April 7 - Lisa's Musings (on carrying heavy stuff) and Every Day Life

There's nothing like personally trying something to really ram it home.

Today, after a lovely lunch at Common Grill catching up with a former newsy co-worker, I headed to the Chelsea fire station for a story.

Originally, I thought it would be an easy, two phone call deal, but the chief asked me to come to the firehouse to speak to him personally about it instead.

So I did.

And, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have nothing but the utmost respect for my fire department.

I know, I know, it's the Chelsea Area Fire Authority, but, for the purposes of this blog, department it shall be.

Knowing most of the guys at the fire house and having seen them in action on numerous occasions, it's one of the many things that gives me peace of mind every night.

I don't want to give away the gist of the story but I had NO idea that these guys carry 75 pounds of stuff on their backs. Think about that. The gear, hats, masks and air tanks they wear are heavy.


Really heavy.


I guess in all my fire coverage, it never occurred to me how heavy.

Now I know.

Especially when I attempted to pick up an almost 100-pound bag that was filled with fire hose. Of course, I had no idea it weighed that much. On the outside, it didn't look that heavy.

But looks can be deceiving.

Even the air tanks they wear on their backs aren't like picking up a plastic bag overfilled with canned goods.

These babies are heavy, too.

And those bags they arrive with when out on a medical call?

They weight between 50-75 pounds.

Yikes.

Think about tromping up a couple flights of stairs carrying 50-75 pounds, adrenalin racing because there's a person in trouble.

Now I know that pumping adrenalin can give people super powers because I actually moved a car one time in this state, but, I wasn't wearing 75 pounds of stuff and carrying another 100 pounds.

And I was 30 years younger.

Today, just attempting to lift some of that stuff off the ground was a struggle.

And these guys carry some of this stuff multiple times a day.

So next time you see a fire truck with its bells and sirens whirling, thank your lucky stars that these guys can carry this stuff and please pull over and get out of their way.

It's a weighty job.