The lady that lives in this house is going to have a big surprise when she comes home. She made the mistake of leaving a pot of 'something cooking' on the stove, when she ran outside to chase after her dog, which had run out of the yard and down the street. Somehow, while she was gone, the food burned down and caught the wall on fire, with spatters and splatters.I heard the vibration of heavy fire trucks before I could see them. They arrived, one after the other, wonderously clean and sparkling, filled with incredibly handsome personnel (now, when have fire-fighters not fit that description) and in triage - a pastey-yellow ambulance, a magnificent-red firetruck, and a slick lime-green firetruck.
Pretty soon, most of the neighbors were speculating on the story, determining the causes and estimating damages, and staying out of the way....not me, of course.
I had to check out those big trucks.
Lots of gears there, for turning, flipping, and switching. Dials to read. Pressure gauges with vibrating needles, knobs with jobs. 
And long flat hoses, with violet, brown and tan designer-colors. And, the fire-fighters. They were so friendly, full of incredible smiles. I put my camera down, and watched their banter. 
I'll have to say that they do know they are always the stars of the show! (Ruhiyyih, calm down.....I didn't get any phone numbers.) Tacoma firefighters have designer workpants, with those multi-purpose pockets, sporty suspenders and neon red-orange reflective accent-stripes. Accessories also include durable steel-toe rubber boots, helmets with adjustible clear face shields, goggles, all-purpose Mechanix gloves, and all-weather, fire-retardant jackets. Many of these items became unnecessary, as if they had over-prepared and were ultra eager to dress to 'the nines'. Had to laugh....all these guys come from firehouse # 9, three blocks away. (They know how to dress in a hurry.) Although I can spoof a bit about this, turnout gear for firefighters is quite specific, according to strict regulations. On Firehouse Forums, a guest commenter said: "I attended a class recently and saw many different options on protective clothing. Prior to that, our crew wore full turn out gear and just used the shields on our helmets for eye protection even though safety glasses were available. During the class two things happened that made my mind up about certain equipment options. The first happened to the other member of my department who was attending the class. While going through a equipment troubleshooting demo, a brand new supply hose burst while he was standing right next to it. It completely saturated his turn out gear and helmet, even the inside of the shield which was down. Luckily he has to wear glasses to see or it would have been in his eyes. The oil took the shine off his helmet and he has not been able to scrub it off.The second thing happened to me when we were cleaning up at the end of the class. Throughout the class, most partcipants either wore mechanics gloves or plain leather gloves. We have always worn firefighting gloves. During the cleanup, I had a door with a jaged edge on it, dropped on my hand. Had I not been wearing the firefighting glove, it would have cut my hand badly. Our crew will continue to wear full turnout gear and safety glasses are MANDATORY for everyone in the action circle no matter what their rank is on the department. The face sheild is definately not enough."
Meanwhile, about my neighbor, Beth - she had all the details about the fire, conjured by onlookers pushing babies in strollers, and others finishing burritos and tacos while standing on the bullevard, and she filled me in while holding back a cough. (Fighting a cold, she says.) She walked mincingly across the grass, tip-toeing, as if only once would she be able to disclose this secret. But, when she was flagged down by another inquisitive neighbor on the other side of her yard, she quickly regained her story-telling spirit. 
She said, "Our neighbor is not going to be a happy camper, seeing her stove parked in the front yard, and part of an inner wall charred up to the ceiling." Oddly, the owner's TV was still on, reporting the news, and the firefighters just kept it on, while attending to details.
The fire-fighters eventually placed a fan at the front door, to air the place out, and it appears that only minor damage was done. Thank goodness. Times like this, you think of your trusty one-burner propane camping stove, which will be great for morning coffee.
I've got just the blend.....and this little espresso place is just around the corner.
And, should my rendering of this event not merit sufficient thrills, you can go here, to learn about 'rescue and training', extractions, roll-overs, roof extrication and rescue....these guys are tough. Interested in machinery? FES has just the 'rescues, tankers, pumpers and aerials', with custom silver-leaf lettering, that will make any firehouse proud.
