Engine 8 - Take Two

Lt. Ernie Young, FF Bobby Alvarez, Erin Blackman, FF Todd Jones, FF Steve Dulong


Friday, April 20, 2007

I’m riding with Engine 8 again tonight. I had talked to Lieutenant Ernie Young and told him that I wanted to get some more footage on an Engine, being that the ride with Engine 3 had not yielded much. I arrive at the shift change and Bobby Alvarez and I have a coffee while we await Ernie’s arrival.

Around six o’clock, Ernie asked if I wanted to check out the scene of a fire that had happened the night before at an abandoned manufacturing facility. We hopped on the truck and headed out. That turned out to be an awesome walk-through. I’d never really been that close to a burned out building before – and it had to be doused again that morning because of hot spots that flared up. When we arrived, the dank smell of burned wood, plastic and God knows what else hung in the air – a wet, smoky smell. I filmed from doorways – it wasn’t really safe to go inside. As I filmed the water dripping down from a staircase, I looked to my right and saw Ernie, Bobby, Todd Jones and Steve Dulong (who had desperately been trying to avoid my lens) standing in a group and discussing what had happened the night before. I turned around and trained the camera on them and that was when it happened – I got my “money shot”. The perfect closing shot for my film. It was a beautifully exciting moment and I could barely contain myself. As they turned around and began walking back toward me, they fanned out into a line – they had no idea that I was filming them. I got a few more good shots, but that was the most fantastic shot I could have gotten.

As we stood and talked a little more about the fire, their radios began blaring.

“Attention Engine Eight and Rescue Four a still alarm,” the dispatcher’s voice proclaimed. We headed back to the truck and off to a scene that the police were already attending.

Despite the fact that I had worn a Providence Fire Department shirt, which was clearly visible, a Providence Police Officer approached me. I explained that I was with Engine Eight, then Ernie walked over and confirmed that for them. I didn’t get much footage there, but once the Rescue had arrived, we got back on the truck and headed back to Messer Street.

It was a bit of a quiet night, oddly enough. I was beginning to think that my luck with getting lots of calls was turning. The bell tipped again around five thirty – turned out someone had pulled a false alarm at a box on Union Avenue. When we arrived there, Bobby got out and reset the alarm, then we headed back to the station.

We got another call shortly thereafter for a child who had had a seizure. We got to the scene and I shot some good footage there. I also managed to notice something that no one else had noticed – the child had a large gash on the back of his head. It wasn’t bleeding – just open. Ernie mentioned it to the Rescue Lieutenant before we left. That was kind of nice – I felt like I’d actually helped a little bit. That one bothered me a little bit – the poor kid seemed like he was having a hard time.

It was quiet until after eight o’clock, when we got a call to go to Cumerford Street with the Providence Police for a domestic dispute. We pulled up to the scene and I got out of the truck with my camera in hand. Just as I was about to pull of the lens cap, I heard a woman going off on a kid who was lying in the gutter. I quickly assessed the situation and decided to stuff the camera into the pocket of the turnout coat that Bobby had lent to me. Yes, I was back in a turnout coat – but I’d learned, Steve didn’t have to catch me that night. Anyway, I stuffed the camera into my pocket and just stood back from the commotion. The police were separating the mother from her son. She was saying that she was sick of him and this girl that he kept saying he was in love with. As it turned out, this kid had gotten into an argument with his mother and ended up putting his fist through the glass window inside the front door of their residence. After much debate and the firefighters and police keeping the two separated, the rescue crew arrived and took the pair off to Hasbro. Well, that was interesting – and would have made great film footage, but no way in hell was I going to let this irate mother see me filming the tirade in progress. So… off we went, back to the station.

Some time later, the bell tipped again – must have been after ten at night. We were dispatched to back up a Rescue for a call of a baby not breathing. We all ran to the truck and headed over to the home, which was nestled in some crazy little back streets that looked out onto Route Ten. My chest was getting tight – this one was scaring me. This baby that we were responding for was apparently only fourteen days old. When we got to the house, the family said that they had gotten him breathing again, which made all of us breathe a little easier (no pun intended). They took the baby to the hospital just to be safe, though and we headed back to the station.

The most wonderful things happened that night, though. Not only did I get my fantastic shot for the closing of the film, but something even more awesome happened. Earlier in the shift – I think it was when we got back from the false alarm on Union Avenue – we got out of the truck and left the garage door open. The five of us – Ernie, Bobby, Steve, Todd and I – stood there for a while talking. We looked out into the approaching dusk at the neighborhood goings on. They told me about the locals – the ones they knew, those who always waved to them or stopped by to say hello every once in a while. Then they told me about Red – she’s an interesting character. I won’t get into that, though. Anyway, it was strange – sort of like an initiation for me. It was as if I was a new member of the crew and they were acclimating me to the neighborhood. I felt like I had somehow been adopted into their family, for lack of a better explanation. I felt like I was one of their own. That was an awesome feeling and it made me proud to know that these men were willing to make me feel at home in their firehouse.

I talked to Ernie Young on the telephone the next day and he told me that he was sorry it had been a slow night. I told him I didn’t care – I had gotten some amazing footage, but more importantly, I felt as though they had made me an honorary “Screaming Eagle”.

When I rode with Rescue Four, Zach and Kevin had made me feel like I was riding with my Big Brothers – like they had brought me to work to show me what they do – which was fabulous. When I rode the first time with Engine Eight, I felt like a filmmaker, but one who was working with friends. The same was true with Engine Three.

When I rode with Engine Eight on April 20th, Ernie, Bobby, Todd and Steve seemed to truly embrace me into a very tight-knit and very personal world. The camaraderie between them was actually visible to me that night – I was able to see that these men had been through some incredible experiences together. They had saved each other’s lives at one point or another, watched each other’s backs, kept each other safe. I could feel that bond between them, and they seemed to extend it to me.

I will never experience anything like this again in my lifetime – I know this. I also know that I am making some truly amazing friends that will be in my life long after this documentary is shot, made and aired.