Nothing like a good fire...

Yesterday was something of an interesting day. As a fireman, I wouldn't say exactly that you WISH for a fire, but you're never unhappy when you get to go and put one out - no matter how small it is.

We got a tone around 10:30 or so, for a reported fire at a sugar house in town. For those who don't understand all of the complexities of maple sugar production, the sugar house is where all of the sap is stored, boiled, condensed and turned from tree sap into yummy pancake topping. This process occurs once a year at the END of winter. How does an unmanned, unheated, remote shack with no electricity catch fire ? Gooood question.

Within 10 minutes, we were at the scene which from the outset looked to be mostly a mopup job. Small structures like this one are typically down on the ground within minutes of the inception of the fire - there's so little structure to burn that it doesn't take long. Our job at this point is to cool down hot spots, rake over all of the debris and hunt for any leftover fire.

The challenge with this one was the access - a very steep, very rutted, very muddy track for about 200 yards. Hauling 2 1/2 inch line up such a track can be a challenge - even dry it weighs quite a bit. Once it's to the fire, the line is 'charged' and we go to work. If you've never operated a nozzle on the end of a 2 1/2 inch line, let me tell you - it's hard work. None of your garden hose pressure here. We're talking 150 psi, 500 gpm water monster in your hands. The job of the man on the nozzle is really just to direct the flow - not so much to hold the line. That is the job of the backup man (or preferrably two backup men). Their job is to wrestle the beast and try to keep everyone on the ground, not flying away from the back pressure (or nozzle reaction). This is hard on muddy, sloping wet ground.

Nonetheless, within a half hour the site was cool, we were much dirtier and we could go home. Which is of course, where the crappy bit starts. Now you get to drain and pack hundreds of feet of hose that has been in a mud puddle. Cart it back to the station. Hose it down, connect it back up and repack it on the truck. I'm not sure which is the dirtier job - the black fire ash, or the hose cleanup.

Either way, once all is said and done I can go home feeling I've done something useful today. Plus my bunker gear smells like fire once again.