The Empty Table at Easter

Reporting From Off Scene

We shall set a place for two this Easter. This table will be proudly set for the members in our profession who are missing from our midst today. The firefighters who were to sit here, died in the line of duty or afterwards, none the less they made the ultimate sacrifice. This table for two will forever be referred to as "The Empty Table", a tribute to all firefighters who now watch over us as guardians.

"Empty Table" photo was taken on June 10, 2012 by Steven Walsh who was attending a memorial for fallen firefighters.  His father, Joseph F Walsh III was amongst those being honored, who had died from job related cancer on April 27, 2012.

To those in their communities, they are firefighters. To us, they are brothers and sisters. This is the perfect holiday/occasion to reflect on the symbolism of this place/table that has been set for our fallen members.

The table is set for two.  Two in - two out, the firefighter's rule!

The white table cloth symbolizes the purity of their intentions to respond to their department's every call, their devotion and loyalty to every firefighter, and their communities.

The floral arrangement has a story to tell of it's own.  You see, the red rose, is for those who made the ultimate sacrifice - they gave their own life so that others could live, it shows that we mourn, honor and miss them. The white rose, is for those who witnessed and experienced tragedy and destruction first-hand, and are still with us today by the grace of God.

The slice of lemon is placed upon the plate to remind us of their bitter fate and the bitterness of faith felt by those left behind to carry on without them.

The salt is placed upon the plate, symbolic of the many tears shed by family and friends and all those who suffer the pain of losing them.

The glass will remain inverted - as they are not able to toast with us.

The chair will remain empty - they are not here, but let's not forget them.

The last item is the Firefighter's Flag "Loyal To Our Duty", because it keeps us humble and reminds us of all the firefighters that are with us and all those that have gone before us.

This "Empty Table" serves to remind us that in this profession, we are all brothers and sisters and we hold one thing dear to us all, R.E.S.P.E.C.T. and the fact that we shall NEVER FORGET!

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       Crew 14 Members
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If You Run... You Go To Jail Tired!

Reporting from On Scene
Incident: Garage Fire

As we were pulling away from the fire hall, our radios came to life and we found ourselves responding to a structural fire. The police were already on scene and were reporting smoke coming from the garage,

Of course, the first thing that we noticed when pulling up on scene, was the smoke. Next, we couldn't help but notice all the cops surrounding the residence, 3-4 cop cars at least. Just as the air brake was set, I jumped from the rig. One of the officers came running over and told us that there were boxes of clothes burning in the garage.

We made our way into the badly cluttered garage and sure enough, there were a few boxes which appeared to be clothes, fully engulfed in flames. I used my hook to start pulling the boxes on fire out and to my surprise, I lifted what appeared to be a burning pair of men's underwear that got snagged on my hook out!

I held up the burning pair of underwear and said to our Captain, "Man alive! That had to be one heck of a spicy meal to have set this pair of underwear on fire!"  After we got all the boxes pulled out, we used our thermal imager to make sure that there were no hot spots left in the garage.

Being the curious person that I am, afterwards I asked one of the cops still on scene what the story was with this call. He indicated to me that they had showed up that afternoon to arrest the guy for breech of parole. The guy ran from his house straight to the garage, possibly to hide when he saw the police cars show up. The guy obviously could hear the police officers outside the big garage door and in a vain attempt to get away, he lit the boxes on fire and then bolted out the side door of the garage... directly into the arms of the waiting police officers.  This bad guy had a history of running from the law, and this time, the police were well prepared.

Not sure what this guy was thinking. Not sure what his logic was for setting the boxes on fire either. He just added more charges to his already growing list of offences. And did he really think that the police would not be at both doors?  Although some cops may look stupid, they really are not!

Any ways, made for a good call. Some times, it's the silly calls that really make our day.

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      Lieutenant
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