Firehouse Feed

 

Last month at the Purim Carnival at the temple, I won the grande prize in a raffle. It was a “Firehouse Feed”. On Wednesday, firefighters from the Oxnard City Fire Department picked us up at the house in the fire engines and took us to the fire station. They gave us a tour and then fed us a dinner that they cooked. They answered any and all questions we had and were so so so nice. It was the coolest experience I’ve had in a long long time.

Here are my parents waiting on the wall, and John and Victoria weeding while waiting:

  

Traffic was heavy and they had to stop for a call on the way, but they arrived in two large vehicles, with the lights and sirens on:

We had to split up because there is not enough room in either vehicle for all six of us. Fiona wanted to try the ladder truck (the long one with the driver in the front and the back). The engineer was Brian and the Tiller was Tanoa. They talked to us and answered questions, told us stories, all the way to the station. Fiona and I had to sit facing backward because there was only one seat that faced forward.

  

John, my dad, and Victoria rode in the USAR vehicle (Urban Search and Rescue). Because of calls, they were running a little behind so dinner wasn’t ready yet. They gave us a tour of the station, showing us where they eat, where they relax in the evening between calls, where they sleep, where they exercise, the offices, explained the different types of calls and which vehicles go to them, how their teams operate, showed us the equipment inside the trucks. It was so interesting!

For example, the trucks are so specialized, that once they are assigned to one, they stay on it until they promote or retire. Their teams do not change and they can’t use just any truck. And they have to purchase their own food and uniforms. They work in 24 hour shifts. Each team has a specific duty, depending on the call. Every vehicle has a captain, an engineer (who is really the driver), and a third person, except the USAR vehicle. John was captain of the engine and his team was Uriel and Charles, Steve was captain of USAR and his driver was Remy, and Brian was the engineer of the ladder truck, Tanoa the tiller, and the third person (their captain) was not there when they picked us up.

The tables were set when we got there:

 

Just as we were about to begin eating, a call came in for difficulty breathing. That team,  the engine team, takes about 60% of all calls in a day. They returned shortly after because it turns out there were not needed. I learned that they go out on all such calls. Every time a person calls 911, the fire department is allerted and will go to the call.

When the engine team returned, they began to eat and within a few minutes, another call came in, a multi-vehicle accident on the highway in which one vehicle went down the embankment on the side of the road. For that, the ladder truck and USAR vehicle both left. They were gone awhile, then called to say there were on their way back. Before they reached the station, another call for them came in about an accident involving a family and a drunk driver, so they did not return. The engine company (Captain John, Uriel, and Charles) as well as the batallion chief stayed with us and chatted, cleaned up dinner, gave us ice cream, and then we watched the news while we waited for the trucks that brought us to the station returned to take us home. Fiona wanted to sit next to fire fighters and I so wish I’d take a picture of her. She sat between two of them and ate her entire dinner, chatting with them about things like Paw Patrol and school.

The station is new and outfitted with a system of speakers and lights. The lights tell the firefighters which teams need to go out and the voice (oten automated, but not always) tells what the situation is. On their way out, they pick up a printed copy of the call with information about the nature and exact location. It’s very efficient.

While we waited, we watch a community earthquake preparedness class and we got to practice using fire extinguishers. This photo is very fuzzy but is the best I got of Fiona using the extinguisher:

 

Victoria watching the news (but not really):

Sometime around 9pm, both crews returned, took a few pictures with us, then loaded us up into the trucks for the ride home. Fiona wanted to try the other vehicle (USAR), so we rode home in that and John and Victoria and my dad rode home in the ladder truck. I am not sure why Victoria couldn’t ride with me, but they insisted on splitting us evenly. Here we are in front of one of the engines with most of the guys (Captain John was taking the pictures and Uriel was inside the station, the third captain (for the ladder truck) was instructing the class we saw).

(From left to right, not including us: Tanoa, Brian, Charles, Steve, and Remy).

  

Fiona wanted to try on a hat, so they put this on her:

  

It had a flashing light and a siren.

The USAR vehicle is MASSIVE! It weighs 20,000 pounds more than the ladder truck. Being inside felt like being on the deck of a ship, but on land. It was unbelievable!

The trucks pulling away after dropping us off at home. Some neighbors came out to find out what was going on.

 

I think this is one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. The guys at the station were so nice and so committed to their jobs. Hearing them talk about why they do it and what they love about it was inspiring. Firefighters really are heros!