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.

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!

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Striking a spring with a sledgehammer. Yes, those guys in the background have guns.*

Pushing & pulling with a Pike Pole.

*We were sharing the fireground with Border Patrol today. Exciting!

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San Agustin Plaza

"Parts of this plaza, right downtown and the oldest in town, date from 1767. The streets surrounding it are cobblestoned and lined with ancient oaks where you can escape the sun...Nearby streets are interesting for all the traditional shops catering to day-tripping Mexicans." - Lonely Planet: Texas, 3rd ed.

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

Week 4 completado.

It was an interesting week. After the cradling the hose evolution on Monday I though we were through the woods but I forgot this Navy SEAL motto: the only easy day was yesterday.

We wrote our Hoses test, started into the next chapter and before we knew it we were in a convoy crossing the city. We corralled our convoy in the Station #10 lot and all piled into two passenger vans. First stop - Rudy's! What a great way to start a field trip! I seriously can't get enough Rudy's. Barbecue by the pound - fresh brewed iced tea - free jalapenos - and really great barbecue sause. We were sequestered in the 'party room' because it was the only spot that could accommodate our large group. Nbd. Stuffed full of barbecue we made our way to some far-flung Walgreens in the not-so-great part of town for our vaccinations.

I've seen more Walgreens than I care to admit. Almost everyday without fail, I end up in a Walgreens when I'm driving across the United States. Vitamins, instant oatmeal, cough syrup, water, snacks, stamps - you name it. Tuesday's visit was much longer than usual. Putting all 21 head of recruit through the turnstile to get their shots consumed the afternoon. Then, we went home early!

Wednesday was mostly in-class work on Fire Streams.

Thursday was skills. We completed our Texas Commission skills in the morning which left us with plenty of time for 'fun'. We played water polo which isn't exactly like it sounds. Two four-man teams each armed with a 1 3/4" hose stand opposite each another with a metal buoy on a guide wire 16' in the air between them. The goal is to use the hose stream to push the buoy across the wire to the other side. Everybody gets wet - but it was fun.

The afternoon was spent on a Laredo skill.* We ran 150' of charged 1 3/4" hose line 150' down the training field. The catch? The hose is flowing 125gpm out of the nozzle while you're running with it, alone. You don't have to aim it, but you can't turn it off. As the hose extends the resistance increases so it gets harder with each step. It's kind of like a tractor pull. I was 12' away from full completion when my 5min. ran out. Body mass is a big factor here, we had one recruit do it in 1min30sec. - he weighs 260lbs. Better make my whey to GNC. Ha-ha.

*above and beyond the state requirement, this is something the Laredo Cadets need to complete to secure their spot in the department. For this skill, there is no time limit - rumour has it the slowest cadet took 27min. 27min. dragging a hose without giving up. I can't even imagine.