Fire Fun...

Yesterday was a good day, busy, but good. I managed to get on the engine and we ran a lot of EMS calls as well as a car accident. But the highlight of the day was a car fire. Usually, on fire alarm and vehicle fire calls, there hasn't been a hazard...This wasn't a usual call I guess.

Yesterday was a 'yucky' kind of day, really overcast and raining on and off. We were out in our territory and finishing up a business inspection when we were dispatched for a vehicle fire. Being the tailboard rider, I was doing a balancing act to get my gear on while in route to the call. I got everything on and was holding my facepiece, looking out the front window as we proceeded down the street. As we rounded a curve, I saw it, a large cloud of smoke rising from a car engulfed in flames. I spun back around and put on my facepiece, helmet, and gloves, then hopped out and grabbed one of the crosslays(200ft of hose with nozzle). We broke a connection since we only needed 100ft and the line was charged. I put the regulator on(to breathe air from the SCBA), bled the air from the line, and made the attack on the car (with the seat-man right behind me of course!).

The car was rolling good when we got there, both front tires had melted, as well as the front of the hood. The front windshield had somewhat disentegrated and the fire was trying to move through the fire wall and into the dashboard. I guess getting the hood open on this one shouldn't be a problem.

As soon as the first drops of water hit the fire, all went to smoke and steam- all I could think was that I knew the car was right in front of me so keep aiming there and see if the visibility gets better. Thankfully, the fire was under control in a few moments. One of the windows was shattered so we could unlock and open the doors to help ventilate and see any more hot spots. We kept drenching certain areas under the hood that kept smoking.

The driver was lucky to get out safely, he managed to get his car completely off the road before parking it.

On a funnier note. Earlier that morning, the engine driver explained to me that he normally had the pressure set for 90psi. If there was more than one line being operated, the pressure would be boosted to keep both lines at 90, but if one line shut down, the other would get more pressure and to use the nozzle to control the pressure until he could adjust it. After we made it back to the station, I was asking some questions aboutthe water pressure I was getting and what was the pressure set at. Things I'm not really required to know since I can't operate the pump, but hey, even rookies can be curious! Turns out at first it was set for 90, but only putting out 80psi. (He was asked to boost the pressure some in the middle of the extinguishment). He bumped the pressure to 100psi, and of course, the pump sent 120psi through the line. Even I knew something happened when I had to gate it back a little! 

The tow truck driver told us about a time he was carrying a burnt car and it rekindled as he was driving down the street. He asked us repeatedly to make sure it was out before he loaded it. He was being nice about it so we humored him. I took turns watching for and adding a little water wherever there was still a little smoke (hard to do on a windy day). As I was flowing a little water on the last hot spot I realized there was a problem. I shut down the nozzle, turned to the driver and said "uh, I think we're out of tank water......the line just went limp." His eyes got as big as saucers and he took off running to the engine. Sure enough, it was empty. There wasn't a big fiasco, the fire had been out for a while, this was the 3rd or 4th time we wet it down. Besides, we were lucky, there was a hydrant right across the street...I've been told that rarely happens.

It wasn't a bad shift, we ran a few calls overnight...also had the telephone ring a lot. I guess I'll just be the typical rookie, overexcited and overeager to let my friends and family reading this know.....................

I got my first fire!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!

what a day

Today has been a long one, I've spent the day cleaning. I had to clean up the mess I left from painting my new bedroom, vacuum until I could vacuum no more, and put together the new ceiling fan. The longest part was making sure the floor is as clean as possible, my dad promised to help me by shampooing the carpet tomorrow. It took over an hour of vacuuming until I could run it over the entire room and not pick up and more dirt. Of course the ceiling fan didn't come with the mounting plate I need so I'm going to stop by the store on the way home from work.

I'm going to make a prayer request, a couple days ago I learned my boyfriend of over 2 years is going to be headed overseas soon. He leaves for 3 weeks next month for training, coming home for Christmas, then heading off to fight in the "War against Terrorism." Frankly, I'm scared to death for him. He is a chemical specialist, so anything biological he'll be in the middle of. He also has his liscense for the Hummer and usually gets stuck driving a Sgt. Major around. Both will make him a likely target. Like I said, please pray for him (and my nerves!).

Not much interesting at the station lately. I've been on the ambulance the past few shifts- I don't mind it really, it makes learning the territory a little easier when you're driving it. I'm starting to get used to the daily routine of cleaning, checking the units in, dealing with the occasional civilian wanting their blood pressure checked, and working the computer programs. I'm still trying to adjust to having to be able to function normally when I woke up 30 seconds ago and am now rolling down the street lights and sirens at 3 am...I'm not sure if I'll ever really get used to that.

take care

Safety thoughts....

First of all...dcfrff2, thanks for the warning, I didn't think I'd put anything down that could violate hipa-guess that's how you live and learn. I'd been told that an engine and a rescue were considered a double company, I stand corrected. I somewhat figured the big brass would try to keep up with us and if I have to I will make this a private journal- but that is my last resort. For me, this is my outlet, a chance to get everything off my chest, and share stories with some friends...and not all of it is fire related (quite often it's my parents). I'll see if I can still get my point across without giving too much information.

I'm so tired right now I don't plan to write much anyways.

That being said.....

As the weather grows colder, I'm with the general populous...I turn up the furnace, grab warm blankets, and (if I had one) I would light a fire in the fireplace. This is the time of year to make sure everything is in it's place and working properly. If you have a gas stove, furnace, or water heater- make sure there are no leaks in the gas lines and that anything that could ignite a fire or prevent firefighters from getting to a fire to put it out is removed from that area. If you are fortunate enough to have a fireplace, this is the time to have someone clean the chimney, if it prevents a fire, it's money well spent...and always remember to open the flue. Don't forget to check the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors as well.

Other than that, we ran about 10-15 calls. Most were fire alarms-either false alarms or we were cancelled. Came eerily close to making it to a couple legitimate calls for something burning. Only had a couple medical calls, nothing interesting on either call for us...just helped the guys out on the rescue. The rest of the day was spent cleaning, doing inspections, taking a couple small tests, and staring at the big map of the territory.

take care

First Shift

Friday night I hardly received any sleep, not for lack of trying, I was too excited. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I couldn't wait for it to be time to get up...Only I was going to work instead of getting presents. 

My new home is a double company, a Rescue and an Engine-normal crew of 5 per shift. It's not in the area of town I'd prefer, in fact, it's in one of the areas I usually avoid. It could be worse.

I made it to the station about 0625 and had to wait until someone else showed up to get in (I don't have a key yet). I made it in and met my Cap't and the guy who would be driving the engine for the day, the rest of the crew arrived not long afterward. I put my gear on the engine and watched the driver check the inventory log, I was trying to get a rough idea where everything was. The engine was moved outside so we could wash it and clean it up. Cap't came out to talk to me and let me know what my responsibilities would be. I knew that being the rookie I'd get the crappy jobs, but I didn't know I'd have ALL the jobs. Being a Saturday (house day) there was a little more to be done. I had to clean the bathroom, sweep and mop/or vaccuum all floors, turn up all the matresses so they could air out, empty the trashcans, clean the dishes and empty the dishwasher. I'm also responsible for putting the exhaust system over the tailpipe after each call and I'm the one who pumps the gas when the engine needs it (we have a big diesel storage tank at the station).

The first 2 calls of the day were fire alarms-both were false alarms. The first was smoke in the kitchen of a restaraunt, it was the first time their heater system had been used this year. The other was a fog machine in a church that set off the alarm. The next few calls were medical-related. One was a 4-car accident on the expressway. The 2 people in the car that caused the accident were transported to the hospital with neck and back pain.

The next call was dispatched as a possible broken finger. HA! We rolled up to see 2 police cars onscene. Inside, a man was arrested right after we arrived. The lady with the "broken finger" claimed he locked her in a bedroom overnight and threw her down some stairs and beat her that morning. PD came back in to question her after finding out she had a restraining order against him. He got a nice ride with a new pair of shiny silver bracelets, she got to sign a TNT.

We had a break from calls for a while and went to do some hydrant testing. Again, being the rookie, I had to spin the hydrants...all 15-20 of them. We got through one subdivision and had to catch another call. Difficulty breathing at an assisted living facility. Claimed to be in pain but had multiple pain prescriptions, was transported to the hospital. We went in service and picked up lunch on the way back to the station.

Later on, we finished checking the hydrants in that area and ran a few more calls not worth mentioning. That night, we were cancelled on most of our calls. Another fire alarm came in, this time at the mall-it was another false alarm. We also responded to a woman in labor, our driver was a paramedic and rode on the BLS ambulance to the hospital in case she had the baby while enroute. After picking him up, we made it to the station and were able to lay in bed all of 2 minutes before the bell rang again, we were cancelled while enroute. Finally made it to bed about 0245 and slept until shift change at 0700. We ran at least 10 calls and I'm beat. It'll be better once I get used to it, the fact that it gets dark at 1800 doesn't help.

I'll try to write down some notes so I can remember the 'good calls' from my next shift (Tuesday). Until then...it's dinnertime, then naptime.

Take care and stay safe