I’ve been thinking about Fire Houses recently…and while driving home from lunch with my boss I brought up the idea of doing a ride along with a fire station. He said it’s tough to gain access, and you often have to “know the right people.”
Well, a few hours later I was walking home from work and passed by Fire House 112 . I saw this dummy sitting in the garage of the station and approached to check it out. Halfway to my target I was intercepted by a fire fighter named John, “You can go on in and take pictures if you want. It’s public property.”
John gave me a tour of the garage, teaching me the difference between a fire truck (larger, has ladders on top, designed for search and rescue) vs. a fire engine (carries the hoses and used for putting out the fires). He showed me some of their equipment, like the breathing apparatus they use while on a call, which provides them air for approximately 30 minutes, and will make an loud, alarming noise if a fire fighter has passed out during a rescue. My favorite, not surprisingly, was the thermal camera, which helps them find bodies in a burning building by throwing the scene into a black and white picture based off of temperature. I got to try on a uniform–the oversized boots that I nearly slipped out of climbing while the stairs, the smoky jacket, and pants with suspenders. Just these items alone made me work up a sweat, but John encouraged me to also try on the helmet, breathing apparatus, and top it all off by chucking the ax over my shoulder (ok, so there was no chucking involved, it was more me just struggling with to hands to lift it to my shoulder for a picture.) The whole getup weighed a total of 75 pounds! Blew my mind to think they are putting out fires and saving peoples lives in something so heavy.
It was really cool to see the fire house and learn more about this profession. I thought it was a riot that they’d play bags and mess around on a skate board behind the trucks, passing the time during their 24 hour shift. They were all very nice and even invited me to stay for dinner–one of the fighters volunteers to make meals during each shift. Last night’s meal was pulled-pork, a hard one to pass up.
Hopefully this won’t be the last time I’ll be able to shoot with Fire House 112, and maybe next time I’ll stay for dinner.
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ParkerMB - awesome, i love when photography allows you access to niches of life that would otherwise go overlooked. def stay for dinner, i hear firehouses have great food. and good luck with the ridealong…