Breaking in new gear

I was issued new gear (yay- get to look like a rookie for a while. Don't get me wrong, I am VERY thankful to have it, it just takes a while to wear the "new" out of it). I ran it through the extractor, and had been doing P.T. in it every shift and it started to soften up and be a bit more flexible. It still smelled new though. It needed to be baptized by fire.

I had picked up an overtime shift and was working on the south end of the county. It had been an uneventful shift. I went to bed around midnight. At 12:30 we were called on a granny tote from the local nursing home. We backed back into the bay ready for bed around 1:30 or so. I was headed to the bathroom when our encoder went off again. Oh well, at least I hadn't fallen back asleep again, that makes it ten times worse. I heard two other tones drop and said aloud to the captain who was up with insomnia "that's something big" thinking it was either a person down or a wreck with entrapment. Nope. Dispatch came across and said "seven first due" with the cross streets. We ran to the truck. The call was about a mile or so away, and I could see the orange glow in the night sky and the violent plume of billowing smoke steadily streaming skyward. I was first on scene. I set up command, gave a brief size up, and jumped out of the truck. The home- a double wide trailer- was already fully involved. I wondered how it wasn't called in sooner. There was a vehicle parked about four feet from the house, and if the home had been equipped with smoke detectors, they burned up long ago and emitted no noise presently. We pulled a cross lay and charged it, attacking the fire from the outside. The walls easily gave way, and the floor sank in. Shortly after beginning our attack, the porch collapsed. Each time we would get the fire knocked down, it would reignite violently. There was a ruptured gas line fueling the blaze. A crew tried to turn the gas off, but the break was on the wrong side of the switch. The gas company had to come out and dig the pipe up.





We worked long and hard after the fire was out. The roof was constructed of about six layers of sheet metal, nailed on top of itself repeatedly, and had collapsed. Given the vehicle so close to the residence, we suspected we were searching for a body. I silently prayed it wouldn't be a little body if there was one here. We dug through the ash and soot and charred wood. We hauled piece after piece after piece after piece of hot sheet metal away from the rubble. As the sun rose, we were all released from the scene, and it was left with the investigators. I went back to my station to get my equipment cleaned up and readied for the oncoming crew. I hosed my gear off. It needed to go in the extractor to be washed, but would have to go in my car first, and it stunk that distinctive stink of sweat smoke and dirt. I later learned on the news that an adult body was found in the remains, and the investigation is still underway. I hope their family is able to heal and find peace after this. My gear is on it's way to being broken in. At least it doesn't smell new any more.