Beep, Beep, and Beep "The Fire Department is needed to respond to a fire on Ridge Ave. All personnel report to the station for further information."
Adrenaline pumping, firefighters pulled on their bunker gear and readied themselves for what could be anything from a vehicle fire to almost any number ofscenarios. Despite the commotion going on as firefighters arrived and geared up, and engines began to pull out of the station as all the seats on the apparatus were occupied, there was still calmness in the air. The sort of calmness that exists in groups where they have been through many things together and operate well as a team.
Upon reaching the scene of the fire, they discovered that it was a small kitchen fire. Two of the firefighters suppressed the fire with extinguishers and we all checked to make sure that the fire was not smoldering between the walls. After the scene was declared clear, the embarrassed occupant of the residence thanked them repeatedly and promised to be more careful in the future.
The engines then returned to the station. As everyone climbed out of their bunker gear, they felt mixed emotions- relief that the fire was out and there were no injuries to anyone, but at the same time disappointment. It isn't easy to go from zero to sixty and the suddenly have nothing to with that energy. This is just an average day in the world of a firefighter. Welcome to my life. My station is a combination station, made up of fourteen career firefighters and seven volunteers. My name is Kalina Rhaun. I am twenty years old and have been firefighting since I was seventeen. I love it. I have always been fascinated with fire, now it is my world.
There are six women on this department and fifteen men. Among those women, only two are career. I am one of them. It was not easy getting onto the department, even harder to truly become one of them, but sometime in the last two years, I managed to. I've never had a family, never been a part of one. I hadn't planned to be either, but a strange thing happened to me. As I became part of the department, something changed. Now my family is twenty-strong. I have five sisters and fifteen brothers. They have helped me to forget my past. If they ever find out, I am not sure what would happen. But for now, I am satisfied to rest and pretend to forget. I know that it won't last, but for now, I will pretend to be a normal girl and part of a normal family, with a normal past. For now- Beep, beep, beep "The fire department is needed to respond…" Here we go again…
