As I walked through the doors of the Fire Administration Building this morning, I wondered what my Work Experience Program would consist of. But shortly after meeting Captain Scott Benninghoff, an experienced and knowledgeable member of the fire department, I knew that my Work Experience Program would be anything but boring.
After showing me around the Fire Administration Building, the headquarters for the Cary Fire Department, we got down to business. On the agenda was fire extinguisher training at the John Deere facility on Evans Road. First, we presented a class that discussed different types of fire extinguishers, how to use them, and facts about fires. After we completed the in-class portion, we took the employees from John Deere outside for the hands-on training. We brought a burn pan with us, which is essentially a large pan filled with water that has a propane tank hooked up to it. The propane bubbles up through the water, where we light it on fire with a flare. This creates a controlled flame that is great for practicing. After getting the burn pan set up, each of the employees took turns using the extinguishers and practicing the skills we taught them in class, such as the acronym PASS (Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep). They also used the buddy system, which is a must when tackling fires – you should never go at them alone.
After the fire extinguisher training, Capt. Benninghoff and I headed to Cary Fire Station 1, the station next to Cary Academy, to take a lunch break. As we finished up our lunches, a call came over the radio for a house fire. We immediately hopped into his department SUV and quickly drove to the scene. On the way to the suspected fire, I operated the SUV’s sirens and lights, keeping Capt. Benninghoff’s hands free, and alerting other drivers to our presence as we drove through red lights and intersections. Although the call turned out to be nothing major, it was still exhilarating to respond to a call “code 3” (using lights and sirens). I thoroughly enjoyed operating the lights and sirens as well.
We returned to Station 1, staffed by 1 engine company and 1 ladder company, where I responded to calls for the rest of the day. Our first call was to a vehicle fire near a building, but half way to the scene, we got cancelled as another unit had already beaten us there. After this first call, I assisted with chores around the station, which included rolling hoses and checking SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) equipment. Our second call of the day was to an infant trapped in a locked car. This is an urgent emergency any time of the year, but it is especially urgent during the hot summer and spring months. Unlike the first call, we were the first unit on scene. We parked the engine and got the necessary equipment to perform the rescue. Within minutes of arriving on scene, we were able to unlock the vehicle using specialized tools, and rescued the infant without any injury. The Cary firefighters are so skilled, that there was no damage caused to the vehicle as well. Once we arrived back to the station, we barely had a minute to sit down before our third call of the day came through. The call was for an unconscious person, and just as we arrived on the scene, dispatch informed us that we were cancelled. But just to confirm with the caller that everything was alright, we knocked on the door of the residence. We were able to convince the patient to seek further medical attention after taking blood pressure readings, and we requested a Cary Area EMS unit to come evaluate them. We left shortly after EMS 53 arrived on scene.
The third call to the unconscious person would be the last call of the afternoon. We returned to Station 1, where I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching training videos, talking, and eating (Firefighters cook great food) with the crews of the engine and ladder companies. I finished my first day with the CFD after about 13 hours, even though the firefighters had about 11 more hours to go in their shift.