Got hit with a migraine yesterday during the 9am show.  I'm sure our show has on occasion inflicted similar pain on you, but this is the first time it's bounced back and hit me.  Ouch.  I was supposed to blog yesterday, but was not in the "head-space" (pun totally intended) to put fingers to keyboard.

But I did want to talk about some cool people I had the pleasure of spending time with on Friday. You may have heard me talk about it on the show; I went on a ridealong with LA City Fire Station 29. 

I am a big fan and supporter of those who dedicate their lives to the fire service and I've had the pleasure of riding out on calls with some of our local firefighters before.   This is a special opportunity afforded me, I recognize, because of my job. But it is because of my job that I go.  We cover so many fires on the air at KTLA; structure, car, brush.  There is much to know and still much to learn. I consider myself still a student in so many ways - not only of life, but also in my career. I look for opportunities to improve my knowledge base in order to do my job better.

What I really marvel at when I spend time at a station, is the absolute dedication to their work.  Lots of jokes are made about life inside a fire house and I am sure there are exceptions to the rule; but in my experience, these men and women exhibit such an amazing level of pride in their work.  It's not just about the big red trucks with the loud sirens, or the life saving feats. These people really want to serve their community.  And there's the irony; because of the extremely high cost of living. most firefighters rarely live in the areas they serve.

Now don't be fooled; these guys (and I use this in a non - gender specific way. I'll tell you more about the female Captain I rode with in a second) love to fight fires.  And the fact is, due to better construction standards and improved safety regulations, there are fewer fires for them to fight than in days gone by.  Despite the fact they are called "fire" fighters, these men and women spend much of their time on medical and trauma calls.  In fact, at one point one of the guys told me he was hoping that it would be a good night (during my ride-along) with maybe a fire. By no means was he wishing ill will on anyone... but it's what they train to do. Put out fires. 

They test the rookies daily, making them run drills, testing them on tactics that they learned in academy but now must execute in real world scenarios. They clean the engine and truck meticulously...  I swear you could eat off the undercarriage of any of those rigs. Trust me - with a bit of effort I got on a mechanic's dolly and slid under Truck 29 to look for myself. Spic and span. This hands on method allows them to visually and manually inspect every inch of their equipment so that when the heat is on (literally) they know with 100% assurance that they can rely on those tools to save life and property.

Captain Monica Hall was on shift when i did my ride-along. She is the only female in her station and is Captain to boot. She told me she came to the service late in life - in her 30s. She came from a fire service family and knew this is where she was meant to be. I was really struck by her demeanor. I mean here she is in a fire house full of testosterone - the only woman... holding her own.  She wouldn't have it any other way. You can tell she loves her job, that she is respected by her crew and that when things get really crazy on a fire, that she is there leading confidently a team that she has the utmost confidence in.

A dear friend of mine is a firefighter in the Bay Area. He's told me about some of the harder calls he's been on.... little lives lost on Christmas morning, terrible accidents when nothing could be done.  Maybe this is why I feel so strongly about people in this line of work.  I am not made of the stuff it takes to run towards danger, when everyone else is running away.  Selfless and courageous. These are qualities I do not possess. I wish I did.  We were all reminded of the stuff these men and women are made of on that terrible day of September 11th.  I guess I just got a nice little reminder the other day.

Thanks for that,  Battalion Chief Gary Clark, Captains Monica Hall and Henry Olvera and all the guys at Fire Station 29.