I hearts a US Army Soldier's blog: "A firefighter"

As the pager goes off and the call comes in I wonder what we will have or where we will be going Who will be there and what will we find Will today be the day I find a friend or a loved one dying The call comes in and I have to get dressed I run out the door, into my vehicle and down the road I get going Now that the call is in I know I will be missed The dinner he had planned but this is what I do The call is over and I come home He is sitting on the couch next to the phone I give him a kiss and tell him it was bad But most of all I tell him I wouldnt look back The one so close and dear to me Now realizes this is not an abnormal thing To leave in the most difficult times Or even miss a wonderful time with my man Charity Dawn Wooten Copyright ©2007 Charity Dawn Wooten

The Twelve Days of Christmas Fire and Rescue Style... On the First day of Christmas, my Dispatcher gave to me... Grandma who fell and hurt her knee... On the Second Day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me... 2 MG of Narcan for the out of work person who wants to end it all by taking her Husband's pain pills and won't tell me what she took and is feeling suicidal.... and grandma who fell and hurt her knee. On the Third day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me.... Three stacked shocks for the 88 year old man who instead of paying the neighbor kid 5 bucks to shovel his driveway, decided to do it himself and have the big one in the driveway... 2 Mg of Narcan for the psycho chick trying to off herself... and grandma who fell and hurt her knee.. On the Fourth day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me.... 4 AM in the morning I have to go to the nursing home because someone has had the flu for like 16 years and all of a sudden needs to go to the hospital....NOW,... Three Stacked shocks for the full arrested popsicle, 2 MG of Narcan for Morphine eating Momma... and Grandma who fell and hurt her knee.... On the Fifth day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me... Five minutes to eat..... 4 AM shuttle call, Three stacked shocks, 2 MG of Narcan, and Grandma who fell and hurt her knee.... On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me.... Six run reports behind because the computer guy can't fix the system... Five Minutes to eat!!!!!!!!!! 4 AM Shuttle, 3 zaps to the chest, gonna have a stomach pumped, and grandma who fell and hurt her knee... On the Seventh day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me...Seven car pile up while everyone was trying to beat the light so they can get into Wal Mart the day after Thanksgiving thinking there is only 4 dancing Elmo Dolls... six reports behind... Five minutes to eat....... 4AM is way to early, 3 stacked shocks, 2 of Narcan Pushed, and grandma who fell and hurt her knee.... On the Eighth day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me....Eight flights of steps to walk up to get the 400 pound person who is having shortness of breath since LAST Christmas and can't walk...oh, and of course, the elevator doesn't work... 7 cars a crunching, six reports a writing, Five minutes to eat. 4 AM shuttle, CPR in progress, 2 MG of Narcan, and grandma who fell and hurt her knee... On the ninth day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me Nine blankets needed to cover up grandpa because he is freezing and we aren't even out of the house yet but thinks he will get pneumonia and die for all of the 10 seconds we are outside... Eight flights of stairs, should have stayed home and bought it off of Ebay, six reports I'm writing... Five minutes to eat..... What the Hell time is it, should have paid the kid, 2MG of Narcan, and grandma who fell and hurt her knee. On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me... Ten Minutes till I can get a bed in the ER because the nurses are busy figuring out who is going to lunch next.... Nine blankets needed, Hope fire department is coming, 7 cars a crunching, six reports I need to write, Five minutes to eat... Can't you wait till morning, stick a fork in him, he's done, Man I hope she shuts up... and grandma who fell and hurt her knee. On the Eleventh day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me.... Eleven times I tried to get the heat to work in the back of the truck and maintainence won't take the truck in... ten minutes waiting, Nine blankets needed, eight flights of steps to climb, Hope you have Progressive, Give me a new ink pen... Five minutes to eat.... 4 AM is early, 3 Leads all show he's dead, 2 MG won't touch her.. and grandma who fell and hurt her knee... On the Twelth day of Christmas, my dispatcher gave to me... a 12 Gague IV needle that I put into the drunk 19 year old who tried to swing at me... it's really freezing, Hope you choke on your sandwich, 9 blankets for grandpa, How did you get up here in the first place, man your husband is gonna be pissed, six reports STILL down... five minutes to eat... Better than taking them back, Hope I recorded the code, Man, just pass out already... and grandma who fell and hit her knee... Merry Christmas!!

I wish you could see the sadness of a business man as his livelihood goes up in flames or that family returning home, only to find their house and belongings damaged or destroyed. I wish you could know what it is to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns. I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 3 a.m. as I check her husband of forty years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping against hope to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done. I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke -a sensations that I have become too familiar with. I wish you could understand how it feels to go to school in the morning after having spent most of the night hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire. I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire, "Is this a false alarm or a working breathing fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to an EMS call, "What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life-treating? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?" I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful little 5 year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past twenty-five minutes who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I love you, Mommy" again. I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab engine, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as your fail to yield right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us, however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took your forever to get here!" I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the mangled remains of her automobile, "What if this were my sister, my girlfriend, or a friend? What were her parents' reactions going to be as They opened the door to find a police officer, hat in hand?" I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call. I wish you could feel my hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of, "It will never happen to me." I wish you could know the physical, emotional and mental drain or missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have viewed. I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being there in times of crisis, or creating order from total chaos. I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is my Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have to hold back a long-time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on-a sensation that I have become too familiar with. Unless you have lived this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, what we are, or what our job really mean to us. I wish you could... ---Unknown

When I am called to duty, God, Whenever flames may rage; Give me strength to save some life, Whatever be its age. Help me embrace a little child Before it is too late Or save an older person From the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert And hear the weakest shout, And quickly and efficiently To put the fire out. I want to fill my calling And to give the best in me To guard my every neighbor And protect his property. And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life, Please bless with your protecting My Family and Friends. ---Unknown

There is a neighbor that lives on your block The one just down the street And someone who lives cross town A person you may never meet They both have something in common A desire to help all And in what may be the darkest hour They'll be there to answer the call They know the fire's horror With the devil a war they wage They've seen the hell of a car wreck People traped in a metel cage There for the sick and injured Giving their all to cheat death They know the joy of giving Of a baby and his first breath There always at the ready Twenty four hours a day They spend there off hours serving Yet ask for no take home pay And when a comrade has fallen And all have said farewell They'll each return to there families And be ready to answer the bell So when you see the lights flashing And hear the siren draw near Take just one silent moment And pray for the VOLUNTEER ---Unknown

Who are Volunteer Firefighters? They are your neighbor, the " guy/girl next door " They are husband, father or son, wife, mother or daughter They are the laborer, the store owner, the corporate executive, They are the jogger, sportsfan, hobbyist or handyman.... They are just like everyone else, save for one quality... They are one in one thousand who will risk their life to save yours; You'll see them waiting for the train and at the little league game, You'll see them in every house of worship, You'll see them in town, proudly wearing the emblem which shows they are a member of a fraternity dedicated to preserving life, Their car is the one backed into the driveway with the blue light on the dashboard, Their keys hang by the door and a pair of boots stand at their bed, They take their pager everywhere for fear they will be missed when they are needed; They won't complain much about life, they've seen too much suffering for that, They'll tell you the funny side and avoid the stories of pain, They'll be silent during the national anthem and salute when the flag goes by, They'll refer to their comrades as " brothers" and defend their reputaion, They'll sacrifice the best of times at the sound of the alarm, They'll return home to many cold dinners and " cold shoulders" too, They will be burned, cut and bruised, their life will be shortened, For all of this they will receive " no pay" Their only reward will be self esteem, You may never know them, but..... They'll be there when you need them ---Unknown

24 on and 48 off He was proud of what he saw And if you ask him where his daddy was My Daddy is on a call His dad was a firefighter Who risked his life each day From a structure fire to a heart attack I have seen it all he'd say Until the night when fate collided And changed the lives of all The alarm rang out as nightime fell And Daddy was on a call A three alarm apartment fire Engine 101 on the scene Three children trapped on the second floor They started the standard routine One by one down the ladder they would go Till the little one said I forgot my teddy bear As the firefighter shouted NO!!! Then and there the roof collapsed His hand holding her so tight He saved his first and last that day It was the last call daddy would fight To the funeral they took the child His hand in his mother so tight A child understands more then you know A child can see the light As they lowered the casket it started to rain A small smile on his face danced so light There must be a fire in heaven he said My daddy is on call tonight ---Unknown