Anybody who has ever worked or volunteered at a firehouse usually has a few funny stories to tell. My days at the firehouse were Great. I enjoyed being there. Somebody always had a story to tell or a game to play.
First of course came the Job. Make sure all the equipment was ready for use, any training was done, and of course the Runs were a Top Priority. When we went out that door, it was always time to "turn up the notch" and do whatever had to be done. I'm sure it is the same in all firehouses.
But generally speaking, not a day went by that we didn't have a few laughs together. I'll try to share some of those laughs with you. Hopefully, you have a few stories to tell too.
I was a new firefighter with maybe a year on the job. We had a 1961 open cab tiller ladder with two guys assigned to it. Only the driver and the tillerman. In the dept I worked we had to do All the jobs, whether it was ladder driver, tillerman or pump operator. We had a pumper with an officer and two firefighters, a Rescue w/2 FFs, and this Ladder w/2 FFs. It was an old three story brick firehouse.
I was the Ladder Driver, and my buddy who we called J.T. was the tillerman that day. Myself and J.T. were pretty close. We had come on the job six months a part and had a lot of the same interest. Again, all open cabs. As I am backing the ladder into the firehouse, a civilian just happened to be watching us as she walked by. It was really a hot humid day. As my buddy was just about to put his tiller seat onto the apparatus floor, he was drowned with buckets of water from the guys waiting for him up on the third floor of that firehouse. It was a Direct Hit. My buddy J.T. was soaked. Water was dripping off the end of his nose and ear lobes. I loved it, and so did that lady watching us back that ladder truck in.
Being pretty new, as I laughed, I never realized that I would be next, and I would now be under a Direct Hit. Sure enough, it was my turn. Another direct hit. It felt like I had just had a ton of water dumped on me. I guess the water was dripping from my nose and ear lobes too. That lady watching across the street got a Free Show of how grown men, who sometmes risked their lives together, would play like they were at summer camp.
It was all part of firehouse life. I sometimes wish that I could do it all over again.
In time, I hope to share a few more stories. And I hope that you might be able to share a few of those stories with us so we can all enjoy reading them. I have a feeling that there's plenty more out there.
First of course came the Job. Make sure all the equipment was ready for use, any training was done, and of course the Runs were a Top Priority. When we went out that door, it was always time to "turn up the notch" and do whatever had to be done. I'm sure it is the same in all firehouses.
But generally speaking, not a day went by that we didn't have a few laughs together. I'll try to share some of those laughs with you. Hopefully, you have a few stories to tell too.
I was a new firefighter with maybe a year on the job. We had a 1961 open cab tiller ladder with two guys assigned to it. Only the driver and the tillerman. In the dept I worked we had to do All the jobs, whether it was ladder driver, tillerman or pump operator. We had a pumper with an officer and two firefighters, a Rescue w/2 FFs, and this Ladder w/2 FFs. It was an old three story brick firehouse.
I was the Ladder Driver, and my buddy who we called J.T. was the tillerman that day. Myself and J.T. were pretty close. We had come on the job six months a part and had a lot of the same interest. Again, all open cabs. As I am backing the ladder into the firehouse, a civilian just happened to be watching us as she walked by. It was really a hot humid day. As my buddy was just about to put his tiller seat onto the apparatus floor, he was drowned with buckets of water from the guys waiting for him up on the third floor of that firehouse. It was a Direct Hit. My buddy J.T. was soaked. Water was dripping off the end of his nose and ear lobes. I loved it, and so did that lady watching us back that ladder truck in.
Being pretty new, as I laughed, I never realized that I would be next, and I would now be under a Direct Hit. Sure enough, it was my turn. Another direct hit. It felt like I had just had a ton of water dumped on me. I guess the water was dripping from my nose and ear lobes too. That lady watching across the street got a Free Show of how grown men, who sometmes risked their lives together, would play like they were at summer camp.
It was all part of firehouse life. I sometimes wish that I could do it all over again.
In time, I hope to share a few more stories. And I hope that you might be able to share a few of those stories with us so we can all enjoy reading them. I have a feeling that there's plenty more out there.