Let me burst your bubble up front - for those of you that watch shows like Chicago Fire and Rescue Me, fire departments are rarely filled with that many good-looking people. I'm not gonna say that no one is good looking, but I will say that to have one Engine/Ladder/Hook Company filled with that many gorgeous people is highly unlikely. You know that Firefighters of the FDNY calendar? The one with all the hot firefighters? Yeah, no one in my department looks like that. Now, obviously the FDNY has a plethora of people to choose from - more than the 130 in my department - but for the most part, you won't find them all in one fire house. So that right there tells you that tv never actually gets it right.
As for the "realness" of the shows mentioned above - well, let's just say it's television and they have reasons for what they do. Is it 100% accurate - no. But any doctor can tell you that Grey's Anatomy isn't always factually accurate when it comes to the work place. TV shows are meant to be dramatic - and that's what these shows give you. Just don't anyone rush out and join their local fire department or think about a career in the FDNY and think it's going to all be a bed of roses - and that your abs will instantly look like theirs. Trust me - they won't.
As a volunteer, we are broken up into companies purely for social reasons, unlike the FDNY or the Chicago FD or any other big city department where their members get paid. This also means that we are responsible to know everything about what each different company does. I'll break it down a little bit for you now:
Engine (Engine Company) - this is the type of truck that most people call a "fire truck", although that terms actually refers to a different type of apparatus. Sometimes engines are referred to as "pumpers", because of their ability to "pump" water. Engines usually carry a crew of three or four firefighters (the "company"), and contain a pump, water tank, and hose of various lengths and sizes. They also carry ground ladders, emergency medical equipment and various other tools (halogens, axes, hydrant wrenches, spanner wrenches, etc.) The Engine Company's job at a structure fire is to hook up to the hydrant, pull the hose, enter the building with a charged line and extinguish the fire.
Ladder (Ladder Company) - More commonly referred to as a "truck" and "truck company" across the US fire service, however, since I live in NY and the FDNY refers to their departments as "ladder" and "ladder companies", that is the term I will use. Anyway, ladder trucks are also referred to as "fire trucks" (see above), and have a long aerial ladder on the top, usually stretching 100' and sometimes with a platform at the top. There are also an assortment of "ground ladders", what you would consider your basic ladder (but built better). Some ladder trucks have a pump, but they do not usually carry water or hose. Ladder Companies usually consist of one or two more personnel than the Engine Company. At a structure fire, the Ladder Company's job is to set up ground ladders to any (or all) accessible windows, raise the aerial ladder (if necessary), ventilate the roof, and enter the building for search and rescue operations.
There are various other types of apparatus (quints, heavy rescue, brush trucks, etc.) but for the most part, when you think of firefighting and structural fires, these are the two most common pieces of equipment.
Like I was saying earlier, because you never know who will be at the call, volunteer firefighters need to be prepared for both engine and ladder responsibilities, unlike a career firefighter who is usually assigned to one company or the other and generally works under specific duties. (This does not mean that they don't know how to perform the duties of the other company, it's just not something that is always necessary.) This means that we go through a lot of training - and then we go through even more. Because you never really know what you are going to be up against, and how many people will be available, everyone in the department is responsible for literally knowing everything.
This means that we train - a lot.
This past Wednesday we went out to Yaphank to train at the Suffolk County Fire Academies tower. In our district we don't really have a great deal of high rise buildings, but we do have a few multiple story office buildings, as well as a mall and various large stores (ie: Target), so understanding the intricacies of a large, multiple story tower-type structure is necessary.
Usually when we go out to Yaphank, we do three evolutions (what it's called when we run through the entire process) and after each one the chiefs bring us in to discuss the good and the bad. Yaphank is really good for those of us that are junior members (especially probies) because it allows us to actually get our hands dirty. Because we aren't allowed to enter an actual structure fire until we are off probation (typically one year), we don't get much in the way of experience. However, the academy lets us enter buildings just like everyone else because, for the most part, it's a controlled scenario.
During the first evolution, I was on the first due ladder truck - which meant that we were responsible for setting up ground ladders and deploying the aerial ladder to get to the roof, as well as search and rescue. Once the ladders were up and we had a team on the roof, the rest of us helped the engine company guide the hoses up the stairs while they put out the fires on the second and third stories. This is what you look like in full turn-out gear:
It's not exactly the easiest thing to maneuver around in, especially hauling a charged 1 3/4 inch hose. At 55lbs/50 feet of hose - and the typical fire will see anywhere from 200'-250' of hose being used, that's a lot of hauling.
In second evolution, my team was switched to be Engine 2 - this meant we were in charge of the second hose line that was stretched to fight the fire(s). After the first team was in and had established their position with the fire on the second floor, we went up to the third floor to hit that one. My job was to support the knob - basically take the brunt weight and force of the hose so that they guy actually holding the nozzle could direct the spray and put the fire out. This is hard - I don't care what television makes it look like. At 220 psi - this thing is like trying to hold onto a toddler after he's had 45 Pixie sticks. My arms were literally ready to fall off.
The third evolution was just for the junior members. Those that had more time in were given the jobs that normally go to the officers (lieutenants and captains) and then those of use with less time were just regular firefighters. In this one, I was the lead person on Engine 1, which meant that it was my teams job to go in with a charged line and actually put out the fire. We had the fire on the first floor, so we waited at the front door until the fire room door got popped and we headed in. Once we turned the corner, the Academy chiefs ratcheted up the fire (in this case, they used what is essentially a very large grill apparatus to make the fire, but sometimes we have live fire, too) and we went to work. I had the knob this time, and my other probie Dave had the job of supporting me. The idea is to hit the ceiling of the room and just start making huge circles to hit all sides of the room. It's hot. It's messy. There's smoke everywhere and you can't see straight. You're breathing is about 100 breathes a minute and I feel like I'm sprinting. And it's the coolest thing in the entire world.
After we were done, I was pretty much the sweatiest person in the entire world. I have a high sweat rate on a normal day, but put me in bunker gear and a flaming room and you might as well just throw me in the pool. I literally have to bring a change of clothes with me to training because I am that awful. Everyone is, but I think I just happen to be worse. And I smell. Really bad. Seriously, SJ hates that I do this - not because of the danger factor (I think she actually likes that, wink wink - ooh, sorry dad) but because I smell like the inside of a hockey bag for days on end. And she's right.
I admit it, it's not my best feature.
But anyways, so I don't just train for triathlons and marathons and other endurance events. I also train to save lives (doesn't that make me sound brave?!). So when I miss a workout, don't hold it against me!
P.S. - It's Friday kids. Go out and enjoy happy hour and have a great weekend. Happy training.
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