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I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot. If it's still here the next time I am, I'll know. And I apologize in advance for making extra work for the mod or admin who has to relocate it if I was not right.
This happened a long time ago. 1972 to be exact. I was 18 and for nothing better to do in the town of 1,000 I lived in, and considering it was just across the street from me, I joined the local volunteer fire department. This was long before you had to take classes or go through fire training to become a fireman as you do now. The requirements were simple back then. If they had a set of turnout gear that fit you, you were a member.
Anyway, about 6 months after I joined there was a major fire in the neighboring community. We were called out as well as a couple other local departments. We got there to find a large, 4 bedroom, wood-framed house fully engulfed, despite the efforts of the firefighters that had already been fighting it for 10 - 15 minutes before we arrived. It took 5 companies almost an hour to knock down the fire but, unfortunately, we could save absolutely nothing. I saw the family of 6 who, thank God, all managed to get out safely and without injury, standing by one of our trucks. As we were finishing up, rolling hose, replacing ladders and returning tools to our rig, I happened to overhear something that made my blood boil.
The landlord, who I already knew to be a jerk, walks up to the people who had just lost everything they owned, along with a dog, a cat and their car, and says to the father,
"I knew I should have never rented to you young people. You are always destroying other peoples stuff. Don't think you're getting out of paying this month's rent either."
If I had a hose charged at that second, I would have blown him into next week.
This happened a long time ago. 1972 to be exact. I was 18 and for nothing better to do in the town of 1,000 I lived in, and considering it was just across the street from me, I joined the local volunteer fire department. This was long before you had to take classes or go through fire training to become a fireman as you do now. The requirements were simple back then. If they had a set of turnout gear that fit you, you were a member.
Anyway, about 6 months after I joined there was a major fire in the neighboring community. We were called out as well as a couple other local departments. We got there to find a large, 4 bedroom, wood-framed house fully engulfed, despite the efforts of the firefighters that had already been fighting it for 10 - 15 minutes before we arrived. It took 5 companies almost an hour to knock down the fire but, unfortunately, we could save absolutely nothing. I saw the family of 6 who, thank God, all managed to get out safely and without injury, standing by one of our trucks. As we were finishing up, rolling hose, replacing ladders and returning tools to our rig, I happened to overhear something that made my blood boil.
The landlord, who I already knew to be a jerk, walks up to the people who had just lost everything they owned, along with a dog, a cat and their car, and says to the father,
"I knew I should have never rented to you young people. You are always destroying other peoples stuff. Don't think you're getting out of paying this month's rent either."
If I had a hose charged at that second, I would have blown him into next week.
IIRC, most of the survivors told them to "fuck off."
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