Tuesday, December 19, 2006

GODZILLA!!!!

 
We lovingly refer to this crew as the Godzilla Gang ... so named for the TFFT rigs they work from.  You will see them in the pictures, they are the very large military green fire trucks.  They are extremely large, and make lots of noise, and do things I have no knowledge of ... Except I hear you can put out a fire with them.  ( ;
 
This is the crew that has supported our efforts for the past two cycles of H2H.  They are attached to the historic 555 "Triple Nickel", and we hold them all near and dear to our hearts.  So as you look at the photos, realize that yes, these are firefighters ... but these are "dual Heroes", as they are also active duty members of the US Army!
 
And so it was that they invited me to come play with them for the day.  It was about 40 degrees and really windy, but that didn't keep them from going into fires and using lots of water ... ummm, cold water, that is.
 
Our buddy, Ray, gave up his turnouts so that I could safely go in to the burn tower.  I have said it before, but I will say it again ... Fire fighters do not make enough money!!!
 
I would show you what it looked like inside as the flames rolled over the ceiling, or how our lil Stunt Bear looked when she finally caught fire.  (Not that we have been trying to catch her on fire ... but it finally did happen!  And before we get messages from the kids ... She is fine, but could use a lil help with her hairdo.  Sigh.)  I would show you all of the pictures ofthat, except that if I had taken the camera inside, it would have likely melted! 
 
It was incredibly hot, but it was way cool to be able to take the nozzle and put down a couple rollovers.  Woohoo!  I was feeling like I could do anything.  But then, they added some heat and actually went all the way inside the building to do their mission, dragging charged hoses.  They came out steaming, checking to see if they had burnt anything, and soaking in the water.  And life was put back in perspective ... I was a piker.  These are the Heroes.  they will charge into a burning building and do the magic they do.  I, on the other hand, had to be escorted as I held hands with another of our favorites, Rich.  He spoon-fed me directions and made sure I was completely safe as I put out my lil flames.  But hey, it was fun!
 
Thank you to the Godzilla Gang.  Glad to meet the new members of the team, and you all will be seeing more of them in the future as they help us out with HeroToHero.US
 
Now, you wanna see some real Heroes in action?  Check out the pix!
 
SALUTE!!!
 
lj
 
PS ... The storm hit us all hard up here in the great Pacific Northwet.  Members of our Core Team had some damage done to their property, others sailed through it unscathed.  My power was out til yesterday afternoon.  Listening to the winds that hit us was reminiscent of hurricanes I've been in.  It was scary at times, and cold the whole time.  There are still over 100,000 people in the dark, and others who have died in this.
 
Our first responders and line repairmen are working round the clock.  Trust me, there are a lot of us who saw the utility trucks arriving as the cavalry coming to the rescue! 
 
Be safe everyone and have a safe and happy holiday season!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

God bless them all. Tammy