Busy Day for Firefighters

A false alarm came in this morning while I was in the shower. Having missed it, I figured I was in for a quiet day. Then I headed to Main Street with Shirra and Maeve to take care of a few errands.

But first, to Starbucks. While the ladies enjoyed a few nibbles and a drink, I relaxed for a moment with the paper (I'm off Starbucks because all of their fare is too sweet, caloric, or both). Just as we were about to leave, my pager started vibrating, and then the dispatcher's voice came on, announcing that a pedestrian had been hit by a car on Main Street, just up the road. Rather than running to the car for my clothes and then to the fire house, I just raced up the hill to the scene. While crossing the street at a crosswalk, a young woman had been hit by a small truck. She was conscious and appeared mainly to be bruised, and the EMTs were quickly on the scene to immobilize her so that she could be transported safely to St Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, known for its excellent trauma unit. After directing traffic and joining in with a few other activities, I hitched a ride back to the station house, put my John Hancock on the sign-in sheet, and headed to the car, where Shirra and Maeve were waiting for me.

Before I'd even stepped into the car, another call came over my pager, and again, it was a car accident on Main Street. This one was even closer, so I grabbed my fire fighter coat and walked up to the accident. This time, three cars had collided. Apparently one or two of the drivers were attempting to turn off of Main when a third driver hit the second car in the rear, sending it into the first car. The woman driving the second car was hurt pretty badly, requiring a trip to St Francis, but the drivers of the other cars refused medical assistance. The first car, barely tapped, had a dent in one of its plastic bumpers. The other cars, while more damaged, were drivable and quickly found themselves put into the parking lot so that normal traffic could resume. I hitched a ride on a firetruck again, signed the sheet, and headed out.

This time I went to The Bakery (a local favorite) for some lunch. But while paying for my order, a third call came in. Again there had been a two-car collision on Main St, just a few "city blocks" away. I changed my order to take-out and ran up the hill to almost the same spot as the other two accidents. A car heading down Main had smashed into a car that was turning onto Main. The woman making the turn needed the EMTs (the fourth in 90 minutes), but the couple in the other car seemed fine despite considerable damage to their car: The driver's side wheel had collided so hard with the other car that it was knocked off kilter, making both cars undrivable. Firefighters diverted traffic while EMTs and tow-truck operators quickly did their jobs; the police assisted everyone and also took down pertinent information. I hitched another ride back to the fire house, this time with the chief, signed in, and waited a few minutes till Shirra could come pick me up after completing her shopping.

It was an exhilarating lunchtime, but I don't hope for another day like this.