I was working over at station 2. The day started like every other day. We started engine checks around 8am, then went on to do station cleaning. Once the station was clean we started on cleaning the type 1. Around 11 we got a call for a vehicle accident. We got down to the scene and it just turned out to be a Prius into a ditch. There were no injuries just some slight property damage. CHP showed up and took over the scene so we went back to the station.

When we got back to the station it was around lunch time so we sat down for lunch, watched some Las Vegas, because that is what we watch at station 2 for lunch and relaxed. Around 1245 tones went out for a structure fire in a neighboring jurisdiction. I didn’t think anything of it but then about 1300 our station got toned out for mutual aid with a water tender. The only problem was the location of the fire was out at the coast which is about a 30 min drive. The three of us piled into the tender and started out towards the fire code 3. The roads where I work are all curvey even our highways so it probably took us about 35min to get to the fire scene. We could see the smoke plume growing as we got closer to the fire. When we got to within distance of the house we could see flames. The whole time we were driving there I was figuring we would start to see the smoke turn from black to white/grey indicating people had started to get water on the fire. However, the smoke plume didn’t seem to change into we arrived on scene.

When we got there we counted about four units already present. We were just getting ready to get off the rig, pack up and grab our tools when the IC came up to the engine and told us that we were no longer needed. We were a little confused because we still saw that the building was involved, but then the IC said we could check it out for training purposes if we wanted. We figured that was better then going back to the station so we packed up and headed down the hill to the house. The house was a single story residential building right on the cliff over looking the ocean. As we got closer we could see flames showing from the rear of the building with a lot of smoke production.

Right when we got to the house a Captain approached our Officer and said his guys were exhausted and that he needed us to go inside. We were more then excited, so we masked up and grabbed a few tools. The Captain said that rear room had some and contents that were on fire and that we just had to follow the hose line to get there. Upon entering the building there was pretty heavy smoke. we found the line and followed it to the back. The temp was definitely increasing and the smoke was getting darker. We found the line in the rear bedroom and we also found that not only were there contents on fire but that three walls, the ceiling and the floor were also on fire. We went to work trying to clear up some visibility by putting a straight fog into the upper layers. Once we cleaned up some of the smoke we started to hit the seat of the many fires with a straight stream. The fire and smoke wasn’t the only risk in that room, it seemed like the fire had crawled along the bottom of the house and had come from below because there were holes throughout the back room and house with pretty good flame and smoke production. We could also hear vent operations going on above us as we worked. We finally managed to knock all the flames down and then worked on salvaging the few items we could see which weren’t destroyed.

With our air getting low we decided to get out of the house. As we were walking back through the living room to the front door  I was stopped in my tracks by the incredible view through the large broken out bay windows. Through the wisps of smoke the whitecaps on the sea were visible. Gulls could also be seen gliding on the currents just past the cliffs edge. It was quite a surreal experience. Upon reaching the grass, we took our masks off and were once again met by the IC who proceeded to tell us it looked like the fire was out and we were no longer needed. Looking around it was obvious the fire wasn’t out yet. There was still alot of smoke production coming out from under the house. In fact smoke was still pumping from under the house which was a good sign that the fire was working at the underside of the house in the crawl space. we brought that up to the IC but he insisted they had it and we were not longer needed. So the three of us went back to the engine and put our gear away before heading home. Needless to say the fire rekindled that night and the local departments had to respond once again.

I will never forget this day . It was a great experience and I can’t wait until my next fire.

i am on the left

First of all I just want to apologize for letting so much time go by without an entry. I am guilty of procrastination and negligence. For the last few months I have been exceedingly busy, and  I even allowed my site to expire hence the new address. However, that is no excuse. I am going to try really hard to keep this site up to date and allow less time between entries. Once again my sincere apologies to anyone who actually read this site .

My life for the past few months has been a mixture of work, work more work and of course the fire house. I wont bore you too much with the work detail being that the focus of this site is the fire service, except to say I am now working for myself which is both scary and relieving at the same time. It also allows me the necessary time to put in extra work at the fire house and to expand on my ever growing knowledge. Since my last entry the summer fire season has ended and winter has landed with out any presence of fall.

In california we have been hit with rain and cold spells. The storm season is quickly approaching and with a new season comes a different variety of calls. Where the summer season brought grass fires and heat stroke the winter season is promising vehicle extrications and chimney fires. As the seasons change so do our focus. Time has shown that with the changing weather certain types of emergencies either increase or withdraw. With more rain and cold weather, icy conditions on the road are more likely to lead to vehicle accidents.  Chimney fires along with residential fires will become more common as people attempt to adapt to the cold climate by heating their houses. I am very excited for the coming winter season. I am only a few months short of completing my fire internship and I have grown a great deal since my days at the academy. Like all jobs/ trades/careers the fire service takes time. There is so much knowledge to be had that one cannot expect to be a bad ass fire fighter over night. It takes years to grow into a good firefighter and as far as I am concerned I am just starting the journey. I have had a lot of firsts this year as far as the fire service and I am sure there will be more to come in 2010. One thing you can guarantee in the fire service is that no two calls are identical.

This summer has been great! I have been learning a lot and I am having a lot of fun. So far this summer I have been to two grass fires and have been toned out to many more which were canceled before arrival. A few weeks ago I completed my first mobile attack. Boy was it a learning experience. The grass wasn’t tall and the fire wasn’t huge ( a little over an acre) but I was still able to practice some of the techniques and strategies we have used in training. I was also able to pick up some advice from my engineer and officer.

When we got on scene, we immediately hit a portion of the left flank which had been missed by the first crew to arrive on scene. once that small section was put out he started across the black to help out a brush truck which had ran out of water and was starting to get encircled by the fire. Along the way across the black, I was told it was necessary to cool the black below the engine as to keep the heat fro the burned from damaging the underside of the engine. Once we got across the black and reached the right flank we straddled the line and proceeded up towards the head of the fire.  I knew it would be smokey but having never experienced it before I really had no idea what to expect. Running the flank was fine but as we crossed over the the head of the fire the smoke got very intense and it was definitely more difficult to see the actual fire. Once the head and flanks were out we started the mop up process. While my engineer and officer pulled down the hose real, I grabbed the McCloud and proceeded to put out smokers. Covered in ask and water I couldn’t be happier. That was definitely one of the highlights of my GRFD days so far.

The four main things I learned on that fire were:

1) Make sure to cool the black if you are traveling across it in the engine.

2) Make sure you get good penetration with the water at your feet. It is more important to put and keep the fire out at your feet then it is to knock it down in front of you. If you don’t put it out at your feet there is a chance it can ignite again and then you run the risk of the fire starting up behind you again.

3) Make sure you use enough water to put the fire out. If 20 gpm isn’t enough use 60. It is better tou use more water and put the fire out then just barely use enough.

4) When you are fighting the fire with water make sure you are directing your stream to push the fire back towards the burned. You do not want to run the risk of starting spot fires by angling your stream towards the unburned and pushing the fire and embers towards more fuel.

The best way to learn is through experience. There is only so much you can learn by hosign down dirt. It isn’t until you hit the fire, grass and dirt with a stream that you really start to see what works best.

Technorati Tags: mobile attack, wildland

It has been a while since I have been on here. I have just found myself very busy lately with my schedule and unable to get on here so if anyone out there was wondering what happened… Now you know. My shifts at the fire house are going really well. I am slowly becoming more confident in my abilities and everything is making more sense. I still have a couple of random issues but with time I am sure I will be able to overcome those issues. This internship has been a great experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get some hands on knowledge.

No fire’s yet, but being that we are just now slipping into fire season I am very hopeful I will get one soon.  For the most part it seems like every thing has slowed down I havent had very many medical calls lately either…Maybe I am just bad luck . I am hoping that these next couple shifts bring some calls my way .

Technorati Tags: Internship

Knowing your way around the kitchen is an absolute necessity in the Fire house. As a newbie you are only as valuable as your skill on the fire ground and your skill at the range. This weekend I was reminded of that through a funny situation which happened at the fire house. I myself am a good cook. I have no issues cooking up meat, pasta rice, stir fry etc…you name it I can figure out a way to make it appeal to your taste buds. Because I dont have very many issues in the kitchen I take for granted the fact that some people cannot cook to save their life.

I just want to preface this story with I hope it doesn’t offend the person it is about…you know who you are. In consolation for writing this if you ever want some tips on cooking I will be more than happy to help you out. With that said let me tell you a story of absolute incompetence in the kitchen.

The other day when I was at the Fire house it came time for lunch and two of the other firefighters were tryig top figure out what to eat. It was Easter so most of the regualr places were closed. I had brought my own lunch so I was not involved in their decision making but they decided to make chicken cesaer salad for lunch. Once they decided what they needed the Intern headed out to the store. Before leaving our officer asked him if he needed a list. The intern said no and that he could remember what he needed to get. The list if written down would have consisted of the following: Romaine lettuce, chicken breast, artichoke dip, ceaser salad dressing and a loaf of sour dough.  About 20 min after leaving the intern returned with a bag full of groceries. The officer checked it out and at first glance everything looked good so he went on to do his thing. when he returned to the kitchen a few minutes later and everythig was layed out he immediately broke into laughter. Rather then the ideal items that would have been on the list the intern had returned with cabbage instead of lettuce, pesto dip instead of artichoke dip, sliced bread instead of a loaf of sourdough and no salad dressing. After a period good period of laughter thye decided just to wing it and they were lucky to find that there was a little bit of iceberg lettuce in the fridge along with some alad dressing.  They proceeded to cook the chicken and luckily it didnt turn out too poorly eventhough it too got a tab bit over cooked. After joking around for a bit at the other interns expense we stressed to him he has to learn how to cook. It turns out he has never really learned and just wanted to wing it. So the  moral of the story is…don’t wing it…learn or ask because a fire fighter will never forgive you for messing up his meal.

I am more then happy to help the intern out if he needs som help, I can write up some quick recipes if he wants or even take him to the store and show him the difference between cabbage and romaine hearts .

Technorati Tags: cooking, Internship, kitchen

This weekend was long, but in a good way. I worked both saturday and sunday out at the station, the weather was beautiful, we had a number of calls and both nights I had a warm meal waiting for me at home after my shift…It doesn’t get better then that.

Saturday was fun, we started off with the normal; Saturday checks where we go through all of the equipment on the engines and make sure they work, then once all the engines were finished I started on some of the station cleaning. Around 0830-0900 we received a medical  call for some type of attack (either heart or stroke) when we got on scene we found a 50 yow on the ground at the top of the stairs. she could speak but with difficulty so we ran her through the stroke tests. She passed fine but she still had difficulty speaking and walking. It was obvious she was trying to speak but 0nly every other word could be understood. The ambulance arrived on scene at the same time we did  so they  pretty much took over while we tried to gather info from the husband.

It is always hard seeing your loved ones in pain.  Seeing the husband and how upset he was with no ability to do anything really reminded me of how I felt when my father had a stroke. Unfortuanately my father was out of state on vacation with my mother and sister so I was unable to see him until a week after the attack occured, but being in the husbands shoes and seeing your wife go through that first hand must be devistating.

As a professional our job is to offer a service to the patient and the husband but service is a fine line. Our duty is to support our community in their time of need, the only support I could give the husband was just to say I am sorry and let him see through our actions that we care and wish him the best. You cannot tell him everything will be okay, or she will be fine because that is a lie and it would be wrong of you to offer false hope. My father has recovered well but is still not the person he was before the stroke. He is now medicated on a number of blood thinners, he know longer is able to work with computers (he was a computer engineer) and he forgets things that are common sense  to most people. With that said he is still an absolutely brilliant and caring person. If you didn’t know him before the stroke you would have no idea that he has changed. But being close to him I have noticed, I can see the change. Saturday I felt for the husband because I knew that even if his wife was able to come home and continue to live a happy life, she would be changed and even if no one else noticed, he would.

After the cleaning and engines checks we had lunch and then spent the end of the day doing training.  After we ran through and discussed a couple of company standards we went over to the ventilation prop and the officer on shift discussed ventialltion with me and I was able to get some time on the prop with a saw. Ventilation is definitely a practiced skill, and even though I was just cutting through O.S.B I could imagine how much more difficult it would be to feel the rafters if you had to cut through shingles as well. After the ventilation training we  drove a around some to give the other fire fighter on duty some driving time for his engineer training.  While driving around we got toned out for a vehicle accident accross town, but unfortunately we were so far away that by the time we got there we were no longer needed at the call. So we finished driving around and then headed back to the station. By the time we got back to the station it was nearly time to go so we finished cleaning up the house and then I took off.

Sunday was a busy day too. being that it was Easter the day had a mellow lazy feel to it. Me and another intern finished out engine duties and then set to clean the station. Once the station was cleaned we went over the company standards and then prepared for lunch. After lunch we went over to the local middle school for training. We trained until about 1530-1600 and then went back to the station. At about 1630 we were toned out to a single vehicle accident with an SUV into a tree. On scene it was my job to turn traffic around because the road was closed due to the vehicle in the middle of the road. There were 4 patients injured none seriously but all were taken to the hospital. The SUV wasn’t too damamged but any kind of vehice accident has the potential for great bodily injury. After the scene was cleaned up we went back to the station and by that time it was already 1715, so I got my stuff together and headed out.  In all it was a very busy but fun weekend, like usual I learned alot.  I also woke up very sore this morning

Technorati Tags: Calls, Internship, Training

The Weather has been gorgeous lately. I wish we had received more rain this winter but the sun sure does feel good. I have had a few calls out at the station but nothing extremely exciting. We had a 3 car accident 3 weeks ago and then the occasional medical. I seem to be missing all the good calls. We have had a few vehicle fires, but they occurred at night and unfortunately I only work days. The good side of having less calls lately is that I have had much more time for training.
I have been trying to become more proficient at the company standards.
When we aren’t practicing in the parking lot of a near by school, I have been working with the engines behind the station.The company standards which I have been focusing on the most deal with the pulling of the 1 3/4″ and the 2 1/2″ skid load. I am slowly getting better and I know that it just takes time. Sooner or later I know I will get it down and my actions will be based more on muscular memory rather than frantic motions.

Technorati Tags: Internship, Training

I received information back from the Sonoma County Search and Rescue team and I was accepted to move on to the next level. The next thing I have to do is complete a Background Check. I am sure I will do fine with the check because I really have nothing bad in my past. I am excited about the experiences and knowledge I will be gaining as a volunteer for the county. It will be a little different than I am used to, being that this is a sheriff operated division but it will still be great experience. Once this semester is over I am hoping to start going to the Sonoma County Hazmat training so that after 9 months of that I can hopefully get onto the team as a volunteer there as well.

Technorati Tags: HAZMAT, SAR, Volunteer

I have an Interview today with Sonoma County Search and rescue for a volunteer position. I am very excited. I have been interested in Search and Rescue since I was a little kid listening to my dad tell stories about his experiences as being president of search and rescue at college in Santa Fe. I think it will be a great experience to be involved with the Sonoma County SAR team because not only am I doing something great for my community, but it will also offer me great training and experience which I can use on my resumes later on down the road. They train you in everything from rope systems and Compass use to tracking. Hopefully the interview goes well. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Technorati Tags: interview, SAR

Thanks a lot for responding to my e-mail! Its truly a blessing that i can receive such GREAT advise from you.

Also right when i get back from the Fire Academy i will make sure i complete a E.M.T. class and speak to my local fire departments to see if i can either be a volunteer or be part of there internship.

Also one more thing. The college i am going to is recommending either taking an E.M.T. 1 class or a First Responder class before starting the Fire academy.
Are those classes two different things?

Once again thanks so much for all your advise it is truly going to help me out with my career.

Have a great day.
God bless.

My Response:

EMT-1 (also known as EMT-B) and first responder are very different. First responder is much more basic and can be seen as an introductory class to the emergency medical field. First Responder is usually required to get into an internship, volunteer for a department or become enrolled in a FF1 Academy. EMT-B is the minimum level required to work for a department in California or on an ambulance. It generally takes about 120 or more hours of training to be certified as an EMT-B. First responders only requires about 24-40 hours of training. I would definitely take EMT-B but first responder is definitely a pre-req for the EMT course.
So If I were you I would get on that ASAP. Most of the calls you will run with fire departments now days are medically based so it is very important to give yourself a strong foundation in the emergency medical field. I wish you the best of luck with those courses and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Technorati Tags: EMT-B, First Responder