All units on scene on all wheels

Well, a week ago (the 26th) I finished fire school. It feels pretty good to be done. Got an 85 on my state test, and successfully completed all 3 skills tests on the first try. Works for me.

Been busy here in my fire district some days. The next day, tuesday, I was on the way back from a medical call in the brush truck, and then we got paged out to do mutual aid in Sherwood Shores for a structure fire. On the way, in Whitesboro, just as we went under 82 going north on 377, we passed a wreck. Whitesboro was toned out, but they were all at the fire. I got on the radio to dispatch, and asked if they wanted us to take it. We stopped and worked the wreck before going on to the fire. Had to wait for an ambulance all the way from Sherman Fire Department because all the Whitesboro ambulances were already on the way to Sherman with patients. That's how hectic it gets around here some days. I sure was glad when a lone guy from Whitesboro showed up with extrication tools in their secondary engine.

All things considered, I think everything went far smoother than could have been expected considering how busy the whole area was that day. Especially on a weekday in the middle of the afternoon, when personnel for volunteer departments are so limited.

Saturday, on the other hand, wasn't nearly so smooth. A medical call kicked it off, which was hectic in and of itself with so many personnel on hand. While we were there, we got paged out to a grass fire. One guy in the tanker, and two of us in the brush truck. We were following the tanker to the scene, and at a rail crossing the driver in the tanker decided to let us by. Not realizing how steep the drop into the ditch was, I saw something I never want to see again: Our tanker, barely two years old, with its 1800 gallon tank of water, hung for a second at a delicate balance on two wheels. Were it not for the blaring sirens and the diesel engine, you could have heard a pin drop inside the F-350 cab we sat in as we watched, before the tank water must have sloshed in just the right way, sending the truck crashing back down onto all four wheels. This is the kind of adrenaline I prefer to get arriving at a scene, not just trying to get there.

After fighting that grass fire of a couple acres, we go back to the station and wash both trucks that we brought out there. Almost finished, we get a page for Whitesboro in need of mutual aid. So we get back in and dirty our truck on dusty gravel roads, getting lost a couple times on the way due to bad directions over the radio. Worst of it is, we were going the right way until they "corrected" us.

It's been an interesting week, suffice to say.