It is 3 am and the tones go off. Not of one the best parts of the fire service. No one likes getting woken up in the middle of the night or that early in the morning. Sometimes it’s just a medical call, usually something simple. Others it could be a structure fire, at 3 am you never know. It doesn’t take long to get the heart pumping and adrenaline flowing when they fire, but fire alarm is another matter altogether.
I had an experience a couple years ago I’d like to share. It was 3 am, the tones went off for an alarm activation at one of our local schools. Nothing new, it had happened to the other two shifts and they had passed the information along to us. As far as alarms go, this place was a frequent customer. We responded our usually companies, per our operating orders, 2 quints, an engine and rescue. As we arrived we pulled to the front of the building. Rescue went to the rear and the second in quint would take the large side wing when they arrived. We were able to make entry and as most, at 3 am we were not real happy being there….again.
We walked the halls looking in locked classrooms and as usual finding nothing. Our rescue guys radioed in and stated that the back area of the facility was clear. That’s when things changed. As the second in quint arrived and went to the side wing, the advised flames showing. Oh crap! We were unable to get there through the portion of the building we were in. We went outside, loaded back up on our rig and went to the side of the facility to begin suppression operations.
I guess the moral here is this. Always be on alert, even at 3 am. Our jobs in this business knows no time or season. Always be ready and pre-paired. I learned a valuable lesson that night…. At 3 am.
So for all my brothers and sisters out there reading this. Be safe, and watch out for each other.
We all go home!
Until next time,
Captain K
