"I Wish You Could See"
I wish you could see...
The sadness of a business man
As his livelihood goes up in flames, or
That family returning home, only too find their
House and belongings damaged or lost for good.

I wish you could know...
What it is like to search a burning bedroom for
Trapped children, flames rolling above your head,
Your palms and knees burning as you crawl,
The floor sagging under your weight...
As the kitchen below you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 3 a.m.
I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none.
I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back,
Knowing intuitively it is too late...
But wanting his wife and family to know
Everything possible was done to try to save his life.

I wish you knew...
The unique smell of burning insulation.
The taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat
Through your turnout gear.
The sound of flames crackling,
The eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing.
The dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.

I wish you could understand how it feels
To go to work in the morning after
Having spent most of the night,
Hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.

I wish you could read my mind...
As I respond to a building fire...
"Is this a false alarm or a working fire?"
"How is the building constructed?"
"What hazards await me?"
"Is anyone trapped?"
Or to an EMS call,
"What is wrong with the patient?
"Is it minor or life-threatening?"
"Is the caller really in distress
Or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"

I wish you could be in the emergency room...
As a doctor pronounces Dead...
The beautiful five-year old girl that I have
been trying to save for the past 25 minutes.
She... Who will never go on her first date or say the words,
"I love you Mommy" again.

I wish you could know the frustration...
I feel in the cab of the engine or my personal vehicle,
With the driver ahead,
His foot pressing down hard on the pedal.
My arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain,
As he fails to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic.
When he needs us however, His first comment upon our arrival will be,
"It took you forever to get here!"

I wish you could know my thoughts...
As I help extricate a girl of teenage years
From the remains of her automobile.
"What if this was my sister, my girlfriend or a friend?"
"What were her parents reaction going to be when they
Opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"

I wish you could know how it feels...
To walk in the back door and greet my parents and family,
Not having the heart to tell them that I nearly
Did not come back from the last call.

I wish you could feel the hurt ...
As people verbally, and sometimes physically,
Abuse us or belittle what I do,
Or as they express their attitudes of,
"It will never happen to me."

I wish you could realize...
The physical, emotional and mental drain
Of missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities,
In addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.

I wish you could know ...
The brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping
Save a life or preserving someone's property,
Or being able to be there in time of crisis,
Or creating order from total chaos.

I wish you could understand...
What it feels like to have a little boy tugging
At your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?"
Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears
From your own and not knowing what to say.
Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches
His buddy having rescue breathing done on him
As they take him away in the ambulance.
You know all along he did not have his seat belt on.
A sensation that I have become too familiar with.

Unless you have lived with this kind of life,
You will never truly understand or appreciate
Who I am, We are, or What our job
Really means to us...

I wish you could though.


-Author Unknown-













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