#12 – Always Being Tested

The old parade truck that the Chief challenged me on.

This story dates back to when I first was promoted to Captain at a smaller fire department. I suppose I had been a bit of a “fire brand” in my career leading up to this story. You’ll get more of the details when you listen. But what struck me as I was thinking about this story yesterday, was how many times we get tested in our lives. We get tested by our parents while growing up. Our children test us as they’re growing up. Once we’re working at a job, every time we start a new job or get a new boss or get a new employee who’s working for us, we get tested. Yesterday I realized I was being tested right up until the day I retired. Some of those “tests” can be small and less obvious. Some can be more dramatic (and stupid) as this story illustrates. But through it all we should smile, laugh at ourselves and enjoy the ride. This is one of those stories that makes me smile and shake my head. Hope you enjoy it too.

Episode 12, Driving the Seagraves. BobbieOnFire.com

#8- Dangerous Bio-Hazard!

Firefighters respond to hazardous situations all the time. Haz-Mat incidents including bio hazards are commonplace. But it is not common to have to deal with one at the fire station. Although I remember having to respond to a nearby fire station that had a kitchen fire start while the crew was out on a call. They had left something on in the oven. This is actually a common occurrence at fire stations. …but I digress.

If you’ve been listening to some of the previous stories, you might have gathered that this story’s title might be a just a tad misleading…. in a fun sort of way. This story is really an example of some of the firehouse antics that go on. These antics are some of my fondest memories from my years working on a fire engine and rescue. Although I wasn’t a big prankster myself, this one was all my doing and maybe that’s why I remember it 35 years later. I was the brunt of a few of the pranks but most often I was just an observer from the side. I hope you get a laugh from this story… and maybe just a little grossed out by the bio-hazard. Enjoy.

Episode 8, The Dangerous Bio-Hazard – BobbieOnFire.com