Uneventful

I have not been nearly as regular with my posts lately as I would like to be. My lack thereof can generally be attributed to the fact that not much interesting has gone on recently. I have worked quite a few shifts this month and have had several in which I have not ran a single call. To some this could be viewed as a good thing. If I am snuggled up, sleeping soundly at quarters, it means my corner of the world is free from mayhem. However, as are most emergency responders, I am a Type A personality and do not do well with prolonged periods of inactivity.
My coworkers applaud my abilities to somehow bend the powers that be into letting us all have a full nights rest. I, on the other hand, am growing bored with it. Call me sadistic. (You certainly would not be the first.) As much as I DON'T wish evil things upon anyone (not even when it may seem well-deserved), my job also revolves around helping people in need and when no one needs help, my 12-hour shift seems like it lasts an eternity.

Paint

One of the things that I love about my job is that no 2 days are ever the same. Last night was an example of such. It was not actually my scheduled day to work but I went in for fire training. Although I do not fight fire first hand, as part of the department, I am still required to train a minimum of 30 hours per year with the fire fighters. So, I showed up to do my time, mostly expecting to stand back and watch. But not long after I arrived at our training center, we were paged out for a multi-vehicle accident at a busy, high-speed intersection.

Fire Prevention Week

Today marks the final day of Fire Prevention Week. Although fun, it is a busy & exhausting week at the fire station. And, in spite of the fact that I am not actually a fire fighter, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to step out into the community and tout my profession to some degree.
Fire prevention week falls every October in the Sunday-Saturday time period which contains the 9th of October. The history behind Fire Prevention Week dates back to 1871. However, only in recent years has this week of public safety been so widely spread.
There are 2 sides to the Fire Prevention Week coin. It is a week in which we, as public safety professionals reach out to our community, especially the young ones and help them to recognize their role in fire safety and preventing fires. Smiling firefighters can be found throughout schools across the nation showing off their trucks and other cool gear to wide-eyed elementary students. And, in all honesty, we have a lot of fun doing it. But it is also a somber week in which flags fly at half-mast and we recognize those who have fallen in the line of duty.