Apartment Fire

My hubby's department ran an apartment fire over the weekend. I was trying to find some info on it and found this amateur video posted on YouTube of it. It's pretty cool to see in action...

http://firecritic.com/2010/11/early-video-as-flames-burn-through-roof-of-an-apartment-building-in-south-denver/

Fire District

MacGyver forgot his wallet the other day at work. He was in his "lounge wear" or shorts on when they got a call. Since he was driving, he grabbed his wallet, jumped in his gear and ran the call. When he got home he realized he had left his wallet in his bunker pants. We were out and about running errands and ran by the station to pick it up. We live about 40 minutes from his department, and therefore don't live in his district. But I always find it interesting to ride with him through it. He points out the latest gang activity here, the car that was wrapped around that pole, the lady that lives in the middle of a tree business that heats her home with the wood the company provides, the house where the guys helped build a fence or repair a garage door, where the governor lives, the round building which is a tight-knit Russian community. This time he pointed out the homeless man that caused them grief on Labor Day. The guys were out collecting for their annual Fill the Boot day for MDA and this particular gentleman became angry and even aggressive because they were infringing on his territory and collecting money that he felt belonged to him. Hmm! Every community has a story to tell. It is so very interesting to get the real story from the guys who regularly come in contact with the people who live in it.

Dog Stories #2

MacGyver just called. He's at the fire department on shift today. They were called to a MVA (motor vehicle accident) where a guy wrapped his car around a tree. Evidently he had several outstanding warrants and was trying to outrun the police. He was out of the car and in custody when they arrived but was, in technical terms, messed up. Unfortunately, his dog was trapped inside the car and had to be extricated. Another innocent life saved! This was not his first time his expertise was called on to save a member of the canine species.

Last month they were just getting back from a call when someone started knocking on the bay doors. Mac opened the door to find a hysterical woman. Her dog was in respiratory distress and was in the back of her car. She threw him in the back of the car and drove to the nearest station. He called to the other guys and they went out to the car to find an old shepherd mix struggling to breathe. They put a canine mask on him and gave him oxygen. They keep them on their rigs for use in fires, mainly, but definitely came in handy today. The dog's normal vet was closed so they took him to Alameda East which is the same Alameda East from Animal Planet's Emergency Vets. They were able to take him in and get him all fixed up. Evidently he had something like a paralyzed trachea. This was not his first time saving a dog or hysterical pet owner. I'll have to blog about the first time another day. I have a feeling this won't be his last save.