On Hot Dates and Sharing Showers

My weekend started out with a hot date.
Bright and early Saturday morning I awoke to my pager rattling around and was greeted by a nice female voice telling me I was needed. We were requested to provide Mutual Aid to a fire department three districts away that was actively fighting a structure fire that involved three buildings. I knew it had to be bad, since we had at least a 40 minute response time to the address. I wasn't able to take any pictures when we arrived on scene since there was a lot of work to be done.
The long story short, we saved the attached garage of the one house. After the work was done I got this picture of our structure engine nosed into the driveway. After a cold decontamination shower with the guys (definitely not the kind of shower most of us think a hot date should end with), we were quickly back in service and heading home.
Along the way, the sunrise was a welcoming sight and a beautiful reminder that the day had already begun and sleep was suddenly a luxury. Enjoying a sunrise with a stout cup of coffee and a high calorie breakfast burrito all mixed with the aroma of dirty gear, made me forget the cold water down the back of my neck during decon. Of course, the bragging rights during training this week when the fire house still smells of smoke and my gear still wears the grime of the morning will be enjoyed.

Sunday found me sleeping in till the early afternoon hours and than just taking it easy all day long. Ended the fine weekend with some quality time and a little pumpkin carving. Have you ever wondered how many pumpkins get carved up and throw away? How many pumpkin pies are aborted because of this tradition? Even if I have to say so myself, I thought mine turned out quite well...