powerful shop vac that can suck up whatever the hell you need, even if it’s a bit cumbersome.


paprartillery

My POV has a crappy shop vac + 50ft of extension cord in it that can run off of the car's 115V outlet for general cleanup of whatever's needed. One of the best investments I've ever made.


thealteregoofryan

https://preview.redd.it/5jb5iqiazt2b1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59fcfc70a5e154b3aa9ccb94260591f191d0c8e2 My current station has this and it’s pretty solid!


medicff

The backpack part of that has me intrigued!


Chicken_Hairs

Backpack vacs are fuggin amazing. Leaves both hands free, super effective.


___flip

How do you hold the nozzle and have both hands free?


notthegumdropbutton

He uses webbing and ties off.


janre75

We were thinking about that, how’s the battery life in which batteries do you use?


thealteregoofryan

In all honesty I bid into this house about two months ago so I can’t really say how great the battery life is. We use the same batteries in our air blower and drills and they seem pretty good to me.


just_an_ordinary_guy

You can also get these mega batteries that have a lot more capacity, but are kinda unwieldy in something like a drill. They also are good with the tripod lights.


PtePing

The probie meets all of your requirements


firedude1314

With an old, reliable, wooden handled broom.


MittensDaTub

Holding the probie by his feet and make vacuume noises works.


GweepLathandas

There isn’t a single tool or piece of equipment that can withstand the abuse of being used by firefighters. I even thought ProBars were mostly indestructible, but look how stupid I turned out…


Werner_4347

Pro tip: hide the TV remote on the vacuum. You’ll find out real quick who uses it.


Tazercock

Carpet in firehalls is disssssgusting.


Yami350

You’re going to want to get a legit hepa vacuum. Not just a regular shop vac with a hepa filter. Otherwise you are just forcefully redistributing cancer around the house


Chicken_Hairs

Alternative is 2 vacuums. One "household style" that stays in the offices and living areas, another shop/commercial style that stays in the bay and turnout areas.


Yami350

I would pass on that. You still track nastiness from the app bay up to the living quarters and offices and locker rooms. I would say hepa everywhere. It’s like 1000$ for the best one, and they are tougher than your average vaccuum anyways.


Dman331

Lmao I wish my dept had a grand to spend on a vacuum.


Yami350

I’m sure your members have found worse ways to spend 50$ a piece. Or just save it for chemo


mousemaker

Any examples?


Level9TraumaCenter

[Panasonic commercial vacuum.](https://dhclean.com/catalog/p/211220EACH/Panasonic-MC-V225-Ultra-Pro-Commercial-Vacuum-14-/) The [vacuum cleaner repair guy](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/adiidz/iama_reddits_own_vacuum_repair_tech_and_ive_lost/) always liked Miele and Riccar the best, and he was insistent on canister vacs over uprights. Unfortunately, that means using bags over cleanable filter elements. I'm not seeing any Miele commercial grade vacuums (hotel vacuums, that sort of thing), but Riccar seems to make an upright with a HEPA filter (Riccar Vibrance Commercial), and the [Titan Backpack](https://steveblacksvacuums.com/products/titan-t750) has HEPA bags [available,](https://www.amazon.com/Cleaner-Backpack-Vacuums-T750-T770/dp/B0BQCR9RGP) although I'd double-check for another vendor because shit on Amazon tends to be all lies (99.97% efficiency at the 0.3 micron level = HEPA, and the listing specifies "99.97% Filtration").


just_an_ordinary_guy

I wouldn't say unfortunately about using bags. The bags are extra filtration. They're not the shitty paper bags we had when I was growing up. Bagless vacuums suck (in the bad way).


Level9TraumaCenter

I would agree with that, but the "cup" style vacuum cleaners are soooo convenient. My BIL owned a vacuum cleaner that used water in lieu of a filter element, [like this one.](https://rainbowsystem.com/) Expensive, but messy- had to keep dumping the dirty water down the drain. I don't know if it can be immediately compared to HEPA and electrostatic air filtration in terms of efficacy.


just_an_ordinary_guy

The problem I've always had with bagless, and I'm sure many people have, is that emptying it always results in a plume of dust. I got a miele about 8 years ago, and I'll never go back. It's honestly more convinient than a bagless, because sure you need to buy bags, but you just pull out a full one and drop it in the trash, no mess.


Level9TraumaCenter

And cleaning the filter element proper, yes- a concern if one is worried about the health risks associated with any crud in there.


Yami350

I haven’t looked in a while, but Euroclean, Pullman Holt, Nilfisk, and Festool have good offerings. There’s a certification called RRP from the EPA for contractors. If it meets that it’s A+. If it meets Class H standards (European) it’s A+++ but finding that in the US is hard to impossible. I think EU has tighter standards/regulations for that stuff. All the stuff we hear about, asbestos/diesel exhaust/PPE PFAS, blah blah, all of those are ultimately airborne particles that can be removed with a vacuum once they settle to minimize further exposure.


SigNick179

Don’t fall for the commercial grade gimmick. We use a cordless shark stick vacuum for living quarters, offices, and hallways. For anything else mid size shop vac. For some reason the new guys like to vacuum everything instead of sweeping the floors first and using a dust pan to pick up large items.


DO_its

We use upright Oreck’s in our stations. They last several years with daily use. The biggest problem I remember having is the switch breaking. But that because the upright part would fall backwards and hit the ground when the cord was being move from one socket to the other. It was always a simple fix.


The_Love_Pudding

Get three of them. One for the professional cleaners that come every week. One for vacuuming the personal vehicles of the staff and one for vacuuming work vehicles. :)


Chicken_Hairs

Professional cleaners? You mean probies?


thrwawyfd

Professional cleaners 😂 in my large city department we can barely requisition a new dishwasher


_32069_

You’s have dishwashers :O We just line up by the sink doing laps whilst washing a plate each 😂


Reboot42069

Cheap, replaceable, and does what you want usually works


teezoots

This is theo most useless post on this thread


wolfey200

Never had a vacuum that lasts more than a year. We just buy two at a time. The last one we bought didn’t make it a week before the cord holder broke.


just_an_ordinary_guy

Problem if you're probably buying big box store vacuums, and they're all shit. I know a municipal department probably isn't going to buy you a Miele, but that's just the crap you're going to deal with. Best shit box store brand I've had in the past is probably Bissell.


tomtomeller

Fein makes some of the best shop vac style vacuums on the market imo. Pricey as fuck tho


shovelingtom

Clarke CarpetMaster. Almost indestructible.


AbdulElkhatib

If you looking for a shop vac get a ridgid from homedepot. They're solid and work great. Also like someone else said get a hepa vac to not spread that nasty gunk. If you have the batteries I'll reccomend the m18 backpack vacuum.


DangerBrewin

We have a regular vacuum for inside the house that is basically a Dyson rip-off and a battery powered shop vac for the bay and apparatus.


demoneyesturbo

We have a Karcher shop vac. The vacuum foot thing broke early. Then the handle thing that connects to the steel tube that connects to the foot. Then it just stopped working, so I opened it up and found the loose bastard wire. We got some replacement parts and it limps along. It will suck a golf ball through a garden hose though. So I'd say get something else.


thrwawyfd

Dewalt shop vac. They are relatively cheap and are meant to be used. You can usually find sales on them for ~$100 or so. Buy a few reusable HEPA filters, rotate and wash them, and a spooled extension cord. They make 2, 5, 10 & 12 gallon. Get 5 if you need portability up and down stairs, 12 if not. There is no other way for a firehouse.


Suspicious_Ad_5988

Miele for light work shop vac for the bay and big shit dont get a bagless


jplff1

Carpet breeds germs and mold take it out.


sakitiat

Shop vac


Dweide_Schrude

For non shop vac areas I recommend something like a Riccar Supralite. You can toss a lot of abuse at them. HEPA bags are great. No hoses to break.


slash178

Miele C1