My Time on Engine 1~

I attended Fred's services this past week, and feel a bit more at peace with his passing. The services were standing room only, it was a wonderful turnout. I couldn't resist wearing a red shirt due to Fred's time spent on the red fire engine. I still am struggling with wrapping my head around why he chose to do what he did. I suppose I won't know until I meet him in Heaven.



For those of you that don't know, I originally wanted to become a medic, not a nurse. I had completed my EMT-Basic program, and was getting ready to begin the medic program when I was in my first car accident (not my fault). After dealing with the back and neck pain, I knew that I wouldn't be able to lift the gurney and heavy equipment on a daily basis. That's when I decided upon nursing, and let me tell you, I'm so thankful I did. Sadly, I realized that I wouldn't be able to enjoy the adrenalin rush of arriving on scenes. Throughout nursing school, I'd often shadow the boys on Engine 1, all thanks to Fred allowing this. There's nothing more exciting than riding with the lights & sirens on, honking the horn, oh, and driving into oncoming traffic only to dodge a traffic backup. While working as a trauma room operating room nurse, I've had my fair share of adrenalin rushes. I suppose this is why I went into trauma nursing, yet this can be considered an organized adrenalin rush.



This past October, I was itching for an "unorganized" adrenalin rush, and asked Adam if I could join Station 1 on a few ride alongs. In this video, Engine 1 was dispatched to an unconscious man down in the street. Of course, it turned out to be a bum who decided to sleep in on a side street. You can see Fred in the captain's seat, doing what he did best, get his men around the streets of Tucson. Fred didn't know that I had hoped on Engine 1, until we got out of the engine. Once the guys figured out that the unconscious man was napping due to an abundant amount of alcohol, Fred came over to me and gave me a big bear (or Bair, his last name) hug. I genuinely loved Fred, likely as I knew my boy was always safe with Fred as his captain. Also likely due to spending many holidays at the station, as the crew quickly becomes a large part of your family.



You can even hear him laugh and say something in the video. I stumbled upon this video last night while laying in bed, and found comfort from seeing and hearing Fred's voice.