I wish you could see

the sadness of a business man as his livelihood goes up in flames or
that family returning home,only to find their house and belongings
damaged or destroyed.

I wish you could know

what it is 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
beneath you burns.

I wish you could comprehend

a wife's horror at 3 A.M. as I check her husband of forty years for a
pulse and find none.I start CPR anyway, hoping against the odds
to bring him back,knowing intuitively it is too late.But
wanting his wife and family to know everything
possible was done.

I wish you could know

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,and the eeriness of being able to see
absolutely nothing in dense smoke sensations that I
have 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,breathing fire?How is the building constructed? What
hazards await me?Is anyone trapped or are they all out?"
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 the doctor pronounces dead the beautiful little
five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past
twenty-five minutes, 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,the driver with his foot
pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at
the air horn chain, as you fail to yield right-of-way at an
intersection or in traffic. When you need us, however,
your first comment upon our arrival will be,
"It took you forever to get here!"

I wish you could read

my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the mangled
remains of her automobile, 'What if this were my sister, my girlfriend,
or a friend? What were her parents' reactions going to be as they
open the door to find a police officer,

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 home
from this last call.

I wish you could feel
my hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us
or belittle what we 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 viewed.

I wish you could know

the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or
preserving someone's property, of being there in times of
crisis, or creating order from total CHAOS.

I wish you could understand

what it feels like to have a little boy tugging on your arm and asking,
"Is my Mommy O.K.?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without
tears falling 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 knowing all along he
did not have his seat belt on.

Sensations that I have become too familiar with.

Unless you have lived

this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate 
who I am, what we are, or what our job really means to us.


I WISH YOU COULD!

-unknown author-