Just needed a place to write, because... I'm worried.
There was some stormy weather today, proper thunder to shake your bones and a few blackouts and floodings, trees falling all over the place, lightning strike fires, electrical malfunction fires... you name it.
Thing is, my boyfriend is a volunteer firefighter. He had just ordered pizza when the first alarm went off, so that's probably really cold and chewy by now. Problem is, it's been five hours. Normally he would have been sent home by now so fresh, rested firemen could take over, but he still isn't responding to messages which means he's still out there.
I'm worried that most volunteers might be on holiday, this area doesn't have that many to begin with. They might be toughing it out with a skeleton crew. I don't even know where they are at the moment, hope he will be home soon.
Worried that they'll get too tired. I mean, they are wielding chainsaws out there in the dark to free the roads, and the vehicle floodlights aren't even good. Some of the hydraulics are leaky, some air bottles are probably way past their lifetime, their gloves are a joke compared to modern standards...
So much could go wrong, and I don't want to think about it. He might get injured, or work until he falls over. My boyfriend has all the licenses, very few others at the station can operate the heavy machinery or command others, so they might have to keep him there all night.
I feel kinda useless, I'm night-blind so there is no way I could safely assist while it is dark. All I can do is keep the house heated for when he comes home soaked, and hope for the best.
Sorry about the long post, not that anyone ever reads those anyways. Just... worried.
He will probably be home any moment, with a soggy pizza box and a silly grin, bragging about how many trees he turned into broccoli. Maybe he is pumping water out of a basement, or happily constructing a wall of sandbags by the river bend.
EDIT; update. He is taking a break at the station, my worries were correct. They are an overworked skeleton crew, most volunteers did not show up and the paid firemen are busy at other stations. It will be a long night. They ate the cold pizza, but for the next break one of the youth volunteers will order something warm. They're probably at it again already, clearing up the aftermath of the sudden storm.
EDIT2: @
Xoanon to answer your testing room question; some certainly do!
FINAL EDIT: He will be home soon, but only because having him work any more today would be 100% illegal. After a few hours of sleep he will be expected back at station. There goes our holiday plans, but oh well.
