This post is a counter to the last “tongue in cheek” post I put up. This is a more serious look at the firefighting profession and what it takes to fulfill the oath to protect lives and property.

As anyone who has taken the new biodata test can tell you, this is considered a “team sport”. Only soldiers in battle have as much on the line and depend on their “teammates” more than a firefighter. What follows is a story told to me by DC Fred Grehl. It shows the importance of teamwork and illustrates the different points of view on the fire ground.

Every now and then someone talks about a fire I was at during an interview. Then I get to hear about it from a different angle. This is especially true when I’m interviewing a chief officer since they have a totally different perspective than I ever had on the fire ground. (Me: What was it like? It was dark and it was hot. Chief: The fire extended to the exposure on the north side of the fire building, so I called for a second alarm and then told the companies to come in from 16th Avenue because the main is larger.) The comparison between the two viewpoints is interesting.

With that in mind, here is an example:

Me: We had a job on 13th Street between 16th and 18th Avenues. This fire was our second multiple of the night. I was driving. We came in from the 18th Avenue side of the fire, stretching two lines (one 2 ½” & one 3”) from the corner. The fire building was a three-story frame going good. The only part of this building not burning was the porch. The captain (Jimmy Smith) had me place the rig so the deck pipe was between the fire building and the exposure. A line was stretched into the exposure and the deck pipe was working between the building, but the hydrant left something to desired.

My intake was all but pulling a vacuum.

Richie Restaino from Twelve Engine came up to me and asked if I needed water. My response was “I don’t have sh** coming in.” Then I noticed Director Caufield was standing a few feet away watching us. We hand stretched another 3” line to Twelve Engine’s rig on the corner of 13th and 16th Avenue. Richie opened the feed and my water problems went away. The fire was held to the original building and the two exposures. The Third tour relieved us after the sun came up.

DC Fred Grehl: One night it was about three o’clock in the morning. I had just gotten back from my third multiple alarm. I was the acting chief that weekend, so naturally I was involved in all multiples and Caufield went to all fires. I was tired. I had left the third one while the companies were mopping up with the Battalion Chief, but Caufield stayed. I went back to quarters. Six Engine was on the second alarm on that other fire. They were just about loaded up. I got back and I didn’t even get out of the car when the joker went click. I said, “Uh- oh.” We got a box up on Thirteenth Street. Six was a little slow in responding; they’re now tired. They’ve been to a multiple already.

I get up there first and who’s standing in the middle of the street but Director Caufield. I pulled up and I said, “Surprised to see you here. People are going to say we’re going together. We’ve been with each other all night long here.” He looked at it. I had already sent a second alarm because I had three buildings going, so I started to radio companies. I told them to come in from Sixteenth Avenue, knowing the water supply on Sixteenth Avenue is a much larger main than Springfield Avenue. And knowing too, Eighteen Engine was going to come in from Springfield Avenue with Twelve, so I had everybody else coming up the other way.

Well, they did a great job. Six Engine came in. They threw that pre-connected deck pipe between buildings and we started working our way up through the building. The third floor really started taking off. I moved them down and out of the building by radio. We threw the deck pipe in, knocked it down; moved them up. We were using the radio to its fullest.

When the fire was all over, Caufield said, “Let’s go for a walk.” So, we walked down the street a little ways. He had a habit of doing this when he wanted to talk to you and didn’t want anybody else interrupting. He said, “I want you to put this entire group in for a commendation.” I ask, “Any particular reason Director?” He says, “I was there from the beginning. I thought we were going to lose the whole block. I have never seen such coordination, cooperation, and team work in my life. These fellows work well. Up and down, just a radio message. They don’t do this on other tours, you know.” I says, “Yes they do Director. I can’t put these fellows in for a commendation.” He says, “Why? I can order you to do it.” I says, “Yes, day in and day out on every tour, these men are doing the same thing. They’re all doing it. You don’t see it because you’re not standing there in the beginning. You come when they have the hose lines all stretched and the water is on the fire in most cases. You were here. Nobody was here. You saw this thing from start to finish. I’m here a lot. I see what these fellows do. That’s what they do day in and day out. Every tour. I can’t. I’ll ruin the incentive. If they get a commendation, the other guys want a commendation, I’ll be writing all day and night. Four and five times a night, I’ll be writing a commendation. He says, “Yes, I guess you’re right.”

That’s what we did then and that’s what we do now. No one does it alone, but when we work together, no one can do it better. (But I still wouldn’t trust a truckman with a hose line.)