I personally feel that our public safety workers are not praised enough for all they do here in the Uintah Basin. They deal with so much and rarely get the recognition they deserve. For this reason, we are writing a four part series in Dirty Jobs including our local firefighters, law enforcement, EMTs and Search and Rescue.
It may come as a bit of a shock to some, but our local structure firefighters do their jobs on a volunteer only basis. They are not paid a wage, but do receive a $25 stipend per call, whether it is a pulled fire alarm at the school that takes minutes to reset, or a structure fire that requires a watchful eye through the night. They can (and do) get called out all hours of the day and night, leaving their spouses, families and jobs in order to insure our safety.
Naples City Fire Department alone takes care of everything south of Ouray. This was a recent change, requiring them to cover Deseret Power, Bonanza and all oil field workings out in the desert. It is a huge coverage area and leaves a lot of room for dangerous situations.
The standing rule is "Two to Roll," meaning there must be two firefighters on each truck before they leave the station. Being first to the scene is no walk in the park. They never know exactly what situation they will be in, the immediate danger of themselves or other individuals, or any environmental hazards they might encounter. A quick assessment of the scene will let them know if they have to dress down in full turnouts or simply their extrication gear. We have all seen the movie versions of this - the hero rolls up with his hardhat on, bibs over a t-shirt and the yellow jacket waving open as they run into a burning building. Looks great on camera but isn't very accurate. Turnouts are 25-30 lbs of boots, fireproof pants, bibs, coat and hardhat. When working on structure fires, many times they also have on their SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) which is another 25-30 lbs. Essentially, these men and women can be working on a scene wearing 60 lbs of gear, not to mention lugging hoses and equipment around. Now imagine that scenario in the dry summer heat combined with the heat of the flames only feet away.
Extrications differ as far a dress, but are no more pleasant to work. It is typically the County Road Department's job to clean up accident scenes, but firefighters normally do not leave until the entire job is done. They are equipped with brooms, tarps and mop up tools. They stay till the tow truck comes and help the Road Department finish things up.
Calls can include anything from cats in trees (true story) to missing kids to assisting BLM with brush fires. Being a small department in a small community, they spend more time doing public relations than actual calls. Anything from meeting with scout troops and schools, to Sub for Santa, to cats in trees (true story) to missing kids and assisting BLM with brush fires- Our local structure firefighters are definitely kept busy to keep watch on our community. But they don't make false claims that it's easy:
"Anytime you get a call where someone is, or could be, seriously hurt, it's gut wrenching."
***Author's note: This article is based mainly on the Naples City Fire Department and while other local agencies may differ slightly most of the information included holds true for all of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment