There are strange people in your house.
Helmets on their heads, bottles on their backs.
Rush in, they did. Asked if you were okay.
Walked past you, moving you aside.
Dousing things, grabbing things, moving things.
Asking what you were doing when the fire started.
Meatballs. From the fridge. Someone had
dropped them off yesterday. Kissed your cheek.
You told her she looked like your daughter.
That's a fine supper tonight, you thought.
Heat them up, on the stove. Blue gas flame
under tupperware. Smoke. Some siren started.
And now there are strange people in your house.
Tag: firefighting
All future fire captains are subject to DISC
it will divine who's the leader and who is the risk
but let no one point out it's a desk horoscope
destiny in four colors, no way out, no hope.
And while you think servants can be leaders as well
even though that's not something this model can tell
We'll prophesy that you'll fail, or that you'll lose control
Because our 20 questions have shown us your all.
It's not easy to live
or to have a few breathers
when your gut's full of blood
'cause you fell 20 meters.
There is saggy skin sloshing
while I perform CPR
we both know it's pointless
and yet here we are.
Not much left of your thorax,
the structure's all gone.
Expecting cracking of ribs
yet hear the scrunch of puffed corn.
Don't give me that blank stare.
I'm trying my best!
It's been thirty minutes,
and I could use some rest.
Covered you with a sheet,
and we've cleaned up our gear.
I'm sad, tired, beat.
Hated finding you here.
I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHY.
I heard you have kids.
What went wrong in your life?
Why leave them like this?
With apologies to Wilfred Owen
The peaceful emptiness of dreams. Then -
the fire pager interrupts my sleep
where am I? Fire! Clothes! I need them -
whipped into action by the repeating beep
Bolting outside, cool morning air unnoticed
making one's way towards the engine house
by car, by bike, on foot: others approaching
the siren song is answered without pause
Helmets and suits; an ecstasy of fumbling
jump in the truck; "guys, what is the call?"
ambulance asking assistance; not unusual
we're extra hands. Likely that will be all.
Drive to the scene; too early for our sirens
still waking up, we try to find out more
"It's a hanging, boys" - suddenly it's serious
not just the extra hands we thought before
We're here; ambulance medic greets us
The captain walks ahead; he'll go and see
we must remain; anxious awaiting orders
all the while wondering: "who could it be?"
"It's one of us." No way! It can't! How could it?
Walking forward in our disbelief
Oh God. His coat, his shape, but hanging
go on! there's work to do, no time for grief
Tied to a balcony, out there facing the street
just hanging there. All stiff and cold and gone.
We must ensure the waking world won't meet
this awful sight; we'll cover under dawn.
"Don't look." Too late: his closed eyes staring
we spread out tarps, gaze burning in our backs.
Neighbours awake! And we are still preparing
work faster, now; cover the desperate tracks.
The task is done; pack up and drive the truck back.
We joke, we laugh; we mustn't show the pain
Back at the engine house, helmets and suits off
no smell of smoke. Just memories remain.
Big lumbering guy, with hands the size of shovels.
Mischievous smile, a twinkle in his eye
No signs of pain. But yet enough to kill him.
Could I have saved him, if I had known why?
In the 14 years that I’ve been a volunteer firefighter, our training has always evolved. The risks of firefighting are varied and change with time. Hybrid and full-electric cars — with more than just a single or double airbag in front — are just an aspect of the larger energy transition. Solar panels, hydrogen, the increase of heat pumps — this changing landscape is something we move along with in our training.
That said, an old-fashioned structure fire can still carry plenty of surprises of its own. You may be navigating a building, and parts of it may collapse as its structural integrity is weakened by the heat. And now you’re stuck.
Recently we’ve been using a new training aid. Wooden board tunnels, with inside either rope webbing, or strung strands of electric wire. The tunnel can be simply horizontal, or positioned at an angle, allowing for either climbing or descending. The exercise is to make it from one end to the other. With the earthquake tragedies in Syria and Turkey fresh in our minds, we set to test ourselves.
Depending on your approach, you might go head-first into the horizontal tunnel. Tugging at one part of the web, tightens it somewhere else. You make some room. Now part of the web snags behind your air bottle. Moving only gets you tighter stuck. You didn’t have a lot of room to move to begin with, and now even less. You’re starting to warm up in your suit and breathing gear.
While there are several ways to deal with this exercise, the most important rule to keep in mind is: take your time, conserve your air, and remain calm. Figure out why you are stuck, slowly untangle yourself, and try again.
In the horizontal tunnel, this is fairly easy. Move yourself back a bit, get yourself free by feeling where you are currently stuck, and try again. Maybe move into a slightly different position, try a new approach.
But moving down an angled tunnel, this is different. You’re also dealing with your own weight. You need to keep yourself in place, and conserve your breathing while you’re heading down head-first. Staying calm is key. Pushing yourself back up to try something else costs air and energy, making you sweat more.
Most advice here can in some way be applied elsewhere. Software development, for example. I can think of many a time where I was stuck on a problem — a bug, some code that just wouldn’t work as intended — and the solution turned out to be to take my time, take a breath, try again. Or try another approach. Don’t stress out – remain calm. Let that subconscious mull it over. Go for a walk, take a shower, grab a cup of coffee… get away from the problem for a bit. When you come back to the problem, you might suddenly see what has you unable to move forward.
Even when in a tighter spot — a deadline, a problem on production, let’s say — these principles remain. More often you’ll get more stuck rushing through. Or make the situation worse. You get the idea.
When handling an incident, running up a set of stairs while carrying equipment, it’s still wiser to catch your breath for 30 seconds before masking up, than to rush, be winded, and run through your air too fast.
I’m looking forward to some more training with these tunnels – let’s see how I do if some buddies flip the tunnel upside-down when I’m halfway through.
And finally – don’t be afraid to ask for help. As firefighters, we enter a building in pairs, and stick close to one another. If you’re stuck and you can’t find a way out – the help you need may come from the next person.
