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Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on February 9, 2009 at 12:05pm

When I first got hired by my other FD, I was really eager to show up the engine guys being a "Truck guy" myself. I was showing off how well I knew how to pump the rescue pumper. I really thought I was doing a great job of showing these "nozzle heads" that I was going to be the template for the universal Truck/Engine/Rescue/Squad guy who could do it all with ease. So, it came time to refill the booster tank. I didn't want any help because "Truck guys" can do it all, remember? So, the Engine guys told me to pull the rig around behind the firehouse and use the yard hydrant. OK. No problem, I've caught many hydrants for 1st due Engines at my other FD. So, I pull up to the hydrant and I am still in show off mode. I throw the 50 ft of 4 inch donut roll on my shoulder and lay it out like a champ! I connect to the intake of the rig, open the valve and then connect to the hydrant not using any spanners at all because I am strong "Truck guy" remember? So, anyways, I put the hydrant wrench on the hydrant, go to open up the plug and the whole hydrant falls over. It was a dead hydrant that they had picked up before my shift and placed in the back of the station lilke it was a yard hydrant. I look back at the open bay doors and the entire house(Engine guys, Truck guys, Squad guys, Chief, Asst. Chief, and Inspectors were all rolling on the floor laughing at me. What made me the maddest is that this is the kind of stuff that I usually do to guys. They got me and got me good. One word sums up the moral of the story...."HUMILITY." We still laugh about this today and this is almost 6 years later. I'm now a lieutenant here and I am still plotting how to get those guys back, but nothing seems as funny. Sorry for the long story but your dead hydrant reminded me of it.

Permalink Reply by SMOKEnPipesJim on February 9, 2009 at 3:55pm

LOL thats classic, you gotta love it...even though you were the target...Reminds me of a story going back at least 40 years... back when my 1st Company (vollies) house was located on a side street downtown..There was pretty major incident going on on main street 50 feet out the side street and a block down.. In real terms it was abouta 4th or 5th alarm, with mutual aid coming from all of each town (the town line was the river behind the firehouse) anyway it was obvious it was going to be a extended operation so the Captain of the company told the stewartto return to the firehouse and start brewing the Java by the gallon and so he took off on foot ,turned the corner and was taken aback to see an engine that reverse layed down IFO the firehouse, without saying a word, The stewart walked past the firefighter with soft sleevein hand walked over picked up the hydrant in One arm, he was a big guy, and unlocked the firehouse and carried it inside, The firefighter just stood there, looked down at the steamer in his hands looked at the stewart through the bay doors astonished , he returned to the front, and told him.. what? its "My" hydrant go find your own....and slammed the door The funny part was the chauffer came around the rig to see IF the kid was ready to charge the line and the kid was still standing there in disbelief... The engineer at first yelled , what are you doing? lets go get it setup, and then had to double take and try to figure out where the heck the hydrant went to, if he was seeing things or what... The mains in that part of the district were installed in like 1912 and were only 6" then.. typically with anyof these historically large incidents we'd dump a couple of the rigs into the river for supply, something the M/A companies had no clue about with our district, But this was one of several incidents over the years that used 3 or 4 elevated master streams or equally large spaghetti piles and water supply needs ...lol