DEER PARK, WA -- Firefighters had to battle frigid temperatures that caused their hoses to freeze up as they worked to extinguish a flower shop in Deer Park. The problem is common in the winter, when temperatures can reach sub-zero.

A water hose is a firefighters greatest weapon, but that water can quickly become an obstacle this time of year.

Almost as quickly as the smoke escaped from the attic of Flowers by Melo Monday evening, water froze to the sidewalks and streets.

“I think it’s actually harder that in the summer time because we hydrate pretty well and get ready for fire season, here it’s so cold and so quick and it interferes with your firefighting in all different aspects,” firefighter Pat Humphries said.

A warm support bus filled with hot drinks was parked nearby so firefighters could periodically escape the frigid temperatures.

“It’s so nice to have that out here in this kind of weather, hats off to those people,” Humphries said.

Monday morning firefighters in Newman Lake had to cut through a thick slab of ice to gain access to lake water before they could start on a house fire. They too were dealing with frozen hoses.

“One of our gauges possibly freezing up on one of our trucks,” Newman Lake Fire Chief Keith Yamane said.

Firefighters also have to factor in the fatigue associated with bone-chilling weather.

“Our firefighters get tired faster, works their bodies a little harder,” Yamane said.

And there’s no break in sight for the firefighters of the Inland Northwest as more fires happen from November to February. According to the U.S. Fire Administration it's during those months that more people use alternative heating devices that can cause fires.