"Can We Make It
On Time"
The pagers go off,
calling us out.
The dispatcher gives
the address, with a loud shout.
I jump out of bed as
fast as I can.
Grab my shoes and my
keys as they page us again.
I go out to my truck,
plug in the dash light.
Cause somewhere in
town is a fire I must fight.
Wipeing the sleep from
my eyes, I see a bright glow in the distance.
A policeman yells over
the radio "Code 3, I need assistance"
He said there is screaming,
coming from inside.
I think to myself,
someone is trapped, but alive.
The pain they must
feel, I can't imagine the scare.
I see the station up
the road, the chief's already there.
I pray to God "Please
let us get there in time,
To save an unknown
life, Lord if you must, instead take mine."
I speed up a little
faster, but still driving safe.
Still praying to God
that I won't be too late.
I finally get to the
station, put on my turn out gear.
The chief starts the
fire engine and yells "We're outta here!"
The sirens sound off,
the red strobe are so bright,
I pray once again,"Lord
watch over us tonight."
I suit up for action
putting on the S.C.B.A.
The chief makes the
comment "Boys the Devil wants to play!"
We arrive on scene,
not ever thinking one time,
"Why am I doing
this?" or "Why do I put my life on the line?"
As we observe the silence
and think "this person is dead."
All of a sudden I see
the shadow of a small head.
Looking real hard,
trying to figure out what it is.
Oh dear Lord, it can't
be. It's just a small kid.
Then all of sudden
the head moved, "this kid's still alive!"
So I try to reassure
her by yelling "Everything's gonna be alright!"
I always said "I'd
die if it would save another life."
But never once did
i think that it could happen tonight.
I run to the front
door, Kick it open and run in.
Praying once more,"God,
we can't let the Devil win."
Crawling on the floor,
moving slowly toward the crying.
I noticed a strong
smell and loud hissing. Oh No! It's a gas line!
I knew I had to hurry
so I got up and ran towards the cry
I found that little
girl, she could barely open her eyes.
The smoke was thick
and very hot and getting ready to flash.
I took off my jacket,
wrapped her in it and gave her my air mask.
I heard a firefighter
outside say, "The roof's coming down,
if they are getting
out alive, they better get out right now."
I grabed the young
girl as if she were a football,
tucked her in close
and ran to the window.
The chief ran up and
took her from my arm
My other one's broken,
but at least she is out of the way of harm.
Then I remembered the
gas line. So I too climbed out the window.
And sure enough, that
gas line did blow.
The explosion knocked
me down, but I got right back up on my feet.
Took no more than 3
steps, then I hit my knees.
Through my blurred
vision, I watched that little girl,
with her mom and dad
all crying, having a face with a smile.
She then walked over
to me and grabbed me by the hand.
She said isn a soft
sweet voice "Thank you Mr. Fireman."
We put out the fire,
got ready to go home one more time.
I helped roll the hoses,
thanking God that nobody died.
And thank you Dear
Lord for letting us be on time.
written by: Jerry L. Duncan
Jr.
East Carroll Parish
Fire Department
Lake Providence, LA
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