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Monday, September 28, 2009

Small kitchen fire at the drug lady's house

We were at the firehouse about to go out on our Boot Drive fundraiser when we got called out to an "oven fire." Upon arrival, I took 3 guys with me and told the rest to stay on the engine since there wasn't any smoke / flame visible from the outside of the house. On the first floor we were met with pretty heavy smoke, a ton of furniture and what will be referred to as the "drug lady." It was the homeowner, a 60-something little old lady, no teeth, nervous as hell.

She guided us around the corner to the area where she put out the fire, it was an electric stove, melted, with much char to the backsplash, cabinets above, wall adjacent and the cieling. To be honest she did a great job putting out the fire but this was just the start of the fun. As she paced behind us, I asked her to "please go outside and wait by the chief." She walked out of the house but as fast as I could turn around she was back behind me looking through paperwork on her cluttered kitchen table. I asked again "lady can you please leave this house?" She replied "yes, but how long will you guys be?" I laughed, her house was just on fire and she was acting like I'm installing a new cable-package for her TV.

Yet a third time, after she had left again, she reappeared behind me asking once again "so you guys will just be a half hour? Will it take any longer than that?? My husband needs his drugs." I laughed and walked her out of the house. The house was a complete disaster anyway, clothes piled up 5 feet high in every corner, a kitchen with barely enough room to shuffle through and rooms that I couldn't imagine sitting down in, let alone sleeping in. Eventually I had the chief baby sit her outside but she definitely made my day haha. The husband she was referring to was already being looked at by EMS outside but she musta been feelin pretty good because she kept insisting he was in the bedroom and needed drugs.

Anyway, we pulled the oven hood off the wall, poked a couple of holes in the walls and backsplash looking for residual smoke or heat, and turned the place over to the fire marshall who i'm sure had his share of fun with the amount of fire hazards and lack of detectors in that place.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Friday afternoon extrication

I work at home on Fridays, which sometimes offers me work I'd otherwise miss while at work. This Friday, we got called to the scene of an MVA (motor vehicle accident) with reports of entrapment. My Captain and I jumped on the Rescue truck while our other, less-experienced guys jumped on the Engine. While on the way to the scene, we discussed our job roles and figured that I'd stabilize the car with cribbing and cut the battery while my Captain gets some of the hydraulic tools out. Of course, he got all excited and jumped in front of me grabbing all the cribbing he could before I could even turn around.

Anyhow, the car got whacked by a utility truck, spun around and got t-boned by an SUV then finally pinned between the two. They were able to pull back the utility truck and I realized the driver indeed was pretty badly hurt. There was also a guy in the back seat with a blanket on from the EMT's so he wouldn't get hit by glass or other debris as we worked. Being that both side doors were locked in, I couldn't get through to the hood to cut the battery without cutting the hood, which in my opinion endangered the driver since his steering-wheel airbag was not yet deployed. Looking back now, we should have wrapped the steering wheel to prevent injury but we didn't.

A few guys brought out a spreader and a cutter and we walked to the passenger side to begin popping the doors off to get the backseat guy out. I held the top of the rear door and began bending it down as the Captain from another company inserted the spreaders between the door and the frame in an attempt to pop the pin. We literally bent the whole top half of the door completely down with no pin-breaking success in removing the door. Then my Captain grabbed the spreaders and went to the hinge side, which was more successful. I cut the remaining cables and wires that were holding the door on and we tossed the crumpled piece into the street, and the back-seat guy was free. Although injured, he was able to get out on his own.

Once the SUV was pulled off the driver's door, they were able to pull him out and strap him to a backboard, supporting his head and neck with a brace. He was pretty f'ed up. No blood but my guess is a few broken ribs, maybe a broken back or neck.