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Life of a Volunteer
I wrote this for school, Im still doing a little editing here and there. This is based on the experience at my department, any tips on what to change to make it more descriptive or anything would be nice!!!
Silence falls over the house as everyone retires for the night. The silence is broken by the glass shattering tones of the firemans pager. He wakes and begins to prepare for whatever he may be about to face. The dispatcher informs everyone there has been a report of a structure fire and all occupants are out of the struture. Instantly knowing it wil be a long night, he runs to his vehicle and heads to the station. driving swiftly, all that is visible in the late night are his blue and white lights bouncing off the houses. As he arrives at the station, he runs to his gear rak and quickly gets dressed as other firemen arrive. He realizes it has now become a race to get a seat on that truck. He runs to the truck and takes a seat in the back as they begin to roll. The officer in the truck calls out to the dispatcher and informs them that they are en route to the flaming inferno. As soon as they end their radio traffic, the chief, who has just arrived on scene advises all personnel who are en routh there would be no saving the house and all that ws to do was protect the surrounding structures. The few minute drive seemed to take last forever for the anxious firefighters who were waiting for a sign of what they were about to fight. As they got closer, they began to drive through thick smoke that had banked down over he area. As they arrived, everyone quickly realized it would in fact be a long night! Being the first enging on scene it became their duty by the order of the chief to start attacking the wildly burning flames. they bagn to pull off hoses, hundreds and hundreds of feet, as wekk as turning on and hooking up to hydrants. As the second enging arrived, a ladder truck, the first crew began their attempt to douse the flames while feeling the intense heat through their gear. As they continued what they were doing a much welcomed mist fell over the already hot firefighters! The ladder crew was attacking the flames above. As more people continue to give a helping hand you can imagine the stress the commanding officer is under. As they get more of the flames knocked down, a group of firefighters begin to work their way into the firey house while others assume their previous position. With flames burning wildly above them they must supply enough water to consume the flames before they are consumed. After houses and thousands of gallson of water, they begain to see the last few flames extinguish as the sun begins its day. As much welcomed sight for the fatigued firefighters. As the last flames are extinguished they re-entered the charred house to search for possibilities it could re-ignite. The question then becomes, "Why did this happend?" What this an incindeary or accidental fire? that will be left for the fire marshal to determine. Their job is done now, all that is left to do is pack up and head back to their station for a few more hours of cleaning hoses, tools, gear and trucks. At the end of the call, they are all exhausted but must still report fr their actual jobs as that call only payed them three dollars. Welcome to the life of a volunteer firefighter!
Any tips? Comments?
Hope you enjoy
Chelsea
Silence falls over the house as everyone retires for the night. The silence is broken by the glass shattering tones of the firemans pager. He wakes and begins to prepare for whatever he may be about to face. The dispatcher informs everyone there has been a report of a structure fire and all occupants are out of the struture. Instantly knowing it wil be a long night, he runs to his vehicle and heads to the station. driving swiftly, all that is visible in the late night are his blue and white lights bouncing off the houses. As he arrives at the station, he runs to his gear rak and quickly gets dressed as other firemen arrive. He realizes it has now become a race to get a seat on that truck. He runs to the truck and takes a seat in the back as they begin to roll. The officer in the truck calls out to the dispatcher and informs them that they are en route to the flaming inferno. As soon as they end their radio traffic, the chief, who has just arrived on scene advises all personnel who are en routh there would be no saving the house and all that ws to do was protect the surrounding structures. The few minute drive seemed to take last forever for the anxious firefighters who were waiting for a sign of what they were about to fight. As they got closer, they began to drive through thick smoke that had banked down over he area. As they arrived, everyone quickly realized it would in fact be a long night! Being the first enging on scene it became their duty by the order of the chief to start attacking the wildly burning flames. they bagn to pull off hoses, hundreds and hundreds of feet, as wekk as turning on and hooking up to hydrants. As the second enging arrived, a ladder truck, the first crew began their attempt to douse the flames while feeling the intense heat through their gear. As they continued what they were doing a much welcomed mist fell over the already hot firefighters! The ladder crew was attacking the flames above. As more people continue to give a helping hand you can imagine the stress the commanding officer is under. As they get more of the flames knocked down, a group of firefighters begin to work their way into the firey house while others assume their previous position. With flames burning wildly above them they must supply enough water to consume the flames before they are consumed. After houses and thousands of gallson of water, they begain to see the last few flames extinguish as the sun begins its day. As much welcomed sight for the fatigued firefighters. As the last flames are extinguished they re-entered the charred house to search for possibilities it could re-ignite. The question then becomes, "Why did this happend?" What this an incindeary or accidental fire? that will be left for the fire marshal to determine. Their job is done now, all that is left to do is pack up and head back to their station for a few more hours of cleaning hoses, tools, gear and trucks. At the end of the call, they are all exhausted but must still report fr their actual jobs as that call only payed them three dollars. Welcome to the life of a volunteer firefighter!
Any tips? Comments?
Hope you enjoy
Chelsea
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bull on
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Only thing I didnt understand was " The Chief said it was a surround and drown, and later in your story, you state that they tried to make their way in the firery inferno". That is something I wouldnt think you would do if its a total loss. Sounded good otherwise I thought.
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Permalink Reply by Chelsea on
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Yeah, I noticed that too. But I couldnt figure out how to change my story around it. They'll never notice ;) they dont know how we work haha
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Smith on
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Chelsea,
I hope you do not mind if I have done some editing to your story. I think you will find that it flows better and I have removed a few typographical errors as well.
Silence falls over the house as everyone retires for the night. The silence is broken by the shattering tones of the firemans pager. He wakes and prepares for what he may be about to face. The dispatcher informs everyone that there has been a report of a structure fire and all occupants are out of the struture. Instantly knowing it will be a long night, he runs to his vehicle and heads to the station. Driving swiftly all that is visible, in the darkness of the night, are his blue and white lights bouncing off the houses. As he arrives at the station, he runs to his gear rack and quickly gets dressed as other firefighters arrive. He realizes it has now become a race to get a seat on the apparatus. He runs to the engine and grabs the last seat in the back as they begin to roll. The officer in the engine calls out to the dispatcher and informs them that they are en-route to the flaming inferno. As soon as the radio traffic ends, the chief who has just arrived on scene, advises all personnel who are en-route they wouldn't be saving the house. And all there was to do, would be to protect the surrounding structures. The few minutes drive seemed to last forever for the firefighters, who were waiting anxiously for a sign of what they were about to fight. As they get closer, they begin to drive through thick smoke that has blanketed the area. Upon arrival, everyone quickly realizes it will in fact be a long night! Being the first engine on scene it became their duty, by the order of the chief, to start attacking the wildly burning flames. The firefighters began to pull off hoses, hundreds and hundreds of feet, as well as hooking up to and turning on the hydrants. As the second piece arrived, a ladder truck, the first crew began their attempt to douse the flames, all the while feeling the intense heat through their gear. The ladder crew was attacking the flames from above. As they continued what they were doing, a much welcomed mist fell over the overheated firefighters. More firefighting crews arrive to give a helping hand, you can't imagine the stress the commanding officer is under. As the flames are knocked down, a group of firefighters begin to work their way into the firey house while others assume their previous position. With flames burning wildly above them, they must supply enough water to douse the flames before they themselves are consumed. After many hours and thousands of gallons of water, they begin to see the last few flames extinguish as the sun begins to rise, a much welcomed sight for the fatigued firefighters. As the last flames are finally extinguished they re-entered the charred house to search for hot spots that possibly could re-ignite. The question now becomes, "Why did this happen?" Was this an incidental or accidental fire? That will be left for the fire marshal to determine. Their job is finished, all that is left to do is pack up and head back to their station for a few more hours of cleaning hoses, tools, gear and trucks. At the end of the call, they are all exhausted but must still report for their actual jobs, as that call only payed them three dollars. Welcome to the life of a volunteer firefighter!
Hopefully this has helped with your writing assignment.
Christopher
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