10 Things Learned at The Fire Station

10 Things Learned at The Fire Station:

--Fire Stations in Nashville no longer use the traditional fire pole to slide down...most houses don't even have one because OHSA has declared them dangerous. There's only one fire house in Nashville that still has one and it's only kept for rookies who want to take a slide down the pole. Doesn't that just seem wrong?

--The helmet of a firefighter in Nashville is yellow. Not the traditional red. Red helmets are worn by captains. A chief wears a white helmet.

--Firefighters have to buy their own food/meals while on duty at the firehouse. (With all the excess-ities this town pays for, I think this is just plain wrong.)

--Nashville only has two HAZ-MAT teams.

--Fire Stations are no longer allowed to have dogs.

--A fireman can get dressed into his bunker gear and onto the truck in less than 1 minute. Even with the new zippers. :)

--When opening a fire hydrant, stand on the side of the hydrant that doesn't have any caps. That way, if one pops off under the pressure, you won't loose your knee.

--Yes, there was a fire in the firehouse once. A fireman was cooking breakfast when the alarm sounded. In his haste to leave, he turned the burner control on the stove up instead of off. While the company was answering the call, the kitchen caught fire. A passerby called it in and then broke into the fire house to use a fire extinguisher to put it out. But of course, not before all the engines from neighboring fire houses showed up to help. I got the feeling perhaps it was a sore subject and the cause of much good natured conjecturing amongst the houses. Boys...

--The desire to be a fireman usually starts very young and never goes away.

--Firemen are very special people. But we already knew that.