A Cool Wind Blows Through Texas

If you’ve never been to the Texas A&M Fire School, or if it’s been a while since you’ve been, it’s time for a visit.  I’ve been privileged with the opportunity to attend every year since 1989 and the changes that have occurred since then have been no less than amazing.  And when you talk to the guys that have been around even longer than I have, the stories get even more incredible.  From wading knee deep in mud, dirt, and fuel to now walking on top notch smooth concrete and asphalt, it has been a major transformation. From wearing torn bunker coats that you could see through and hip boots that fell down and left gaps to burn your butt, now to high end turnout gear that’s almost bullet proof.  Times when you would blow your nose and a hand full of purple-k would come out, even a week after fire school.  Environmental fuel recovery systems, new trees, grass, and beautiful training buildings replace old worn out rough terrain, falling trees, and dead grass.  Newer, larger, more complex, and more technical fire props around the field that can even connect all together to create a replica of an entire refinery. 

Old sayings like “Put the wet stuff on the red stuff” and “We light ‘em you fight ‘em” have been replaced with things like fixed monitor training, 1% foam, hydro-chem nozzles, and NFPA 1081 certifications.  There’s much more teaching today than in years past.  I’m not saying it wasn’t fun back when we would set the whole world on fire, put it out, and always return home with some burnt hair or a second degree burn on an unmentionable place, but within the last 5-6 years the time was right for a cool new refreshing wind of change to blow through Texas. 

A number of great pioneers like Chief Henry D. Smith have built this school on hard work and sweat, from training on a trash can fire and putting it out with a bucket of water in 1930, to paving the way to a program that is the state of Texas Emergency Operations Center Headquarters, the envy of other schools, and the number one fire school in the world.

And in no way am I trying to take away any credit from those guys, but a big Texas salute should go to Chief Les Bunte and his TEEX staff who have really put this school on the map recently as the great multi-million dollar training facility that trained almost 200,000 people last year.  

With Chief Bunte’s vision, direction, leadership, and his uncanny ability to acquire funds, the school has made the largest gains and improvements in any director’s span in its 80 year history.  The cool wind of change has made a welcomed impact.

I expect soon we will hear an athlete that just won the MVP of the Super Bowl or the World Series say when asked “So, you’ve just won the Super Bowl, now what are you going to do?” to which he (or she) replies “I’m going to the Texas Fire School!”  

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that when I was a kid about 11 years old, I lived next to a dirt road where I almost killed myself on a bicycle.  Well, next to that same dirt road was a large 5 acre field where a farmer once had cows.  The farmer got rid of the cows a few years earlier by eating them, or worshipping them, or putting them in the local fair, or sold them to Gary Larson as models, or something.  I was out playing around in the back yard one day when suddenly a loud explosion almost knocked me off my feet.  I thought a plane had crashed.  The entire 5 acres was ablaze immediately.  I ran in the house and told my mom and she made the 911 call (I think it was 911?  Did we have 911 back then?  Or was it just a 9?  We did have the rotary phone which took about 45 seconds to spin back around from dialing a 9).  I ran back outside toward the field next to our fence and watched it all catch fire as smoke billowed in the air hundreds of feet high.  Soon, the fire department rolled up in the big shiny red truck and the firefighters jumped out, put on their gear, and grabbed the water hoses.  They had the fire under control quickly.  One of the firemen noticed me and walked over there by my fence and asked me to come over.  Me?  Really?  I hopped the fence and ran over near the truck.  He put his bunker coat, helmet, and gloves on me which were all about 10 times too big and handed me the booster hose. Me?  Really? Then he showed me firefighting (well, grass fire fighting).  I put the wet stuff on the red stuff and it was amazing.  The smell, the heat, and the smoke all had me hooked.  I was in heaven.  I knew right then it was in my blood and I wanted to be a fireman. 

The fire department guys said a transformer had fallen off the power pole and exploded catching the field on fire.

About 7 years later, I would join a local volunteer fire department and get a full time job at an Industrial Facility where I later became Fire Chief.  The rest is history. Good times man, good times.

I hope you enjoy some of my pictures below from the late 1980’s fire school.  Maybe I will see you at the summer Industrial School, or maybe in a photo in a magazine, or maybe behind me backing me up on a hose-line, or possibly in line at J. Cody’s barbeque.  In any case, try to make it out to the fire school and take advantage of the biggest, greatest fun you can possibly have in a week (well, that's legal anyways).  If fire fighting isn’t in your blood already, I pretty much guarantee it will be when you leave there. 

 The old pump seal prop.  It was impressive.

Well, I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have parked on the fire field...

Look at that bunker gear! Look at those boots!

The now infamous Comical Chemplex, uh, Chemical Complex

Dude, nice car! 

 I think the drum in the foreground was a prop too

Hey, isn't that power lines over our heads???

The field looked kinda bare

All dirt and mud

Look at all that black smoke


Good times man, good times.
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