Engines one and two as well as Tower one
and rescue truck one all arrived pretty quickly. Fast enough that two of the rookies were able
to experience their first ever “first on the scene” fire. Will and John both proved themselves
admirably, and I suppose crossing that threshold make them “old hands”
now. Still listening in on the radio, it
sounded like engine five was next on the scene.
I heard engine four first move to cover for station five, but they soon
ended up on the scene as well. And
before long engine seven rolled up along with … wait a minute. Engine nine?
I am guessing that was a reserve vehicle. It really turned into an “all hands on deck”
fire.
The couple who owned the house lived there
alone with their two cats. They made it out
fine quite early on, so the rescue squad could breathe somewhat easier. The fire wasn’t about to make anything easy,
though. Several of the guys explained to
me that because of the “balloon construction” of the house, there was no fire
break between the two floors or attic.
That made it possible for the fire to jump quickly throughout the
house. And it reaching the attic made it
especially difficult. Every time they
knocked it back, it would return to the floor below and start up again. Smoke kept billowing from the attic for a
long time until some guys were able to get a ladder to the roof, crawl through
the thick smoke, and cut a vent hole in the roof. That apparently pulled the fire away from the
walls, and it wasn’t long until the smoke dissipated. Meanwhile, teams on the ground were
struggling with hot spots that kept flaring up.
It was important to get into the locked garage, because there were two
vehicles in there. Fire Chief Wisko was
on the scene, and he even suited up in his bunker gear and pitched in to get
the doors down and do what could to help.
Battalion Chief Rourke once again did an admirable job coordinating
everything. I was impressed with the
work of fire fighter Dixon manning the truck and especially with Captain
Varela. He was able to sense ahead of
time just what the guys fighting the fire would need. By the time they turned to ask for a
particular tool, he was already on his way toward them, tool in hand. I encouraged Captain Varela about just that
knack. He answered, “Thanks, but I’m a
captain. I just wanted to be in there
with my guys.”
After the fire the guys were talking about
the specifics of who did what and when and why.
It was fascinating. They even
shared a lot with me and said they appreciated me being there. They were debriefing each other and educating
me at the same time. It was quite a
humbling experience to be allowed into their world for those brief moments. And it certainly gave me some insight on how
to better pray for them and their families.
Oh, and one final comment from Engineer
Anderson summed up the day. “No one was
hurt and we saved both cats.” And I understand they even used the new pet breathing apparatus on one of them. That puts
the emphasis where it belongs, Cody.
Life and relationships. Even if
the relationships are with cats. After
all, the felines were family as far as that couple was concerned.
John 11:25-26 says, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes
in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
Father, thank you for the life you gave me
and for the relationships you have sprinkled into it to make it
interesting. Amen.
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