The Heart Behind The Hero - The Party Hat
We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can.
Will Rogers
It was a beautiful Southern California day with the sun shining through the open windows of the Captain's perfectly arranged office. April 13, 1975, was my first day as a firefighter with the Costa Mesa Fire Department. The birds chirped outside with such fanfare that it was hard, especially for this nervous and intimidated rookie, to concentrate on what my Captain was saying, but I was.
"Your position on the fire truck is directly behind me," he boomed. "On medical calls you are to bring the medical box and will be responsible for asking the appropriate questions and treating the patient." I was the only one on the crew who was an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician).
"On fires you are to stay at my side and do what I tell you to do, nothing more, nothing less … period!" he bellowed sternly.
He began to tell me what my duties were around the station when a loud bell rang causing me to jump in my seat. By the time I realized it was my first call, Captain Locke was out the door and standing by the electro-writer waiting for the address. I could hear our dispatcher over the loudspeaker say something about a kid with his head stuck, but was unable to make out the rest.
I quickly took my place on the fire truck and realized that I was about to have my first real-life emergency situation. This wasn't the classroom. This was for real! The only thing I remember about the ride was the sound of the siren and Captain Locke's booming voice over the siren giving directions to the Engineer. My mind was a scrambled mosaic of endless possibilities and solutions, while my stomach was tied in knots. The sound of the air brakes being set and Captain Locke saying, "Let's go!" woke me from my stupor.
I immediately rushed to the rear of the fire engine and retrieved the medical box from its compartment. I stood dutifully at my Captain's side with the medical box in hand, when he knocked on the front door of the house. A four-year-old boy answered the door with what appeared to be a party hat on his head and a big smile.
I immediately thought, "What a beautiful Saturday morning for a birthday party."
The little boy greeted us. "Hello sir, you must be here for me," he said proudly.
The mother hurried over to the door and, while opening the screen door to let us in, explained her predicament. As the screen door opened I could see that this was not a party hat, but a metal sand pail sitting on this boy's head, with the handle of the pail wrapping underneath his chin as a chin strap on a hat would do. She had tried unsuccessfully to take the pail off of her son's head and was meeting her mother-in-law for lunch. She couldn't possibly take her son to a restaurant with a sand pail stuck on his head … could we please help her.
My Captain immediately turned to me and said, "Yoder, go get me the pry bar."
Well, this is a four-foot-long metal bar with a narrow blade on one end used to pry open car doors, front doors to homes, and anything else you want to destroy. With the pride of knowing exactly where to find this tool, and the confidence of knowing how to use it, I took off for the fire engine. In less than thirty seconds I returned with pry bar in hand, ready to go to work, only to find that my Captain had removed the pail from the boy's head by using nothing more than his bare hands and a little ingenuity. Captain Locke, looking up at me, gave me a wink and it was then that I realized he was only kidding about the pry bar. I suddenly felt quite humbled and very ridiculous standing there with this large tool of destruction.
And, so, my real life experiences had begun as a firefighter thanks to an adventurous little boy and a well-seasoned Fire Captain.
Curt Yoder
Firefighter
Costa Mesa Fire Department
Costa Mesa, California
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