My friend Bret has been a volunteer firefighter for 4 years. He recently promoted to Lieutenant (yay!!). This week, he asked me to come help take some new shots of their equipment and staff at the Orchard Farm Fire Protection District.
(You may be thinking, ‘Whoa! Isn’t Orchard Farm far from KC?’ Don’t forget, we are in Kansas City and St. Louis!)
While we were chitty chatting, I asked him the worst fire he’d ever seen — he told me it involved a house on stilts that was near the river.
He also told me they were doing a practice burn on an actual house later next week that was donated to the fire department. He said it’s a great way to get real-life training with an actual house fire, especially for those in training who haven’t dealt with a fire yet.
Every single person at Orchard Farm is a volunteer. These men and women literally put their lives on the line to help total strangers. How awesome is that?
I overheard several calls on their radios while I was there — a 7-year-old with his head stuck in a metal gate, a person who had passed out, etc. I asked if they had to dispatch out for a fire if I could come along — and Bret said I could follow in my car. Thankfully, no one’s house was on fire Wednesday afternoon, but I would have been there to get pics if something did come up!
The department is getting a new fire truck soon. This means they’re selling the old one. A potential buyer, who happened to be a retired firefighter, came by to check it out and drive it around. He was planning on using it at fire safety demonstrations for kids. Bret climbed in the truck with him and he took it for a spin!
It was a great afternoon, and I’m glad to have met some of the guys and gals behind the fire hats at the station!
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