ParaGod
Semper Fi
Well guys, I didn't think this would ever happen to me, but it did. I just started my new 48 hour shift schedule, and the 1st day went find no bid deal. But the 2nd day was going great until we got a call for a fully involved structure fire, I was in the role of a firefighter that day and was not on the rescue squad. Our engine was first on scene, the house had fire coming out the front living room window and out the roof, this was a single story house on a residential street. While we where getting ready to make an initial attack on the house a neighbor came over and said that she did not see the owner of the house come out. Well that changed the situation dramatically, so myself and my captain went in the front door with only our airpacks on and a fire tool and axe. The smoke was rather thick and was about 2 feet off the floor, we searched the front room and found nothing, so we proceeded to the back room when we noticed a body in the hallway leading to the back. Well it didn't take my captain long to pick her up. We turned around to go out but our progress was halted by the fall of the roof blocking our way forward. So we turned around and with my captain in front of me we started to go out the back door, my captain with the victim made it out the door, but when I was going out, I was blown thru the door with such force I landed approximately 45 feet from the house, I was thrown against a tree which fractured my left humerus(my upper arm) and knocked me out for approximately 5 minutes, luckily nobody else was hurt, the cause of the blast was a barbecue grill which was inside on the porch the propane tank and the other 2 bottles cooked off(exploded). Well the lady survived the fire but is still in intensive care with respiratory burns, but she is expected to survive. In my case I was in the hospital only yesterday and was released last nite(I hate hospitals) I will be home for about 2 weeks and then go on light duty at the station for 4 to 6 months. Now the moral of this long conviluted story is 2 fold. (1) ALWAYS make sure you have a working smoke detector, or more depending on the size of your house, (2) If you do use bottled propane DO NOT keep it inside of your residence. This can not only cause a potentially small fire to become an out of control fire, but can hurt or kill anybody trying to help. So with this said, PLEASE EVERYONE check your smoke detectors and just walk around your house for potential hazards(paint/gas cans/propane) or any other hazards which can stop you or your family from exiting safely from your house in a fire situation.
), and we just joked about how funny it was to see someone fly thru the air. They all thought I should have joined the circus instead. Now don't think that they where being callous, that is how we show concern and gratitude that we are all alive, now I don't want you to think that we are all just thick headed macho guys that have no emotions or that we do things by the seat of our pants, it is not like that at all. We all understand the risks and it is just we don't like to think about it. We just do the things we do because basically it is our job, thats all.
I do know how co-workers can be. Once they know you are alright, all bets are off. Everything is open game!! :thumbs: 
. Not my idea of fun since I prefer being on the rescue and not behind a desk