Absolutely! Amen to that! Don't forget COPS, not to mention soldiers. :) I would enjoy being a fire-fighter, but at 5'10" and 135 lbs., I'd probably be a pretty lousy one, indeed.
Nah, you wouldn't be a lousy firefighter. We have a few smaller guys, a few women, a few fat guys and they all are effective as firefighters. It isn't necessarily all brawn.
Ah, right, a medic - I forgot that a lot of fire-fighting is actually a lot of life-saving. Really, strongsad? That quite surprises me. Intriguing... On a related note, I watched a video a while ago where a firefighter had carried a 1-year-old out of a burning building. Thankfully, the infant survived, but watching the firefighter breath into the infant as he's running for the ambulance was very sad, sobering, etc.
sisters. Even my Lieutenant, who drives me up the wall, is someone I can trust with my life and vice versa. Any disagreements we have evaporates on a fire scene or rescue call. We might bitch about each other but in the end we all love each other. You know how you can complain about your mom or brother but get pissed at someone who says anything about them? It's like that.
Like I said, if you're interested in it go for it. And I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
I was volunteer FD for 11 years, 1200+ calls. Started asking what chief and secretary were writing checks for and wouldn't tell us. $17,000 in 7 months. Started getting nozzle on structures without backup on line. Near breaking point was one fire, chief pushed a door open from outside, and someone slammed front door closed on his way out. Water shut off, I was alone, flashed over, coat shell liquified and set hard when I crawled out the window. They tried killing me 3 more times before I stopped coming to calls. No charges ever pressed, but they know better than to even speak to me now. Can't send a FF to Hell, I know the bouncer.
What kind of department were you in? Why were you in a working structure alone? No backup line? What kind of gear did you have? Nomex doesn't melt or liquify... that's why we use it. It chars.
Nobody else wanted the knob? So the whole department was in on it? The pump operator just cut your line? He was in on it too? Was there no other apparatus there?
I'm sorry bud, I really don't like to call people out but this sounds pretty fishy.
Chief was pump operator, me and 3 others responded, dept had 17 total members of which 4 regularly responded. My brother lives 50 miles away and only visited our parents on weekends, still made more calls than half the dept. This is a rural dept in central Texas.
As for experience, I've been out of firefighting for 10 years and still have more training than all of them combined. One of the Captains literally said on scene of a structure fire "see, this is what we need, more real world experience, we don't need to go to no training." To which I asked if he would volunteer his house to burn next; turned to the crowd on the street 20 ft away and told him to ask one of those people to die in a house fire so he could learn what nozzle pattern to use.
Oh, and our gear started out as the old rubber trench coats and hip boots. Took my father, brother and about 5 others to get a county ESD set up to fund us getting good Morning Pride gear (brother was a vendor for Dooley Tackaberry). The ESD is where the funds came from that the chief & secretary were embezzling.
Anyway, if you think nomex only chairs, then your experience with being in a flashover is limited to youtube videos and Google images. My coat was melted at the shoulder straps to my air pack.
I want this to be a note of caution to everyone. Praise the professional, not the profession. It's not the job that makes someone a hero, it's how they DO their job. On a bell curve, my old dept is near the bottom; th ose in the picture, in the middle; HEROS ... are usually only called so... posthumously. Ain't that a damned shame.
My experience with a flashover is our gear turning red where it got hottest.
Forgive my hesitation for believing you, it just sounded like a movie script at first impression. I know the rural departments can be woefully under equipped and under funded.
Thanks, I stayed in for 11 years with those idgits because if I wasn't there, then no one on scene had training. Wasnt going to let the town suffer because of them. Luckily for me, they were so unqualified that if they tried to lock me in I just used training to escape. Roof collapsing and "accidentally" blocked in? Wall is just a stuck door to a FF with an axe.
Best was one structural fire, found a gun on the bed mopping up. Chief took it and was going to keep. Mentioned it to sheriff who was outside and he tried to deny it existed. Went to truck, got chief's coat off the door, gun in pocket. Sherriff now sends deputies to all their structure fires. Surprisingly, lot fewer house fires since that...
Lol, no. Purely volunteer. I never had problem with anyone who wanted to try to help but... y'know, sometimes you just have to ask people to leave when you catch them responding to the station because of a fire call that hadn't come in yet; and while they're telling you dispatch rang it out, dispatch literally rings it out; with him standing there. First call, only call. How bad is it to be caught at arson because you were too quick to respond to the station. That was ... 2001 maybe, he's back in now... a lieutenant.
We used to have something like that. One of the ladder guys worked at Central dispatch and would call his buddies before toning out the call. He always wanted the ladder first due.
The fire service can be extremely rewarding and if it is something that interests you, you should go for it. The hardest thing for many people is the death you will inevitably see. Some folks can't deal with seeing horrible things and that is ok. Every first responder has a story that haunts them.
The upside (apart from the service you provide to the community) is being part of a family. It sounds cliché but it is true. Just like a blood family we have our disagreements and occasional fights but in the end we are all brothers and
Like I said, if you're interested in it go for it. And I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
Nobody else wanted the knob? So the whole department was in on it? The pump operator just cut your line? He was in on it too? Was there no other apparatus there?
I'm sorry bud, I really don't like to call people out but this sounds pretty fishy.
As for experience, I've been out of firefighting for 10 years and still have more training than all of them combined. One of the Captains literally said on scene of a structure fire "see, this is what we need, more real world experience, we don't need to go to no training." To which I asked if he would volunteer his house to burn next; turned to the crowd on the street 20 ft away and told him to ask one of those people to die in a house fire so he could learn what nozzle pattern to use.
Anyway, if you think nomex only chairs, then your experience with being in a flashover is limited to youtube videos and Google images. My coat was melted at the shoulder straps to my air pack.
I want this to be a note of caution to everyone. Praise the professional, not the profession. It's not the job that makes someone a hero, it's how they DO their job. On a bell curve, my old dept is near the bottom; th ose in the picture, in the middle; HEROS ... are usually only called so... posthumously. Ain't that a damned shame.
Forgive my hesitation for believing you, it just sounded like a movie script at first impression. I know the rural departments can be woefully under equipped and under funded.
Best was one structural fire, found a gun on the bed mopping up. Chief took it and was going to keep. Mentioned it to sheriff who was outside and he tried to deny it existed. Went to truck, got chief's coat off the door, gun in pocket. Sherriff now sends deputies to all their structure fires. Surprisingly, lot fewer house fires since that...
Was it one Of those subscription type of departments?