Kathy showed up, signed up, and hit the ground running five years ago. Energetic, motivated, dedicated. With a schedule already full and busy enough to have ordinary mortals dragging their knuckles and sucking on a mop, she enrolled and completed the Fire Fighter-1 school, where she learned the fundamental skills expected in a firefighter: fire suppression, search and rescue, ventilation, water supply, hazardous materials operations, salvage and overhaul, safety and survival, “walking on fire” and much more. Completing the school required sacrificing five months of weekends while maintaining a full time job in social services and still responding to emergency dispatches in her “free time.”
After graduating from the Firefighter School she took some time to “relax” and recharge her energizer batteries. Of course her form of relax would exhaust most mortals and put some in their graves. Let’s see – there’s snowboarding. Sure, I hear it is an exhilarating sport provided you can avoid the dislocated knee, fractured femur or caved in skull. This she has, so far, managed to do. Having survived a season on the slopes she is now ready to rope up and start ascending rock cliffs, “getting her head in the clouds…on top of the world” in some remote Utah death zone. She’s “not backing down.”
“With both feet back on the ground,” she’s not quite fully ready to get back to the business of Fire and Rescue. There were still a few alligators to wrestle and a tornado to ride. Finally, having rested and recharged she got back to her Social Service job, playing her guitar at church, and frequently responding to emergency dispatches.
Having loafed around long enough, she next enrolled in EMT training — dedicating another six months (150 hours) of nights and weekends learning the required skills: human anatomy, patient assessment CPR, Lifting and moving patients, Airway management, Medical Emergencies, Poison and Substance abuse, behavioral emergencies, Environmental Emergencies, Bleeding, Shock, Injuries to muscle and bone, childbirth, pediatric emergencies, Geriatric Emergencies, Vehicle Extrication and Special Rescue, Incident Management, etc. Then there is the required ambulance time working under the supervision of a certified EMT before final certification.
Many of the members of Hampton Fire Company have been walking the planet for many decades, as their heads, shoulders, KNEES!, and toes attest. (Perhaps a tummy or two, as well.) Kathy Artz, now Lieutenant Artz, is representative of the spirit of service, volunteerism and young(ish) new blood that will be needed to carry Hampton Fire Company, as a viable volunteer organization, into the future.
Be like Kathy.
Okay, that does seem a bit much to ask. Not all the time, energy or drive that Kathy brings to the job is necessary to be a valued volunteer. There is always a job for anyone who shows up, even if it’s just barking at traffic.
During the Month of May HFC experienced 20 emergency dispatches: 14 medical dispatches, two vehicle accidents and four fire related calls. There were two admin meetings, two training meetings and the Ham and Bean Dinner. A bit over 300 man-hours were logged – about half of those attributable to preparing, serving and cleaning up after the dinner. Many hands make light work.
Meetings and trainings are held Wednesday evenings at 7PM. Come on down. We’re just awesome – you too can be awesome.
Toot. Toot. Woof. Woof.
And the pager sounds.
Firehouse Dog