The Fireman's Prayer

When I am called to duty, God   

whenever flames may rage,

Give me the strength to save some life

Whatever be its age.

Help me to embrace a little child

Before it’s too late,

Or some older person

from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert

And hear the weakest shout,

And quickly and efficiently

to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling

and give the best in me,

To guard my neighbor

And protect his property.

And if according to Your will

I have to lose my life,

Please bless with Your protecting hand

My children and my wife

The Fireman’s Prayer is known by every firefighter, every retired firefighter, and every firefighter's spouse. It is more than just a saying. It is truly something we all live by. Whenever the tones drop, night or day, we pray that we can have the strength and the courage to save every life possible. Every person deserves a second chance, and we are the lifeline to give them that second chance. Whether it be a 78 year old man, or a 7 year old child, it is our duty, which we accept with the title, to save them. It is our duty to try our damndest to save someone, no matter the danger to ourselves. We pray to be as focused, attentive, and as observant as possible. It is extremely hard to hear inside a burning house, and when the victims don't have an SCBA, they can not yell for help loudly. We have to listen so closely it is unreal. We pray we can put a fire out as quickly as possible, and to save as much as we can. We want to be the best firefighters we can be. We want to live up to past firefighters and fill the title with honor and integrity. We want to protect everybody and everybody's possessions. We pray that we will make it home to our families, but there is no promises, and death is just right around the corner every time. We trust in God every second, and if it is his will for us to not return to our families, we pray he will protect them like we did when we were around. This is the whole life of a firefighter in one prayer. It is us. It is our lives.

Influences of Behavior

Many people look up to firefighters, especially younger kids and teenagers. If we are out in public, we make it a point to be on our best behavior and to look as professional as we can, even though we are far from being professional. We can get rowdy, and obnoxious, and so on. We are human. We need to have a little fun somehow. Even when we are out on our own hanging out or something, we have to be good. It looks really bad on the department and town if we go out raising kain and act stupid. And it is not like we can just. . .not be with the fire department whenever we want. Everyone in the town of Pennington knows all of our faces; they know we are part of the fire department. We can honestly never hide. With that being said, always being watched is somewhat of an incentive to be mature and act like we are in the position that we are in. We want the respect of not only the adults in the community, but of the children looking up to us too. Not bragging by no means, but us as firefighters have an impact on the children that see us while in uniform and out. I can’t begin to count the times I myself have been out at walmart, or at the park with my friend, and a kid comes up and asks how I’m doing and how the department is doing. They remember us when we go to the schools and talk to them, so they just come to talk to us whenever and wherever they see us. A few of our members have a bit of a language problem (if you know what I mean), and it would look really bad if they were out cursing every breath and some kids that look up to us heard them. That would make them think it was cool, since they look up to us, so they would start using those words, and they would get in trouble and say they can use those words because the firefighters do… it would look really bad on the department. That is why we always try to be professional, even on our spare time, out in public.

New Concept To The Whole Department

As I said in my last blog, we train. . . A Lot. Most of our training is for structure fires, search and rescue, and MVA’s. However, a new threat has been introduced in Lee County that we have engaged in, and it could be more difficult than one thinks.

    Spearhead trail, an atv trail covering a wide span of ground, has recently opened. With enjoyment comes ignorance. I have rode the trail multiple times, and I have been on the majority of the trails. Blue trails are “beginner” trails, and black trails are “expert” trails. I am a fairly advanced rider, as are members of the department, but we have only ventured on three or four of the black trails just to get familiar with them if a need rises that we have to do a rescue. The trails are very challenging and really pose a threat to people that don’t know what they are doing. Even the blue trails are difficult, in my opinion. The trails wouldn’t be so dangerous if people knew their limitations and wouldn’t try to be daredevils and impress their girlfriends. On the rules and regulations you receive when you purchase the permit, that is actually stated in the rules of the trail. There is always going to be someone that wants to show off, and that is how accidents and injuries happen. We recently purchased a new side by side for rescue on the trail, so now we have two side by sides; a six wheeler and a regular four wheel side by side. As rough as the trails are, I sure wouldn’t want to ride on a stretcher, in the back of a side by side, out of there. Many of the trails have big drop offs on both sides. Therefore, we have started getting repelling gear gathered up in the unfortunate case of an incident like that occurring. We actually had a call of a four wheeler flipping one day while eight of us were up on the trails riding. We responded, and thankfully no one was hurt. Many of us on the department have our own ATV’s and such, and it has been agreed that we are going to keep them loaded up and ready to go, in the case we get paged out for anything on the trail.

This is a picture of one little piece of a trail on Spearhead

Proper Training

Firefighting is a skill that not everyone can partake in. It takes time, perseverance, sweat, blood, and tears to earn the title of a firefighter. It also takes courage, strength, and a mindset that when the tones drop, it could be your last day on Earth. A successful day is when everyone comes home safe. Obviously, though, firefighting is a very dangerous activity, and when your are not prepared right, tremendous catastrophes can result. Training is a key role in any career, especially one that can kill you. One training session can be the difference between life and death in a structure fire. If you don't know the difference between an attic ladder and an extension ladder, when a fellow firefighter is trapped on the roof, you will bring the wrong ladder. By the time you go to get the right ladder, the roof collapses, and just like that. . . he is gone. A small error, which could be prevented with the proper training, just ended your brothers life. That may sound gruesome, but that’s life. It is small errors that turn into catastrophic tragedies. There is a saying that we have hanging in the firehall; “When the going gets tough, and mistakes are made. . .it is those times you realize you should have trained harder.” Such a simple statement, yet it has such a big meaning. I will be the first to say that we don't train near as much as we should. When we do train, though, it is very intense, very focused, and very long. We train for many situations, but there is some things that just can't be trained for. For example, we have did senario search and rescue, mayday (firefighter down, in need of help), tight spaces, roof collapse,etc. When we train, though, there is no true danger, the building is not actually on fire, and to be completely honest, the whole aspect of training is different. We train with passageways being clear and sturdy floors. In reality, most of the time doors and hallways are blocked or on fire, and the floor is burnt, so the slightest pressure on it can collapse it. Those are not situations that can be simulated.It would be idiotic to put us in danger and harms way, when there is no threat to another persons life. But you better believe, the second someone else's life gets put in danger, we will go through hell and back to save them. The first one in and the last one out. That's when all the training pays off.

MVA's

A car wreck is something no one ever wants to face. The fear of getting into a motor vehicle accident, MVA, has rendered some people from ever getting behind the wheel because they are so fearful of it. Though it should definitely be a fear, it can be used as an advantage to make people drive safer and realize the consequences of being ignorant while driving. Firefighters don't just run in burning buildings, we “run” every MVA, no matter day or night. The only car accident we don't run is a little fender bender. What would be the point in Rescue 1 showing up to something where the only damage done is some chipped paint? That would be kind of hysterical if you think about it. Most of the MVA’s we run are for considerable reason though. In an accident where the person is trapped inside because the door won't open, or the roof has collapsed, we are the lifeline to get the person out. Whether the car is on its top, on its side, or even on the wheels, we have extrication equipment for it all. The spreaders, or commonly known as “the jaws of life”, are used to pry doors open, move something out of the way, or even to pry a dashboard off of a person. The cutters are what their name implies. They are used to cut door hinges and the pinions so the door can be completely removed instead of just popped open. They can also be used to cut the roof off of a car if need be. Another piece of equipment we have is called the “ram.” It is used to hold a car up if it is suspended, or also used to push a dashboard off of a victim. With any situation thrown at us, we are well equipped and ready for anything. Every truck has a set of spreaders and cutters on it, but Rescue 1 is equipped with anything involving. . . well. . . rescue. We get paged on MVA’s a lot more often than we do on house fires. An MVA is just like anything else in this life; it can be very minor, or it can be tremendous. The worst wreck ever seen could have survivors with nothing more than a scrape on the arm while the most insignificant, minor collision into a ditch, or collision with another car could have people dead on arrival (DOA) at the scene. Sometimes it’s hard to see God’s plan, especially when something happens like what I just explained. Although it's hard to see, it’s faith that has to be seen.

                                                                      (He Survived)

The Unseen Life Of A Firefighter

I have been a firefighter for almost two years now. There ain’t much that I have not seen yet. I’ve seen dozens of houses burnt to the ground, over a hundred cars mangled and destroyed, and yet I can still remember every call I have ever been on like it was yesterday. I suppose it is just one of those things that never leave your mind. Maybe it helps in future situations? Maybe it stays in your mind for a reason? I honestly can not answer these questions. Of course, though,  some tragedies and events are more significant and stand out more than others.

    For example, we were paged out for an oil spill in town one day. We put down absorbent pads, booms, and called the EPA in since it was going into the river. We were there for three or four hours, at the tops. That is all I remember about that incident. It was not very significant and did not really have an affect on me. With that being said, small fender benders and small fires are not really significant either, yet I still remember them. It’s bad to say, but significance is measurable by the amount of damage done. In that case, I wish nothing was significant. If only the world were a perfect place and there was no disaster and loss.   

    I believe that is the thing that people do not understand about firefighters; we ache and hurt just as much as the person we are helping out. Agreed, we do not show it, but our job is to comfort people in their worst. How comforting would we come off if we broke down and let it show how much something affected us in front of the person we are trying to be there for? I’m not going to lie, it affects you. I’m not the same person I was a year and a half ago. It is impossible to not let it affect you. We see people lose absolutely everything they have. How are you supposed to just “let it go”? Speaking for myself, I have spent countless hours not being able to sleep, balling my eyes out thinking about all of it. It’s just one of those “part of the job” kind of things I guess though. There ain’t really nothing to do about it. There is always going to be more tragedies, and more fires, and more wrecks, and all I can do is put up a strong front and comfort and assist in any way possible. That’s the life of a firefighter though.

Town Hall Fire

It was just a regular night at the house. Mom, dad, and I were sitting upstairs watching TV when around 9:37, the tones dropped for a 10-70, structure fire, fully involved. That was all the information dispatch put across the pagers. I immediately jumped up, ran down the steps and put my shoes on, and was out the door, after telling mom and dad I loved them and would be home later, of course. Upon nearing the fire hall, the night was awoken by thick black smoke, and the reddish orange glow of a fully involved fire. When I pulled into the parking lot and parked, it became obvious what the structure fire was; it was the town hall. Truck One, Truck Two, Ladder One, Rescue One, and Truck Five had done left and was on scene. Therefore the only truck left was Truck Three. We marked in route at 9:41 PM.

    When we arrived on scene, Ladder One done had the aerial set up, with a five inch line connected to the hydrant, and Truck One had entry lines charged with an entry team done inside hitting the fire from the heart. It also had a two inch line connected to the hydrant,which was greatly needed. I was ordered to start dragging filing cabinets, computers, laptops, papers, and anything with important information out of the building, and across the parking lot into the grass. We ended up dragging nine full filing cabinets out of the burning building. After we got out as much stuff as we could, me, Evan, Jarrod, Zack, and Jakob became a second entry team, and pulled a crosslay and began our trek from the front of the building. We knocked down as much of the fire as we could, but to little effect in the great big scheme of things. We were hitting the ceiling while the Ladder Truck was hitting the roof. We worked our way as far back as we could until we were stopped by a collapsed ceiling blocking the way. We pulled out and was told told to go to the back and make entry there instead. By this time, it was a little past midnight and it was so cold that the excess water, which there was a bunch of, started to freeze all over the ground. It was literally impossible to walk five feet without slipping.

    As we started around the side of the building, the side wall fell and smoke blocked the vision from everything. We continued around to the back of of the town hall and entered into the core sampling room. There was core rock samples on shelves from the ceiling all the way to the floor, in the biggest room of the building. The core samples were so hot, they burnt my turnout gear and burnt a hole in my rubber boots. We decided to pull out and just spray from the outside. We continued to spray, and work around the building, and make entry, and pull out for the majority of the night. By the time we got the fire knocked completely down, with just a few open flames and many hot spots, it was nearing 7:30 in the morning. We decided to pack everything up, roll hoses, load up, and leave the scene for a few hours to go home and get some rest. I went home around 9:00 and slept for about 4 hours, then got back up and went back out to scene to hit all the hotspots and put out all the rekindled material. I spent another five hours soaking everything down and hitting all the hotspots. It was definitely an eventful two days that will not be forgotten anytime soon.