Live at Fire House #206, Alexandria VA

What a morning!



Have you ever checked out the inside of a Fire House before? No?? Well I had the great pleasure of visiting Fire House #206 in Alexandria this morning. Captain Phillip Perry and his squad gave our team the inside scoop on what goes on inside the fire house from who is the best cook (you go Greg!) to what it takes to rescue someone stuck in a Metro tunnel.



If they're not posted yet, we will have some video clips of the tour posted by Thursday morning.



I was told that they often get asked about the pole that they slide down. Why are we so fascinated with that thing? I know I was, and had the chance to slide down it. (All I kept thinking about was Bridget Jones' Diary...) They actually have these 3 trap door-like things surrounding the pole to help filter out noise from below in the bay where the trucks are. You see, right above is their sleeping quarters. Each fire fighter has their own bunk and locker and they sleep in one common room. (This can be a problem for anyone who snores like a chain saw...errr...or anyone who has to sleep in the same room as anyone who snores like a chain saw!) It supports camaraderie, though, among the guys. I'm told, however, that as new fire houses are being built, they are trying to make the sleeping quarters more private and located on the same level as the trucks. So the poles are becoming few and far between (sigh.) DC actually has some poles that go up 2 stories (!!!) Yikes.



These men and women don't just fight fires. They are trained to rescue people trapped in cars (that's where the Jaws of Life come in), trapped in tunnels or trenches, or even just stuck on the side of a building washing windows. Each fire fighter has to be trained and ready to go to assist in any of these situations ... this means repelling down the side of the building is part of the routine. Be sure to watch how fire fighter Ken repelled down the side of the fire house for us live this morning. He may get ribbed for burning the pancakes when it's his turn to cook, but he knows what he's doing when it comes to getting people out of a dangerous situation!



And before you go thinking it is only men who live at the fire station, think again. I met a few ladies who live and work there, too. Liz King is a paramedic. She says the ambulance she is in is capable of doing anything an emergency room can. Liz and the other women who live there a few days a week have their own sleeping quarter. Like the guys, she has her own set of chores.



Of course I needed to know more details, like, how much does it cost to feed everyone and is that included in running the fire house? I believe the figure was $14 per day per person. That got you two meals, and each person living there pays that themselves. In addition to that, there is a common tax they all pay once a month to cover the items they all use (condiments, etc.) I was hoping I could sign up for their meal plan. Honestly, for the money, where else can you get the great cooking at that kind of cost? Our crew was well fed: eggs, bacon, potatoes, sausage gravy, pancakes, half smokes and even fruit salad!



There are three groups of people (teams?) at Fire House #206. They have a calendar that shows days marked in red, green, and black. Basically, each "team" works one day on and one day off for a certain amount of days. Then they have 4 days off while the other two teams cover the schedule. (I hope I got that right!)



Thank you Alexandria Fire House #206 -- for your hospitality AND, for your willingness to put your life on the line to keep us safe. You rock.