FIRE RECRUIT: LAREDO, TX: 2012

Saturday, March 31, 2012

CERTIFIED

Three big exams, one graduation, way too many nights of celebrating our achievements and I'm finally finished the three longs months of Fire Recruit Academy. I'll just get it out of the way: It's was totally worth it.

The Captains, Instructors and even Chiefs went above and beyond for us. The Laredo Fire Department taught us like their own cadets and we're all better for it. So, thank you Captain Perez, Instructor Meyers, Ins. Rojas, Ins. Edwards, Cap. Manning, Cap. Sherwood, Chiefs Gonzalez and Hughes, Cap. Morales, Ins. Rodriguez & Ins. Lopez. I am fortunate to have met you and I've learned more than I could imagine. Eh!

The final exams for TEEX, ProBoard and The Texas Commission were all varying in difficulty but I managed to score well on each. 91.7% on the TEEX final exam. 88.5% on the ProBoard which is often considered the most difficult of the three. 93.75% on the Texas Commission which is supposed to be easy but I didn't find it that much easier than the ProBoard. Even though I did get my grades for these tests, they are ultimately a pass or fail (70%) grade resulting in certification. So I'm CERTIFIED! It feels good, real good.

A few of us celebrated in Austin on Thursday night, certified-style. You can't argue with $3 drinks, so we didn't. It was a great send off.

Before we hit Austin though I was appointed Barbecue Tour Director and my task was to find the best barbecue Texas had to offer between Laredo and Austin. Fortunately for me, three of the top five are all right around there in Luling and Lockhart. We almost went to City Market in Luling but the Program Coordinator at TEEX caught wind of this and flat out told me "You're making a damn mistake." They don't mince words down in Texas, especially when they're talking about barbecue. He redirected us to Kreuz Market, Lockhart, TX.

Kreuz Market is known for their Shoulder Clod (like a lean brisket) and defiant position on barbecue sauce - there is none, and don't ask for it. Their meat doesn't need it - oh yeah? Well, they're right. Rudy's being the benchmark, I'd say this brisket was superior. Best ever? It was. They use oak instead of mesquite, which gives it a much more mellow taste. They're gentle on the rub (salt and pepper I think, that's it) and the meat is truly tender and moist without sauce. Their Jalapeño cheese sausage was the best I've ever tasted. This place is huge, I mean it'll seat 300 people if need be. You actually order from the pit itself. Barbecue heaven.

So that's that, it's been a long journey that is far from over but this part is done. It was an experience and I highly recommend it.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Live Fire II

It just keeps getting better and better. We've been doing scenarios, rolling up lights-and-sirens in the engine and assessing the scene, rescuing the victims and turning off the fire. It takes a lot of quick thinking, communication and team work. Each man has a job which must be preformed at the right time or everything can fall apart. One wrong move, one hesitation or a bit of tunnel vision and the whole operations spirals into failure.

Our facepieces have become part of our ensemble like a pair of sunglasses or a baseball hat. Sweat lets you know you're still alive. And when you get out and bunker down the cool 30ºC breeze is a welcome relief. Refill the tank, have a bit of water and do it all again.

I'm not sure how he knew, but Captain Sherwood called me out to assist in filming some of our burns with his iPhone. 3,000km from home and some how I'm still at work. I don't mind though, really. It means I get to go twice as often as the other guys and experience the burn from incipient to extinguishment. And it turns out that iPhones can take a lot of heat. It's also interesting that if your bunker gloves are wet they can conduct electricity from your finger to the screen - making them a $50 pair of superheat resistant iPhone gloves.

Our final experience on the fireground was with the propane and kerosene props. They were our night burns. Fireballs, thirty foot flames, ungodly screeches from steel structures - everything you could ask for. We went out with a bang, an extremely loud and incredibly awesome bang.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Live Fire

Last week we finally started live fire training. This week we'll finish it up. We put the wet stuff on the red stuff (and we're not suppose to say that because there's more to it than just water and fire.) But we did. The unfortunately thing about all this is that I can't really show what the fire looks like in there because it's over 1000ºF in the burn room and I'd rather not melt my camera. I might take the ol' iPhone in as Captain Sherwood seems to think it'd be alright for a short period of time. We'll see about that.

There's practice with water, hoses, smoke and black masks and then there's live fire. Practice like you play. We bring it all together in the burn room, 'pencil' a bit of water into the hot gas layer at the ceiling then hit the fire with a few short bursts until it 'darkens down'. There's a lot of lingo in this business but once you get to really putting out the flames it makes much more sense. What a rush! I know now that I'd be happy to do this for the rest of my life. There's nothing like it. I finally know I made the right decision coming all this way, putting everything on hold and following a dream that seemed a little less than half baked just a few months ago. This job is awesome.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Blue Suits

I thought the snowsuits we've been wearing were hot but nothing compares to being sealed up in a blue tarp spacesuit. The blue suits are chemical protective clothing designed to withstand some pretty horrendous situations. When tank cars rupture and eighteen wheelers rollover they're usually filled with some sort of pressurized and often flammable, toxic or corrosive material. That kind of mess needs the attention of a HAZMAT Technician to confine and contain the spill so it doesn't spread or negatively impact the population or environment.

It's so hot in these suits that your gloves fill up with sweat. We walked around the the training field, climbed up and down a train car and continued walking until we were out of air. I lasted 40min15sec. on my SCBA in the suit. After you run out of air, which is inherently obvious because the facepiece sucks into your face when you try to breath, you're left with the atmosphere in the suit. To get the full experience we were instructed to continue breathing the suit air. Apparently you've got another five minutes of breathable air in there. It was pretty heinous.

This is me.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ding. Going Down.

It's not easy to put your faith in a rope. Only 5/8" thick. You have to just hope it holds, because what's the wost thing that could happen? You could die? And from that height, it's unlikely that tiny little red bucket is going to save your melon. So off you go, over the edge backward hoping that rope is as good as they say it is.

You control the descent with an eight, adjusting your speed as you go. Push off the building, let the rope payoff, swing back toward the building and halt it with the eight. Easy as that. Scary as hell, but easy as that. It was amazing. I could do this everyday.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Return of the Black Mask

After weeks of learning we finally revisited the blacked out mask exercise which we failed at so miserably last time. Now we were ready. Armed with knowledge from the recently read and powerpointed chapter on Rescue & Extrication we once again entered the kitchen prop and searched for our victim. Beyond knowledge, we also had a tag rope which really does make finding your way back out a lot easier. Hansel and Gretel ain't got nothing on us.

Four of us entered the prop on our knees and crawled to the opposite end where we found the dummy lying by the stove I think. Together we dragged and pushed it to the entry door and successfully completed the evolution. Piece of cake.

Across the fireground in the burn building we practiced with live smoke and this time used the booster hose to search the house for a mother & infant. Ventilation was not part of the scenario so we couldn't see much better than with the blacked out masks. Honestly, I was surprised at how difficult it is to see in a smokey environment - even though we've been constantly reminded that it is.

Search & Rescue is disorenting and intense. Your breath quickens, you start to sweat and your eyes strain to find any semblance of the familiar or recognizable shape (and we've been in this building numerous times.) It took us over nine minutes to find the baby after we'd found the mother in our first attempt. In our second go we found them in less than three minutes. You never know where the victim lies so you roll the dice and hope its closer to the right if you go right and left if you go left.

Great day. Tomorrow we're rappelling. Yeah, from a six story building!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A Weekend in San Antonio

It's hard to explain how much I missed my wife after being away from her for six weeks so I won't. More importantly we met in San Antonio for the weekend and all the distance, loneliness and longing disappeared like an apparition.* It was the best day since we parted ways in Austin and it was almost like we hadn't been away from each other at all.

We stayed in the St. Anthony, a historic hotel near the River Walk and reputedly haunted. However, like the other hotels we've stayed in that claim to have haunted halls the apparitions were absent.* It was also comparably luxurious and I highly recommend it - if not for ghosts then for grandeur.

We had a very nice dinner at Biga on the River Walk. The tasting menu was very good, not great and the wine pairings were on point. Sometimes I need to remind myself I'm not in Toronto. Jamie Kennedy does not live here.

Saturday was a big, big day full of all kinds of Texas stereotypes and great times. We started the day with a walk to Market Square in the rain for breakfast and souvenir shopping. I'd skip the Mi Tierre Bakery next time. I thought empanadas with fruit filling sounded good until I remembered (during my first bite) that they traditionally use vinegar in the dough recipe. The churros were ok though. We found some pretty great souvenirs. A luchadore mask, dios los muertos shopping bags, Mexican bingo - all good Mexican stuff. Enough of that though - on to the Rodeo!

The PBR ain't got nothin' on the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo! It was a great introduction into western cowboy culture. If you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough. The shit-kicking these guy take is beyond belief. If being thrown from a bull or a bucking bronco isn't enough they also jump off their horses and onto the horns of a steer to headlock it to the ground. I've never really wondered where these guys get their start but it turns out that it's mutton busting. Lil' cowpokes as young as four hold on for dear life as a sheep runs out of the gate and tries to shake 'em off. More than a few of those kids got trampled (and survived of course.) The rodeo concluded with performance by some country singer I'd just as soon forget. We decided to take a tour through the stock show and I saw some of the cleanest swine in the state of Texas. They're brushed, washed and brushed again. They even take 'em for walks.

After the rodeo we met up with the boys and started into a big night of drinking with no end in sight. We drank and played pool in the highly overrated and overpriced Mad Dog's on the River Walk. As it got dark we headed to Pat O'Brien's (of New Orleans fame) and sat down in the courtyard to some live music and way too many hurricanes. Really, I had four. It was still early (in the morning) so we headed to Cowboys Dancehall. The biggest, most amazing cowboy bar ever. Well, I assume it is. The only other one I've been to was here in Laredo, coincidentally also name Cowboys. The similarities end there. A mechanical bull, Shiner Bock served out of washbasins, live country music and a whole lotta line dancin'. What a place.

Sunday came with a surprisingly light hangover. Katie was looking for something greasy to cure our ails so it only made sense to seek out The Smokehouse in west San Antonio and get some moist brisket. We arrived at ten to 12 - too early. We wandered around Family Dollar for five minutes and when we came back they had a line out the door. A line at 11:55 on a Sunday morning at a barbecue joint says a lot more than any review could. Funnily enough we ended up here by way of reviews, a lot of them. The Smokehouse is very highly respected. And yeah, it was very, very good. God damn, I love barbecue.

*New Orleans haunted hotels: Bourbon Orleans, Le Pavillion & the Bienville House.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

ARFF (Airport Rescue Fire Fighter)

After our Fire Prevention and Public Education chapter exam Wednesday morning we helped out with the Laredo Cadet's ARFF training skills. We were pulling hose as they pushed Kerosene across a pool of water under a prop airplane. Lucky! There isn't much more to say about this that can't be better conveyed by these pictures.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Founding Father's 5K

With a few of the other recruits I ran the Washington's Birthday Celebration Association 5k on Saturday. He's kind of a big deal down here - they celebrate his birthday for over a month! I clocked the 5.76k in at 28:50. Each kilometer yielded another new ache. First it was my ankle, then my shin, knee, calves and hips. It was fun though, I think I'd do it again.

More importantly, for the $10 registration fee I got about $400 (est.) worth of free healthcare. I had my eyes tested for glaucoma (clear), an eye exam (20/20), a respiratory test (better than the expected average for my age), and a blood test for cholesterol, glucose and PSA.

Not to mention all the ants on a log I could eat, bananas, yogurt, water and healthy (yucky) cookies. All and all, it was well worth it.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Smoke, Fire, Power Saws & Pushups

The weeks roll along faster now, the rhythm is steady and each day brings a new set of skills and challenges. For the most part they're more enjoyable skills than in weeks past. We're faster, stronger and better than we were. We're more capable. This week we had our first interaction with live fire.

Wax on, wax off. We got to put some of our previous training to use for Ventilation. We hoisted ladders, extended charged hose lines and ventilated hydraulically out a window. While it wasn't as dark as 'the maze' we did weeks ago, it was still very hard to see in the smokey environment rendered by smouldering wet hay and road flares. Full gear on, we went into the building, located the source of smoke and ventilated using the hose to draw smoke out the with the water stream. Convection never looked so cool.

We also ascended the 35' ladder to the roof to simulate ventilating a pitched roof. Not as fun as hydraulic ventilation but still worthwhile.

It's now common for firefighters to horizontally ventilate using a chainsaw but before we could do that we had to do it the old school way - with an axe. After we roughed-in a hole with an axe we got to use the chainsaw to finish the job. Cutting through the deck was sweaty without a respirator. My mask fogged up with condensation and sweat. It wasn't long before I couldn't see (I'd already cut my hole by then.) Under real conditions we would have been on air but there's only so much in a tank and we needed for the other skills.

Friday concluded with class on Extinguishers and some live fire skills. A propane rig was assembled and ignited. We practiced turning off the fire one by one. I turned my back on the rig after I'd extinguished it - a big no-no. That cost me 40 pushups. I didn't count them out loud enough. I can't hear you Mr. Kennedy. That cost me 40 more. My total for the day was 160. I did the first 80 earlier that morning after I bet Captain Perez double or nothing that I'd score 100% on my Loss Protection exam. I got 95%. The house always wins.

Next week is week six. I can't believe we're almost halfway there. Katie is meeting me in San Antonio next weekend. I'm totally stoked.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Forcible Entry, or Chopping, Striking and Poking

Today we finished up our Forcible Entry chapter with another vintage video starring the late, great Tom Brennan. If his Brooklyn accent doesn' make ya wanna be ah firefighta I dunno what will. Around 9am we headed out to the fireground to try some of the techniques we'd learned.

We chopped railroad ties with a flat-head axe, struck a large spring loaded plate with a sledgehammer and poked and pulled a custom build contraption with a pike pole. Two minutes at each position, rotating to all three positions in six minutes, wearing our SCBAs. There's no quicker way to warm up on a cool morning in the desert than a quick circuit with your mask on.

The satisfaction one gets from splitting logs into smaller, fire-ready chunks at the cottage is mysteriously absent when chopping on a railroad tie.