2 In...2 Out

Today marked the 5th residential structure fire Central Square has responded to within the last 2 weeks, and the 3rd within the last 2 days alone. Each fire up to this point, Martha and I have been somehow unable to respond (at least not right away). Today...that all changed.

At around 7:30 am, the pager went off for a possible structure fire on Little Canada Road in Central Square. Martha and I were still sleeping at the time, but quickly got dressed and were on the way to the station within a minute. After getting our turnout gear on, we ran over to 511 (our primary engine), and climbed aboard. Chris, the officer, was the only interior qualified member on the truck at the time. Once Martha and I got on the truck he turned to me, told me to put on an air pack, and told the driver to roll the truck. This being my first real fire since my Firefighter I class, I was very excited.

Arriving on scene, Martha and I pulled the 2" hose and headed for the door. Martha helped to prep the hose and grab tools while Chris and I put our masks on and made entry. The fire was in the attic, and after going up the stairs into the now superheated attic space, we made a good attack on the fire, knocking most of it down. Mutual aid arrived shortly thereafter, and we started overhaul. This took about 3 more hours, since the fire had spread into the walls and we were left to chase it for a while. After going through 2 air bottles, I was sent to rehab to rest. See the video at : http://www.9wsyr.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=252044@video.wixt.com&navCatId=5

Chris and another of our line officers, Brett, took me over to the Chief where they asked him to officially qualify me for interior firefighting, seeing as I'd already been inside and worked well. Dennis agreed, and I am now the newest interior qualified member of the Central Square Fire Company :-).

After the fire, Martha and I returned home where we spent the rest of the day napping. This was Martha's first actual fire, and no amount of training can prepare you for the physical demands firefighting puts on you. She loved it, but we were both completely exhausted after all was said and done.

Tomorrow, we will be heading down to Washington DC to attend the National Collegiate EMS Conference. It should be a great time, and will give us a chance to wind down after a very stressful few weeks. Still waiting on Martha's interview status...keep checking her blog for details.