A heart warming story of a career firefighter who tragically lost his wife in an accident and is left to raise his two children while balancing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
Engine Company 13
For Love, Honor, and FamilyBy Thomas A. SergentAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Thomas A. Sergent
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-2481-3 Chapter One
It was not something that anyone should have to witness; the car had slid off the road during a severe thunderstorm with almost zero visibility. Engine Company 13 received the alarm at 1342 and responded to the scene, I was the officer in charge for that shift and upon arrival, I was devastated to see my wife's car had smashed into a tree killing her instantly leaving me to care for an eight year old daughter and a 10 year old son. That happened six years ago today, and it was still vivid in my mind.
I have been with the Jefferson County Fire Department for 23 years and today was a special day. My 14 year old daughter Jenny was coming to the station with her 4H club for a tour. I was with B shift, and we started our 24 hour shift at 0800 and our tour was to start at 0900. The Firefighters at Engine Company 13 took pride in what they did and always went the extra mile when we were having visitors. The group arrived on time, and we couldn't have been more ready.
I had the kids gather around, and I made the introductions. "Good morning everyone and welcome to Jefferson Counties Engine Company 13; my name is Captain Vernon Albright and this is my crew, Engineer Mike Conrad, Firefighter Sam Ward and Firefighter Bill Goshen. My crew is going to give everyone a tour and explain the different aspects of our equipment, and what we do, but first I would like to know if I could answer any questions."
A young boy raised his hand. "Yes son what is your question?" I asked. "Well sir I am curious as to why you have only one fire truck when most fire stations have several?" He asked. "That is a good question and let me answer it for you. Engine Company 13 is at the far south end of the county and was established 15 years ago because of the size of this area and our assisting stations response distance. There are three station houses that are in district 4 one of course is this station and the other two are Station 10, which houses an engine, a 3000 gallon tanker and a heavy rescue unit which is located 9 miles from here. The other station is Station 17, which houses an Engine, a 105 foot aerial truck, a 2000 gallon tanker and is also the home of our district 4 Chief, and they are located 12 miles from here. When the fire department would get calls in this area it would take a very long time to respond out here so the county had this station built so there would be a quicker response to help the citizens here. Does that answer your question?"
The young boy shook his head yes.
"Daddy explain to them why Engine 13 is a special truck unlike any other in the county." My daughter Jenny asked. "Jenny is correct Engine 13 is a very special truck because it is a one engine station and the only one of its kind in the county. Unlike most engines that carry only 750 gallons of water Engine 13 carries 1500 because the rural area we cover has no fire hydrants, and we need to have a lot of water until the tankers arrive. The Engine is also equipped with vehicle rescue tools such as the Jaws of Life unlike other Engines, which do not carry these items. All of you will get to see the different equipment on the engine during the tour. With that being, said my men will now conduct the tour."
The men enjoyed showing off the engine and the station house and started the kids on the tour, my daughter had been to the station many times and followed me to my office.
"Daddy you need to talk to Joey, every since he left 4H he doesn't help me with the animals any longer, and I get stuck doing all the chores. All he is interested in is running around with his friends."
My son Joey was 16 and had become quite a handful lately. "I will talk to him when I get home Jenny. That is all I can do, your brother lost interest sometime ago, and if it is a burden than maybe we should just get rid of the animals."
"We can't do that Daddy, I love having the animals and showing them at the fair. All I am asking for is some help." She said.
My children and I live on a very small farm and the kids have been raising animals all of their lives for 4H. We usually have a bull, a hog and some chickens of course this year was our first year with turkeys. The farm wasn't big at all so there was not enough land to plant any crops so the firefighters all pitched in order to help with the feed for the animals. In exchange when the animals were slaughtered most of the meat went to the two big freezers at the firehouse which the firefighters used for the meals that were cooked on the different shifts. My family got to keep some meat also for housing and taking care of the animals.
"Jenny I will start helping you with the animals when I am off." I told her.
"Thanks Daddy I am going to join the rest of my friends." She said as she hugged me and ran out of the office.
Jenny was a smart girl. She had a rough life without having her Mother around, but I did the best I could for her. Raising my kids and taking care of things around the house did not leave much time for dating in my world, so she didn't even have a step mom to be a female role model for her. My son, on the other hand, seemed to cause me a lot of trouble in the last few years and was running with a crowd that seemed to have more than their share of trouble with the law. Jenny's 4H club spent about an hour with us before leaving.
The crew began the daily checks on the engine when the alarm bell rang.
"Engine 13 report of a shed fire 6225 Grimmer Ave time out 1018."
Engine 13 left the station "Engine 13 is responding" I called in to dispatch. Grimmer Ave was only about a mile and half from the station house, so we knew we would be there quickly. "Hey Cap I am seeing a lot of smoke rising for a shed burning." Mike said as we got closer. I looked to my right, and it was a great deal of smoke. When we pulled up seconds later we saw the reason. "Engine 13 is on the scene we have a single story residence with attached garage and the garage is fully involved, request second engine response." I called into the dispatcher. The neighborhood had hydrants and we had already dropped a supply line when we were pulling up.
"Bill you and Sam take the 1-3/4 attack line and enter through the front door and push it back through the entry door to the garage on the inside of the house." I told them as I put my air pack on. Normally, it would not be wise to enter a building without a backup team, but if we were to wait, the fire would be inside the house before the second engine arrived. I stood at the entry door while Bill and Sam went inside to make the attack. The fire had already burned through the entry door and the kitchen was partially on fire. Bill had the nozzle and quickly suppressed the fire in the kitchen and moved to the doorway that led to the garage. Bill dropped to a knee and put the nozzle in a tight fog pattern and began to suppress the fire within the garage.
The fire had been pretty well knocked down when Engine 17 showed up on the scene to assist us. I pulled Sam and Bill out of the house and let 17's crew take over with a fresh crew. Meanwhile I went to talk to the owner of the house who claimed he was doing some welding work in his garage when a spark ignited a gasoline can he had which he used for the lawn mower. Like most fires, the cause was carelessness. We remained on the scene for a little over an hour before returning to the station.
Engine Company 13 is a busy station house averaging around 1400 calls yearly or about 4 calls per shift. The calls vary from vehicle accidents to structure fires and because of our rural location brush fires and of course medical calls. We even on occasion would be called into Station 17's area because of the industrial area they cover and also Station 10's area because they have a subdivision out there of wealthier people that have very large homes, but this happens on rare occasions because of the large area Engine 13 covers. The Firefighters of Engine Company 13 like most firefighters are an extremely close family and even on their days off spend time with one another. I was proud to be the Captain on B shift and wouldn't trade my job for any other.
Like most calls, we probably spend as much or more time cleaning the equipment and getting it ready for the next call as we do on the scene itself. While the crew finished getting the Engine back in service it was my turn to prepare lunch, so I went off to our kitchen. I had put out a couple of pounds of hamburger to thaw when I had arrived that morning, and I had planned to make my onion burgers on the grill. The crew loved my secret onion burgers even though they were nothing more than ground beef with dry onion soup mixed in. I made eight nice patties and fired up our gas grill out behind the station. While the grill heated up, I put a couple of cans of pork and beans in a pan and got them started on the stove, a complete lunch for four in less than an hour.
Mike was just finishing cleaning the kitchen when the bell rang for the second call for the shift.
"Engine 13 and Tanker 10 report of a large brush fire in a field in the area of the 1700 block of West Martindale time out 1248."
This call was about five miles from the station and was an area with a lot of farm land. "Engine 13 is responding," I called in as we left the station. We were probably about half way there when the dispatcher called, "Tanker 10 return to station, police are on scene and report that a farmer is burning a fence line on his property, and it is under control. Engine 13 continue responding for investigation." "Engine 13 is clear continuing response." I answered back. This was not an unusual call, many farmers in the area burn off the fence lines and a passerby in a car thinks the field is burning.
"Engine 13 is on the scene,"" I called as we arrived. I walked out to the farmer, and he had everything under control. I gave him the usual speech about not leaving the fire unattended and walked back to the Engine. "Dispatch, fire is under control and being supervised Engine 13 is available and returning to station."
Being a firefighter is an exciting job, but if the truth be known a lot of the calls we go on are very similar to the farmer. There are many times we show up and the fire is already out and of course there are the many bullshit calls that turn out to be nothing at all. We arrived back at the station, and I went to my office where I saw a message on the answering machine.
"Hey Daddy it's me, call me when you get a minute." My daughter was good for at least two phone calls per shift.
I picked up the phone and gave her a call. "What did you need Jenny?"
"I just wanted you to know that my stupid brother and his friends think they are going to have some kind of party here tonight." She told me knowing I wasn't going to be happy about any of this.
"Oh really so how do you know this?" I asked.
"I overheard him talking on the phone. Supposedly, they are planning this for sometime around 7:00 tonight. Daddy I don't want to be here if his friends are coming, I don't like them." She pleaded.
"Don't worry about a thing Jenny, I will call Burt, and he will handle it." I told her as we got off the phone. Burt was one of my best friends and was the Captain of A shift. All the firefighters at the station knew that I was a single father and when the kids were younger they would help me out by either staying with the kids at the house or having them stay at their house while I was on shift.
I gave Burt a call. "Burt its Vern how ya doing; I need a favor Jenny called and tells me Joey is planning some sort of party at the house tonight around 7:00. Do you think you could make a run by the place later and crash his little party for me?"
"Sure Vern that won't be a problem I will call a couple of the boys, and we will run over there for you." He said with a little laugh.
"Thanks Burt." I got off the phone and called Jenny to let her know Burt would be stopping by so she could be a little more at ease. Jenny was at an age where it was a little awkward for her, she was maturing quickly and like her mother was well endowed, which was starting to get the boys' attention.
"Hey Cap there is a turn signal out on the engine." Sam came into my office and told me.
"Ok than change the bulb." I fired back.
"That is just it Cap, I checked and there aren't any bulbs in the cabinet." He said.
"Well get me the number off the bulb, and I will call the parts store and have some delivered." I said to him.
Our afternoon was quiet and after Bill's dinner meal of grilled Chicken, we all decided to play some corn hole. Corn hole was popular around the station. One of the guys on C shift made us a nice set with a Maltese cross in the center and flames around the hole. Every year the members of the Jefferson County Fire Department would hold a corn hole tournament which was very much looked forward to. Every station house had a team that would represent them, and it is the best of the best. Engine 13's team consisted of our very own Mike Conrad from B shift and George Jameson from C shift. Two years ago they took the championship and of course the bragging rights.
We played for a couple of hours before the mosquitoes finally chased us back inside. The crew went inside to play some cards, and I went to my office to do some paperwork. We had a policy at the firehouse that lights went out at 2230 and everyone was to be in bed. Just after 10:00 I got a call from Burt, who told me that he and some of the firefighters went over to my house to through some horse shoes and when they left just before 9:00 there was no party going on. He said that he had a talk with Joey about having any such party while I was working could have major consequences.
It was shortly before 3 a.m. when we were woken up the bell.
"Engine 13 respond to a report of a vehicle accident with injuries at the intersection of 73rd Avenue and Boston Road. Ambulance has been dispatched time out 0253."
We jumped from our beds and got dressed and boarded the engine. "Engine 13 is responding," I called in. The call was in a neighborhood about 2 1/2 miles from the firehouse and the nearest county ambulance station was about 12 miles, so we knew we would arrive well before the ambulance did. All the firefighters at Engine Company 13 were certified Emergency Medical Technicians and the engine was equipped with basic life support equipment another specialty of Engine 13 unlike other engines in the county.
As we pulled up to the scene I could see we had a bad one. "Engine 13 is on the scene of a two vehicle accident." It was apparent that the driver of the car had run the stop sign and t-boned a small pickup truck. As I assessed the scene, I could see the driver of the car was already dead not only by the position he was in which was half of his body through the windshield laying on what was left of the hood of the car, but also he was pulse less with obvious signs of death namely half of his head was gone and his brain was exposed with a portion of his brain gone. The driver of the pickup was still alive, but would need extraction because the impact of the collision on the passenger side had buckled the dash board and the front seat pinning him against the door. If he would have had a passenger, there was no doubt the person would not have survived.
Sam and Bill reacted quickly getting the extrication equipment set up while I called in a situation report. "Dispatch Engine 13 is requesting coroner to this location as well as two wreckers. We have one patient with unknown injuries, and we are beginning extrication at this time." I went back to the pickup to assist Sam and Bill while Mike put a tarp over the car and the body. We knew we needed to get the dash off our victim's legs before we could take the jaws and open his door. Sam used the small ram to lift the dash off the victim being careful not to pin his legs any worse than they already were. There was very little room to work inside the small pickup and the ambulance had not yet arrived. The victim was in a lot of pain, and by the way, he was pinned it looked as if a broken leg was the minimum amount of injuries sustained. Bill was holding the victims head to keep it steady as Sam Placed the ram in different areas working slowly to free the victim's legs.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Engine Company 13by Thomas A. Sergent Copyright © 2010 by Thomas A. Sergent. Excerpted by permission.
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