The RN to Paramedic course I am at right now is amazing. Okay, the school house stuff has been amazing, but up until last night the “ride-along” portion left a bit to be desired. We have a 50 team lead requirement and out of 17.5 hours I have been on one medical call. The firefighters have been more than accommodating, but all has been slow…until 10 pm last night:

This was a house fire which manifested in the attic. THE ONE TIME I DIDN’T HAVE MY CAMERA! So, the photos were taken on my phone.

The attic had been blocked off, so the firefighters had to access it through the windows from the roof. It was incredible to see those guys scurry up the ladder with 75 pounds of gear on.

The local news stations and newspaper reporters were there as well.

It was interesting to be more of a bystander as I am usually the one in the middle of the chaos.

I wish you could see the Battalion chief better in this photo (below). He wears a white helmet perpetually cocked to the left side. I saw him do 2 TV interviews and one with a newspaper reporter.

They pulled me right up to the action and gave me the play-by-play. I even had a conversation (not an interview) with a reporter from channel 6. I snuck my opinion in regarding the recent hoo-ha which has the city looking at decreasing the number of firefighters on each truck from 4 to 3 and outsourcing the ambulance services. Local politics are the same everywhere.

All politics aside, I was amazed at the speed of response, not only from the EMS services, but the Red Cross, Humane Society, and Salvation Army. Apparently the Salvation Army has a vehicle they roll in with which carries all sorts of sustainment (gatorade, water, hot dogs, etc.) for the firefighters and anyone else involved. The FFs have affectionately dubbed it “Wiener One.”