During the second-biggest area snow storm in recorded history, Engine 22’s tire chains rattled down snow-blanketed Union Ave. The heavy rig sprayed a wake of slush onto powdery piles, the tips of mirrors the only clue to the vehicles buried beneath. From several blocks away, a large plume of smoke could already be seen pouring from around the corner, whipped by winds which peaked near 50 miles per hour. This was it–试用消防队员克里斯·戈拉氏菌’s first chance to test his skills…
Months earlier, Chris had been a successful carpenter, supervising six men as a foreman. Although committed to his dream of becoming afirefighter他有两个幼儿支持。在消防部门赚取一个地方永远不会容易，但患有诵读克里斯的痛苦意味着克里斯必须学习两倍，因为他花了三十多年的三个入口考试。然后这封信从新的Rochelle（纽约）消防部门抵达。“那真是梦想成真。这是超现实的九年，最后是“。但是留下稳定的工作似乎疯狂，刚出生的儿子和女儿刚开始学龄前。“当我的妻子先看到我要付多少钱，她说，”我认为你不能这样做，“克里斯回忆道。
Luckily, he comes from a firefighter family. His relatives reassured the couple that their sacrifice would eventually pay off, and they decided to take the chance together. Chris remembered, “My wife has always been supportive. She works full time and really helped me out by taking care of the kids while I was in the academy.”
Back to the storm…
照片：巨大的暴风雪粉碎了东海岸
As the corner neared, flames were revealed roaring well overhead, engulfing the front end of a car. “I saw the smoke and really just tried to rely on my training”. Guided by his experienced crew, Chris yanked the hose down from the back of thefire engine, and dragged it through a waist-high snow bank and down the sidewalk. Just as he was trained, he cracked the nozzle open and placed it under his knee so he could control the arriving water pressure. Then he placed his helmet between his knees as he put on his air mask. While this fire was straightforward, these small skills, repeated at every fire, may one day save a firefighter’s life. Once the members of Ladder 12 had pushed past and created access to the vehicle, Chris and his crew quickly advanced and extinguished the fire, protecting the cars parked closely on both sides of the tight street. While the true test of a new firefighter is his first interior building fire, any fire helps to get the jitters out. “You want to get your first fire over with,” Chris confirmed. And this fire ended with the sweetest reward for a new firefighter, a casual “nice job” from a senior firefighter. “It meant a lot.”
