i0B - The Michigan Daily - Uce e4, 4e. - Thursday, February 22, 1996

:ALWAY$ EPT NWRTE AL. N RO IRE DEFT.

*1

Top right: Firefighters rescue a
baby and its family from a stuck
elevator.
Right: The elevator was caught
between two floors when they
proceeded to pry open the doors
and rescue the family.
Bottom right: An Ann Arbor
firefighter walks back to the
truck after a call.
Bottom left: Every morning a
complete check of all the equip-
ment is done. This includes rais-
ing the 75-foot tower.
Middle left: Rescue 1responds
on a medical call. The fire
department responds to any and
all emergencies in Ann Arbor:
fire, medical and rescue.
Below: Training is an integral
part of the fire department.
Three newer members of the
department learn how to oper-
ate the tower truck.
Left: A big job of the fire depart-
ment is public education. Here
a fire fighter places bunker gear
on a child who came to visit the
fire station with his grandfa-
ther.

u~nr~rl- --

The Ann Arbor Fire
Department is prepared
to answer the call for help
24 hours a day, seven
days a week, 365 days a
year. There are seven fire
stations throughout the
Ann Arbor area. The fire
department is prepared
to handle calls such as,
but not limited to,
hazerdous materials,
fires, medical emergen-
cies, extrications and
water rescue.
Each morning -
while most ofus are sleep-
ing - the day at the fire
station begins. The new

shift arrives a little bit be-
fore 7. The day begins
with roll call and briefing.
The firefighters are told
what truck they will be
on as well as the schedule
of training for the day.
After that, the long and
meticulous check of the
equipment begins.
"You cannot afford to
go out on a call and either
not have a piece of equip-
mentor to not have equip-
ment that works prop-
erly," said one Ann Ar-
bor firefighter.
Every truck is
checked to make sure that

all the equipment is there
and that it works prop-
erly. Following the equip-
ment check, the duties for
the day begin, which in-
clude cleaning the station
and the trucks.
Once the duties of the
day are complete, itis time
to begin training. At all
times the firefighters must
be ready to answer a call,
which can come in the
middle of training, clean-
ing, cooking or taking a
shower. Training varies
from day to day to make
sure everyone is current
on skills that they don't

use on a daily basis.
The rest of the day is
speckled with training ex-
ercises, answering calls,
sleeping and eating. The
station is equipped with a
bunk room, so everyone
sleeps in the station.
There is also a larg9
kitchen where firefighters
tend to show their skills
as chefs. Meals at the sta-
tion are nothing less than
spectacular. In answerto
the two most asked ques-
tions about a fire station:
yes there is a pole, bt
no, there are no dalmn=
tians.

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