Kyle is a firefighter with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. Based out of Rockville, MD, Kyle runs us through everything that happens the moment the fire bell rings at the station. From what the engine driver calculates when pulling up to a fire to how the team stays sharp back at the station in-between calls. Find out what it take to perform one of the most stressful and one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet.
Transcript
>> My name is Kyle Dixon. I'm with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services. What happens is that when the person calls 911, it would go to our dispatch center, emergency communications center. And then from there, they'll get the information and they'll go through, I guess a process, to determine what apparatus are needed. Once they get the information from there, they'll basically send off alarms, communications, anything like that with the address, what kind of call type it is. And then, like I said, they'll dispatch the appropriate units. And then we'll go to that location that the services are needed. And we usually try to get there within seven to eight minutes. Each position has a designated assignment. For like the E1 position, which would be the driver, what you do is obviously you'll want to take a look at the house, know what kind of construction it is, how tall it is, you know where the fire is coming from, which side. But then you go to the E3 position or E4 position. That is going to be the person who is going to be putting out the fire. So we're going to be the one taking the line. Turn on our cylinder. Make sure we're breathing. Get our helmet, gloves, everything on. Yell for water. Make sure the line is charged. We'll bleed it out. Check the door and make sure the fire isn't at the front door or anything like that. And then we'll go in and we'll put, you know, obviously put the water on the fire and put it out. We try to exercise in the morning. Usually, you know, when we eat lunch, we'll kind of eat lunch together. We usually try to check our apparatuses in the morning. You know, EMS to the engine to the truck and rescue squad. And make sure all the equipment is working, it's ready to go for the day. There is shift work. There is A, B, and C shift work. They're all 24 hours working, 48 hours off. And they'll rotate through those three shifts. And then there's -- ah, so on day work where we'll work from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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