Memorial Day 2007

Today was a day off for everyone except for the fire crews who were on fire roll. They had to be ready to “roll” to a fire at any given time. My crew happened to be the number one crew on the list which means we had to be booted and suited for the entire day. A call came in about 11:00 am and everyone hurried to gather their stuff – mainly lunch boxes/ ice chest. By the time everyone was out in the gathering area the alarm was cancelled and there was no fire. I guess I was looking forward to my first fire call.

The rest of the day, I didn’t do much else other than some reading. Since telephone calls are much easier to make here, I made several during the day. I managed to get through to my wife on her cell phone because the main number was blocked. She told me about a family member who did something so generous for my family. I was pleasantly surprised to find this out because it was completely unexpected. I cannot say enough and I am sorry to go on and on but I am such a blessed person. I have so much in my life to be thankful for and first and foremost is my entire family. I have read you cannot pick your family but you can pick your friends. Well, I would never pick another family because my family is beyond incredible and today was another example of this. At least I know as long as I am in camp, I will be able to speak with my wife on a weekly basis and this is a great feeling.

After dinner tonight, I was able to make another telephone call and this time it was to my mother. I spoke with her for 30 minutes which is the longest I have spoken to her in over 10 months. We had a great conversation and she too did something very special for me. My mother has done so many special things over the course of my lifetime and in these past 2 years she has been extra special. I am so grateful for her and all that she continues to do for my family and me. I don’t enjoy asking for favors but my mom was great and she took care of it very quickly. My family has always been wonderful but for so many years I took this for granted. Now I know not to take anything for granted and I continue to be blessed with love and support.

As we were lining up for dinner, an announcement came over the PA system. It was for “Fire crew 2 and 3 to go to the front of the line because in 20 minutes you are leaving on a fire call out of county.” We made our way to the front of the line and I ate the delicious macaroni salad (no mayo) in a hurry because I didn’t want to be the last one ready for the fire call. I packed some quick food and my out of county duffel bag was already packed.

Everyone was ready and we loaded onto the bus. Since this was my first experience, I took everything in. Our crew has 14 inmate/firefighters and the other crew has 15. In addition to the 2 fire Captains who drive the buses, there was another Fire Captain who was designated the Strike Team Leader. He would drive the van by himself. Along with the fire Captains, at least 2 CO’s are required to look after the inmates who drove in another vehicle. Finally, the Lieutenant who runs the camp was driving in a different vehicle. We had a five vehicle caravan for the over 400 mile ride to Tulane County – about 40 miles south of Fresno. Our Captain briefed us on what was going on. She told us we were going to cover another fire camp which was out on a fire. This meant if any other fire calls came through for that camp we would handle them when we got there. Our Captain wasn’t sure how long we would be gone. She told us it would be about an 8 hour ride and we would be making 2 designated rest room stops along the way. Shortly after 5:00 pm we were on our way.

My seat is on the back bench and I sat directly underneath the radio speaker. This is controlled by the Swamper – crew captain for the inmates – who sits in the forward cab with the Fire Captain. The volume on the radio is at a much higher level than I would play it myself. It is next to impossible for me to have a conversation without having to say “What?” at least 3 times. Thankfully, sometime during the journey, my friend had the Swamper turn down the volume to a less deafening level.

As I was taking everything in, my friend glanced over to me and asked why I looked so serious. I guess I have a habit of putting on my “serious face” in situations like these. This is not something I do consciously and I was happy he pointed it out. I have to learn to relax and go with it. One of the reasons for my serious face was the fact that a few of my crew members (not my friend) smoke on the bus. Technically, smoking is prohibited but not exactly enforced. I have never enjoyed the smell of smoke nor do I like to be subjected to second-hand smoke. However, this is another by product of my environment and I have to do my best to get through it. Sure it bothers me, but I can’t do a darn thing about it. Fortunately, only half of the crew smokes and the windows on the bus were open but I still get a headache from the smell. I put myself in another place where I was with my family and this helped.

We made the first of our two designated stops at a rest area about 2 hours into the trip. Everyone had to disembark and walk in a single file line to the rest room as the CO led us there. We milled around a bit and went back to the bus. Thankfully, my bladder and kidneys were very cooperative tonight because these are the only 2 stops we make. There is an alternative which includes a Gatorade bottle but I won’t get into that. Back on the bus, the choice of music was very good – 70’s and 80’s rock. The Captain is about my age and I suspect she chose the radio stations. This certainly beats 8 hours of rap or country. I listened to the radio and tried to fall asleep. When I was a kid, I couldn’t sleep in a car. I remember driving to Florida from New Jersey with my family and I would be the only non-driver awake at the wee hours of the morning. However, as I grew older, I recognized the value of sleep on a moving vehicle. My first job out of college was in NYC and I would take the one-hour bus trip everyday. Over the years I got so good at falling asleep, it was scary. I would fall asleep 5 minutes into the bus ride and wake up 5 minutes before we arrived. I called on this training tonight, closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew the bus was slowing down for our second stop. Everyone with the exception of my friend appeared to be asleep.

We got off the bus and repeated what we did at the first stop. The last thing the CO’s want to do is lose an inmate at one of the stops and they have to be very vigilant. They were also very cordial to us and did a great job being responsible for our safety!

Prior to getting back on the bus, our directive had changed. We were going to a Wildland Fire because our crews were needed. We were headed to a fireline and it appeared I would have my first fire experience very soon. We passed several other fire camp buses who were already at the fire. We continued and arrived at the staging area where all the fire crews meet, sleep, eat and receive their orders. This appeared to be some type of outdoor rodeo center near Three Rivers Lake in Tulane County.

It was time to take all of our belongings off the bus because we were going to rest for the next few hours before the sun came up. I grabbed my duffel bag and sleeping bag and walked to an area where we would “bunk down” for the night. Fortunately, it was a grassy area and the ground wasn’t hard. As I laid down, I looked out at the stars and spotted the North Star where I immediately thought of my daughter. I also thought to myself that this could be the first time in my life where I have slept outdoors in a sleeping bag. I have gone camping when I was younger with my family. However, we had a camper and always slept in it. Now I was on the ground, outside in a sleeping bag staring at the sky. Wow, what an interesting journey this continues to be!