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~Fire Department~
Well I was a Fire fighter and a Level III First Responder for a Volunteer Fire Department just outside of Victoria BC Canada. But right now I am temporarily in Kelowna BC Canada until I can get back and re-join the department, which I am hoping is very soon. We have 30 members in two halls or stations depending on your geographical location. You can visit the Highlands Fire Department Page here. We have five trucks.
384 is a full size pumper
385 ia brand new and I can't wait to get back and use it.
386 is a tanker or tender whichever you like to call it
Then we have 382 and 383 they are both a mini pumper and quick response vehicle. They are on a 1996 Ford F350 chassis
with a 7.3L Turbo Diesel. Lets just say it flies.
Here is a pic of 382
Here is a pic of 385
Okay this is a poem I wrote about the things I have seen on scene during fires and medical emergencies. I hope you can get a feel of some of the emotions faced by firefighters and paramedics.
If You Only Knew
If you only knew what it is like to be a firefighter!
If you only knew what is like to be woken from a dead sleep, to enter a house full of flames and smoke.
If you only knew how hard it is to look at a wife and daughters face as they watch a team of strangers trying to bring the life back to their husband and father.
If you only knew the pain we see, the pain we feel, as lives are over way before their time, all because someone fell asleep with a cigarette.
If you only knew the joy we feel when a life is saved, the happiness is not measurable when you see a mother hug her child again knowing he will be okay.
If you only knew the danger and uncertainty we face every time we go out on a call, will we all make it back, is someone gonna die, or is it a false alarm? The uncertainty is the thing that really gets you going, on the way to the call. Mind racing is it a full working fire?
If you only knew the feeling of your knees and hands burning through the turnout gear and gloves as you crawl beneath the smoke looking for any survivors.
If you only knew what it is like to see a fellow firefighter get hauled away in an ambulance for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, received while trying to save someone's life and home.
If you only knew what it is like going through days flashing back to fire scene thinking what could I have done to have helped her? If I was a bit faster could I have saved her?
If you only knew how dark a smoke filled room is and how quiet it can get, yelling as loud as I can and knowing that someone maybe able to hear me if they are within 10 feet. If they do hear me how can I find them I cannot see my hands if I held them in front of my mask.
If you only knew the feeling of extricating someone from a car wrapped around the tree, then when performing first aid realizing it is someone you know not from the sight of their bloodied face but by their voice as you ask if they know their name.
If you only knew the relief I feel when I am able to come home safely, yet wondering what the next call has in store for me.
If you only knew I do this for no money I am a volunteer, I do this for a chance to save your life or home whenever called upon.
If you only knew I have been doing this for seven years, and I am now only 23.
Shawn 1996 ©
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Email: rsc13@home.com
