Firefighters look for fatalities in rubble of wildfires

http://www.pnj.com/article/20120629/NEWS01/120629003/Colorado-wildfires-largest-in-history-causes-tens-of-thousands-to-flee?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

This is the worst part of the job. After gearing up and working for hours someone comes up and tells the IC that a loved one is missing and they think that he/she was home. Back in you go with a pike pole and flat shovel and spend more hours digging and probing until you can give the family closure. God bless my brothers out west.

I was a volunteer firefighter and went to a trailer fire early one Christmas morning. The trailer was a total loss. And there was a teenage boy that died in a pose like he was trying to get out of his bed. THAT image is one I'll never forget.

So sad.

I hope they don't find people in the rubble.

My best friend from the Army was a Fireman in Emporia Kansas. He found me a job at Didde Glaaser and my wife and I moved up there for a couple of years. He quit for that very reason. Looking for people really took a toll on him. Like I have said many many times before, Firemen are very special people. I also will remember them in my quiet time.

I think the worst of it isnt the actual sight of a burned human . It's being there and experiencing the anguish of the loved ones as they are told that someone they have loved and celebrated milestones with has perished. No different than when we have a code and no amount of CPR or shocks from an AED can bring them back. The wife or husband is in the front room and you have to come out and tell them that you could not save them. I have never felt more shame than when I have to do that. They depended on me to save their loved one and I failed. It bothers me bad when that happens. On the flip side when I save someone using the same methods I dont feel like I have done anything and please, never call us heroes. We really dont like that. Heroes die for their country, heroes teach our kids in school to be productive citizens , we just fight fires and try to save lives.