Brotherhood

This blog entry is going to be a reflection on the "Brotherhood" of the Fire Service. Today, we had several Kiwi Firefighters come into our station. They are visiting the Scott base and training their fire crews over there for the summer season. It was neat to talk to those guys about the job and how it is different in New Zealand. We shared a pot of coffee and just talked about New Zealand, the fire strike, and how they are preparing the fire crews over at Scott Base. Scott Base's crew is made of all the scientists who when the alarm goes off, get on bunker gear and fight the fire. We are their only backup, so it was nice to meet their training staff. Even though both departments run very differently, we come together to get a job done. That seems to be to be a part of the brotherhood.

Another example of brotherhood happened tonight in the firehouse. Maybe because our group has been hanging out for the past two months, but our shift can read each other pretty well. One of the guys on our crew was having a rough day. Being in Antarctica can sometimes be frustrating because you can have situations that last longer or even spin out of control faster, because you are so far away from it. Why he was having a bad day, I won't get into because I don't find it appropriate to talk about specifics....So one of our guys was having a rough day, so we all as a shift made nachos and then had a fake birthday party for him. It was a surprise fake birthday party. We made a cake, and even put on some freshly delivered strawberries down here on it. It made him smile, and it felt good to cheer him up. I haven't felt this sense of brotherhood in a department in a long time. Last time I felt it was when I was in College. Something happened to me and many got together to help me (Dayton, Jess, Dan, Tower and Lundquist, Thank you). These moments are rare, but they are important. Especially down here, we depend on each other so much. It was good to spend some quality time with these guys. It reminds me why I want to be involved with the fire service. The family quality of it is amazing.

That is about it for this entry. Nothing new to report. No word on when I'm leaving for South Pole yet...when I get some photos I'll upload them up here. These last two entries have been really word heavy, thanks for reading. Take care.