Fire House Antics

This book is about my experiences, funny and tragic, during my twenty-five years as a firefighter. Let me give you some background information before I begin.

The town I write about is Sanford, Florida. At my hiring it was a town of approximately 17,000 in population, located 5 miles south of Interstate 4, between Daytona and Orlando. Sanford was a quiet town; many called it a bedroom community of Orlando. Most people from Orlando either did not know or care where Sanford was.

For one reason or another we had one of the best and probably the oldest fire departments in the state. When Kennedy Space Center, known first as Cape Canaveral, was birthed, they had to have a fire department. Where did they get most of their firemen? Why, Sanford, of course. As my mind recalls five or six of our best went to the Cape. That’s when I was hired.

The Sanford Fire Department was created in the late 1800’s. They were also the ones who created the Sanford Zoo, now called the Central Florida Zoological Park. That all started when someone gave the department a monkey. To this day I do not understand why anybody would give a fire department a monkey. Everybody knows they have a majestic Dalmatian ride on the engines! Oh, well, we never did get a dog. In fact during my tenure someone offered us a Dalmatian, but the chief said, “NO! It will make messes and be a problem.”

When I hired on the department there were five men hired at one time to replace those that went to the Cape. I was the second one hired.

The Chief went to the same church that I did and one Sunday he asked me if I would like to work for him. As I said before, Sanford was a town of approximately 17,000 population and everybody knew everybody else. The Chief knew I did not have a good paying job. I was working night shift for a sand hauling company, working as a mechanic.

I asked the usual – “How much do you pay.”

He asked me how much I was making, then answered my question. His offer was better. You see, I had a wife and two children, had been discharged from the United States Navy for only a short time and needed a better paying job.

When I hired on, I worked every other day and night which was called 72 hours. Later on we worked what we called a Kelly day. We worked every other day for six days and then got the seventh day off, which gave us two days off in a row. Later on a bill was passed   - I think it was by the federal government - which restricted us to only 56 hours a week.

We worked a day and night and then we were off two in a row. Working this kind of shift allowed us to seek part-time employment to supplement our salary, which was not much. Over the years to follow, my salary grew and I did not need to work three jobs to stay alive.

Little boys dream of becoming firemen, but I had never thought about being one in all my twenty-eight years. Someone would call it fate, but I call it faith in God that brought an answer from the Fire Chief for a better paying, more satisfying job.

 OK, so much for the formalities. Now let’s get on with what this book is all about - The Fire House Antics!

I will tell you real life happenings - most happy and funny and some very tragic - so you can see what a firefighter is and why he does what he does.

A firefighter is a person who has a lot of compassion for his fellow human beings; he is one who wants to help. And a lot of times he goes out of his way to do so. You’ll see that within these pages.

My name is Charles L. Bose, originally from the Buckeye State of Ohio. I left there to join the U.S. Navy in 1956. I was stationed in Sanford, Florida, for three of my four years in the U. S. Navy. I then went to work as a mechanic, as that is what I knew best.

I was raised in Ohio. My father was a finish carpenter, my mother a nurse. This background surely had a bearing on the direction my life would take. I became an EMT (emergency medical technician) in the Fire Department and I still enjoy medicine. I did not become a paramedic or ever have a desire to do so. I do enjoy what medical knowledge I gained in the department and have had occasion to use it since retirement.

I am also an avid wood worker. I make and play musical instruments: mandolins, guitars, banjos, dulcimers and psalteries, etc.

I am the father of two children, Mark and Alice Margaret, and grandfather to six. I own the home we live in. My wife is a retired schoolteacher. We have lived here in Sanford since 1957.

The city of Sanford, Florida, is on the banks of Lake Monroe. The St. Johns River runs through Lake Monroe on its way to Jacksonville from down Melbourne way. Sanford was one time known as the celery capital of the world.

I remember there was this machine that they called the mule train. It would go into the celery field with a crew of people, approximately 20. They would pick, grade, trim, box and load the crates onto waiting trucks that would take them to the cooler where later they would be shipped. But I digress.

I came to Sanford in July of 1957, on one of those hot, muggy Florida days. I was being transferred from Memphis, Tennessee to Sanford to serve in the US Navy at the US Naval Air Station. I was an aircraft jet engine mechanic. I served four years in the Navy with a year and a half at sea aboard aircraft carriers.

I worked a couple years as a mechanic in a couple of car dealerships here in Sanford before I got the chance to be a firefighter. I had fire fighting training in the U.S. Navy, but never did I think I would some day be a firefighter.

I later joined the Sanford Fire Department and spent the next 25 years there and retired. I started my career in the fire department at the age of 28 on April 1, 1964. What a day to start a new career, April Fool’s Day!!!

During those 25 years I attained an officer rank. Actually it was a Jr. Lieutenant. Most departments have firefighter, engineer, Lieutenant, Battalion Chief, Deputy Chief and Chief. Ours at that time were firefighter, senior firefighter, Lieutenant, Battalion Chief, Assistant Chief and Chief. My rank was Senior Firefighter.

I attended EMT classes but not paramedic. I saw a lot of growth in the fire service like the additions of the EMT, the paramedic and water rescue. I also saw a town grow from a farm community to a thriving city.

There are two things that I never thought I would do; in fact, I never gave it a thought. One was being a firefighter, the other authoring a book.