6th Sense or Intuition?

[Hosehandler]

My name is Lloyd and I have been a volunteer member of a small rural FF department in Missouri for the last 5 years. During my short time in the department I have noticed many changes on how I see / react to things in life. In speaking with fellow FF's from around the department and in the St. Charles / St. Louis Metro areas I have learned that many have similar experiences. The most prominent is that ability to sense when something is wrong and / or about to happen prior to the actual event. Some call it intuition, others call it the 6th sense. Either way many FF's around the country have unique stories about these types of occurences and how it has effected their lives. It is an untold story of the Fire Service. If anyone would be interested in submitting a personal story that describes a 6th sense experience before the tones hit or maybe an occurence that occured while on scene... I would love to read them. I have been thinking about putting together a book of short stories that reflect these types of experiences. Please include your name, rank and department - unless you would rather remain unknown. I anticipate this project to take 6 - 12 months to complete. I would also appreciate ideas / thoughts about starting a new charity that benefits Fire Fighters and their families. Please send me some feedback on this idea ~ positive and negative is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read my post - I hope to hear from some of you soon!
Lloyd Wideman
MVFD - FF #2193
[email protected]

[E229Lt]

I have been awakened just prior to the tones going off.

I feel about as comfortable saying that as a pilot reporting a UFO!

[PFire23]

That's ok Artie. We had a weird experience here, sometime late last spring. We were toned out late at night/early morning, whatever you want to call it, so we responded. The location for the "smoke/flame sighting" was at the south end of our district, basically right at the border between us and Langford's district. We rolled on scene and as the Chief was turning the Rescue around to face North, I noticed a guy sitting on the barrier on the side of the road. I said "WTF, why is some guy just sitting there this late at night". I was told to go question him regarding the call in, whether or not he was the one who called etc. I asked him several questions, his answers were NO WHERE near the topic of what I asked him. He just kept saying " I didn't do it, I had nothing to do with it". I might also note that as I approached him I had a really uneasy feeling so I didn't get any closer than having about 4 ft between us. I went and reported back to the Chief. Meanwhile, NOTHING had been found, no smoke, no flames (the fire was reported to be on the side of the road). So we were packing up to go home. The rapid rescue rolled home first, we stopped by the Engine for a moment to talk to the guys, and lo and behold buddy is now all comfy on the barriers there talking to FF15. So we headed up the hwy home, then Engine pulled out behind us. FF27 was driving the Engine and he recalls looking in his mirrors after they had pulled away and had picked up speed and seeing buddy STILL on the barriers, so we know he didn't ride any of the tailboards. NO VEHICLES passed us on the way home, except for one just prior to our turn off, it DIDN'T turn down our road. We got back to base and were just going to put the trucks to bed, the engine rolled up and the guy WALKED OUT OF THE BUSHES that run beside the hall. I didn't notice him right away, but when I did I was a lil freaked out cuz there's NO WAY in hell he coulda walked and beat us, no way he could have ridden a motorbike across country to beat us....... there was NO explanation for his being there before us. You have to understand that it's quite a distance by hwy from the location of the call to our station, plus it's all uphill, across country is forested, mountainous terrain that can really tax you if you are not prepared for it. Our DC went and asked buddy what he was doing there and the guy replied that he just liked watching us work. We were like OOOOOOOOKKKKK, then as suddenly as he'd appeared he was gone. There were NO vehicle sounds of any kind after he left, he just vanished. We took a drive after putting the trucks to bed and there was no sign of him at all anywhere. All I can say is I'm so freaken happy that I wasn't the only one who saw and talked to him, cuz it was hard enough to believe as it was. It was a lil bizarre, and I must admit I was hearing the "Twilight Zone" theme in my head for a while after.

There ya go Artie, now you aren't the only one who shared.

[Hosehandler]

E229Lt ~ would you be interested in sharing the story?

About 2 years ago I was dating this girl who did not believe that intuition of this type existed. One night as we went to bed after a lengthy discussion on the topic, around 1:45 AM we were awoke for no apparent reason. As we sat there together awake... from out of no where the cold chills hit right in the middle of my spine along with the adrenaline... something had happened and it was to someone we knew.

She thought I was crazy as I got out off bed and began to get dressed... I told her the tones would go off soon and I wanted to get the jump on the call ~ right then the house expanded and settled as old country houses do when they breath. Then it sounded as if someone was walking on the roof right above our room - then there was a tapping sound as if a ping pong ball had been dropped on a tile floor... she began to get scared... I finished dressing and awaited the tones... but they never hit. She began to laugh at me and what had happened, she dismissed everything for one reason or another, then proceeded to tell me that I had more issues than sports illustrated and went back to sleep.

Now normally I set my pager to scan at night because I live on the district line of two fire departments and I may be able to assist until the other department arrives... But for what ever reason this night I did not have that pager in scan.

The next morning I recieved a phone call that one of my best friends who was a brother to me was killed in a car accident 1.5 miles from my house on the border line of our fire districts... around the time that we were awakened the night before. This is the brief version of the story.

Needless to say the girl never again argued against the sense ~ maybe because she freaked out, maybe because she dumped me!?!?!

[blancety]

Donning dark glasses so that I can't be recognized....

I have had the same experience as the good Lt. Several times I have woken up just a minute or 2 before the tones would go off.

There was also the time last year when, as we were going to bed, my wife looked at me and said, " there is going to be a fire tonight " and 2 hours later the tones went off for a house fully involved.

names and faces changed to protect the innocent

[Hosehandler]

The majority of FF's I have spoken with, have at one time or another experienced this or something out of the ordinary that is beyond any logical explanation. You are not alone. These are the types of stories I am looking for. Here is a chance to tell your story!

[tanker5117]

I'm with hfd66truck. I have woken several times just before tones drop.


Tanker

[Hosehandler]

Anyone else have a story they would like to share?

[Engine58]

NEw Years Eve

Well for the past couple years....we've had something bad happen on New Years Eve. Most of the time it would be a house fire but around 1998 everything stopped nothing has happened. So last year we had a party at my first aid squad as we were hanging out, all night long I had a sick feeling in my stomach I kept saying I dunno I dont like this feeling. After about the 5th time of saying somethings gonna happen everyone told me to shutup. So I went over to the 1st Due Ambulance was checking it out. My friend goes what are you doing....I go oh nothing just making sure everythings ok for when we get our Trauma Code tonight. 12am hit we all went home....300 hit We were banged out for a Pedestrian Struck, unfortunatley turned out to be CPR in progress a guy was hit on the highway. The look on everyones face when we all got back from the call. Everyone looked like they saw a ghost. I was especially creeped out do to that fact I said we were gonna have one that night...no one let me live that down. Still gives me the chills when I think about it. A couple other times I've said I gotta weird feeling we are gonna get a structure fire and sure enough couple hours later or a day or 2 later we've had one. Havent had the tone thing happen to me yet..

[UsingAllHands]

Glad I'm not alone in this...

I'm not saying this to "one-up" you guys, but not only do I very often wake up seconds prior to the bee-boop, but I usually know instinctively if it's a B.S. run or if it's the real thing. I don't know how, I don't know why, but this is very common for me.

Very often, my feelings are contrary to the popular opinion of the guys I'm riding with. They'll all be getting ready saying, "We've got a job." And I'm just thinking to myself, "ah, I don't think so."

Other times, the info we get sounds like B.S. and everyone else is treating the run like nothing and I'm getting myself ready thinking, "We're going to work, this one's for real."

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

two cases of it for me..

We had a fire on the MDC (now MWRA...Mass Water Resources Authority property). Fueling up the Rescue at the City Yard after the fire, I pointed to a outbuilding (actually, as small house on the property) and told my partner on Rescue 1 "there's next fire..." I got relieved early, as my wife and I had dinner reservations with friends. We were on the highway when the scanner in car locked on our frequency. I heard the tones striking a box for a reporting a structure fire at the Marlborough DPW City Yard. The first due unit reported heavy fire showing...

On the first night tour of a duty rotation in January 1983, I had a extremely vivid dream that we were going to have a house fire with people trapped. I woke up the entire bunkroom when I started yelling "we have people trapped!"

Our second night... we did have a house fire with people trapped.... Two children died from smoke inhalation when they were trapped on the second floor of their home.

Another instance happened to one of my Brothers on the MFD. One Thanksgiving, after the entire shift pigged out, he said "what we need now is a smoky mattress fire at the Preston (it's a rooming house, 4 story ordinary construction). 15 minutes after saying it, the box came in for...the Preston.... and they had a smoky mattress fire on the third floor!

[firemanpat29]

I have wondered if my pager made a noise or somthing
before the tones dropped. Several times I have awaken
looked at the pager then had it go off!!. Glad I am
not the only freak

[stillPSFB]

I too used to wake up a few seconds before the tones went. I've been retired three months now, so these days I wake up about three minutes before I hear the truck sirens going past - seems like once a firefighter always a firefighter

[stillPSFB]

Oops, better change that signature too as the bottom line isn't relevant anymore!

[jaybird210]

Glad I'm not the only freaky one....

I usually fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow, and while I'm a light sleeper, I never have trouble dropping back off.

Routinely, I will have trouble getting to sleep, and it never fails, we'll get that 2 or 3am call.

Years ago I was in one of the local watering holes with some family. This place was multiple different businesses through the years; it spent a long time as a gas station/truck stop. As I looked around the place, and saw the carpet run four feet up on the walls, and the outlets hanging out of the boxes, I thought to myself, "If this place ever caught fire, we'd never put it out."

A week later, 8am, joint is on fire. We never put it out.....