I recently had the privilege of joining Plano Fire-Rescue for nearly 12 hours at Fire Station #1, which has the heaviest call volume in the city. My sincere thanks to the guys at Station #1 for their hospitality and for answering all of my questions!
Below is a log of what I experienced, and here is a video taken from my seat in the back of Fire Engine 1. There’s so much more than this that I learned by joining them, but this is just a flavor for the day I spent with them, and just a tiny flavor for what these guys go through on a daily basis. They truly are the best in the nation!.
- 8:00 AM – Arrive and get an orientation from Lt. Howell of what I’ll be doing (and not doing). I’ll alternate between Engine 1 and Truck 1. I watched firefighters conduct a physical exertion test on a tower behind the station and ate breakfast with them afterwards.
- 9:00 AM – All is quiet, and Brandon speculates that it’s because I’m there. When they get ride-alongs, things tend to go quiet. That wasn’t going to be the case for much longer.
- 10:30 AM – First call to a dialysis center. It’s a med call, which is the significant majority of their calls. All Plano Fire-Rescue personnel are EMTs or Paramedics.
- 10:45 AM – We’re still out on the engine when we’re called to an auto shop where a mechanic is stuck. The firefighters have to figure out how to get him out.
- 11:14 AM – Engine 1 pulls back into the station and lunch starts being prepared.
- 11:22 AM – A call comes in for a suspected natural gas leak at a hair salon in a shopping center. It turns out the suite didn’t even have gas; it was all electric.
- 11:53 AM – Engine 1 pulls back into the station.
- 11:55 AM – 2 minutes later a call comes through for a med emergency near the Fine Arts Center.
- 12:12 AM – Pulled back into the station.
- 12:15 AM – Again, within 3 minutes of pulling back in, I tried to use the restroom and we received another call for a natural gas leak. This one was legit as a gas line was cut through at a construction site. Right back out we go.
- 12:49 AM – On our way back to the station, another med call came in.
- 1:14 PM – We pull back into the station looking forward to lunch, which is not to be because…
- 1:16 PM – A new med call comes in. The Engine 1 crew get a break and remain at the station. I switch to Truck 1 now for the afternoon, and we head out.
- 1:38 PM – Truck 1 returns to the station
- 1:45 PM – Lunch!
- 2:21 PM – We receive a call about a child locked in a car in the shopping center across the street from the fire station. It was unlocked and resolved by the time we got there just one minute later. While we’re in the shopping center, Jimmy picks up some parmesan cheese for dinner.
- 3:21 PM – Another natural gas leak is called in, suspected to be from the meter behind the house we responded to. It turns out someone had dumped gasoline, and no natural gas was detected with the firefighters’ instruments.
- 3:39 PM – Truck 1 pulls back into the station
- 3:39 PM – Sure enough, 2 min later we’re out on a med call to the trailer park. While seeing to the patient, one of the firefighters kicked a soccer ball back and forth a few times with one of the onlooker girls.
- 4:15 PMish – Truck 1 returns to the station and I’m able to sit down and have a good long conversation with Captain Ingram.
- 5:25 PM – A med call comes in for a stroke victim. Engine 1 is back at it now, so I’m out on Engine 1 to respond.
- 6:00 PMish – We return to the station and are able to take a bit of a break before Jimmy starts cooking dinner: Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo. It’s delicious.
- 7:10 PM – We all gather around the table and eat.
- 7:30 PM – I thank all the firefighters at Station 1 for letting me join them, say goodbye, and leave to pick up my daughter.
