A heart warming story of a career firefighter who tragically lost his wife in an accident and is left to raise his two children while balancing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Engine Company 13

For Love, Honor, and FamilyBy Thomas A. Sergent

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Thomas A. Sergent
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-2481-3

Chapter One

It was not something that anyone should have to witness; the car had slid off the road during a severe thunderstorm with almost zero visibility. Engine Company 13 received the alarm at 1342 and responded to the scene, I was the officer in charge for that shift and upon arrival, I was devastated to see my wife's car had smashed into a tree killing her instantly leaving me to care for an eight year old daughter and a 10 year old son. That happened six years ago today, and it was still vivid in my mind.

I have been with the Jefferson County Fire Department for 23 years and today was a special day. My 14 year old daughter Jenny was coming to the station with her 4H club for a tour. I was with B shift, and we started our 24 hour shift at 0800 and our tour was to start at 0900. The Firefighters at Engine Company 13 took pride in what they did and always went the extra mile when we were having visitors. The group arrived on time, and we couldn't have been more ready.

I had the kids gather around, and I made the introductions. "Good morning everyone and welcome to Jefferson Counties Engine Company 13; my name is Captain Vernon Albright and this is my crew, Engineer Mike Conrad, Firefighter Sam Ward and Firefighter Bill Goshen. My crew is going to give everyone a tour and explain the different aspects of our equipment, and what we do, but first I would like to know if I could answer any questions."

A young boy raised his hand. "Yes son what is your question?" I asked. "Well sir I am curious as to why you have only one fire truck when most fire stations have several?" He asked. "That is a good question and let me answer it for you. Engine Company 13 is at the far south end of the county and was established 15 years ago because of the size of this area and our assisting stations response distance. There are three station houses that are in district 4 one of course is this station and the other two are Station 10, which houses an engine, a 3000 gallon tanker and a heavy rescue unit which is located 9 miles from here. The other station is Station 17, which houses an Engine, a 105 foot aerial truck, a 2000 gallon tanker and is also the home of our district 4 Chief, and they are located 12 miles from here. When the fire department would get calls in this area it would take a very long time to respond out here so the county had this station built so there would be a quicker response to help the citizens here. Does that answer your question?"

The young boy shook his head yes.

"Daddy explain to them why Engine 13 is a special truck unlike any other in the county." My daughter Jenny asked. "Jenny is correct Engine 13 is a very special truck because it is a one engine station and the only one of its kind in the county. Unlike most engines that carry only 750 gallons of water Engine 13 carries 1500 because the rural area we cover has no fire hydrants, and we need to have a lot of water until the tankers arrive. The Engine is also equipped with vehicle rescue tools such as the Jaws of Life unlike other Engines, which do not carry these items. All of you will get to see the different equipment on the engine during the tour. With that being, said my men will now conduct the tour."

The men enjoyed showing off the engine and the station house and started the kids on the tour, my daughter had been to the station many times and followed me to my office.

"Daddy you need to talk to Joey, every since he left 4H he doesn't help me with the animals any longer, and I get stuck doing all the chores. All he is interested in is running around with his friends."

My son Joey was 16 and had become quite a handful lately. "I will talk to him when I get home Jenny. That is all I can do, your brother lost interest sometime ago, and if it is a burden than maybe we should just get rid of the animals."

"We can't do that Daddy, I love having the animals and showing them at the fair. All I am asking for is some help." She said.

My children and I live on a very small farm and the kids have been raising animals all of their lives for 4H. We usually have a bull, a hog and some chickens of course this year was our first year with turkeys. The farm wasn't big at all so there was not enough land to plant any crops so the firefighters all pitched in order to help with the feed for the animals. In exchange when the animals were slaughtered most of the meat went to the two big freezers at the firehouse which the firefighters used for the meals that were cooked on the different shifts. My family got to keep some meat also for housing and taking care of the animals.

"Jenny I will start helping you with the animals when I am off." I told her.

"Thanks Daddy I am going to join the rest of my friends." She said as she hugged me and ran out of the office.

Jenny was a smart girl. She had a rough life without having her Mother around, but I did the best I could for her. Raising my kids and taking care of things around the house did not leave much time for dating in my world, so she didn't even have a step mom to be a female role model for her. My son, on the other hand, seemed to cause me a lot of trouble in the last few years and was running with a crowd that seemed to have more than their share of trouble with the law. Jenny's 4H club spent about an hour with us before leaving.

The crew began the daily checks on the engine when the alarm bell rang.

"Engine 13 report of a shed fire 6225 Grimmer Ave time out 1018."

Engine 13 left the station "Engine 13 is responding" I called in to dispatch. Grimmer Ave was only about a mile and half from the station house, so we knew we would be there quickly. "Hey Cap I am seeing a lot of smoke rising for a shed burning." Mike said as we got closer. I looked to my right, and it was a great deal of smoke. When we pulled up seconds later we saw the reason. "Engine 13 is on the scene we have a single story residence with attached garage and the garage is fully involved, request second engine response." I called into the dispatcher. The neighborhood had hydrants and we had already dropped a supply line when we were pulling up.

"Bill you and Sam take the 1-3/4 attack line and enter through the front door and push it back through the entry door to the garage on the inside of the house." I told them as I put my air pack on. Normally, it would not be wise to enter a building without a backup team, but if we were to wait, the fire would be inside the house before the second engine arrived. I stood at the entry door while Bill and Sam went inside to make the attack. The fire had already burned through the entry door and the kitchen was partially on fire. Bill had the nozzle and quickly suppressed the fire in the kitchen and moved to the doorway that led to the garage. Bill dropped to a knee and put the nozzle in a tight fog pattern and began to suppress the fire within the garage.

The fire had been pretty well knocked down when Engine 17 showed up on the scene to assist us. I pulled Sam and Bill out of the house and let 17's crew take over with a fresh crew. Meanwhile I went to talk to the owner of the house who claimed he was doing some welding work in his garage when a spark ignited a gasoline can he had which he used for the lawn mower. Like most fires, the cause was carelessness. We remained on the scene for a little over an hour before returning to the station.

Engine Company 13 is a busy...