Posts Categorized: Firehouse Life
Photo round-up
When you abandon a bike near a firehouse dumpster, be prepared for what it may become. I dragged this bike into the apparatus bay one evening after taking out the garbage; several tours later, I found it out behind the firehouse like this. Apparently "An…
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Confessions of a (former) Probationer.
My tags: significantly more beat-up since the last time we saw them.
Yes, that's right. The title says it all; not only have I completed my probation, but I'm willing to share all the stupid stuff I did while I was in that period. Some things are more…
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The long-awaited Dublin Fire Brigade update!
A voice rang out from down the hallway, with it's owner appearing around a corner seconds later.
"Hey! We've got a call near the Liffey!
Glenn turned his head from us and cursed quietly.
"Are we goin' swimming?" he asked, tentatively.
"Na…
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Nikon Festival: Video Submission
I've just completed and uploaded my official submission for the Nikon Festival "A Day Through Your Lens" competition (this might explain the absence from blogging for a bit, eh?)
In keeping with contest rules, I'm not supposed to upload the video …
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You know you’re a probationer when:
• You're telling your friends where to meet up later that night, but directions to the bar include "it's right near the hydrant on the southwest corner," or "...it'll be in the twelve-hundred-block of Connecticut Ave."
• "Yes, sir" has enter…
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Random thoughts from last tour.
Don't stick your head too far out the window to look at stuff when driving around—while wagon drivers are quite adept at avoiding obstacles, tree branches don't really count.—————Chicken gravy is a rather unprofessional thing to find …
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Expectations.
"Holy shit—she's having a baby!"I couldn't help but laugh; what is this, a bad movie? Get me some towels and hot water! And ring Doctor Swanson, immediately! The way-too-excited MPD officer went sprinting past me; admittedly, I …
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We’re everywhere…
News sites, blogs, beer, wine, art, barbeque sauce, cookbooks, workout programs...The list goes on and on. Every time I look online, there's a new product/service/business offered from, inspired by, or aimed at firefighters. It's always interest…
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The Farm: a brief introduction.
"Weren't you guys trying to grow something out here a while back?"The wagon driver turned from the engine's pump panel and rubbed a thoughtful hand on his chin."Yeah, we had tried growing corn out back of the firehouse... don't…
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Details.
A page from The Writer's Block, a cube-shaped book (get it?) full of random ideas to jump-start the creative half of your brain. I was flipping through it the other day and found this page."Paramedic Engine 15 and Ambulance 15…
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WeLoveDC.com; publicity for RL!
Tom Bridge, co-founder and author of WeLoveDC.com came across Raising Ladders the other day, and he liked it so much that he posted a brief write-up in the WLDC daily feed.WeLoveDC.com is a collective blog written by a diverse population of authors who …
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A different view of D.C.
The John H. Glenn Jr., Washington, D.C.'s 70'-long flagship fireboat. It was built in 1962 for the FDNY, and was purchased by DCFD in 1977 for one dollar.All the air inside my drysuit escaped with an audible whoosh as I stretched the rubbe…
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The next hoop.
Some good news is being passed around today. I've received word that a handful of us paramedics are being pushed along into the next stage of the DCFD pipeline, starting Monday. There's some meetings, some more paperwork (I'm sure), but it at…
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History.
"Y'all better be alert! Best pay attention over here!"The members of Engine 15 and a truck company were standing around the scene of a gas leak; we had just shut the supply off when our attention was drawn to the shirtless man quickly walki…
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Enjoying the fireworks.
We pulled up to the building on 12th street and hopped out. Taking a second to scan the street, I saw only a single truck company and Rescue 3 pulling up beside us."Uh... aren't we fourth due?""Yep. Come on, rook... let's run the …
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A refreshing viewpoint.
As paramedics, myself and my colleagues in recruit school have been hearing the same story since Day 1: "Well, just because you're a paramedic, you're going to catch flak from people in the department because they don't like EMS in gener…
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Acclimation.
"Ow, shit! Sorry, man."In the dim red light in the back of the cab, I could barely make out the "ah, it's okay" shrug that the lineman gave me. I mean, there's usually only two people being tossed around in the back of the eng…
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Evaluation.
Great news for the medics who were formerly stuck in limbo: we've been approved to stay on shift work, so we're being assigned temporary spots on engines until we complete all of our evaluations. We need a certain number of calls (and the accompa…
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Breaking: Shooting at 14th/Irving, NW.
Joe McNally, a famous National Geographic photographer, once said:"If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff."As opposed to standing, sometimes an opportunity comes along that's just so well-placed in…
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A week in the street.
After a long week, we received some great news on Friday. Starting tomorrow, we paramedics are being sent to the street to ride on an engine company with a FF/PM for a total of forty hours. We'll be on varying schedules; for instance, I'm w…
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Standing by.
(AP) WASHINGTON – An 88-year-old gunman with a violent and virulently anti-Semitic past opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, fatally wounding a security guard before being shot himse…
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The final burn.
Uh... either we're extremely dehydrated and exhausted, or the headless fireman from the Sleepy Hollow Fire Department is haunting the burn building. Either way, it's probably time for us to go.—————"I haven't seen …
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