July 25 – “Night fire”

The day started out simple enough.  I finished up the Bible study prep for Home Group.  Chris and Cailyn cleaned house.  After lunch we took Cailyn to the library.  She had read all the books for the summer reading club, so she was presented with all of her prizes and had her picture taken.  Of course that meant we had to stop by and show everything to Daddy at his work.  His comment?  “It’s been a “very quiet day so far.”  Hmm.  Home group came and went.  Always good to see those folks.  Around 10 p.m. we were getting ready for bed.  Hey, people our age need our rest.  And that’s when the call went out.  Fire.

I was surprised that we had heard no sirens.  I have learned that even if they don’t respond to the fire, pretty much every station is on heightened alert.  Someone has to be ready to cover other calls that might come in during the fire.  At first I couldn’t get the scanner on my phone to work.  Then I realized that the volume was turned all the way down.  I forgot Cailyn had been here.  As the bars slowly came up, the radio exploded to life.  Chris knew before she asked that I was going.  I hurried to change clothes.  Not nearly as fast as the fire fighters are getting into their bunker gear, but for an old guy, not bad.   

Listening to the phone ap as I drove to the fire site, I heard that it was “just a garage fire.”  It was a garage – and a cinderblock garage at that.  But this one had an entire second floor.  A wooden second floor.   The fire was fully involved when first on scene Engine One arrived.  And during the ensuing initial phases of the battle, one whole side of the structure collapsed.  It didn’t take long for the incident commander to declare a defensive approach to the fire.  Some of the commands were second nature to these fire fighters, and they performed them with speed and efficiency.  Others proved more difficult as the team tried to figure ways to gain access on all fronts.  Obstacles stood in their way.  A large wooden fence blocked them on one side, and they did everything they could to avoid unnecessarily harming the resident’s property.  Nice job.

I began to notice some of the strangest things during this nighttime attack. 

Lights on trucks, spotlights placed around the structure, the glow of flames and embers, all combined with the heavy smoke to light up the area like an eerily hazy version of sunset.

So much water on the ground that ants were swarming all over the yellow-painted concrete parking barrier upon which my foot rested.  I dully brushed at my pants leg in what felt like a slow-motion, haphazard effort to remove any creatures that might have sought refuge on my leg.  I didn’t jump and run or swat violently.  I guess there was too much else going on for me or the ants to be worried about an attack.

On-site paramedics agreeing to send cell phone photos of the fire to fire fighters. 

Battalion Chief Bowen calling command orders over the radio. 

Captains directing the action one the front lines.

Assistant Chief Olsen arriving from home and overseeing the operation, offering advice, and making contact with residents. 

Hoses strewn across the ground, some spewing a thin spray at connection points, throbbing with pressure, ready for the moment when the nozzle would be directed at the flames and released.

Driver-engineers scurrying around their truck pumps, pulling needed gear.

Fire fighters in full gear, some racing toward the structure, others down on both knees, catching their breath while still poised to return to action at any moment.

Safety officer recognizing concerns, pointing them out, and offering his insight on solutions. 

Police officers establishing a perimeter and interviewing the residents and making small talk with the fire fighters.

Power company representatives standing by, having seen to it that power to the structure has been shut down.

Residents scurrying to get those last few belongings they will need for their unplanned hotel stay while power is restored over the next few days. 

Neighbors milling about, sometimes striking up a conversation with each other, shaking heads at just how close a call this was, sharing stories of what they had been doing when suddenly there were sirens piercing the night, fire trucks surrounding their homes, and an army of fire fighters literally at their front door.

“I heard the person who called it in said he smelled something electrical burning.”
“Well, my electric cable is on the ground in my backyard.  I guess he was right.”

A neighbor to the residents: “What hotel are you staying at tonight?”
The quizzical reply: “What?  What do you mean?”
With a grin: “‘Cause I’m not going to that one.  You guys have had some serious bad luck.”
Come to find out, the residents had just had their car stolen, and now a fire.  Maybe that neighbor was onto something.

After things settled down some, one of the fire fighters came up to me and said, “So let’s discuss the whole issue of predestination versus free will.”  And pointing to his watch, “We have time.”  A policewoman heard his challenge and sidled up, saying she wanted to listen in on this one.

I responded with a grin, “The answer is yes.”  Then I shifted gears a bit.  “It’s all about God loving us and wanting love to actually mean something.  For that to happen, there has to be a choice.  You have to choose to love or it’s not love at all.  So God took a risk and gave us a choice whether to love him back or not.  So like everything else, the answer lies somewhere in God’s nature as love.”  Phew.  Theology discussion is not what I expected to be having at 11:00 at night in the middle of a fire.  Way to keep me on my toes. 

Oh, and one final thought.  All in all from my totally uninformed perspective, our new trucks performed admirably.  Wait.  Actually they are just trucks.  It was the crews who performed admirably.  I’m proud of you guys.

Joshua 24:15 says, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Father, thank you for that choice to choose.  Puts a lot of pressure on us, but the love that come with it is just amazing.  Amen.