How Long Has It Been?

How long has it been since I have written anything?

Too long. I have no excuse but to say that I have had my attention elsewhere.

But I am back on track and shining! I love to write, and feel like God has given me a gift, and I plan on using that gift more.

So look for more entries as time goes on!

Woman At the Races

Our fire department was not the first to allow women in its ranks.

And there were a couple of women in our department before I joined up.

So, as far as being progressive in that area, we are about average. HCVFD is progressive in many other areas, to be sure. Especially in putting out hydrocarbon fires.

Not long after I joined up, we went to a fire convention. They called it "pumper races". Being green, I had visions of fire trucks racing around a track. Far from it!

The "pumper races" are events that firefighters compete pulling hose, making connections and racing the water. They are very fun to participate in and watch.

Before the races, there is a meeting of the State Firefighters Fire Marshalls convention. It was interesting to see how this type of organization was ran.

After the meeting, there are door prizes. I won a large bag of peanuts.

Jerry said "You got some goobers!"

My reply? "What are goobers?"

You guessed it! My first nickname became "Goober"!

Then came time for the races. Chief had me watch what went on and gave me the easiest place on the team. After the starting gun goes off, I was to jump out of the cab of the fire truck, grab the hydrant wrench, run to the fire plug and when they had the hose hooked up, turn on the water. I was a little nervous and paced a little. What if I messed up?

Suddenly, they called a meeting of the race captains. My chief went over to see what was going on. They didnt want me to race. I was a woman. This was the men's race. I should be on the Ladies Auxillary races. The race captain and our chief quickly informed them that I was a firefighter, and we didnt have a Ladies Auxillary! After several long minutes, the others finally agreed to let me run.

We didnt win anything, but it was a lot of fun!

I have been to the races many times after that, and usually dont have any problems. Once in a while, the men at the door of the business meeting wont give me a door prize ticket. Because the ladies have their own door prizes in their meetings. I have to argue a little, but not too much.

Just last March, the races were held at the same town I went to the first time. The one that had such a hard time with women racing on the men's teams. I had to argue more than a little to be allowed in the meeting, let alone get a door prize ticket!

I suppose they didnt learn anything from the last time.

How Time Does Fly

It was almost a year ago, when we had another big one.
My, how time does fly! Actually, last year was a year of big ones.

Last March, we were in a county north of us, helping with a big grass fire there. It was so big, they were evacuating a town that the head was racing toward. The wind was fierce, created by the fire itself.

Louie and I were following a resident down a cow trail, trying to get to a spot ahead of the fire to help push it back, when we were recalled to go back home. Our city fire department was fighting a grass fire and was needing help, fast. I tried to catch the attention of the resident that we were following, by using the siren, flashing my lights, honking the horn, but he kept right on going.
With a shrug, I turned around and made my way back to the main road. I found another fire truck about to enter the gate and asked them to express our apologies and explain for us.

All the way back, we could see the column of smoke. As we got closer, we could hear the radio traffic. It sounded bad. My foot got heavier and heavier on the gas pedal.

The fire had started in one residential section and had progressed through an undeveloped area and was threatening another residential area. Two houses were already lost. Another had caught fire and was being worked on.

When we got there, Louie jumped onto the pumper truck, and I raced around the other side of the street to try to get into an alley way. The heat and smoke was too intense. Chief called me to the other end and he jumped on and we made our way through the alley, putting out wooden fences and piles of logs.

It took all day to fight this fire. At one point, the Chief decided to make a stand at a clearing at the edge of the houses, but before we could get started, a fire storm blew up and raged through it. We jumped around, putting out hot spots in the grass in front of a community building. The radiant heat was igniting the dry grass. We pushed the fire around the community building and chased it down the alleyway until it reached an area of wildland.

By then, the Forest Service was out there and helping with air tankers and bulldozers. I was assigned to shadow a bulldozer while he cut fire breaks. Then to follow a Forest Serviceman as he used a torch to do a back burn.

I looked up at one point to see fire climbing up the side of the mountain. We call it a mountain because it is the highest point in our county, but it is actually a tall hill. It was an amazing sight to see the fire roar up the hillside. Our firefighters were up there, making a stand, trying to keep it from going any further. They had started back burns to take away any fuel that would feed this fire. I prayed hard for their safety. After reaching the top, the fire slowed down some and the firefighters were able to get a handle on it.

We finally got it under control, and sent most of the city firefighters home, and the Forest Service went back to their posts. Our fire crews, and a crew from the city, stayed on the scene and did patrols all through the night making sure there were no flare ups or hot spots.

A resident sent a letter to the editor saying how safe they felt, hearing our engines going up and down the alleyway.

For a long time, you could see the charred areas from the farm to market road that circled the city. It still doesnt look green, even in the spring.

Which is probably a good thing. The city was paged out for a grass fire in the same area last night. Almost a year later. The wind was blowing about 40 mph and our Chief got up to get ready to help if they needed it.

But this time, they got it put out in record time and we got to go back to bed.

A Road in the Dark

It was dark.

It was early in the morning.

I couldnt see very well through sleep deprived eyes.

Four o'clock in the morning, we get a fire call for a grass fire in the south west part of the county.

The best way to get there is to go down the interstate heading west, exit a certain off ramp, then take the south service road until you get to a certain county road. Take it south.

I am driving the pumper/tanker.

I get to my exit and make it without incident.

Now, where is my turn off? I cant remember how far down it is. I know at least several blocks, but exactly how far?

There is the DPS office, ok, a little bit further.

I see a sign! That must be it!

As I am entering the turn, I read "S Allin". Allen? Where did that street come from? But I am commited to the turn and keep going.

Do I pull over and look at the map? Where does this road go? Does it connect with the one I am needing?

These questions run through my mind as I try to decide what to do.
Then I see red flashing lights moving across my road off in the distance.
Ok, I'm alright. I can see the grass fire off to the right, and that fire truck just crossed my path. I can get there from Allen road.

The Chief calls me on the radio. "Did you see any other fires on Stallings Road?"

Stallings?

"Negative, I came in on South Allen."

He replied that he understood. Was that laughter I heard in the background?

I get to the fire without incident and we use the pumper/tanker for a water supply. Soon, they have the twenty acre fire put out and we gather around pumper.

That's when it hits me. S Allen is really Stallings Road with the 't' and the 'gs' worn off!

I had taken the right road after all!

Now, to live this one down will be a challenge.

President's Day

Today is the anniversary of the Refinery Fire.

Last year, on this date, the local oil refinery blew up. It shook the earth for miles, broke out windows and shifted walls.

Many people can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing at that moment in time. There are some incredible stories out there.

What was even more incredible was that there was no loss of life. Only minor injuries.

It was President's Day, and a 'skeleton crew' was manning the plant.

It is a day not many people will forget.
I still walk out of the house and look to the west and see the column of smoke. It was huge, black and boiling. For many weeks, I was still hearing the rattling 'boom' of the explosion.
My husband, the Chief, knew exactly what it was. But my son and I had to scramble out of the house to take a look.

Through strength and courage, our Chief and his crew faced the monster in the refinery and defeated it. Using ingenuity and all the training we have had, they got it under control and out in record time.

I was in the Accountability and Staging area, trying to keep up with all the people that poured in to help. When they had heard what happened, they came in without being called. Lots of people and equipment!

As I watched the smoke column go from one large stack, to several small fingers, I knew that they had a handle on the fire and it would be out soon.

Every time there is a loud noise, or shaking, we look to the refinery and make sure its all right.

A year later, and we are still doing that.

But we know that if it happens again, we can handle it. We are prepared.

Our Department

Our fire department has over twenty active firefighters. There are ten stations, but only five of them attend the trainings and respond to the majority of fires. The other five are what we call rural stations. Those consist mostly of farmers and they only want to do grass fires. That protects their farms, their only interests. Which is okay, because they are 'way out in the boonies' and if they can get to their stations quickly, those firefighters can get a jump on the grass fire and keep it small.

There is another department in the city. They are the paid firefighters. Their response time is lower due to living in the fire stations, and their district is the city limits. But they will come out into the county and assist us when we have structure fires, or grass fires threatening structures. And we help them when they have big grass fires in the city. So it all works out.

Once upon a time, the volunteers looked up to the city boys as role models. And well they should, because they had better training, and equipment. Over the years, the Chief has trained the volunteers firefighters until we are a professional team. He has also worked very hard to get us excellent equipment. So now, the city boys look up to us!

We dont stay at the stations twenty four hours. The county issues out pagers and radios and we can stay at home, or go into town, whatever and wait for a page out. It takes a few minutes to get to the station, and Gunney, a fire fighter that lives closer to the station cant figure out how I get there faster than he does!

Sometimes, I get this 'still' feeling. I just want to sit down and do nothing. Housework waits. Laundry stays in the dryer. Dinner doesnt get cooked. Phone calls dont get made. After a little while, we get a page out. My husband, the Chief, gets those same 'still' feelings. They are strange, and sometimes, nothing comes of them. But more often than not, it happens.

There are a lot of family gatherings, parties and other social situations that have been missed because of fire calls. That is one of the negative things about being in the fire service. And it is hard for non-fire family members to understand. Hey! I've been there! I know!

I try to call my daughter in law when we are on a long fire, so that she doesnt fret about her husband. My son is a Battalion Chief in the department and is doing very well. But he often forgets to call her and let her know he is alright. What did we ever do before cell phones, I wonder?

Our fire department trains twice a month, sometimes more. We are also on a certification program of which I am the coordinator. That is a very frustrating position! Its hard to keep up with all the firefighters when we have new ones coming in all the time, and old ones leaving. Some new ones leaving. Our roster is rather fluid and is sometimes kind of tidal. Some seasons we have alot of members, some seasons we have barely any. There is a 'core group' that has been with the department for over ten years. Our Chief has over twenty years right now.

We do lots of different kinds of trainings. Water rescue, haz-mat, live burns, structural collapse, wildland, to name a few. We have classroom trainings, too. We have a scuba team, but I am not on that. I will stay on the shore and help out there, thank you. In the past few years, we have done several body recoveries from the area lakes.

As can be seen, we are an active department!

Beginnings

Beginnings

My husband spent several years trying to find a place for himself. It seemed he had a hole in his heart that needed filling. He tried several different things, but none of them satisfied. The Gun Club, the Archery Club, Bowling Leagues. Each one brought new skills, but left him empty.
Until he found the Volunteer Fire Department in our area.
He joined that and never looked back. Working his way up through the ranks, he eventually became Chief and has made the department the best it has ever been.

For many years, I was jealous of the fire service.

I used to call it 'Jezebel'.

Well, he spent all his free time with her, was at her beck and call. He bought things for her. If it was a human being, you would have called her the 'other woman'!

A long time I was jealous.

He asked me more than once to join with him.

I remember one time, he was starting up a rescue team. He talked to me for a long time about it, and I was beginning to think I might like the idea. Then he killed it. He wanted me, not because he thought I would be good at it, or that we would make a good team. No, he wanted me to fill in the numbers so it would pass the County Commissioners.

I flatly refused.

It wasnt until a few more years later did I decide to think about joining the department. My children were older, my marriage was on the rocks.

Tommy and I had nothing in common anymore. We were drifting apart.

I prayed about it, and God led me to join up. It would at least give us something to talk about!

I went through the training without incident, then responded to my first fire.

It was a grass fire way out in the boonies. The only boots they could find for me were six sizes too big, and I tripped every third step. I was hooked.

Now that I am in the fire service myself, I can understand why it took my husband away from me. I feel the pull to help when crisis comes. The sound of the pager going off gets my heart hammering and adrenaline flowing like nothing else.

Our marriage was saved. Oh, there have been bumps and cracks in the road, but we have continued to survive and flourish. Thank You, Lord!