The one in the white helmet and white pants is me holding the hose/sledge is me.
The one in the white helmet and white pants is me holding the hose/sledge is me.
This morning I had a long list of 'to do' items to prepare for leaving the country. I was surrounded by boxes when the fire phone rang. I stepped over some boxes slowly, assuming it was another wrong number.
"Hello fire phone"
"The Sauna is on fire."
Now if you're from the U.S. the Scandinavian habit of Sauna (sah-oona) may be foreign. Or it may conjure up imaged of luxurious rooms of cedar wood. Here it's more like a small shack with a stove in it.
Before you knew it I was flying down the road, meeting the 3 other firemen on our crew. (we're short handed right now). I quickly through on my bunker gear (thanks to those who donated) and jumped on the back of the truck and we were gone.
We got there and it wasn't a huge blaze, but it was threatening to burn down the entire building. The team worked well together. there was a crowd of people around. Ron was on hose, I was his backup. Paul was on truck.
My first big inhale of the smoke burned. You tend to get lung fulls every now and then. We do have donated breathing apparatus but we didn't need it.
Michael and Loren were prying up the roofing, and I was able to hose down inside without using a ladder.
We were a good team, things went well, no one was hurt, and the building (minus some damage) was spared.
At one point Ron shouts 'Chad, get this door open for me!' Door smashing and hole making is sort of my expertise. I felt the door, it was warm to the gloved touch. The handle wasn't. I was able to open it without sledging it open. All windows have arc mesh wire over them, so I took out a windod with the sledge and some bars, which Loren then tore off the remaining.
We vented it well, had each others back. Here you also have to guard the truck from theft.
We rotated and reacted as our training had taught us. And it went really well from our perspective. I think with a little bit of work they'll be able to rebuild that sauna.
After it was all over, and we debriefed, it hit me, that this was the last fire call I'd respond to for a year. And also, how much easier it is to fight fire weighing 55lbs less than I used to.
There's a reason firemen stay in shape.
All in all, an unexpected adventure, but at the end of it, we were left feeling like we had helped and served the community. For those that don't know, our community is a small 200 house area that is so remote we have very little access to emergency services. So men like myself and others, volunteer for various emergency teams. We have an old japanese firetruck that we retrofitted to hold more water. We don't really have that many hydrants around, so for water we use the truck which will go for 30 minutes before empty. After that we poke holes in water tanks, only, it hasn't rained in days and so water is really low.
We are our own emergency services. I was asked 7 years ago to join the team and I did. I knew absolutely nothing about fighting fire, but with monthly (or semi-monthly) training, I learned how to handle the truck, the hoses, how to attack a fire, and have actually responded to a dozen or so fire calls, including 3 burning buildings.
It's just another way to serve the community. After all, if we don't volunteer, then when you have a fire out of control, who do you call? You've exhausted your home fire extinguishers… then what? Walk out while you watch your house burn down?
Nope, if you live near us, you can call 4222 and we will respond.
