Tough Day

Today was one of those tough days we often deal with as a firefighter's wife.  It started with a report of 2 firemen trapped in a blaze in Houston.  Immediately all the fire wives in my fire wife groups were glued to any news we could find on this blaze.  Being a TX fire wife, made it hit that much closer to home.  By the end of the day it was a 5-alarm fire with 4 dead and 6 injured or critically injured.  Those reports come hard.  Houston Fire Department...our TX Firefighter brothers and sisters lost 4 of their own, today.  It's utterly tragic.  It was the deadliest day HFD has ever seen.  As a fire wife, this kind of news breaks your heart.  You imagine yourself in the shoes of those fire wives that are receiving the dreaded call that their husbands are trapped in a burning building, that they've been taken to the hospital, and ultimately, that they have succumbed to their injuries.  Your heart breaks knowing that it could absolutely be your firefighter on any call he's gotten, any day of the week.  You call them if they are on duty just to tell them that you love them and to be extra careful.  If they are home, you hug them tighter...for just a little longer, and tell them that they are your world and how much you love them.  Mine was home, today working on his truck.  Luckily, I was able to tell him face to face and hug him, kiss him..cherish everything about him.

Me tonight waiting on my firefighter to get home safely.

Being the wife of a volunteer firefighter is a little different that being married to a paid guy that has a set schedule.  We have more time with our firefighters, but you NEVER know when that pager is going to go off and he'll be called away to fight a fire, helps someone that is sick, or rescue someone out of a wrecked vehicle, etc.  Tonight, after all the horrors of the day, around 2am, the pager went off for a structure fire in a neighboring town that we work automatic mutual aid with.  So my firefighter jumps up, grabs the radio, turns on the scanner for me (because I always listen when he is on a call), and jets out the door to the station that is only a mile away.  After everything today, I called out after him to be extra safe...and told him I love him.  He came back, kissed me, said he loved me, too, and ran back out the door.  I love that man.

While on this call, the town they are helping got another call for a fire alarm at one of the schools.  So several guys peeled off the original call to go check that one out.  Now, I have no idea where my firefighter is.  He could have gone to the new call, but there is no way to know for sure.  So as I sit here listening for him on the radio, I get a text from him telling me all is well.  That is an awesome text to read after a day like today.  It will be even better when I get one saying, "On my way home."  I'm praying for the safety of all the firefighters from all 3 departments out there tonight that are fighting the fire.  Lord, PLEASE keep them safe.  I'm not sure that TX can handle much more.

Our thoughts and payers are with Houston Fire Department tonight.  Rest in peace, brothers...we've got it from here.

~ Sparkles