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By Jackelyn Barnard First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Fire station 31, also known as the "Wild Westside Crew," is one of the busiest in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The station averages more than 400 calls a month.
They will tell you one of the toughest jobs they have is not just saving a life, but getting to a scene in time to save a life.
"I don't know if it's they don't care. I think it's a combination of everything," says Fire Engineer Ryan Bayliss.
From drivers being on cell phones, radios being too loud, and new cars that are soundproof, emergency crews often encounter those who do not obey the law and move to the right.
"It seems like they have more important things to do sometimes," says Bayliss.
Engineer Bayliss can often be found behind the wheel of engine 31. He is the one in charge of threading more than 35,000 pounds of steel in and around cars to get to those who need help.
"Whatever you think they're going to do, the worst case scenario, you expect them to do."
First Coast News was allowed to ride with the crew from station 31 for several days. Our cameras caught on tape drivers who didn't seem to mind holding up the engine and rescue trying to get to a scene.
At a red light on 103rd Street, lights and sirens were on. Engineer Bayliss had to wait for not one, not two, but seven cars to pass before he could go.
Down the road, it was a parking lot. Cars stopped, refusing to pull to the right. Precious seconds passed. Bayliss had a clear shot in another lane and had to cross the median into oncoming traffic to get by.
During another emergency call, a school bus refused to yield, blocking engine 31 from turning.
"I'm not surprised. They don't care. We inconvenience people. They don't want to be bothered. It's not their emergency and we are starting to see that more and more," says Captain Tammi Reyes.
From the minute they get a call, those lights and sirens are activated. While Bayliss tries to clear a path for the engine to move through, the crew gets ready for the unknown.
While prepping for what they will encounter at that house fire, car accident, or shooting, the crew is also keeping an eye on the road. Captain Reyes preps her team and gives road conditions to Engineer Bayliss at the same time.
"The last thing you want to do is slam on the brakes," says Bayliss. It happens often. Bayliss says it is the worst possible scenario, because the engine can't stop in time.
Bayliss says drivers tend to just stop in the road because they don't know where to go. He says it's best to move to the right.
Many times when drivers don't move, the crew changes the pitch of the siren from high to low and back to high again, hoping to get a drivers attention to move.
Captain Reyes says there have been many close calls because a driver wasn't paying attention. The crew says it feels lucky no one has been hurt.
They also ask you to keep a few things in mind. The next time you see the lights and hear the sirens, "you need to move, you've got to move. It is somebody's emergency, and it may be your family that we are going to. Just because you're not at home does not mean it is not happening at your home."
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 Created: 2/5/2008 5:28:57 PM Updated: 2/6/2008 10:59:51 AM Suggest News Tips & Story Leads Submit Video & Pictures |
Jackelyn Barnard
