Well, it happened again. All my coworkers call me a s#*t magnet.
Granny had to work Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day night. I had to Work Christmas and 12/26. Early 12/24 Laura and I were out running last minute errands. We saw one of the DPS troopers out playing with his kids so we stopped to chat. I asked him who was working Christmas. he told me that he was working the day shift and that's all they had on, but that he would be on call. I told him that my partner and i wuld be on for the next two days. He said something about hoping it would be uneventful.
Christmas day proved to be very uneventful. Two easy, no pressure, basic taxi rides to the hospital runs. We actually got to eat a really nice dinner with our spouses who came to the station for a while. At 0733 the next morning we got toned out for a car fire with victims trapped. When I turned out of the station I could see the smoke and fire (this was 3.7 miles away!!!!)Whe we got there there was an 18 wheeler on one side of the road with the tractor completely on fire and on the other side of the road that was a pickup completely on fire. The pickup was about 30 feet off the pavement and the flames (not smoke, flames) were blowing over tot he centerline of the road. I found the driver of the semi and he was essentially OK. A few minor cuts and bruises. The driver of the pickup was still inside. The fire departmetn got there and got the fire out in the pickup. The sight was grissly. The driver was "burned beyond recognition", was how I wrote up my report. My partner and I took the semi driver to the hospital, more to get him away from the scene than to have his injuries treated. After we left him we returned to the scene so I could check on the FD and law enforcement folks still there.
After talking to the DPS trooper he told me that the pickup never left any skid marks. After talking to the victims boss, we found out that the victim had been having some chest pain for the past several days. Thought it was a pulled muscle.
Later that day the trooper came over to the EMS station. He said to me, "Well, at least we got out wish. Christmas was quiet."
Thanks be to God for my health, family, friends and good fortune.
