WHERE'S THE FIRE?

Monterey has a stunning hook & ladder fire truck... a "6471 Truck Company it located at Fire Station #1, 2008 KME, Tiller Truck 3 Axles, Weight 78,000 G.V.W., 56 Feet in Length, Ladder extends to 105 feet, 1500 G.P.M. Pump Single Stage Pump, 300 Gallons Water Tank, 500 Feet 5" Hose" to be exact... grammar mistakes and all. Now, to be fair, they have actually used this truck at least once... to which the pictures on the city's website will attest... there was a raging fire downtown a few years ago that required the "ladder" part of the truck to be extended to nearly it's full length of 105 feet... well, maybe closer to 70 feet... but still... one of the photos shows the extended ladder (the truck barely fits on the street in front of the now-demolished building) in position next to a ladder leaning up against the building next door... hmmmmm. Seems like a bit of overkill, but I am not a fireman... with a new truck... that should probably be used every so often to justify its cost to the city. But far be it from me to complain about its usage. The firemen of Station #1 make sure that their hook and ladder 6471 is used every single day. They are on a mission. Each and every work day (I am not sure about the weekends because I am safely ensconced at home, away from the hubbub of downtown) this delightful exhibition of excess makes sure it winds its way through the downtown area, sirens blazing, going somewhere. Although I have heard nothing in the news or in the paper about needing a hook and ladder truck, still, it heads out of the station faithfully, every day, at the same time... I suppose they are conducting "exercises..." In case one of our multi-story buildings HAPPENS to catch on fire... at the top floors... which led me to count the number of buildings that would possibly actually maybe use this shiny red truck.

To be fair, we do have several hotels with more than two floors... and I am sure it would come in handy to have this wonderful piece of "Fire Apparatus" as the website calls it... should it ever be needed. But what I find amusing is the daily practice runs... you can set your watch by them. There they go again, sirens blazing, engines gunning, the proud firefighter sitting high on his perch, manning his wheel in the back, everyone in full gear, going to........ That's what I can't figure out. Oh to see them parked in front of Starbucks. Or maybe Red's Donuts. Or possibly at Safeway, picking up their groceries. But so far, all I can deduce is they take that big ol' puppy out for a run around the block, show it off, and take it back home and put it to bed. A friend of mine took her kids on a walk the other day. They decided to just walk by the firestation so they could ogle the big shiny red trucks. The entire crew came out to greet them, and proceeded to take them on a tour of the station. Not only did the kids get to climb all over the trucks, but they got to go upstairs to see where the nice firemen slept. And ate. And took showers. And relaxed. And and and... they got a FULL tour. Which leads me to believe that our wonderful firemen are bored out of their skulls. I guess I should be grateful they are not kept as busy as the overworked and underpaid California Conservation Crew firemen battling raging fires throughout our state. We are not living under a mountain of ash or watching altered sunsets made colorful by the existence of smoke in the air. But I am still curious as to where the hook and ladder goes every day at 5:45 pm... sirens blaring, engines roaring, with the little wheel room in the back manned by a very proud firefighter.