Today's meeting was simply observing the weekly training. I arrived at station one and was lucky to have caught to of the firefighters there who told me we needed to go to station two. I followed the second applicant and the engine through the pitch darkness of the rural highway with a light rain and some wicked fog. We made it alright and parked appropriately.

Once everyone was gathered around an old Volvo, which had its two back wheels removed, the fun began. The firefighters were split into teams of four (two teams to be exact) and each left to gather supplies from the trucks. The objective was to use the air bags (Jaws of Life) to lift the car and rescue two injured 'people'. They did this twice with the Volvo and it took about an hour and a half.

The third rescue training with the air bags was set up with one of their smaller trucks having run over the dummy and the front wheel resting on the legs. It was honestly funny as Hell watching them get that truck into position. It couldn't quite stay atop the wooden blocks that served as legs, running completely over or reversing too far. After the teams were called in, they realized they couldn't man-handle the truck since it wasn't a scrap vehicle. Still, they devised very good action plans and eventually stepped back.

By the time everything was done and everyone was packing up to leave, it was about ten at night. Next week is EMS training with something extra planned for the firefighters who aren't doing EMS. I've got to attend that and they'll all vote on the 4th Monday. Since I still haven't gotten anything from California, the Lieutenant in charge said they might be able to vote pending or I'd simply be delayed a little while longer.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and very interesting to see. Everyone treats each other like family and I really hope they'll accept me as one of their own.