STRUCTURE FIRE!!!

Friday was a long day.  I wasn't feeling well and finally made it through my daily duties.  Unfortunately my day wasn't over since I had offered to make breakfast for my crew on Saturday morning.  I couldn't have picked something simple like bacon and eggs or something.  No, instead I created these great breakfast buns from scratch and ended up in the kitchen kneading dough till 10:30pm.  Obviously my intention of going to bed early were out the window.  Oh well, at least I would get to sleep in till 8:30am.

Well, that was my intention.  Two hours after I crawled into bed, at 12:30 am my pager went off.  As I followed my routine, stumbling around grabbing a shirt, cell phone, truck keys, pager I heard that it was a confirmed structure fire.  My first thoughts were "I still feel like junk, how on earth am I going to get through this?"  By the time I got to the hall dawned my gear and jumped in the truck, my thoughts were no longer on feeling junky.

We arrived on scene and I was immediately told to help bag the hydrant.  Something I have never done before.  From there a partner and I became RIT team one and we hung by the door waiting incase they needed us to go in and help.  The flames were visible inside the building and shooting out side the roof.  From there I was sent to the back to help with ventilation, sent to the front to help feed the hose into the building, back on RIT and finally Attack team one to do a thorough search of the basement.

As I entered the building and was sounding the floor all my days of training came to this one point.  We neared the seat of what was once the fire and the mug sitting on the table, with bubbling liquid in it showed us just how hot this place was.  We made our way to the basement and in midst of our search found a cat.  A live cat to be exact.  I was so determined to make sure that I made it out those doors with that cat that I squeezed it for dear life.  The hissing, writhing and clawing made it all that much more difficult to get back up the stairs and out the door.

By the time the fire was out and everyone was packing up, my adrenaline dropped and the cold, damp air settled in.  I was volunteered to hang around with DC to keep an eye on the place in case there was another flare up.  It was now 5:00 am and the hustle and bustle was done and gone.  Coyotes echoed off in the distance and we stood, staring at the remains of what once was a home of safety.  By this time, exhaustion was setting in, I was cold, tired and I had to pee.  Finally we were released and sent back to the hall to finish cleaning up.

By 6:00 am I was crawling back into my nice warm bed succumbing to the depths of sleep.  Unfortunately a chill of standing outside had set in my bones and I was unable to sleep deeply.  2 hours later, my pager went off and it was out the door  again to another structure fire.  Thank God it was a false alarm but it only meant that I was gypped again of another hour of sleep and it was time to head back to the hall for 3 hours of maintenance.

Here I am, two days later, my sleep is caught up, I now have laryngitis ;), and I was able to spend yesterday evening snuggled in by the fire watching a movie with the family.  As I recap my weekend I think ...  This is what I signed up for.  This is what is going to make my body ache, open my eyes to things I wouldn't normally see, and sometimes keep me from my family.

This is everything I anticipated it to be, and so much more.  I love it!!

3:00am wake up call

There are many things that could drag my butt out of bed at 3:00am.  A holiday being the best and a sick kid being the worst.  Neither of these woke me up this morning.  Instead it was Blaine's blaring pager.  Since he was injured with a spasm in his neck it was my wifely duty to cover for him.  Normally a lift assist is just that, assisting EMS with someone who needs to be picked up off the floor, lifted onto a stretcher or carried out to the ambulance.  This morning was a rare call, one that I will cherish forever.  What are the chances of a lady just delivering a beautiful baby boy and us being called into help?  Well apparently my chances were high this morning.  A very special treat indeed.  Welcome to the world little man.

I wish!

Two lives ... One a man, the other a woman.  Both have lived a good life, full of experience and memories.  Some of those moments were trials, some were sadness, but most were treasures.  One life is tainted with the scars of cancer the other life tainted with both scars and hidden remains.  The days seem so long lately.  Weakness presses in.  As the man looks out the window, with the sun setting above the trees. He can't help but share his thoughts. " I wish that God would come right now and bring us both to heaven so that we don't have to be apart and go through anything without the other."  She can't help but smile as her eyes begin to glisten ... The words so softly spoken were like music to her ears.  "I know."  She replies As she struggles to swallow the flood of tears.  Words that once were spoken to her come to her mind again ... Treasure each and every day with him.  "Me too!"  She says.  "Me too!"