Ryan Maxwell

10/5/14
English Composition 1
Sabatino Mangini
Sit and Wait
1174 Baltimoe !i"e# Ro$"y R%n &ie Company' (nothe day o) s$hool ends with a *%i$" stop
at the )ie ho%se' + wal" in tho%gh the EMS bay doos and + hea the doo $hime go o)) %pstais' Well#
they "now +,m hee now' +n )ont o) me ae two amb%lan$es# 4-.7 and 4-.7(# whi$h don,t lea/e the
station m%$h sin$e Riddle 0ospital too" o/e most o) the EMS ole in the township' 1ext to those is a
white and geen &od# a 2000 &.550 to be exa$t# with a %tility body and a h%ge stainless steel diamond
plated )ont b%mpe' +t is o% b%sh t%$"# B%sh 4-' +ts old home# was down 3enni Road# at 3enni
0eights &ie Company# with that name still s$olled on the sides'
3enni 0eights and 3ima )ie $ompanies meged in 2014 to bette se/e the esidents o)
Middletown 5ownship' + had 6oined 3enni 0eights when + was 1- and immediately be$ame atta$hed'
5he mege was mostly smooth# with only a )ew mino snags along the way' 5he B%sh t%$" was %sed
o)ten ba$" at 3enni# mostly )o EMS $alls' 1ow# with less EMS $alls and othe appaat%s %pstais# the
B%sh is l%$"y to get o%t to bing staggles to a $all a)te the est o) the appaat%s ha/e aleady
esponded' +t is "ind o) sad to see it sit thee and when it does mo/e# it,s ni$e to see it stet$h it legs'
+ wal" %p the stais to the main )loo# into a hallway lined with pi$t%es o) past $alls' (n old bl%e
sedan# smashed into a stone wall in one and a small plane o/e t%ned in anothe' 5he entie hallway is
$o/eed in pi$t%es showing some o) the histoy o) both $ompanies' + wal" past the 57 oom and pee"
in to see i) anyone is passing the time on the 8box o 6%st $hannel s%)ing# b%t no one is thee' +t,s a
petty big oom with moe $o%$hes than yo% $an $o%nt' 9% $ompany meetings ae also held in this
oom and on those days e/ey $o%$h is )illed with people# b%t today# the seats sit empty'
+ hea some $hatte in the "it$hen so + $ontin%e to the so%nd' + wal" in to see the "it$hen table
empty and the 57 on' 3oo"ing o%t the glass doo + see some smo"e di)t past the glass and some )aint
la%ghte )om o%tside' + g%ess it was time )o a $igaette bea"' We o)ten sit and tal" in the "it$hen
while we wait )o a $all to $ome in' + open the do%ble glass doos into the engine bay# the ed and white
5%$" 4- sits toweing in )ont o) me' +t eally is a big pie$e o) appaat%s' +t,s an (mei$an 3a&an$e
with a 105 )oot ea mo%nted aeial plat)om with a :b%$"et; on the tip# whi$h is a plat)om with low
walls that loosely esembles a gabage d%mpste' 5he body is a bight ed with a white stipe down the
side and the top hal) o) the $ab is white# along with the entie ladde on the top'
5he 5%$" is %sed )o what we $all :5%$" wo"'; 5%$" wo" in$l%des inteio sea$hes#
thowing laddes# exteio /entilation o) windows# and getting onto the oo) to $%t /entilation holes'
5he t%$" has a 2000 gallon pe min%te p%mp b%t it has only been %sed as the pimay p%mpe a $o%ple
times# all o) them moe e$ently' + was almost on the hose at a b%ilding )ie# b%t the t%$" went past the
long di/eway and o% 5(C got %p the di/eway )ist# and p%t one o) its lines into se/i$e'
+,/e been on the 5%$" many times going to $alls b%t + ha/en,t been %p in the b%$"et /ey m%$h'
+,/e only been in the b%$"et at dills and taining' +t $an be *%ite an ama<ing /iew )om the top when it
is )%lly extended 100 )eet in the ai' &om the pa"ing lot o) the )ieho%se yo% $an easily see the
Commodoe Bay Bidge in the distan$e and yo% ha/e a geat /iew o) the =anite R%n Mall'
+ $an hea the dispat$h adio :dopping tones;# a two tone $ode %sed by the alet system# )o
neighboing townships who ha/e some "ind o) $all' + hea it so m%$h# + don,t pay m%$h attention to the
spe$i)i$s' 5he $all isn,t )o %s# so thee isn,t m%$h point in listening $losely anyway' + wal" ao%nd the
5%$" and past Engine 4-# still de$"ed o%t in white and geen )om when it %sed to be at 3enni' 5hat
engine is a eal monste' 9iginally spe$,ed o%t )o an oil e)iney# it has a massi/e 2250 gallon pe
min%te p%mp and twin emote de$" g%ns on top' +t $an mo/e wate li"e $a<y when it needs to# whi$h it
has done on a )ew o$$asions' 9ne o) the moe notable in$idents was the ban )ie at 3in/illa 9$hads
when thei )amo%s 9$tagonal Ban $a%ght )ie and b%nt down' 5he engine had 6%st been deli/eed and
it was p%t to wo" d%mping h%ndeds o) tho%sands o) gallons onto the b%ning ban' +t also p%mped a
lot o) wate d%ing the &an"lin Mint mansion )ie and the )ies ba$" in Sleighton s$hool'
+ wal"ed %p beside it and stated to $he$" the spae ai $ylindes to ma"e s%e they wee all )%ll#
a habit +,/e been tying to get mysel) into while + wait )o any $alls' (s + $lose the $ompatment doo
and mo/e to the next + hea moe tones being dopping on the dispat$h adio' >%st as a ea$h the next
$ompatment# the next set o) tones dop and the page on my side# a Minito 7 goes o)) and stats
beeping li"e a bomb abo%t to explode at any se$ond' 5hen the station alam goes o)) with a dea)ening
b%<<# an ele$ti$ sien o%tside the "it$hen winds %p# s$eaming to alet anyone who might be asleep'
5hen e/eything is silent and + hea the dispat$h' Company 4- and 50# Medi$ 104.7 . 470 1oth
Middletown Road# at the >%/enile ?etention Cente# (%tomati$ &ie (lam' + wal" o/e to my gea a$"
and begin to p%t my gea on' B%n"e pants# 6a$"et and helmet' 5he doo $himes went o)) and se$onds
late one o) o% $hie)s# &an"# and anothe )ie)ighte# ?a/e# wal" into the engine bay and to thei gea
a$"s' ' We hop in the Engine and head o%t the engine bay doos onto Baltimoe pi"e'
5a))i$ is hea/y this time o) day and o% $hie) s"ill)%lly s*%ee<es the h%ge appaat%s tho%gh the
ta))i$' 9n the way to the s$ene a )ie mashal ai/es on s$ene and anno%n$es o/e the adio thee is a
smo"e $ondition inside $a%sed by the $onta$tos on the oo) and he %pgades the $all to a b%ilding )ie#
binging in additional $ompanies )o moe manpowe' 5hee was anothe )ie thee $a%sed by
$onta$tos a )ew wee" ealie and no one wanted to ta"e any $han$es'
+n the )ont o) the engine + hea &an"# yell ba$"# :!a$" %p# this might be something
inteesting';
:Copy'; + eply' :?a/e# do yo% wanna get the ions@ +,ll gab the 5+C and a hoo"';
:So%nds good#; ?a/e yelled ba$"' :Can yo% gab me a adio@;
+ p%t my aipa$" on and gabbed a adio )o ?a/e and one )o mysel) and pepaed )o whate/e
+ needed to do' We ai/ed on s$ene and + gabbed a hoo" and the themal $amea and enteed the
b%ilding to )ind a staiwell with an odo o) something b%ning and a slight ha<e' + s$an with the themal
$amea and don,t see any hot spots on the inside so we go ba$" o%tside onto the oo) to $he$" what
exa$tly the $onta$tos on the oo) wee doing and to $he$" )o moe hot spots' ()te $limbing the
$onta$tos ladde we tal" to the men on the oo) and they show %s they wee sealing the oo) with ta
and %sing a popane to$h to melt the ta and seal the gaps in )ont o) a window that o/eloo"ed the
staiwell whee the smo"e was' 3oo"ing at my themal $amea again + saw nothing extemely hot so we
went ba$" inside to ty to )ind the so%$e on the smo"e'
9n$e we got ba$" into the staiwell the $onta$to in $hage in)omed %s that %nde the window
it was )%ll o) newspape that was %sed as )ille when they sealed the windows )ame and that is what
was most li"ely $a%sing the smo"e' 5he $onta$tos stated emo/ing the seal and p%lled o%t all the
newspape to ma"e s%e nothing was smoldeing' We too" some wate exting%ishes and wet down the
aea %nde the window# $he$"ed )o any moe hotspots and stated to pa$" e/eything %p' 3%$"ily thee
wasn,t m%$h to b%n and the $onta$tos spotted the smo"e ealy eno%gh to alet the )ie depatment'
We p%t e/eything away and headed ba$" to the )ieho%se# to sit and wait# )o anything else to
happen'