Hey, humans.
Susan earth here. How's it going?
This episode we have
mister Brooks En,
firefighter.
He has great stories really interesting,
interview flash come conversation. I don't know what
to call them Are the interviews, not really,
conversations pretty much.
Anyway,
we talk about all sorts of things, experiences
he's had things he's seen. He talks some
fire safety,
a little bit everything.
I wanna mention,
he's if you don't already know that there
is a hay human podcast
dot com.
So hey, human podcast dot com where you
can find lots of information in fact,
I'm putting links on there every episode,
with every person I speak to, I try
and put links on the website
that
are somehow correlated with the conversation
that was had on the episode. So... Anyway,
blah blah blah never said about that. Let's
get into the conversation with Brooks.
Alright. Here we go.
Brooks. Hi.
How are you? Good. How are you? I'm
good well. Thanks. K. So excited for hey,
humans today. We've got Brooks en
and
he is a fire. Isn't isn't that cool.
So I thought, what Fire do. What do
think. What did they like,
you're the first step farm... Knowing you're the
second farm that I have known.
I spoken to, but really the first fire
that I have spoken to more than a
few, you know, short sentences like.
No
So how'd you get into fire manning? Well,
my dad was a firefighter paramedic.
Ever since I can remember
I grew up in the firehouse,
and,
my mom was burned really bad. Which was
5. Mh. Over 75 percent everybody. Is that
how are you doing me your mom? No.
They went die school together. Oh, okay. Yeah
Yeah. So,
yeah. She, my grandfather was burning bare leaves
and a, 55 gallon barrel. Mh. And she
had a polyester dress on.
Then she walked out back and just got
too close to it. She spent 2 years
in the Burn new one's supposed to live,
she's never supposed to have kids.
Shit. Having 2 kids. Why
If you're burned externally, why would you not
be able to have children to the trauma
to the body or... Well, when you when
you get burned,
you know, the burns kinda go,
from
the outer surface your skin, and they work
their way in. So you have, like, skin
tightening Mh. And,
her shed to have just numerous skin graft.
Right? Right.
So
when you have all these skin graft or
skin can't, they they try to allow your
skin to be able to stretch again, like
a normal, but you know, Officer, sir. And
she didn't have that ability for her skin
to stretch.
So
they they just said, you know, you'll never
be able to stretch enough to have any
children. Oh, because the belly has to stretch.
Right. Now How do Therefore, we been in
secondary that we wouldn't be big enough. You
know, we'd be... Prince, which I was printer
true. You. Yeah. Somebody you made up for
last time from.
Thanks.
For all of you who can't see him.
He he's strapping
individual.
But yeah. So shit 2 kids his sister,
Katie. Yeah. Yeah.
Cool. Does she in fire things? Nurse. Oh,
so both of you went into professions where
you help people. That's very noble. Yeah. And
so my dad, you know, I I grew
up my earliest recollection was,
being in the firehouse. And
yeah
just typical boy and his dad, you know?
Like, velcro goes off.
These guy's run out, kick their shoes off,
put their ear on, Mh. Jump on the
fire truck and they go screaming out the
door. Right. I mean, what little boy doesn't
love that. Right? Sure. Or a little girl
let's not be sexist
Well you does. Sorry.
Girls Too can be a fire person. And
there's plenty of help. Here's a question. New.
Fire women... Or is it fire woman or
is it fire still? Is it, like, actors
or both men and women or is it...
How's does that work? I mean, they... You're
just... You're a firefighter fire, You know, When...
You're a... It makes sense like flight attendant.
They're not stewards and security anymore. Got it.
Alright. Do I love learning stuff. Okay. So
so your little kid, you're mom
had been burned badly. She's she married your
dad,
you and your sister are born. You're like,
I wanna be confirm him. Mh. Cool. Once...
I went to,
the Merchant Marine Academy for a short stint,
thought I wanted to do business, but really
my heart. I didn't. Yeah.
I came back. I was...
Jeez 19.
And I went to
Emt school because you have be an t
before your paramedic.
Mh. And And those are the prerequisites to
be a fire 5 person firefighter. Well, if
you're a paramedic, like, the paramedics the highest
trained medical. Person Sure. You know, like, in
in the field. Mh. So
a lot of fire departments love paramedics just
because you can cross train to easily and
she And they can do basically, a lot
of things that doctor would do in the
emergency room.
So
I was a paramedic and I I would
right from me in t school to paramedic
school.
I... You usually have to work like, for
a year or 2, But I found out
you go to school, they like your money.
So
they let me go right Like money Right.
So, I was a paramedic right at 21.
Okay. And I was really young, you know,
and,
got on the fire department I'm I'm 21
years old. I was a professional firefighter department.
What you to do to take the firefighter
test? Is it a written test? Is it...
Yeah.
Classes. All buildings
It you go to classes and
tic tests. And mh.
You know, get your certifications and the paramedics,
the hardest. I mean, that's too that... When
I went, it was 2 years,
let's see. 3 days a week, and you
have to do over a thousand hours of
clinical.
Yeah. Absolutely Fighting am fine air It's sort
of like,
fight the fire. Yeah. Guys fix a human,
a lot of stuff in a human.
Go wrong. Pretty complex. Air Yeah. Rather. Yeah
Not me, but it just
You never. You open me up. I'm missed
a couple little gears going here.
There's a mouse in my head running really
fast on a wheel. Yeah. Yeah. Shocks, doctors
generally. Anyway,
so
you take the test. You're... Is that young
for firefighter? Very. I mean, 21? In India,
why was in Indiana at the time and
that... So you... That was the minimum age.
Mh. You couldn't be a professional firefighter fighter
unless you're 21. Mh. In Indiana.
So death... I was right there. Now.
Tell me about the first time you had
to... Well, I assume that you had,
in training. They sent you into fiery buildings.
But I think the brain tells you when
you're in a training situation, it knows. And
so you don't have that total panic because
you have people that are there,
but the first time you went into an
actual fire,
how... What was that? Do you remember... Well,
when you go... Like, when you go to
the... When you get trained, the fires you,
they're fires, but they're in a controlled environment.
Sure. So it it doesn't really get you
prepared for
an actual uncontrolled fire in a house or
build, you know, commercial building or whatever.
I do remember my first fire. Actually, it
was it was just a story and a
half house
pulled up, what happened was a a kid
was planted lighter
in the back of the house it was
a back bedroom.
So you, you know, like a house she
go in, there's a living room. You go
down the hall. There to right. There's a
kitchen, and then that bedroom was off the
kitchen. Mh.
And we pull up, and there's, you know,
heavy smoke going across the street, and then
there's... You can see flames coming from the
back of the house, and
it was a good fire. Was a good
job, You know, And so the captain goes
up,
and
he
takes the door. We take the door, open
it,
and there's just jet black, hot smoke before.
Can't see anything.
And are you have breast for you of
all sorts of things?
Yeah. You have a, yeah. It's called an
Fc self contained breathing right. So you have
a mask on, you know, you're breathing air.
It's not oxygen. Lot of people say an
oxygen mask. But option is highly fl.
So Doesn't make, you know, when making to
wear something fl. No. It's just this just
compressed. I never do that. Okay. Yeah. Compressed
air. Okay.
And you know, he he went he said,
hey he'd stay right here. I was on
a nozzle and that's what in in the
fire department that's what you want. You wanna
be on the nozzle. Right? Is that the
water thing? This is where... Yeah. Where the
where the water comes out. Of garden hose
have the nozzle Yeah. Yeah. But on the
fire same thing nozzle. Okay. The fire service
they call a pipe, you know, you wanna
be the pipe man. Everybody wants to your
pipe man. That's that's what it's all about.
The fire up. So he says stare right
here. He went around back to call the
windows out in the back,
don't middle late to get the hot gases
and smoke out. Right? Sure.
So he came back around to the front.
And he goes, alright.
Let's go.
And that was my baptism cherry popping
the fire I went in the house and
It was hot.
Couldn't see. I you instantly lose your ability
to see anything.
You have to use your other senses. You
have you really go you know, you're hearing,
your feel because you can feel even on
your... You know, maybe on other right side
of your body. You hotter than your left
side, which means the fire brother or you're
right? Sure. You can like, a campfire fire,
people hear the crackling.
You can hear that in fire. That's actually
1 of the things you're kinda looking for.
Or here they're trying to listen for you
now. Yeah.
So I went down the hallway.
I actually ran head first into that wall
on the back backside.
And then happened to look to my right,
and I could see the fire licking out
of that bedroom into the kitchen.
And know. I was pretty amped up, and
like, captain I found it. I found it,
you know, and
So I spray Looking for the source. Yeah.
Okay. Yeah. You wanna go to the source
the the seat of the fire. Yeah.
So the seat of the fire wasn't the
kitchen. I tell that it was, you know,
on the... It was all coming from that
that Ben. And so I went the kitchen,
and he had never really gone into the
house with me because he was trying to
hump hose.
So I thought he was behind me the
whole time.
And but like, hump free listening then don't
understand what that means. He wasn't having an
erotic it.
There's that means he's carrying, like, like, carrying
the burden of the house. Right. Yeah. Right.
Good sorry. You gotta... Yeah.
Right. So he was kind of just inside
the front door. So I was, like, I
had crawled through this house, basically alone.
And
I looked back for him, and I yelled
for him to to give me more hose.
Right? Yeah. You know, hop more house. Yeah.
And he
he did it. So I knew he could
hear me. And then I got into the
kitchen,
and I made it to the doorway
where the fire was in in the whole
room,
if you can imagine,
it's called flash over, you know, when when
when there's a fire, the the contents of
the room burn.
And then when everything in that room reaches
its combustible point, it everything catches on fire.
So
It doesn't need a flame to do it
It just... No. Need... I mean, there the
needs a flame. The... Okay. Right. You know,
the flame burns. There's different so, like, a
heat stage that it hits, and then it
just goes cool. Well, everything in a room
has its own combustion temperature. Like, your kitchen
table will burn at this temperature. You know,
the drywall burns at this temperature.
But the whole room had... Was on are
every inch of that room. It was hot
talk about in there. Right. So I remember
I I made it to the room and
I went...
This is the coolest fucking thing I've ever
seeing. Yeah this is this is awesome. You
know, Like, this is amazing. I I... It's
just something that moment, like, you can... It's
gonna be a weird thought though. So you're
assuming here, you're thinking. I'm in the middle
of a burning house, are there people in...
But you're like, this is cool because it's
the little boy in knew that
wanted to be Fire man. It's now in
the real
moment. Yeah.
Yeah. And you're kinda getting, you know, the
fire service, you know, doesn't matter for your
a man or woman. I mean you're you're
engaged on
tough, you know? Like, mental tough and physical
tough, you know? And
people want firefighters who can
know, everybody is afraid. I don't give a
shit you are. Like, if, you know, everybody
has fear, but you have to be able
to harness that fear. You have to tuck
it away and, be able to go in
and and do the job.
So I got the room and
I just saw for a second, and I
kind of
almost mesmerizing.
I'm like, alright. Let's put this thing out.
And,
fire went app,
and that was it? You know? So it
would had stayed in that room mostly how
you reach the... But, it was it was
working its way to the kitchen,
you know? And eventually, if we would have
not done nothing the house were burned But
if you get the seed,
the rest is easy to maintain. Like, the
seat of the fire? Oh, seat I think
seed in
seat of the 5 then the rest is
easier to maintained. Yeah. You gotta go to
the seat of the fire, you, if you
if you generally, if you work your way
to the seat of the fire, you can
find, you know, where the fire extended to.
They called extension. And I got check for
extension, you know, maybe it it went up
into the wall. And working its way up
to the second floor during the second floor.
It to get to that
installation, which it burns like another. Yeah. It
burns it burns it stinks and it sticks
to you and it's just nasty. But, yeah.
You wanna find the seat of the fire.
That's objective.
So at what what rating are those suits?
How...
And then comparatively, how hot is there a
a limit to how hot a room, a
house can burn or no limit because who
knows what's in there?
Well, it
I mean, nikki... I've been in fires that
there's was a thousand degrees over my head.
So, like, I...
God it... I mean, that's not way an
easy question to answer. I mean, you yeah
know, they're There's all different.
A thousand
degrees.
Mh. And we did that was that was
proof because we had a camera.
A thermal camera on her hand that showed
how hot it was at the ceiling level,
and the captain put it up to the
ceiling it. It was red, and it was
the... Are you sweating balls and... It's a
hundred pack... You automatically what without even being
in a fire when when when you see
a firefighter with but this gear on his
helmet and his c pants and all that.
And this... The the
tank back.
That's a hard. Yeah. So he's automatically carry
the past. So we're having even got into
the fact that he's going into an environment
that's like an oven,
and then he's dragon house.
He's searching for a victim.
He's
tripping over all your furniture. Yeah. You know,
there may holes in the floor. I mean
there's just so many variables each and there's
and there's always stuff following on you. Right.
I mean, there's
many stories of
every firefighter they've been doing long enough. I
can tell you, man and I have, like,
and falling on me and knocked me to
Floor.
I mean those stories are just helpless. You
know. You think it's just the amazing Yeah.
He's definitely not the move It's real. Wow.
So that was your first fire. He got
it out, did it was the buoyant in
side? No. Nobody was inside. In god.
Unfortunately, a dog didn't make it.
And breaks heart. Yeah. Me too.
But
you know,
unfortunately, that stuff happens. Do you keep track
of how many fires you've been in? Or
is that a weird?
Okay. Didn't know if that was sort of
something that y'all in. I did for a
while. Yeah. A lot of guys do for
a while, but then... About years now? Have
been doing it? Well, I don't know how
yards. 34. So I did,
15 years,
you know, not all 15 years professionally,
but a totally, you know, I started volunteering
when I was 8 Yeah. So... What do
they like volunteer firefighters do? They're.
The Are they fun in there? Yeah. Wow.
There. Amazing. Because so you know that volunteer
firefighters fight brush fires and and wildfires and
things like that. And we just recently didn't
we lose a bunch of those last year,
finding that.
Big fire. So sad.
That is. It's such a noble
and terrifying and horrible thing.
So have you ever been badly hurt? Not
badly. Hurt. Not been burned.
They got... Yeah. Been burned on my hands
and my neck.
You know, just... Sort of apart for the
course. Is that normal?
Yeah I think I think if you're a
firefighter
long enough Very get birth.
Yeah. So I imagine...
I'm not gonna speak for you. That's what
you're here for. Mh. I imagine that the
things you've seen
are pretty intense. And I'm I'm sure you're
seen beautiful things too because I was saying
before we started recording that I always noticed
that firefighters are the first on any scene
of anything. It seems like... Mh. I'm pretty
sure that's true. Sure. It might be kind
of a grand statement, but I'm almost positive.
That's true. And so you probably see a
lot of really wonderful and a lot of
really horrible things? Definitely. So how
do you deal with all that stuff? Is
there firefighter therapy, and you just... You say
in turn... You know, you pushed stuff down,
and you put your fear away, but after
a while, that can't be super happy.
For... Like, personally,
you know, like,
when you, like a normal family, you know,
when they come home,
the the parents come home cooked dinner or...
And you sit at the kitchen table and
you talk about your day. Right?
It's a broad range of things.
My conversation with my dad at the kitchen
table was, you know, somebody blew their head
off,
that a house fire,
people were trapped in it.
And was all the things you would never
think a kitchen... A dinner time conversation would
be. Right? Sure. So I was pretty exposed
to this
or as I can remember. Mh So
I kinda had, you know, I think I'm,
I think I'm mainly tough naturally anyways. But
I was
ready for when when when I got into
it. And
I don't have nightmares nurse. I don't. I
know some people do.
Blessed. I don't think I I know. Yeah.
Right. And then...
But
I can still
tell you
what a woman looks like. When her husband
just died,
and I go tell her, you know, sure
I think,
III know that look. And I've seen a
look over and over in,
multiple times.
Or what a dead person looks like in
a car,
You know, it's not
anything the human I ever have to see,
you know. What is that due to you
as a human being. Is that... I mean,
to
to see having seen someone die likely in
your arms, I'm sure you've it's that, mh.
Both as a paramedic and as a firefighter.
And then seeing the other side, the life
side,
the beauty. And I mean, I think there's
there's sort of a, I mean, sometimes grow
test, beauty and death, but death has its
moments as well.
To that change? I you see you grew
up in that And so the everyday dinner
conversation was this guy died this lady died.
This person, you know, arm fell off whatever.
Do you do you think that made you
trans how to ask this.
Did it... You wouldn't have anything to compare
it to because all you've ever known. But
when you look at, like, your other friends
and things who aren't in the field,
do you think it's an how, like, I
for lack of a better word warp to
your sensibilities
or made you more call or maybe made
you more or or
in in terms of your general life outside
of what you do?
Sure. And do you think your brothers and
sisters in you know, in firefight fighting? How
that
issue or...
That's a great question though. Because I would
think seeing deaf a lot. Mh. You would
then value death more do your your options
really are you'll valued death more or you'll
be like, a
life, whatever. You what I mean? Mh.
That's a good question though has ever asked
me that before.
I think
as far as going to going to work,
I don't think about
this be the day that I die.
You know?
I don't think it really I have a
lot of buddies,
and I don't think that we we talk
about it, but I don't think we think
that way.
You know, we go to work and
we don't expect to see,
you know, baked cookies and flowers growing you
know, when when I go to work,
I expect to see bad shit. Like. Some
some... This today is gonna be someone's worst
day.
And and whatever capacity that's gonna be,
who knows.
But I I don't think
I I value life. I value
how fragile it is.
And I really honestly try to live every
day the best I can be, you know,
and
I think
of firefighters as a whole, we
we do as much as we can to
you know, live it up? Yeah. It doesn't
jeopardize loving relationships or friendships with that sense
sort of... K Good way. Well, I mean,
the relationships are hard period. Mh. Let's be
honest, but if you're in a situation where
even though you're not thinking today, it's going
to be maybe a dad Die. Because I
I don't think you you would be able
to do your job. If you went in
with that mentality.
Right? Because and fear would sort of have
taken you over.
But That being said, when you're in relationships
with your family and friends and lovers,
is always a possibility. So is there that
sort of divide between you and another person
or is it not a big deal? I'm
asking, this is sort of like the cosmopolitan
metropolitan
mega scene section interview.
Tell me out your love. How does it
Is it hard to love? But, you know
what I'm think it's an interesting question that's
we live for. Right? So so we look
we grow up we fall in love. We
sure
I think
it's
for us, I I couldn't speak for myself,
but as a it's broad,
you know,
all of us. I think
we are naturally loving. We're naturally nurturing. Makes
sense. We naturally want to
help
fix the problem. We fix problems. That's what
we do. Every day all day, we fix
problems. Right? Mh. So
I don't know if that's what makes appealing
to women, you know, his
when so much sexy calendar.
When you're when you're younger. Right?
I was in a calendar a long time
ago. Was a lot though.
No no. I... Ladies, he is not.
He's
fine for account.
I I think we...
You know, it's it's it's tough. I... As
far as
relationships go,
it takes a special person to understand
kind of... And they don't understand, but it
takes someone
special to
get the fact that we go to the
firehouse for 24 hours. We're not at home.
So that's hard enough.
Sure. You know,
So you you kind of want someone is
independent. Mh. That doesn't have to have us
around all the time. But yet,
when we come home in the morning,
and we
quiet.
We may not talk,
is talking about as we normally are.
And they could just send some not right,
that they have...
They're strong enough person to
say what's going on. Like, talk to me,
you know? I I wanna I wanna help
you. I I have... And I have a
lot of respect for someone that goes. I
have no idea what you saw. No idea
what you're going through,
but I love you what I'm here for
you. Sure. And, you know, I wanna wanna
just hop about it if you want to.
Yeah.
But
yeah Just... Do you find you need personally
a lot of intros intersect time
after a day, after a day's work that
sees Mean, I I imagine not every day
is in insane. Right. I have some days
where you're free.
Pre chill, cats and trees. Do you have
you ever pull the cat a tree? I
gotta ask that 1. Come my god. Does
that actually happened to you feel golden the
card? I really done. Oh, I get. Like,
you know, filming someone's swimming pool, People want
that. What? Yeah. Actually you know, the trucks
carry a lot of water Are you for
real? I say
we tried to meet and a guy. We
we had a call once to pull a
pad out of a tree, and,
okay. Well, we thought was someone's
pet. Right? But it was a feral cat,
And we didn't figure this out until, like,
we were up in the tree in the
cat obviously, feral cats not even close to
you. Right?
And we found out it was a feral
cat and I'm, like,
puts some food at the on the tree
that things gonna come down in. Like, everything
is hungry.
Sellers in workplace. Right?
I'm Into a we into of those. I
in every now and again,
you know. Yeah. People appreciate that. Absolutely. So...
Yeah. Mh. I remember, It I wasn't that
long ago that people were in a t
because people need things to be upset about
about the fact that you would go the
firefighter to go to the grocery store to
get their food. Mh. And people were upset
that it was on
company time.
I was so mad of people that were
mad about that. Right. And it's, like, really
good. I mean cheese. Right. I mean, what
what do you expect us to do, Nutty
eat I exactly.
Exactly. We're there for 24 hours and and
people say well you sleep,
well, we try to. Yeah. But if the
alarm goes off you're up and up. And.
I mean, our for hours
hours and... Are so screwed up. Yeah. You
just... You've never
hardly ever get really good nights. Even if
you don't have a call in the middle
of the night,
you don't get that deep sleep like you
would hire because you're kinda on call on
your brain somewhere. Yeah. Yeah.
You can criticize a lot of people's career
choices but I don't know or, you know,
what they do in their jobs, stealing some
pens here and their, sticky notes,
you know,
shouldn't shoot unarmed. That's my own philosophy,
but that's a whole another story.
But it's pretty hard to find fault with
a firefighter My cash. Mh. I I... Like,
you know, even my friends that aren't in
the industry,
they're loving people, obviously, you. And
I'm a terrible person.
But
yeah. You know I I have
just a a broad range of of friends,
you know, and and I blend
well, obviously, with the guys that, you know,
the men and women that do the job.
But also doing well with the people that
don't. Civilians.
You can call civilians. We don't mind. That's
okay.
So do you have any particular
anything
that you've experienced that stands out to you?
Oh, there's just so many. I don't
Well, it's not, like, necessarily me. I mean,
you know, this firefight isn't
me me need my my mind. No. Of
course. It's definitely a team sport. Right? Sure.
And when you pull up on a fire,
and it's going room... The fire, you know,
really going good.
Everybody has wrong job.
You know, some guy... You know, there's a
guy a team of guys that go in
with the nozzle with Piper and but the...
You know that ahead of time?
Know, Yeah. When you get to this fire,
Yeah. Joe's doing this. Sarah's doing this, Bill's
is doing this. Yeah. Okay. We're really good
planners.
Ahead of time And, yeah. And we can
really... When you get there, the fire could
be different times that change anything or is
it sometimes times... Okay. You know, sometimes but
then again, like,
we're really good at
going up to a scene, whether it's a
a wreck or a fire
And because obviously, it's chaos, sun control. No
matter what it is,
and we go up and and we are
the people that
make those decisions to start to mitigate the
situation. You know, we try to harness it
and stop it from getting any worse than
what it already is. Right?
So we have an ability to,
you know, generally, you have a a plan
that's already... You know, everybody knows. But if
the plan has to change,
then, you know, the boss or Captain or,
you know, the cheek for whoever, who's in
charge,
can say, let's do this a little different.
Let's go in and and
do it Mh and try to try to
make this situation better.
Sometimes you
do,
you know, sometimes,
doesn't wanna work on your favor. We don't
like to lose.
You know, firefighters don't like to lose.
We like to we like to win, you
know, and
it's pretty much a competitive sport.
You, We're
generally type,
and,
you know, tough.
Tough. Mh. And
I got friends that
on Chicago fire department got friends on the
new Sea.
Turn
and we no matter where you are. Even
mean if you're a volunteer firearm. And, you
know, and those guys, I feel bad for
from the standpoint that
volunteering.
Oh, the volunteers Yeah. I mean,
the guys I work with are great. They
they they may be in the fields. Like,
because it from Indiana. Right? So in the
middle of the farm fields. Right? And they
they go out and they're in the work
in the fields, and they get this call
on this pager and they go when they
they
do the same thing I'm doing, but I'm
at the firehouse waiting for it. Mh. Right?
So these guys aren't getting paid
per. I and they may make a little
bit. But
they're doing the same stuff. Sure. And
yeah.
What do delineate stuff alarms because I've heard
things we call. Oh, that's a 5 alarm
or a poor alarm. Is that a real
thing or is that? Is that a movie
thing? No. That's real. That's something. So, generally,
like,
it depends kind of on the city structure
too. Mh. Like, if you get what's called
still alarm, STIL,
still,
Oh, that maybe be on house fire. Right?
Or or
May star as a small apartment.
But then again, like, apartments are usually a
little bit or so they may be what's
called a box alarm. And all that means
is, like, you get more companies, like, companies
meaning fire trucks. Showing up? Yeah. Oh, okay.
On the initial dispatch. Like, if it's a
still, you may get, you know, depending on
the city. Every is different. But for the
sake of of the story, let's just say
you can get 2 engines and a ladder
truck. And engines that the the truck the
truck that carries the water. An engine is?
Yeah. Mh. A fire engine. That's the 1
a dog. Yeah. Right.
Are you all get a dog when you
arrive? Those fire have dogs. That's the best?
Yeah. Usually they're dumpster dogs we take them
in, but they're good dogs. Nevertheless. But
yeah. And then you have a truck truck
company. Like, that's the that's the piece of
equipment with the ladder on top? Mh. To
get to the top of the parts. That
they can use people or sure. Sure.
So
you have the box alarm, and then that's
maybe an apartment. So like, if it's if
it's a box alarm, you'll get
maybe 3 or 4 engines, a couple ladder
trucks. Mh. And then, you know, maybe a
extra chief as a chief goes because he's
like the boss, like the big boss. You're
gonna have a big boss. Right? Mh But
on these fire trucks, I don't have a
big bus.
That doesn't workout well with me.
That's another podcast.
But every piece of equipment like the ladder
properly engine has, like, an officer on it.
Mh. You know, the officers off, then you
put, like, itinerary the guy that's been the
longest up in the front see because, generally
can make sound decision.
But then you get... So if you go
to an apartment fire, and it's it's a
box alone. Right? So you get all these
companies going on there. The chief gets there
and he goes, man this thing's getting out
of control or having a hard time making
the situation better. So the firearms getting bigger.
Right?
He'll say give me
second alarm. So then you'll have, like, maybe
2 more engines and another ladder truck and
another chief come and maybe a rest... You
another rescue company or, you know, because you
have guys in rescue companies that their primary
jobs to surf and search people.
Still in the full Regalia gear. Always. Right.
But they're not they're not concentrating on the
fire, They're concentrating
finding the people.
Sure. Hopefully not bodies, but people. Right. Right.
So you have like, the Engine cutter, like
I said, put the firearm. The truck company
they do like, they search for for victims
or they'll do
any type of ventilation like, maybe cut on
the roof, knockout out windows,
do any enforce entry. Which like, knocking doors
or, you know, 4 doors open their tools
for that.
Then you know, maybe... If it's a bigger
city, you had a a rescue company, and
they they may do just like, the searching
for victims or the chief may say, hey,
grab another hose line and go in and
help
those guys put the fire out. Too. So
it just really depends on the department where
you're at in the country,
and really the situation because the chief might,
you know, mix up a little bit.
But, yeah. So...
Very interesting. Yeah. And then you can go
from, like, a a second alarm, third alarm
fourth alarm, fifth alarm. They lay people in
the building when it's a flat alarm?
Generally,
at that point, it's a defensive fire. Right?
So you you you... It's... You're just those
aren't very... They don't have them very often.
Right? No. I mean, not every.
I mean, maybe in the country, they may
happen,
once a month
a week. I don't wanna, you know, there's
big fires in the country today.
But
Out don't of know the statistics, but generally
if you're at AA5
alarm fire, you know, some departments called 05:11,
then you'll have
you'll be outside
with those lines from outside. Okay. No. In
the building? If you, if that you you
hope. At that point. I mean, none of
the firefighters are in the building.
At that be hoping... Yeah. Hope not that.
Right? I mean,
there's been plenty of fires where
we go into
and it's getting bad and the chiefs out
front going we're done pull everybody out, You
know, and there's a procedure where
the dispatcher will do alarms on the radio
and then the the guys on the fire
engines will sound the aero horns and, you
know, they'll they'll... That means we can hear
that, and that means got billing.
So we'll leave the building and we'll transition
from, like, an interior
attack, that called interior attack to a defensive
Mh. Exterior attack. Mh.
So...
You to make sure the building's
nearby, do you hose those down as well
to keep them from? Depends. Sure. Okay. Yeah.
So I here's... This is more of a
chemistry question. So when I'm building a fire
at the campsite site, you've... I blow on
it, to make the flames go up. So
why... If you put holes and walls to
get airflow, isn't that making
more fire?
Can't I can't if you do it wrong.
No, and and not necessarily wrong, but... You're
a sorcerer.
Yeah.
So, like, fire generally
moves up and out. And like it's a
it's a vertical and lateral travel Okay? So
when we cut holes in the roof, what
we wanna do is get the fire that's
going up and out kind of channel
to go up through the hole, and then
the heat, the super heated gases and stuff,
they go, you know, they travel up as
well. That's why people say, if your house
on fire stay on the floor because all
the smoke and everything goes to the ceiling
first. Right? And the banks down and starts
layering
as it gets worse.
So, yeah. All that super heated gas and
fire and smoke goes through the hole, and
then everything kind of inside lifts a little
bit, You know, you may have a little
bit of lift off the floor, so then
it makes the heat less
smoke less. Makes sense. And it makes it
easier for the guys on the pipe on
the engine to go and put the fire
up. Yeah. Yeah. But if you if you
vent wrong,
then you can
control
basically no,
not
intentionally
where the fire goes? You could pull the
fire actually. Toward you. What toward you this
way, that way,
So you kind of... There's rhyme in a
reason to a a building. Is
your favor movie.
And of course. I knew you're I knew
it was in there somewhere.
So, yeah it's a very good movie.
That was based off.
How really?
No.
Off 2 brothers.
Chicago. Really? Yeah. The hof brother. So I'm
interesting. Ray, Bobby.
Is there a psyche valid that happens to
make sure that firefighters aren't actually arson because
I would think if I was an arson
that would be
the cream of the gene of the crop
of a job. Well, let me answer your
question first. Okay. Previously, I love bad draft.
Yeah. Movie. About a 40 ninth good too.
Oh, I don't see that 1. Yeah. So
actually, 1 of the best movies slash documentaries
have seen perm.
I called burn. I pay on Detroit. Oh,
those guys... Those guys I have 80000 bacon
buildings in Detroit, and they get fires all
the time. Oh, man. So if anybody wants
to see a good documentary, you can Youtube
it. What awards in on? Yeah. It is.
Really is.
So what was your question again? III
something stupid. I'm sure.
So have you
personally
been in a situation where you thought I'm
not getting out of this. Yeah. Well, so
can you talk about that a little bit?
And so what sort of went went through
the brain pan?
There was...
Let's see. Me,
there were
5 of us total.
It was Jeez. It was we were up
late. The captain was off. The senior man
was
in charge charge,
and there was it was 01:00 in the
morning. I distinctly remembered to this day. I
was actually in the living room, that I
just happened at the clock, and it just
hit 1. And all of a sudden,
I hear a loud bang from the front
door.
About that time, the bells went off.
If you can put 2 and 2 together
pretty quick and realize some some something's going
on.
So we ran down the steps,
And there's people in the outside, they're yelling.
There's a fire. There's a fire over there.
And the distance from from the fire station.
Right. Not not at the fire station are
close. Right? So
they're saying there's a fire.
The dispatcher is actually talking
now.
We're running across the base.
There's people actually that had stopped along the
apron of the doors, and they were all
banging on doors. So we knew had a
fire.
We didn't know it wasn't it right I
told you.
So we pop the door. We opened the
door to the the fire station, and we
could smell it. Right? Every firefighter I know
what the smells like. You know, you're going
do a job. But then we...
There was in a apartment building, 2 blocks
away from the firehouse house.
So we're driving down, and we can't see
it from the firehouse, but when you pass
a certain block. Can look over and just
get a great shot of it and we
we
pull past the block and there's just black
smoke.
Went out of the fourth floor of this
apartment building.
So so the real deal. So we pulled
up,
the guy that was in charge, great guy
officer. Ta He's a chief today, but he
said, hey, this is what we're gonna take
up the hose, you know, because we knew
where we're gonna go up a stair. We're
not going up to the yellow we knew
we wanted to stair well.
So we need a lot of extra hopes.
Right?
Well, when I got off, there's was a
a policeman that came right to me because,
there's a woman trapped on the fire for.
We couldn't get up there. It's too bad,
but she's out there.
And
so we make our way down the on
there... In the whole time,
there's people passing us, old people. This places...
What's 01:00 in the morning on a weekend,
see And there's... It's full of people.
So these people are passing us we're saying.
Just keep going, keep going. You know, and
we make our way around the stair well.
And we get up to the to the
third floor.
So we get up to the steps to
the fourth floor, and we can see there's
smoke about. It's black jeff black, hot, accurate
smoke. It's off... It's a foot off of
of the floor.
And as we're going up the stair it's
interesting too because there are people just the
whole time. And That's back passing. Yeah. Old
folks, You know,
they're obviously
pretty scared and
So we get up there
and we we get on the fourth floor.
And
you can barely see
your hand and front your face.
And
we...
The the plan was that me and the...
The the guy that was in charge. We
were gonna go find 80. We had an
idea of where she was, but we didn't
know exactly where she was.
And then the other...
Well, there were 2 guys up there because
the the fifth guy was down. He was
pumping... He was on the truck directing water
to the hose lines. Right?
So the other 2 guys were gonna go
put the fire.
You know, they put the fire on finally
lady.
We meet up get her downstairs, get more
help. We're the only
4 guys there. You know I because you've
lived Yeah. We were the 2 and a
half 3 blocks of land. Right?
So we get up there and and the
whole plan just changed recently instantly. Like back
to what I say, we, you know, if
you get into a situation, we're pretty good
at instantly going no plans change. This is
what we're gonna do.
He goes, we got all now 4 of
us
put this fire out. It's getting bad. That
the the conditions are deteriorating
rapidly.
So what had happened was,
we took astro extra hose up there. So
what did we had done? We took the
the the first set of hose up, which
has a nozzle on the end. Right? That
pipe I was telling you And we we
we connect another section of hose
off that nozzle, you could... You can just
screw it in, and then you take and
you extend your hose line. Right?
So we get up we get up there,
and but you gotta open that nozzle,
like, it's like a relay. We gotta open
that nozzle for the water to go into
your next hose line. Right?
Well, the conditions we're getting so bad so
fast.
That nozzle wasn't the floor below, like, it
should have been. It was on the fire
floor, and
we couldn't find it. So
I was you know, and and was getting
hot, and then that's when he looked up
and he saw a thousand degrees.
And,
It's getting really, really hot.
And
I was sort the guy name's Brett.
Good guy. He
He and I were looking for it. I
couldn't find it. That the not. I couldn't
I couldn't find... Yeah. Yeah. Because the other
guys on the very, very end of the
house and he's like, we're... You guys gotta
find this now is get them the water
in this line. And I'm like, we're trying
young... Are you on Walkie talkie? You said...
Well, we could we could muffled. I mean,
we could like, we had a mask on,
but we could, like, We were within, like,
a 10 foot radius of each other. Sure.
I couldn't find it.
I couldn't find it. Nia.
It's just got
pardon like,
fuck. Like I... I'm not gonna stop I'm
not gonna quit fighting this thing,
but
I'm not making any progress, you know, and
brett somehow
I don't how he did this day, but
he found it. And all of a sudden
you're here just the air rushing through because
there's always air that kinda rushed through the
line first. He found it opened it up.
And then the door got I kicked in,
and we all kinda charge in his apartment,
and
put the fire out, you know, and
then we... By that time, the air tanks,
you know, it's supposed to last generally
on average 30 minutes, but you're.
Yeah. But but your... But that's a long
time in a fire. 30 minutes in a
long time.
General, you're looking, you know, depending on your
breathing rate, how amped up you, you know,
what's for on, you know,
15 minutes.
Know,
so
we put fire up
or got it under control,
then our bottle start the t the bells
and stuff on the bottle start going off,
meaning we gotta go get new models. Right?
So we went downstairs stairs,
and
there was more guys now coming upstairs to
look for the lady, and then we got
downstairs as a picture of us this I
have is all on the ground. People are
putting new bottles and were talking.
About the game plan. Well, guy gets on
the radio, I found this woman.
She's on the, you know, fourth floor, and
she was if we you would've have met
went up the stairs to the fourth floor.
We went left to put the fire up
the apartments to the left. She was just
the right in the first apartment. She was
right off the stairs, but her door was
closed. Thank God. Right? And thank God the
guy that... I think god. Because when... So
doors the best things to stuff to stop,
you know, to to inhibit fire travel.
Really? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Doors are great.
If that's why people say shut the door
if you're trying to leave a fire because
doors are great.
Great. Stop.
They won't stop it forever. Eventually, everything burns
up upright. And you don't put water on
it. But they were hold a fire off
for a long time.
You know, so
this dude was pissed his girlfriend,
ex girlfriend.
Pushed stuff on her stove, set that apartment
in fire, but shut the doors he left,
which saved a lot of people learning people
dead in that place.
We shut the door. Hence when we kick
the door in. So he was just trying
to burn his best girlfriend's apartment Yeah. On
a dick. Yeah.
So we... Basically he goes, hey, found a
woman. So
I run up
and this woman was a head shoes was
a heavier set woman. Yeah.
They're were obviously having trouble
I met them right at the stair that
on the stairs coming down from the 44I
grabbed a leg. There was another down leg.
No. 2 guys on an arm.
She was unconscious. Yeah. She went breathing and
very well all. She was dying. I mean,
this this woman was in bad shape.
Barely alive. So we dragged her down. I
mean, it wasn't pretty but we drive her
down. We rug all the way down the
hallway
out the front door
the ambulance... Whoever was on the ambulance came
and
picked her up, took her to the hospital
and,
yeah. She made it. She... Wow. This is
the firehouse all the time. She comes in.
Judy. Name's Judy. Hi, Drew.
Big.
Did you think you weren't gonna get out
of that 1? Did. I think we talked
about it after and
guy was that he's a chief today he
was in charge of night he goes
that even the other guy, he had a
lot of experience too. Lot. He's a they're
both great fire and. You know, they said,
thought were done.
I'm like,
that were done too, but I wasn't leaving.
You know, I wasn't leaving you. I wasn't
leaving the fire. I wasn't leaving it. I
we were just gonna keep it. I was
already yeah. That was just that's is what
we do. We,
we're it together. You know, It's a brotherhood
and burn it together. Yeah.
So
That was probably... That was pretty bad. Oh,
glad she made it. Good judy. Thank you.
Yeah. And I hope that guy is now
in prison.
I don't remember. I'm sure he is.
I mean, if you
no. I mean, if they knew he was
everything. I don't know if he's still in
prison, but I'm pretty sure he went there
for Yeah. That's the shift. Today when dying
that.
Not 1 person. Oh, got bless. Awesome.
So
Awesome. Thank you.
I mean it's funny. They would say when
you see a service man or woman in
the military, and she go up in make
them. It it seems to me
police environment deserve our things just as much.
Definitely. Sound. Yeah. Definitely I think.
It's sort of like the un the un
sum heroes really. Mh. I mean, every single
day you're going out there,
and you're doing this stuff.
And regular folk like me. Don't really think
about it. You don't think about the fire
fire persons
Unless you see him at the grocery store
and home buy up dinner and like, hey,
what's up, but it... I don't know. It's
it's that weird sort of thing about.
That service, that branch of service.
Mh. Is it considered
like? Well, it's paramilitary
Paramilitary? Yeah. There's a lot of that values.
It's not the military military. Okay. But we
follow a lot of the
military,
like, code ethics entire, you know, there's rank
and structure, chain command and
and all that stuff, you know, and
Yeah. You know, you don't know, would you
see a fire or policeman
paramedic or Emt? It then too. They definitely
may out. Yeah. Not ambulance drivers.
I have some very dear friends who are,
flight nurses. Mh. And and regular
hospital nurses.
I mean, they...
Man, that's a heck of a job. Sure.
I don't know when you people sleep for
god's sakes.
Think there's no sleep whenever... Try to. Amazing
that you can do what you do. The
adrenaline levels must just be through the roof.
Yeah. Get pretty amped up sometimes. But for
me, like, it's... Do yoga or meditation? Yoga
is actually awesome. Yeah. I I love Cor
yoga, like, just from a stretching standpoint. Like,
you, you know, just to keep your your
muscles and everything
stretched out. I love it. Really give guys.
What about your mind though? I mean, I
know I keep bringing this up, but
do you go through this stuff day after
day after day
and experiences
and not have your mind just
sort of say,
excuse me, but this is sort of fucked
up man There you go. Yeah. How do
you find your happy place? How do you
at zen with it all. And I mean,
it's just so matter of fact for you
at this point? Or
I mean do you ever break down and
cry?
Know you're, you know, manly man. You've got
a beard and everything, but you're a human
being. I mean, I imagine some the kids.
I mean, you see everything.
You probably see people at their words stand
their best as do
police officers, but
I mean... Right. Yeah.
How can... I mean, how could you not?
I have...
I went to a ones where.
Mean,
same well guys I was I fired with
actually. He's a captain at this point. And
2 guys on the ambulance before us.
What had happened was,
grandfather and grandmother
drove from Wisconsin
to Indianapolis, which is the high
picked up 3 their grandkids,
and they age they range from
cheese,
maybe,
9
to 14,
and
they were going to
the place where I'm from, you know, and
there's a amusement park there. So you go
from
the the to Wisconsin.
Down to Indy, an hour and a half
north of Indy, you know, and and that's
a hike for anybody. So now throw we
own elderly person on top of that. That's
in the summer, all day driving. You know.
So he was tired. And he was 2
miles from town
2 miles.
And I came around a corner,
and he fell asleep, and he had a
truck had on. Jeez
and
we just started watching
a movie,
like, it was a beautiful summer.
And, you know, the the bell goes off
for for a rack.
Generally, like, if you get a really bad
rack,
like, the dispatcher when you're en route to
the wreck. They they'll come back and go,
there might be people dead here, you know,
they have verbiage for it, but, basically, that's
what they're saying.
Bad, blah blah, blah, blah.
Like, there wasn't a word. Like, there wasn't
a word, and it was a little bit
of a drive.
And we pulled up.
And
the car hit the trucks so hard. The
back tires the car off the ground.
And we pull up I pulled up right
next to car, the guy the truck fine
walking around.
And I could see when I was in
the truck, I pulled up I could see
the I could see someone on the back
and see the woman in the passenger's seat,
she looked dead.
And,
I remember saying to Steve, the captain and
I said,
this is a bad 1. And he goes.
Yeah. It really is. And
so he jumped out. I jumped out,
and I went around... I felt for a
pulse from a kid in the back.
Not something he was dead.
Once the woman, the grandma,
I can I can only get to her
neck up because she was pinned, the dashboard
and everything came in on top of her
dad?
So rather running inside the car.
I could see corridor the the back corridor
was open, the rear driver's side. And by
that time, 1 of these new he was
a newer paramedic great guy.
He comes to run up me, and he
goes.
The driver...
He's he's he's barely live
gotta get him out. And cut him out.
He's gonna die.
And I walked... I said, hold on. I
walked from the car and
the guy was actively dying and
the steering wheel, if you could imagine, Don't
know if you can imagine this people listening,
but we he had this, you know, obviously
driving with his hands.
And he hit the steering was so hard
was
chest
that the the the part you hold Your
hand was bent. Both sides bent completely back
around.
And he his chest was kind of sitting
up against
the part we hon the horn or the
airbag would come out. Airbag did come out,
but obviously we didn't do anything. But...
So obviously, that's pretty significant hit. And he
was... Internally. Yeah. Bleeding internally in his chest.
Sure.
And I said,
and he was pinned the car? I said
he's gonna die I make it.
Who do we have this a lot who
do we have it's viable.
And he said there's 2 kids back behind
the car,
and some bystanders standard have pulled them out
that, you know, Are you supposed to do
that? Not supposed to do that?
I've heard... You know, you know, it's
there's a lot of variables to it. Generally
speaking,
it's not the best idea,
but I don't want people to hear me
say, well, he said not to pull them
out. Right. But the car on fire. Right.
I mean, you know, We're very, you know,
use some common sense, for.
Someone had done it. They they laid the
girl on the ground.
And I and I remember I walked around
the corridor where I couldn't see her, but
I... When I walked around the car slew
like tin year girl.
And her lips were blue is a sm,
and
she was pasty pale.
And, and I remember saying
her
dissect.
I mean, they have a general appearance like,
She's just blood curling, like screams for mom,
like she
mom
just there was
was intense.
And I said,
gotta get her to a trauma center. And
she needs a trauma pediatric trauma surgeon.
Her brother was behind her, the other brother,
and he was messed up, but he wasn't
dying.
So
they get her in the ambulance once,
they get going to the hospital.
I stay back and cut the dead people
out of the car.
And
bang them mouth, and so then the doctor
told us that that little girl
screamed for her mother, the entire time room
That's all she said. Didn't say anything else.
Or baby. The surgeon said she was screaming
for mother.
She goes into surgery.
Get her out of surgery.
She's in recovery.
She wakes up enough to scream for her
mother again. Her mother walks in the room
says baby I'm here for you I'm here.
I'm here. Long me here and she dies
instantly.
So
and did shit like that. I mean, how
do you...
But this is just... This is just my
story. You know, Like, there's firefighters paramedics
policeman,
there's people like this everywhere in the country
the world
that have stores like this. You know, like,
this is just shit in my eyes have
seen. That's not... That's such a heavy soul
moment. Yeah. You know, the little girl no...
Like, some part of her, like, this is
it for me. I wanna see my mom
in last time.
And then when she had that, she was
able to like oh. I mean, jeez.
It's the almost the only thing in an
unbearable
situation that can bring any sort of peace.
I a do you believe in a higher
park
or... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I... You know,
Nothing you have to. Right. I mean, No.
I do. All all the people, you know,
that I've
taken to the hospital.
Like, especially the cancer,
patients just dealing with them.
Don't look at you and they'll stay I'm
tired,
you know, like,
the civilian mako
for this a ton of times. Like,
oh, take a nap,
get some rest. That's something me.
They're tired of living. Yeah. Who done. Yeah.
They just went in. And I know exactly
what they mean. They want the morphine train.
There. So
yeah, I do. I do. And, you know,
there's a lot of,
I've met people that have, you know, I'm
seen things and
Yeah. Whether someone believes in it or not,
it gives me comfort to believe in not.
Sure. Right. So I know after all the
batch shit I've seen in
the service that
the way I've tried to help people that,
you know, hopefully the gates are pearl and
All good. No fire anywhere.
So for people listening,
And I know I'm curious. What it's probably
1 of the top causes of
residential issues.
Where somebody could do so to sort of
protect themselves a little bit better not being
idiot.
Like, what where you said, what's the top
cost for residential fires?
What depends where you're at? And what neighbor
you live in? Oh, really. Yeah. Detroit, they
have
like, I think, 5
classifications for Arsenal alone. Oh, it's so sad.
Really. So, yeah. It just depends. You know,
like, general, you could look at this point.
You Detroit and stop bringing down.
You can look at it as
arson,
electrical,
some sort of accidental kid playing with life
Sure.
So yeah, You can look at it and,
you know, those... Best chance of survival get
on floor shut the door?
What?
Rat getting the bathtub and me if you
can put the water on on?
I think
the best thing for me that best advice
I could give would be to 1 pre
plan.
Right. Oh, yeah. Sure. Have pre,
like,
the
designed area outside where your family
can go if there's a fire no house,
we're all gonna try to meet at the
big tree in the front yard. I don't
think people do that very often to do
that. No. Have of plan.
No. And you need to talk about it.
You need to you need to have all
this shit figured out before it actually happens.
Right? So you had need to have a
plan where you're gonna meet
and,
change your batteries in your smoke detector every
6 months. People with time change that's easy
because they just recommend doing it when the
time goes forward or backwards. Right? Sure.
And if you do, shut... If you are
in a in a house and you can't,
you know, second floor or something, and you
can't get down of the first floor.
Shut the door to the room, separate yourself
from the hallway,
like, make sure you shut the door, put
towel in the door, the bottom.
State blanket or something? Anything. Just to just
to close the crack of that door, You
know? Generally, a wet towel, a damp towel,
but you may not have a mask right
there. Sorry.
So... European people. Yeah.
So you... It's gonna save your life.
What's save of your guys, life, Urine in?
You're in,
j and luck, but, you know, thank in
luck.
Oh my god.
So to help people. Yeah. Really I'm trying
to help you.
I'm totally I may get a d shirt.
You're in luck. You're in luck. Oh, yeah.
But, you know, bang on the window, bang
on the the, you know, make yourself known,
You know, however you can.
You wanna try to obviously get out of
the house. But if you can't get out
the house.
Do you see know that you're there? They're
an owner you're in there?
Don't stop for the family heir rooms. Yeah.
Don't. And get a lot do people do
that. Oh, yeah. Like, people
They'll run out. Let's cell people die the
most common way. They run out.
Realize, oh, my god. I forgot,
you know, brewers the dog.
And they're like, I run back the run
back in the die. Yeah. And
I could understand wanting to run ne to
an animal. That makes sense.
I'm at in an an ina object. Not
that I'm
advocating running it after your animal, but
I'm just saying that
I can understand when people do that. Sure.
Sure. But you the, you know, I think
that's the only thing really
try to get out the else if you
can't get out of the house
pee
everywhere. Pee a lot.
Like, drinking a lot of water. That's is
why you drink water every. You hydrated. Yeah.
So, yeah, you know, put... For girls,
you know, you too can be standing up
with direction. It just takes a little practice,
just saying.
That's true.
Yeah
everybody police fire in this.
Fire Ems?
Police fire And Ems, whether you're
Paramedic.
People should keep in mind that.
You know, if you see him at the
store. Oh, yeah you see him out in
and about. Say thanks. Say thanks because a
half an hour before that, there could have
been
you know, picking a dead person up off
the road or, you. Seeing something that no
one's Eye I should ever see. Right. And
people don't think about that. I just look
at it for what it is. You know,
And now.
But I, we've been talking about bad stuff.
I've seen a lot of great stuff too,
like
I had a woman once that
this is a good story. This is a
pretty... I'll be the judge of that. Okay.
I think you'll like it.
But she,
we got a call fucking an unknown problem,
and
me another guy go out there.
And I... We got in the driveway, and
I and I looked...
And, like, there's a car, the driveway with
the driver's door wide open, and the cars
like kinda radically parked driving 1 that odd.
I just, you know, common sense. That's just
odd. Yeah.
So the garage door was opened. So I
said, go in the house once you go
the front door
and we'll see what's going on. Like on
the house,
there's this elderly man.
I mean, he was at the a time.
This is years ago. He was old. And
he was watching Jeopardy, and he had it
on, like, full till, like... And he didn't
even like turned to see the stranger than
house.
He just cat jeopardy. It's probably double jeopardy.
It probably was.
Yeah.
So he goes... Important stuff. So I got
site. I look over on on the other
side of the kitchen counter, and there's a
woman, not breed with the phone in her
hand, the phone is in her hand,
and she's on the ground,
and she had no pulse. So she's clearly
dead.
And some... Alright. Well, like, start Cpr, so
we we're doing Cpr, and I and I
looked in the back we're throat with a
piece of equipment, and I and I looked
in the throat, I remember like,
this woman choked to death. Like, there's ham
all over the back of her throat. So
I put a breathing tube in her throat.
Know, gave her some oxygen for a little
bit, and she started...
She didn't totally wake up, but she started
improving vastly.
So she must have I've been down mom?
No. Not at all. No. She went down
long. Yeah. You know. And how should you
go they're You to... Well, 10 minutes is
when start having... If you have no oxygen
in your brain for 10 minutes,
then you start having irreversible brain. And you
become a politician.
Yeah.
Lot of different podcasts here today.
Like, we're gonna be like, we got a
month's more of material.
So
yes. She started kinda coming around and and
so like,
what I gave her some medicine
to make her go to sleep to you
comfortable. And right before I did, I said,
if I'm breathing for you,
don't know what happened with you, but I
think you choked on ham,
but if you understand what I'm saying blink
twice, and she went twice...
Okay. I'm gonna put... Give you somebody medicine
to go to sleep, and you're wake up
a little bit later,
but that's what we're gonna do right now.
And
because she started kinda waking up with a
tube thrown. That's just trying to yell out
the jeopardy answer. Right. No. Right. Get her
out. I'll take what the fuck for 1000.
So she goes,
we get her the able to go to
the hospital. And I and I dropped her
off, and I come back about an hour
later, and she's sitting up in bed, like,
you and Right now.
We're not in bed people. Oh, that. Like
not. Yeah.
Let's
let's create guys. She was in a hospital
bed.
We're to kitchen table.
Big difference.
So,
but she goes, yeah. My chest is kinda
sore and I'm like, hey, listen,
what
exactly happened, and she said, I was eating
a ham sandwich,
and I
start choking I pulled the driveway ran out
of my car, and went to down 1,
but I couldn't speak. She had total airway
occlusion. Right?
And then she just doesn't remember what happened
after that. So But I said, who was
the guy watch jeopardy. I think we all
wanna know that. In the living room. And
she's like, oh, I'm I'm his caregiver?
And I'm like, that guy
never
ever
even turned his head. While you guys are
working on him? That once? He didn't? Did
he know? Was he that? He... He had
no straighten like 5,
6 strangers in his house
Like, 10 feet behind him. How would you...
You know?
It's like a really horrifying
Snl skin.
I'm like, yeah. You know? I'm like, hey,
It looks like today we got the daily
double,
and we got the final question. Right? Oh
my god. So so forward 2 years later.
My uncle call goes, hey. I'm going to
a party tonight.
My friends, would you guys come? I'm saying,
sure.
Was a man and his wife
so we're sitting out,
you know, having a couple drinks talking about
whatever they doing fire and they're they're going
she does, of course, everybody always does. Like,
what's the craziest thing you've seen? And I
don't like to talk about it. You know,
this isn't like about me This is... It's
us. Like... Sure. It's a tomb sport. Still
I me do have stories. It's okay. Something
like thinking...
Okay. I, what's the story to tell had
a good ending, you know, I'm like, I'll
tell the jump play story.
It's great ending.
Tell the whole story I just told you.
At the end, she goes.
Was her name such and such? And sydney.
Yeah. She's like, that's my mom. No way.
Swear got true story. Weird. Gosh she's that's
my mom.
It's sharp crying.
Yeah. We're still friends this day. Know, That's
the awesome. And they end up bringing her
mom to the
awards banquet went when all of us got
recognized for that call.
Yeah. Did you deserve ham?
Now I hand was off a many
That all go you gonna eat. Bites. Can't
chew your food. Right? Like... Thank you so
Much. Is there anything else you wanna talk
about, but my
I mean, I put any questions jeff? How
long does it take you to grow that
full beard in mustache? You know it's epic.
Like, like, 7 days. Yeah. You're fuzzy dude.
Thanks.
Genetics. Yeah.
There's a bear ladies.
Thank you so much Brooks for being on.
Hey you, and I really appreciate it. Thank
you. I appreciate it. Was it was I
didn't know what to expect, but it was
nice. Really it's awesome.
But those of you who are interested to
ground and hit the extra content for for
more from Brooks.
Everybody thanked a firefighter policeman as an Emt
and a paramedic.
Thanks for listening, and Hope appreciate it. I.
I know I did.
Now this since we're bed together and all.
Yeah. I no doubt.
Cheese
eating ham.