November 3 – “The Case of the Missing Fire Pup”

I made it over to fire station five yesterday with little fanfare from the thousands of motorcycles here on the Island for the Lone Star Bike Rally.  I guess ten in the morning was a little too early for the cruising to begin.  The Fire Prevention Open House was coordinated by a team under the direction of the Galveston Fire Marshall Gilbert Robinson.  The event marks the end of the fire prevention emphasis that every school is encouraged to take part in every year.  Fire fighters and fire department staff members go into the schools and do programs encouraging fire prevention and educating about what to do in the event of a fire.  A contest encourages kids to create posters encouraging fire prevention, and local insurances associates provide trophies and cash prizes for the winners.  Yesterday was the day the day those trophies and prizes were presented.

I particularly enjoyed what happened when the presentations actually began.  One of the fire fighter rookies had the “honor” of dressing up as Fire Pup.  The Fire Pup costume consists of gloves that look like dog paws, a bright yellow fireman jacket, and a massively huge Dalmatian head.  I must say that Firefighter Thompson carried himself well in the outfit.  He managed to emote a sense of excitement, and the first little kindergartener seemed proud to be photographed with him.  But suddenly, the fire alarm went off in the station.  A call came through for the rescue truck, and the fire fighters assigned to the unit leapt into action.  The only thing was, one of the fire fighters assigned to the rescue truck yesterday was … you guessed it … Fire Pup.  To his credit, Firefighter Thompson jumped as well.  He waved goodbye to the children and raced around the side of the building, like Superman heading for a phone booth to change into his superhero outfit.  And when he emerged to take his place on the truck, he received an ovation from the crowd.  Apparently that was the first time in all the years of doing the ceremony that Fire Pup had to leave to answer a call.  Nice job, Will.  Fire Chief Wisko stood in for him, and did a fine job posing for photos, but, hey, there’s nothing like having a picture with a human-dalmatian hybrid with a huge head. 

 

After the presentations were completed and the people were enjoying refreshments, the station five firefighters set up a demonstration to show the difference in response and results when a home or business has or does not have a sprinkler system.  Two very small rooms had been built, each containing identical furniture – a couch, a table, a trash can, and some curtains on the window.  On was equipped with a sprinkler system.  The other was not.  After some initial struggles with the high winds, the fire was lit in the first structure – without sprinklers.  Fire Marshall Robinson gave a play by play account of what was happening with the fire and the time that was elapsing, all superimposed on a countdown of the typical six-minute response time of the fire department.  He described the action of the flames, and predicted exactly when the flashover would occur, with flames rolling up to the ceiling and exploding out of the front of the structure.  All the while alarms were sounding all around.  Three fire fighters were suited up, crouched in front of the structure and ready to move in at a moment’s notice.  Two held a water line.  One was recording the temperature of the fire and relaying it to the fire marshall, who then shared it with the crowd.  Several of the spectators began to notice something unusual about these three as they waited for their cue to attack the fire.  Every so often one of them would seem to shiver or shake himself.  Occasionally one would punch one of his cohorts.  I had a chance to explain that each one was wearing a safety device that alarmed whenever the firefighter stayed in a still position for too long a period.  The idea is that if he for any reason was injured or trapped, the alarm would automatically alert his fellow firefighters that a rescue was needed.  These guys were simply turning off the alarm by moving.  Finally the signal from Marshall Robinson came and the firefighters on standby rushed in.  In short order they had the fire completely put out, all to the cheers of the crowd standing by. 

The second fire began the same way, with the fire marshall providing the countdown.  Suddenly the sprinkler system kicked on and in seconds the fire was completely extinguished.  There was never even that much smoke generated, a point Marshall Robinson made as key to the ability to find the exits in such a circumstance.  I had the privilege of talking with Marshall Robinson after the event, and he further pointed out to me the “V” pattern that the fire had made on the wall of the first building.  He explained that the point of the “V” invariably reveals the starting point of the fire.  Fascinating.  I told him I was quite impressed, and he humbly responded, “That’s what we’re trained to look for.” 

Very impressive job all the way around, from the obvious early preparations by Trish and Nora to the cake and cookies to the personal touch by the fire fighters in showing kids the truck.  I would say the event was a rousing success.  Thanks, everyone.

Psalms 118:28 says, “You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.”

Father, this weekend has been really active with fire and rescue calls.  Keep our guys safe as they respond.  Amen.