Picture this: A brand new Air Force recruit finishes up his technical training, where he learns everything there is to know about repairing fire trucks. It wasn’t until he arrived at his first duty assignment that he realized there was much more to this job than what he learned in school. After all, he grew up in a part of the country where there were no fire trucks. If your house caught on fire, someone grabbed the garden hose while everyone else did their best to haul out the furniture. His recent education taught him the basics but in no way prepared him for what was to follow. In week two of his entry into the real world of aircraft rescue fire fighting (ARFF) vehicle maintenance, he got the “honor” of being assigned as the standby mechanic responsible for any afterhours repair needs at the fire department. Of course, he gets a call on his very first night. Read More.

This article originally appeared in Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, Aug, 2013.