Effects

I checked my smoke detectors today. You're supposed to check them when you do the time change (which I did), but anyone who's watched the news today knows why I checked them again. I was out at a fire which killed four people last night. They didn't have smoke detectors. It's become a ritual of mine. Every time I cover a fatal fire, I recheck my smoke detectors.

This job can have an interesting effect on your psyche. There are now a number of things I have done or won't do because of this job for example:

I won't ride a motorcycle. For those of you out there who are advocates of the two-wheel wind in your hair experience, more power to you. It's a perfectly legal activity, and I'm told that it's a lot of fun. I'm glad you enjoy it and I wish you well on your rides, but in this job, I've seen too many of your bretheren killed or maimed to join you.

I won't live in a house trailer. Again, I'm not commenting on whether or not they're a good place to live. In my experience in this job, they burn too fast, so I won't live in one.

I won't have one of those deadbolt locks that is keyed on the inside as well as the outside. I shot a fatal fire where the person died trying to get his keys to unlock his house from the inside.

My child won't have a computer with internet access in her room. This one came up in the past week as Zack Ottenstein and I went on an internet predator sting.

I've said in previous blogs that this job and all you see affects you. I recognize that the fears I just listed are probably irrational fears, but they're my fears and they were put there by what I've seen in this job... Last year, when a child was killed in a house fire on Floyd Street, I bought fancy new smoke detectors that are wirelessly linked so if one goes off, they all do... Today I checked to make sure they're still working.