"I Wish You Could Know" I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children at 3AM, 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 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 know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, squad, or ladder, 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. 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 parents 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 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 missed meals, lost sleep, forgone social activities, missed special moments with my kids, 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................................................ 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......I am a vol. firefighter / 1St. Responder for Spencer Fire / Rescue in Holland Ohio. I love what we do and it pisses me off whin people put us down for doing what we do......Be safe out there..