SOME FIRE SERVICE ITEMS

Author's Unknown

Signal 4 guys shut it down, its under control

FIREMAN'S PRAYER

When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage, give me strength to save some life, whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child before it is too late, or save an older person from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout, and quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.

I want to fulfill my calling and to give the best in me, to guard my every neighbor and protect his property.

And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life;

Please bless with your protecting hand my children and my wife.

Fireman's Wife's Prayer

The table's set, the meal's prepared, our guests will soon arrive. My husband once more disappears with a hope of keeping a child alive. While waiting at home alone, our plans having gone awry My first impulse is merely to sit right down and cry. But soon again I realize the importance of my life When I agreed to take on the duties of being a fireman's wife. While there are many drawbacks, I'll take them in my stride, Knowing "My Daddy saved a life" our children can say with pride. The gusting winds and raging flames may be his final fate. But with God's help I can remain my fireman's faithful mate.

Author Unknown

WHAT IS A FIREMAN?

He's the guy next door--------

A man's man with the memory of a little boy.

He has never gotten over the excitement of engines and sirens and

smoke and danger.

He's a guy like you and me with warts and worries and unfulfilled

dreams.

Yet he stands taller than most of us.

He's a Fireman.

He puts it all on the line when the bell rings.

A Fireman is at once the most fortunate and the least fortunate of men.

He's a man who saves lives because he has seen so much death.

He's a gentle man because he has seen the awesome power of

violence out of control.

He's responsive to a child's laughter because his arms have held

too many small bodies that will never laugh again.

He's a man who appreciates the simple pleasures in life ---

a cup of coffee held in numb, unbending fingers ---

a warm bed for bone and muscle compelled beyond feeling

the camaraderie of brave men --

the divine peace and selfless service of a job well done in

the name of all men.

He doesn't wear buttons or wave flags or shout obscenities.

When he marches, it is to honor a fallen comrade.

He doesn't preach the brotherhood of man.

He lives it....

THE FINAL REWARD

Last night while I lay sleeping, I died, or so it seems

Then I went up to Heaven. But 'twas only in my dreams.

It seems St. Peter met me there at the Pearly Gate.

He said, "I must check your record, so stand right there and wait.

He returned and said, "Your record is clouded with flaws."

"But on earth I see you labored for a very worthy cause.

You fought snow and ice in winter and sweated in the summer heat.

You couldn't afford a big meal when you stopped for a bite to eat.

I see where you drank whiskey and used tobacco too.

Fact is, you've done lots of things that a good man shouldn't do.

We can't have men like you up here, your life was full of sin."

Then he read the last of my record, grasped my hand and said,

"Come on in."

He took me up to the Big Boss, and said, "Take him in and treat him well,

He was a Firefighter, Sir.

He's had his share of Hell."

The Creation of the Firefighter

When the Lord was creating Firefighters, he was into his sixth day of
overtime when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling
around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specification on this person?
Firefighters have to be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending to
a person that the usual every day person would never touch, while
putting in the back of their mind the circumstances. They have to be able
to move at a second's notice and not think twice of what they are about to
do, no matter what danger. They have to be in top physical condition at all
times, running on half-eaten meals, and they must have six pairs of
hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no
way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems, " said the Lord,
"it's the three pairs of eyes a Firefighter has to have."
That's on the standard model? " asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. " One pair that sees through the fire and where they
and their fellow Firefighters should fight the fire next. Another pair
here in the side of the head to see their fellow Firefighters and keep them safe.
And another pair of eyes in the front so that they can look for the victims caught
in the fire that need their help."
"Lord" said the angel, touching his sleeve, " Rest and work on this
tomorrow."

"I can't, said the Lord, "I already have a model that can carry a 250
pound man down a flight of stairs and to safety from a burning building.

The angel circled the model of the Firefighter very slowly, "Can it
think?"
"You bet," said the Lord. It can tell you the elements of a hundred
fires and can recite procedures in their sleep that are needed to care for
a person until they reach the hospital. And all the while they have to
keep their wits about themselves. This Firefighter also has phenomenal
personal control. They can deal with a scene full of pain and hurt,
coaxing a child's mother into letting go of the child so that they can care for the
child in need. And still they rarely get the recognition for a job well
done from anybody, other than from fellow Firefighters."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the
Firefighter. "There's a leak", she pronounced. "Lord, it's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.
"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen comrades. A tear for
commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American Flag. It's a
tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered. And it's a
tear for their commitment to caring for and saving lives of their fellow
man!"

"What a wonderful feature Lord, you're a genius" said the angel

The Lord looked somber and said "I didn't put it there."

"Author Unknown"

MY FATHER THE FIREMAN

My father was fireman. He drove a big red truck and when
he'd go to work each day he'd say, "Mother wish me luck."
Then Dad would not come home again 'til sometime the next
day.
But the thing that bothered me the most was the things some
folks would say: "A fireman's life is easy, he eats and sleeps and
plays, and sometimes he wont fight a fire for days and days."

When I first heard these words I was too young to
understand, but I knew when people had trouble, Dad was there to lend a hand.

Then my father went to work one day and kissed us all
goodbye, but little did we realize that night we all would cry.
My father lost his life that night when the floor gave way
below and I'd wondered why he'd risk his life for someone he did
not know.

But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give is
to lay his life upon the line so that someone else might live.
So as we go from day to day and we pray to God above, say a
prayer for your local fireman. He may save the ones you love

EVERY FIREMAN’S DREAM WHEN HE OR SHE SEES A CAR PARKED AT A HYDRANT

AND HE GOT A TICKET TO BOOT !

THE FIRE SERVICE CHAIN OF COMMAND

FIRE COMMISSIONER

Leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

Is more powerful than a speeding locomotive.

Is faster than a speeding bullet.

Walks on water, and Gives policy to God.

CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT

Leaps short buildings in a single bound.

Is more powerful than a switch engine.

Is just as fast as a speeding bullet.

Walks on water if the sea is calm.

Talks with God.

ASSISTANT CHIEFS

Leaps short buildings with a running

jump and favorable winds.

Is almost as powerful as a switch engine.

Is faster than a speeding BB.

Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool.

Talks with God if a special request is approved.

CAPTAIN

Barely clears a Quonset hut.

Looses a tug-of-war with a locomotive.

Can fire a speeding bullet.

Swims well.

Is occasionally addressed by God.

FIRST LIEUTENANT

Makes heel marks on the wall when trying

to leap over small building.

Is run over by a locomotive.

Can sometimes handle a gun without

inflicting self-injury.

Dog paddles Talks to animals.

SECOND LIEUTENANT

Runs into buildings.

Recognizes locomotives two out of three times.

Is not issued ammunition.

Can stay afloat with a life preserver.

Talks to walls.

RESCUE OFFICER

Falls over doorsteps when entering building.

Says "look at the choo-choo".

Wets himself with a water pistol.

Plays in mud puddles. Mumbles to himself.

FIREMEN

Lifts tall buildings and walks under them.

Kicks locomotives off their tracks.

Catches speeding bullets in their teeth

and eats them.

Freezes water with an icy stare.

Talks to God on a first name basis.

“I Wish You Could Know"


     I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for
     trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms
    and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the
   kitchen below you burns.

     I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 6 in the morning as I check
   her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway,
   hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting
   his wife and family to know everything possible was done to try to save
   his life.

     I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of
   soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout
   gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see
   absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too
   familiar with.

     I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is this
   a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What
   hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to call, "What is wrong with
   the patient?

     Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or
   is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"

     I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead
     the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save
   during the past 25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date or say
   the words, "I love you Mommy" again.

     I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine,
     squad, or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down
    hard on the  pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as
    you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. But when
    you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took
    you forever to get here!"

     I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of
   teenage years from the remains of her automobile. "What if this was my
   daughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What were her parent’s reaction
   going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in
   hand?"

     I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet
   my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly
   did not come back from the last call.

     I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefighters
   and EMT's out and when we call for them and our heart drops because no
   one answers back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife
   needing assistance.

     I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes
   physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their
   attitudes of "It will never happen to me".

     I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain or
     the missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to
   all the tragedy my eyes have seen.

     I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping
   save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in
   time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.

     I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy
   tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to
   look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say.  Or
   to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having CPR
   done on him as they take him away in the Medic Unit. You know all along he
   did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar
    with.

     Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly
     understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really
     means to us...I wish you could though.

       ONE DAY THEY'LL PROBABLY BE SAVING YOUR PROPERTY OR

       YOUR OWN LIFE.  WHEN YOU SEE THEM COMING WITH LIGHTS

        FLASHING, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY QUICKLY, THEN PRAY FOR THEM!

She is pregnant, he had just saved her from
a fire in her house, rescuing her by carrying
her out of the house into her front yard,
while he continued to fight the fire.

When he finally got done putting the fire out,
he sat down to catch his breath and rest.

A photographer from the Charlotte , North Carolina newspaper, noticed her in the
distance looking at the fireman.  

He saw her walking straight toward the
fireman and wondered what she was going to do.

As he raised his camera, she came up to the
tired man who had saved her life and the lives
of her babies and kissed him just as the
photographer snapped this photograph.

The Kiss

 Rev: Feb 6, 2017