Thought I'd regale u with one of my most frightening moments as a fireman tonight.
Had to have been about '88 or '89, just before I made Capt., we got called out on a 2swfd 5 miles N of Boyd. I was on the 2nd unit in, Eng 1201. 2 others & myself were detailed to open the roof, so, with SCBA on we grabbed the necessaries (extension ladder, axes, hose, roof ladder), laddered up & onto the roof. We didn't have a chainsaw back then, so we commenced to chop away @ the roof. Now, this wasa pretty old house & had several layers of shingles, 1x4 roofing slats (whole lumber) instead of plywood decking. Very hard to strip & chop.
Anyway, we're chopping away @ this roof when my axe gets hung up. So, I, with all my knowledge & experience step 1 foot off the ladder & onto the roof for better leverage....And just kept going. through the roof, through the ceiling, slamming flat on my back on top of a highboy dresser, & face down on the floor.
Though I never lost conciousness, I was disoriented. My mask & helmet were knocked off, only the neckstrap of my mask kept it all with me. Of course, I got a lung full of smoke.
I could hear guys calling to me, & could see (dimly) their flashlights thru the smoke. Choking, trying to get mask & helmet back on, I couldn't answer & I wasn't carrying a light.
I vaguely remember crawling thru a door & trying to find the stairs to get the hell outta there. I kept telling myself to stick to the wall & follow it.... right to a damn closet...wrong end of the hall. OK, turn around & start back.
Did i mention I was hurting like hell? I was sure my back was broken, my left knee was killing me. Basically, everything hurt.
I ran headon into the guys sent to find me & was led out to the ambulance. Total time: less than 5 mins. Felt like hours.
I got lucky: strained muscles, sprained knee & my back was a mass of bruises. Spent the night @ the hospital where my then-wife worked & lost a week of work.
So, what did I accomplish? Well, the roof got ventilated, ceiling got pulled. Dresser smashed all to hell & gone.
Of course, I took a team from suppression efforts for search & rescue, tied up an ambulance for about an hour,
same for an ER staff & a hospital bed for the night. All for the sake of a dumbass fireman who should've known better in the 1st friggin place. To say nothing of the fact that I scared the crap out of my wife, kids & brother firemen!
I never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Take a lesson, willya? Your Dept has safety procedures for a reason. I could've been killed & put others @ additional risk to save my ass.
What does an axe-handle cost @ the hardware store? Let the damn thing go, get home safe.