Monday, March 29, 2010

Fun Fire. . . or not.

Last night while I was putting the kids to bed, Daniel came flying up the stairs telling us that there was a house on fire one street over from us.

(And contrary to popular opinion, that doesn't mean that he jumped into his turnouts and raced across the street dragging his SCBA gear behind him- he wasn't on duty.)

We could see all of the flashing lights, the flames, the engines, the streams of water, the guys cutting a hole in the roof with chainsaws; I think we disappointed Daniel with our reactions. Jacob cried. Cambria cried. I got all weepy.

Daniel got frustrated. "What in the world, guys?! This is exciting! This is what I do! And you guys are all just scared!"

It's different for him; he knows the ins and outs and ups and downs of fire. But for us it looks scary, and more scary because he is involved. He talked to the kids and calmed them down and they had a nice little chat about the whole thing.

I like that Daniel is a firefighter. Actually I love that about him. It's cool. I admit it.

The coolness factor fades pretty quick when there is actually a fire.

"We're safe, we're careful, there aren't unnecessary risks," he says. Blah blah blah blah blah.

Yeah, but the bottom line is, however cliche it may sound, that they go in when everybody else runs out.

Which is why fire is never fun for me to watch.

4 comments:

  1. I'm the same way with my FF... He always talks about their training and how careful they are and they know when to get out... But it is FIRE and the person I love and have devoted my life to is walking into it... On purpose... Still scares me when I hear tones go off!

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  2. I hear you sisters :)
    You can't think about the calls or you'll go nuts! Just assume that they're napping at the firehouse all day :)

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  3. Since I'm engaged to a fire-fighter (okay, granted - he's a call fire fighter/emt, so it's not the same as a full-time professional one), I always like finding blogs by fire-wives - like yours. Thanks for writing this post, you sum up so perfectly what I've felt as my guy's girlfriend and fiance. It will be all the more real once we're married, but it's hard when I'm with him and I hear the tones go off for a fire call. :(

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