A firefighter's day involves a lot more than fighting fires

October 13, 2004

By JUSTIN VELA
FOR THE ARGUS-COURIER

(Editor's note: Freelance writer Justin Vela recently spent 24 hours with the firefighters at Petaluma's Station No. 1. This is his account of what he observed.)

The call

Petaluma Fire Department Captain Jeff Holden, engineer Brian Morgan, and firefighter-paramedic Mike Gremmell are inside Albertson's handing out city of Petaluma Fire Department stickers and finishing paying for their groceries when the call comes in.

An elderly diabetic man has fallen. His son is with him. It's a pretty standard call, but Captain Holden and his crew walk quickly out of the store, taking a moment to put the cart back where it belongs, and jump into the fire engine.

It takes less than three minutes to get to the house. Already on the scene, firefighter-paramedic James Schweizer and firefighter Kevin Weaver confirm that the man is unhurt, but needs transport to the hospital.

Holden seems pleased that his crew works so well together, securing the man to the stretcher and carrying him down the front stairs and into the ambulance. Schweizer and Weaver head off to take the man to the hospital. As they drive off, Morgan cheerfully calls, "We'll save some brunch for you."

Headquarters

The headquarters of the city's fire department is a 66-year-old building at 198 D St. It has one front-line engine, one reserve engine, one front-line ambulance and two reserve ambulances. The station isn't large enough to house the department's ladder truck, which is kept at Station No. 2 on North McDowell and is brought to headquarters for training one or two hours at a time.

The ambulances are equipped as mini-hospitals. They contain oxygen tanks, bandages, different backboards for carrying patients, and splints for every type of injury. There is even a device called an oximeter that, when placed around a finger, can measure heart rate, pulse, how much oxygen is in the blood, and, with a small infrared beam, can do diagnoses. With a pair of paddles the machine can shock the heart into restarting. "We're pretty much ready for anything," Schweizer says with pride.

Brunch at the station is breakfast burritos filled with eggs, bacon, rice, salsa and sour cream.

The men are comfortable together and good-naturedly kid around. At the table there is a family feeling.

They take pride in doing the reverse of normal: running into dangerous situations as other people are running away from them. They like the thrill of bursting into burning buildings, enjoy not having to work a nine-to-five job and love helping people.

"In what other job can you see people only on what is probably one of the worst days of their lives and be able to make it better?" Battalion Chief Mike Ahlin asks.

Training

The night before, there was a fire in a plastic factory. Had the roof caught fire, there would have been problems getting a ladder up because of telephone lines running close to the building.

Just to be safe, the firefighters drive out to the factory, climb up on the roof and assess how they would position the truck and cut the roof if there was ever another fire there or in one of the surrounding buildings.

Holden quizzes his men on the best places to cut and how to find the different soft spots -- dangerous places where they could fall through into the flames.

What you should know

"I don't think the community knows how much we appreciate them," Ahlin says. "Come Christmas the firehouse is always filled with cookies and pies and cakes" -- gifts from people in the community.

Holden wants Petalumans to know there is a problem with floor furnaces in older homes on the west side. Over the years, a condition called pyrolisis occurs, whereby heat from the furnaces turns the floor to charcoal. Charcoal ignites at only 200 degrees, compared to wood's normal ignition point of 600 degrees. On a cold night, if the furnace is on for a long time, the floor can catch fire.

He reminds locals to remember that when they're driving and a fire engine or ambulance comes up behind, they should pull to the right and stop. "We've had people stop dead in front of us and not know what to do, or veer off to the left and stop with the backs of their cars sticking out," Holden says. "Everybody should pull to the right and stop."

Fitful night

This night the firefighters are slightly on edge. There haven't been many calls and Schweizer says, "We're due for something soon."

The firemen don't always sleep well at the station. Their rotation is 24 hours on, 24 hours off over a six-day period, then four days off.

Despite the expectation, only four calls come in. An elderly woman living alone who needs help getting up from the floor; a middle-aged man who needs assistance; a woman in an assisted-living home who cut open her eye in the bathroom and a 48-year-old man who is experiencing intense lower back and abdominal pain.

After every trip to the hospital, Weaver disinfects the gurney, puts on new sheets, and loads it back into the ambulance while Schweizer fills out the paperwork and consults with the ER doctors.

"After awhile you get used to the pressure," Schweizer says. "It's just your job. You always have to be on edge."

Weaver comes up and smiles. "That's why you've got me," he says.

(Contact Justin Vela at argus@arguscourier.com)