We had another Alberta Clipper blow in last night. We didn’t get much more than a couple of inches of snow with it, but it made for some nasty visibility and wind chills. It blew all night long and into the morning. Shortly after 6 a.m. Ole’s pager went off and the rescue squad and fire department were called out for a garage fire. The dispatcher said the garage was completely engulfed and there were two cars inside. The nasty wind and the cold wind chills make it extremely difficult and dangerous for the firemen.
So Ole tore out of bed, jumped into his jeans, and I threw a couple of protein bars into his pockets as he passed by on his way out the door headed for the fire department. We found out later, after the fire was all over and the computer reports had come in, they had a six minute response time – that’s from the time the call went out from the dispatch office to the time the firemen got to the scene and had the pumper trucks going. Now consider, these are all volunteer firemen who have to come from their homes to the fire station, gear up, get the engines started and get to the fire.
Ole said the folks had tried to put the fire out themselves before calling it in. If they had called it in right away instead of fooling around they may have been able to save the building, but with the delay, it was totally gone.
Apparently there was a dog kennel inside the garage with a bunch of straw bedding, which had a heat lamp extended into the kennel to keep the dog warm. They got the dog out of the kennel, but the poor thing was so terrified that it bit four firemen before they got it into the house. The garage was located about ten feet from the house. The fire was so hot that it melted the next-door neighbor’s siding.
These fellas do an outstanding job and have developed a reputation that has the second best response times for volunteer fire departments in the entire county. The number one position belongs to a town about twice the size of our little village that’s 15 miles down the road. So I don’t think we’re doing to bad at all.
Now, enter the neighbor with the melted siding. Later this morning, while the firemen were still on site picking up hoses and cleaning up other things, Neighbor is heard at the post office berating the firemen. He was telling everyone that would listen to him that it took the firemen over 20 minutes to even get any water on the fire, so he sure was glad HIS house didn’t burn down. Then he trotted across the street to the Local Watering Hole for his morning coffee and started telling his tall tales over there. Only by that time it had grown to a 30-minute response time and that there was absolutely no excuse for the firemen to be so slow. The person who heard all of this immediately called the fire chief and informed him of what was happening. Needless to say the fire chief was irate. So I guess we’ll see what happens from here.
About an hour after Ole got the call, I drove into the village to see what I could see, making sure I stayed out of the way. The strong wind was making it difficult to breathe even several blocks away from the scene, and there were so many official vehicles there I couldn’t get close enough for a look. Mid morning I drove back and managed to get a shot of the garage through the alley. Ole finally got home about 11 a.m. after helping to get everything cleaned up, tanker trucks full again, and everything set for the next “event.”
And you know, when something like this happens in this part of the country, it usually happens when the weather is at its worst.
Needless to say, I’m pretty proud of our guys – not just because Ole is part of them, but they all do a super job and are all very professional.
So Ole tore out of bed, jumped into his jeans, and I threw a couple of protein bars into his pockets as he passed by on his way out the door headed for the fire department. We found out later, after the fire was all over and the computer reports had come in, they had a six minute response time – that’s from the time the call went out from the dispatch office to the time the firemen got to the scene and had the pumper trucks going. Now consider, these are all volunteer firemen who have to come from their homes to the fire station, gear up, get the engines started and get to the fire.
Ole said the folks had tried to put the fire out themselves before calling it in. If they had called it in right away instead of fooling around they may have been able to save the building, but with the delay, it was totally gone.
Apparently there was a dog kennel inside the garage with a bunch of straw bedding, which had a heat lamp extended into the kennel to keep the dog warm. They got the dog out of the kennel, but the poor thing was so terrified that it bit four firemen before they got it into the house. The garage was located about ten feet from the house. The fire was so hot that it melted the next-door neighbor’s siding.
These fellas do an outstanding job and have developed a reputation that has the second best response times for volunteer fire departments in the entire county. The number one position belongs to a town about twice the size of our little village that’s 15 miles down the road. So I don’t think we’re doing to bad at all.
Now, enter the neighbor with the melted siding. Later this morning, while the firemen were still on site picking up hoses and cleaning up other things, Neighbor is heard at the post office berating the firemen. He was telling everyone that would listen to him that it took the firemen over 20 minutes to even get any water on the fire, so he sure was glad HIS house didn’t burn down. Then he trotted across the street to the Local Watering Hole for his morning coffee and started telling his tall tales over there. Only by that time it had grown to a 30-minute response time and that there was absolutely no excuse for the firemen to be so slow. The person who heard all of this immediately called the fire chief and informed him of what was happening. Needless to say the fire chief was irate. So I guess we’ll see what happens from here.
About an hour after Ole got the call, I drove into the village to see what I could see, making sure I stayed out of the way. The strong wind was making it difficult to breathe even several blocks away from the scene, and there were so many official vehicles there I couldn’t get close enough for a look. Mid morning I drove back and managed to get a shot of the garage through the alley. Ole finally got home about 11 a.m. after helping to get everything cleaned up, tanker trucks full again, and everything set for the next “event.”
And you know, when something like this happens in this part of the country, it usually happens when the weather is at its worst.
Needless to say, I’m pretty proud of our guys – not just because Ole is part of them, but they all do a super job and are all very professional.
PS: FYI the temperature this morning at 6 a.m. was 5 below zero. At that time there was a wind of 40 MPH, which made the wind chill factor equivalent to 34 below zero. Neighbor with the melted siding should try to handle hoses spraying water at those temperatures with the wind conditions. Maybe he wouldn’t be so quick to criticize, huh?
9 comments:
That neighbor is a ditzoid!
that neighbour is retarded. some peoples children, i swear!! kudos to Cap'n Ole, and the brave folks who VOLUNTEER!!!
Slap SLappy for the neighbor. I had a hard time handling those hoses in FL where the temps were ... well FL ... :)
There is always someone ready to complain, I say tell him to volunteer and see how much better he does!
Thank goodness these people (including our beloved Ole) are willing to jump out of a warm bed, fight fire, weather and ignorant neighbors to save people, property and furbabies.
PS: I have another suggestion for the neighbor and the fire hose!
not to mention the fact that fire hoses are way harder to handle than a garden hose..... which maybe neighbor should have tried himself while he was waiting for the FD to show up.....
As our good buddy Art would say, that neighbor needs to go rest his neck!! Complaining about response times (which were totally fabricated) when THEY SAVED HIS HOUSE FROM CATCHING ON FIRE TOO is just unbelievable. If the firemen hadn't been able to bring the garage fire under control, I'm sure the neighbor's house would have gone up too, if it was hot enough to melt his siding.
I hope this neighbor guy gets what's coming to him!!!
Be VERY aware, by not modifying the photos of the rescue vehicles and given the opportunity to blow them up and the other information provided, it's going to be difficult to be anonymous going forward. You might want to remove the photo of that or smudge them out on photo editor.
some people are just so ungrateful. I'd love to see him out there trying to handle a fire hose in below windchill. Those things are hard enough to handle when the weather is nice. I hope somebody rips him a couple of new ones.
Wonder why neighbor with the melted siding sits comfy in his home while volunteer help HIS neighbors. What a mess. Glad to hear the dog got out.
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