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You know you're an Alaskan Firefighter...
- During driver-training you are told to watch out for frost heaves, ice patches, and moose!
- You freeze to the ladder and your officer has to climb up and pry you loose.
- You leave a hockey rink in the fire victim's front yard after you put out the blaze.
- Your fellow firefighters have to chip you from the ice after you sit on the ground and man the moniter.
- The Probie has to crawl under the Port-A-Tank when it's being emptied.
- You can't slip off the engine because you are frozen to it!
- You slip on ice inside a training burn. (!)
- You have about 8 icicles dangling from your fire helmet.
- You try to crawl into the building and your bunker pants freeze to the ground.
- You are too slow when it comes to draining the hose and someone has to carry 100 feet of frozen-solid hose back to the station in their pickup truck.
- You respond to a winter MVA going a whopping 15mph.
- You acctually know how to drive the engine in ice fog!
- You have to wear chains on your fire boots.
- You take a corner going 4mph and the ambulance STILL slides sideways.
- 95% of the homes you respond to have at least two huskies waiting at the front door.
- You have at least one dog-musher on your department.
- You don't bat an eye when it takes 45 minutes to drive to a call.
- You carry a parachute and a heater in the brush rig during the winter (so you can make a tent out of the parachute and put it over a wrecked car in order to keep the vitctim warm)
- It's perfectly normal to respond when it's fifty below zero outside.
- You prop the bunkroom window open when it's thirty five below because "It's stuffy in here."
- You have a pair of rescue snowmachines.
- You pile about 4 heated blankets on your patient in-between their front door and the ambulance that is parked ten feet away.
- The first thing you grab as you dive out of the ambulance is those 4 blankets.
- You can scale an icy ladder like a mountain goat.
- You have to bring a shovel up with you when you want to ventilate through the roof.
- You jump out of the Engine, slip on your butt, and slide under the tanker.
- You respond to a wildland fire and have to wade through thigh-deep snow.
- You put the wildland fire out with shovels and snow.
- During the winter your fire boots are 2 sizes too big so you can wear double layers of wool socks.
- You acctually use fire mittens.
- You spray the hose at someone and all they hear is **Tink Tink Tink** as frozen beads of ice fall on their helmet.
- Your fire hose freezes to the ground, the couplings freeze shut, and the spanner wrenches freeze to your gloves.
- You never use a flashlight in the summer because it's light out 24 hours a day.
- Half of your MVA's involve Car vs. Moose
- You respond in areas where they don't have a police force and the State Troopers have to be called.
- You are still responding to snow-related MVA's in the middle of May.
- Your fire helmet is coated in 2 inches of ice.
- You have to hang your bunker gear up so it thaws out.
- MVA's involve Caribou vs. Car
- People outside of Alaska acctually say, "You have FIRES up there?? Isn't it too cold for anything to burn???"
- People outside of Alaska ask wildland firefighters, "How can you have forest fires? There aren't any trees in Alaska!"
- You tell these same people that it's the furniture inside igloos that catches on fire and they believe you!
- Part of your job involves saving huskies.
- You can't change the SCBA bottle because it's frozen to the harness.
- You don't walk around the scene - you skate along in your fire boots.
- You've gone "surfing" down a driveway on your fire boots.
- You've surfed down a driveway in the ambulance.
- You lean over your patient and a pile of snow falls off your helmet.
- A break during a springtime EMT class involves building a snowman and having a wild snowball fight.
- When you park the Engine outside you have to leave it running or else it will freeze solid.
- You can't turn the nozzle off because the hose will freeze solid.
- You acctually wear three layers of clothes under your bunker gear.
- Your Deputy Chief flops onto his back and makes snow angels at the end of training.
- You know what an oosik is.
[This message has been edited by Michelle Latham (edited 05-15-2001).]
- You freeze to the ladder and your officer has to climb up and pry you loose.
- You leave a hockey rink in the fire victim's front yard after you put out the blaze.
- Your fellow firefighters have to chip you from the ice after you sit on the ground and man the moniter.
- The Probie has to crawl under the Port-A-Tank when it's being emptied.
- You can't slip off the engine because you are frozen to it!
- You slip on ice inside a training burn. (!)
- You have about 8 icicles dangling from your fire helmet.
- You try to crawl into the building and your bunker pants freeze to the ground.
- You are too slow when it comes to draining the hose and someone has to carry 100 feet of frozen-solid hose back to the station in their pickup truck.
- You respond to a winter MVA going a whopping 15mph.
- You acctually know how to drive the engine in ice fog!
- You have to wear chains on your fire boots.
- You take a corner going 4mph and the ambulance STILL slides sideways.
- 95% of the homes you respond to have at least two huskies waiting at the front door.
- You have at least one dog-musher on your department.
- You don't bat an eye when it takes 45 minutes to drive to a call.
- You carry a parachute and a heater in the brush rig during the winter (so you can make a tent out of the parachute and put it over a wrecked car in order to keep the vitctim warm)
- It's perfectly normal to respond when it's fifty below zero outside.
- You prop the bunkroom window open when it's thirty five below because "It's stuffy in here."
- You have a pair of rescue snowmachines.
- You pile about 4 heated blankets on your patient in-between their front door and the ambulance that is parked ten feet away.
- The first thing you grab as you dive out of the ambulance is those 4 blankets.
- You can scale an icy ladder like a mountain goat.
- You have to bring a shovel up with you when you want to ventilate through the roof.
- You jump out of the Engine, slip on your butt, and slide under the tanker.
- You respond to a wildland fire and have to wade through thigh-deep snow.
- You put the wildland fire out with shovels and snow.
- During the winter your fire boots are 2 sizes too big so you can wear double layers of wool socks.
- You acctually use fire mittens.
- You spray the hose at someone and all they hear is **Tink Tink Tink** as frozen beads of ice fall on their helmet.
- Your fire hose freezes to the ground, the couplings freeze shut, and the spanner wrenches freeze to your gloves.
- You never use a flashlight in the summer because it's light out 24 hours a day.
- Half of your MVA's involve Car vs. Moose
- You respond in areas where they don't have a police force and the State Troopers have to be called.
- You are still responding to snow-related MVA's in the middle of May.
- Your fire helmet is coated in 2 inches of ice.
- You have to hang your bunker gear up so it thaws out.
- MVA's involve Caribou vs. Car
- People outside of Alaska acctually say, "You have FIRES up there?? Isn't it too cold for anything to burn???"
- People outside of Alaska ask wildland firefighters, "How can you have forest fires? There aren't any trees in Alaska!"
- You tell these same people that it's the furniture inside igloos that catches on fire and they believe you!
- Part of your job involves saving huskies.
- You can't change the SCBA bottle because it's frozen to the harness.
- You don't walk around the scene - you skate along in your fire boots.
- You've gone "surfing" down a driveway on your fire boots.
- You've surfed down a driveway in the ambulance.
- You lean over your patient and a pile of snow falls off your helmet.
- A break during a springtime EMT class involves building a snowman and having a wild snowball fight.
- When you park the Engine outside you have to leave it running or else it will freeze solid.
- You can't turn the nozzle off because the hose will freeze solid.
- You acctually wear three layers of clothes under your bunker gear.
- Your Deputy Chief flops onto his back and makes snow angels at the end of training.
- You know what an oosik is.
[This message has been edited by Michelle Latham (edited 05-15-2001).]
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