FIRE, FIRE, FIRE! An ACTUAL REAL FIRE!!!

I had 2 Fire calls yesterday.

TWO!

IN ONE DAY!!!

The first one came in while I was home at lunch.

An alarm at my kid's school!

I raced down to the station, grabbed my gear and climbed aboard the truck.

When we arrived on scene, there was no smoke showing, BUT I was fully dressed and breathing air from my SCBA.

I was ready to ROCK!

As we jumped off the truck, we are greeted by the Principal.

Turns out, a Kindergartener and known troublemaker, had pulled the alarm on the way out for recess.

False Alarm. No fire.

Oh well, STILL COUNTS!

Then, about 8pm, the tones went off again.

"Jonesboro Fire, Gas City Fire, Gas City Rescue. Structure fire at (address). Fire in bathroom."

I thought, "GEEZ, I've heard of having the hot flaming shits before, but DAMN!"

This call was different.

It was the REAL thing. Not just a call or an alarm. They actually mentioned visible flames on the call.

Race down to the station. FIRST! (Only I wasn't actually, as a couple guys were there doing work at the station)

Grab my gear and jump on the truck.

That's when things went downhill.

I shut my coat in the door.

Also, I was the smallest guy on the truck and had no space to move, let alone get my coat on.

The driver was hauling balls to the wall, as we were getting reports the structure was becoming engulfed.

We were bouncing around like pinballs in the back, as he raced through stop signs and over potholes and curbs.

To make matters worse, I opened the door to get my coat unstuck.

Right as he was turning a corner!

When we got there, I still hadn't gotten my coat fastened. I moved and let the other guys off the truck.

Then I proceeded to fight my mask for an eternity. Seems when I put it back after the first run, the straps decided to braid themselves together tighter than a 12 year old's ponytail.

THEN, my helmet strap wouldn't fasten!

I was gased just getting my gear on.

By the time I turned around and headed up the steps of the house, the fire was mostly out.

We stayed on scene till about 11pm, putting out hotspots and securing everything.

So there you have it, my first "real" fire run.

FAIL


*walks away in shame*