I have noticed lately that more and more Strike Teams are not writing their Strike Team identifiers on their windshield. I have noticed it more with State and Federal Strike Teams, Local Government and OES Strike Teams usually do. Does anyone know why the State and Federal are not doing it? I personally think it is very helpful to know what engine or crew is part of what ST. Also I have noticed that line supervision such as Divisions are also not writing on their windshields.
They may have used up all of their white shoe polish. Really. In busy seasons just like AA batteries it disappears or at least it did in rural NorCal🙂
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Well, cal fire and FED STENS are usually from the same unit/forest and everyone knows who’s who in the zoo…
LG and OES STENS tend to be made up of various (rainbow) apparatus from the same region, so it’s easier to identify the sten (or what ever config or equipment, meaning taskforce or limas as an example)
As a DIVS or SOFR…I kinda know the 9XXXC through out the state just by looking on the left front bumper…not so much for an OES or LG from out of my region.
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With fire season being what it is lately, I suggest engines have a programmable markee sign, like busses use, to identify their strike team numbers.
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To tell you the truth that’s the last thing I want hanging off my engine.
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Cal Fire strike team numbering is pretty standard.
Correct me if I am wrong or use the wrong verbage.
Example 9350c. BDU Unit 3500
9 is for the state
3 is region
5 is unit
0 is the first strike team out (then 1,2,3 ect.)
C Charlie engines… or type 3
By seeing an CF engine identifier you can usually know at least the first three numbers of the strike team.
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We have never put our strike team identifiers on state engines in my whole career, at least not where I have worked. Now gulfs are a different story they usually tend to show there identifiers with magnets.
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State and federal strike teams have rarely if ever done this
We go so much it simply gets monotonous.
Our identifiers are pretty standard based on unit or forest
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Agree…sort of. Most CF units can put out so many STs…like LNU can put out about 15…or could when they had two full crew camps…you could go out 8 times in a season, with a different number each tine!
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Programmable signs…I see much practical joke potential here.
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And it’s GOLF
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I have been on a few mixed bag charlie sten assignments with mixed unit engines out of southern region SOPS. Usually unit sitting on the order gets the strike team number designator. In my case it was BDU 935x both times being on a RRU and MVU engine.
Ive seen the ST magnets in our units warehouse hidden behind a beam, but never asked or been given a reason to why or why not we dont use them.
Well sorry for hitting the wrong button and spelling golf wrong…
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I have never put it on my window as a Strike Team leader, DIV or any other assignment. And I am packing up to go out last time I’m thinking about his drawing on my window. The only exception was the time I had a rental, I kept getting weird looks in the fuel line.
It is helpful when Golf’s from CSR use the magnetic. Some of them use a region designator instead of unit.
Love it when Div A writes “DIVA” on the window…
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Maybe they are trying to hide from the dozer guys… 
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We used to every S/T in the 90’s in SLU for some reason. Seems to have gone away… with the end of the 1’s and 5’s S/Ts.
Since each ranger unit was unique… never understood why the firefighter in the front seat had to spend the whole time staring at backwards numbers!!!