Funny you use that anecdote, that's actually one of the things I do with sawzall blades. We have two diablos on the ladder truck and I have two or three in my personal tools at home. We bought those diablos on the truck with personal funds though, the department prefers to just throw a dozen cheap blades at things.. which frankly gets the job done really well most of the time. There are vehicles with special steel in places that a carbide blade can help on, but we have even better tools for stuff like that. And now that I think about it, in the context of a shock shaft, anything carbide is probably better than something not.
I just haven't used Lenox blades yet, though I assume they compete and are pretty good as well. I'm just used to what I have.
There are definitely times that a rescue team's choice of tool is based on that one being superior, but plenty of times it just comes down to what's available when needed, or more specifically who a govt entity has a contract with. We're actually working with Makita on developing some cutting tools that can be modified from the factory in ways that benefit us. Really excited to see what batteries can do for some of our ventilation saws.. hell even the jaws of life are battery powered these days.