Riding Ladder 72

One fun perk about my job that I've mentioned before is going out to a local fire station and putting the firefighters through a workout. I go out 3 mornings every other week so it ends up being about 6 times per month.

The other morning I was there and towards the beginning of their workout, a call came through dispatching them to a local nursing home. Since Medic 72 was out of service on a run already, Ladder 72 went and was going to meet Medic 71 there (from the same department but different station). The guys asked me if I wanted to come. Um, of course I wanted to go!

My ride

I hopped in the back with a couple of the guys, they handed me headphones to put on so I could hear them talking, and we were off with the lights & sirens going. Talk about an adrenaline rush! We weren't even going to anything exciting, like a real fire or something, but just a nursing home because some woman was having shortness of breath and chest pain. I was able to even go in the patient's room and see the guys do their thing. It's different to see them in a professional setting when I'm used to seeing them joking around and working out.

We were there for probably 15-20 min and then they decided to transport her to the hospital so the medic took over from there and we went back to the station to finish working out. I've been lucky enough to go on several runs with them over the years and it never loses it's appeal. It just fascinates me to see them in action and out saving lives. And maybe I'm even helping contribute to that just a little bit by trying to keep them in shape.