NOW BEING REBOOTED AND REWRITTEN. In most communities in Equestria, firefighting and emergency medical services are provided by volunteers. Watch as these neighbors helping neighbors deal with emergencies in Ponyville.
NOW BEING REBOOTED AND REWRITTEN.
When Ponyville County was carved out of Trottingham County in 1944 under decree by Princess Celestia, its settlers quickly got to work, establishing several towns and villages. The center of the county would be the Town of Ponyville, and within it, the Village of Ponyville.
Then, in 1945, a devastating brush fire in the Everfree Forest resulted in a major wake-up call for the residents of the county.
By 1948, two volunteer fire companies, Harmony No. 1 and Friendship No. 2, had been formed to protect the Village of Ponyville, with a third, Everfree Fire Company, forming its own fire district to protect a tiny hamlet on the edge of the forest. In 1949, ambulance service came to the area when Friendship No. 2 bought an old hearse. Harmony No. 1 quickly followed suit. By 1960, 6 towns and 4 boroughs were chartered.
Now, in 2017, Ponyville County has 6 towns, 4 borough, and 3 villages with a small but growing population of 86,000. Fire and EMS are provided by 24 fire departments (22 volunteer/2 career) and 6 volunteer ambulance corps. In addition, the Ponyville County Sheriff's Office provides advanced life support with 8 medic fly cars that rove throughout the county. The Town of Ponyville, the largest town in the county by both land size and population, has 6 fire departments:
1. Harmony Fire Company #1 (1945) 2. Friendship Fire Company #2 (1945) 3. Everfree Fire Department (1948) 4. Medan Village Fire Department (1952) 5. Northern Ponyville Fire Department (1960) 6. Northside Fire Company #3 (1972)
All provide fire, rescue, and emergency medical services, with Harmony, Friendship, Medan Village, and Northside providing ambulance services and Everfree and Northern Ponyville providing medical first response. In addition, the Ponyville County Airport has its own military-run fire department, and E-FIRE, or the Imperial Parks Service Fire and Rescue Agency, frequently provides mutual aid through its two stations in the Everfree National Forest.
Friendship in particular is notable for the fact that it was founded by the Apple family, and there have been multiple Apple family members in the department since its inception. This is a story about them and this fact that's often little-known outside of the Ponyville area.
"Let it be known that you have all just begun your journey into the fire service," a mare with a thick American Western accent said as a group of ponies and even a few zebras, all dressed in formal uniforms and lined up in a fire station's apparatus bays. "Firefighter 1 is just the beginnin'. When I took it in 2011, I was only 16 years old*." The blonde orange-colored mare was wearing a formal uniform herself. "I was still in High School, and many times I would go right from school to the training tower, and my school uniform would be dirty as ever afterwards. Now, look at me." She then presented herself to the whole class. "I'm an apprentice instructor with the county, and I'm still learnin' the trade. You never stop learnin', ever, because the minute you do is the minute you leave the fire service. Hell, that goes for EMS too." She then cleared her throat. "For those of you who have proven yourselves, congratulations. I can't wait to see y'all on the fireground."
The entire class then clapped their hooves in celebration. The mare smiled as an older colt, in the same uniform as Applejack, approached her and said, "You did good, AJ."
"Thanks, Mac," Applejack replied as her brother patted her on the back with his hoof. "Now all we gotta do is get Apple Bloom through Firefighter 1 when she's ready."
June 2, 2017, around 8:00 P.M.
"Alright," said an older colt in the meeting room of Friendship No. 2 as he shuffled papers during the company meeting. "Next order of business... The Friendship Volunteer Fire Company #2 would like to congratulate Firefighters Caramel and Honey Song for completing Firefighter 1. Effective immediately, they are both active interior firefighters with the company and will be allowed to enter IDLH atmospheres with a pack on."
Caramel, a young earth colt two years younger than Applejack, and Honey Song, a 17-year-old green-yellow pegasus mare and high school student, then stood up from their chairs as the fire company clapped for them, including Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big McIntosh. They both had been sworn in back in November of 2016 and would get off of probation in November of 2017.
The Chief of Friendship, a white blue-haired earth colt named Marble Mark, then walked up to both of them and presented to them plaques and a 400-bit ($50) gift card that could be used anywhere before shaking their hoof. He then said to the company, "I am very proud of both of these firefighters, especially Honey Song. There were doubts about whether or not she could finish Firefighter 1 at first, but she really overcame them, and I must say, I trust that she would have my back in a fire." Honey Song, now getting emotional, hugged Marble in response.
"Thank you," she said to Chief Marble as they split. He nodded and smiled.
Then, Applejack, listening to her pager, said, "Hold up, everypony, we're gonna get a call!" Everyone went dead quiet.
Then, the tones for the Everfree Fire Department rang out from a radio in the apparatus bay as well as Applejack's pager, followed by the tones for Friendship, which set off everyone's pagers, followed by the tones for Harmony and the tones for County Sheriff Medic 2. As everyone shuffled out of the meeting hall and into the apparatus bay, the siren on top of Friendship's station roared to life.
"Ponyville County Fire Control for Everfree Fire, Friendship for a Tanker and an Ambulance, Harmony for the R.I.T. team, and Medic Zone 2, respond to a reported structure fire at 277 Everfree Road, cross street are Loudon Road and the Everfree Forest National Park line. Caller is inside the house, reporting multiple animals trapped as well as herself by heavy smoke. Repeating, respond to a reported structure fire at 277 Everfree Road, cross street are Loudon Road and the Everfree Forest National Park line. Caller is inside the house, reporting multiple animals trapped as well as herself by heavy smoke. Time is 20:04."
Apple Bloom ran to the radio room in the firehouse and radioed, "Fire Control, Friendship base acknowledgin' the call." She would be staying at the station as a junior firefighter.
Applejack and Big Mac, a Sergeant in the company, quickly put their gear on, slipping their lower hooves into their bunker pants and then pulling the straps up to their shoulders as they stood on their hind legs. Once they put the rest of their gear on, they ran to Friendship's tanker, Engine-Tanker 2-12, a 2015 Pierce pumper-tanker imported from the human world* that carried a 2000 gallon per minute pump and a 4000 gallon water tank with 8 seats, including 5 with air packs. Half of Friendship's district, mostly the rural areas outside the village, had no hydrants, and almost all of Everfree's district had no hydrants either.
Applejack and Big Mac boarded the back of the rig, with Caramel and Honey Song also boarding the back, with the 5th firefighter being a Lieutenant. The Captain of the company, a zebra named Annan, sat up front while the driver, an older firefighter named Sunstream who could no longer enter buildings but still drove and operated pumps, sat in the driver's seat. Annan said to Caramel and Honey Song in the back as he turned around, "You guys ready for your first fire?" Two exterior firefighters, one a probie and the other an older firefighter, sat in the flip down seats.
"You bet," Caramel replied as he excitedly got his air pack on in his seat.
Then, as Applejack did the same, she had a stunning realization. "Wait, a minute... Holy shit..." After she secured her air pack and the tanker sped away from the firehouse at blazing fast speed, its lights flashing and its sirens blaring, she turned to Big Mac and said, "Mac, this is Fluttershy's house."
Annan called over the radio, "Fire Control, ETA 2-12 is en route with a crew of 8, 5 interior."
Big Mac replied to her, "It is? How do you know?!" Now they were both worried.
"I recognize the address now," Applejack replied as she buried her face in her hooves. "Oh God... We're gonna get her out, we're gonna get her out, we're gonna get her out..." Big Mac then patted her on the back before they both took their helmets off to put their masks on.
Everfree's chief, Car 3-01, was then heard over the radios saying, "Car 3-01 to Fire Control, I'm pulling up right now, I got heavy smoke coming from a 2 1/2 story residential on the first and second floor. Redispatch Everfree, redispatch Friendship for a second engine, redispatch Harmony for their ambulance, and tone out Northside to standby in their station."
"Received, working fire declared at 20:08."
Everfree's engine, a 1986 Mack CF with Ward79 bodywork with a 1000 GPM pump and a 500 gallon water tank that was formerly used by the FDNY, radioed, "Engine 3-11's en route, crew of 6, 4 interior!"
At 8:22 P.M., Engine-Tanker 2-12 and Ambulance 2-41 arrived. By now, Northern Ponyville and Medan Village were also on standby, Northside had sent their ambulance to the scene as well, and a second medic unit was en route. Applejack and Big Mac immediately jumped off the truck. Annan approached them and said to them, "Go in and assist the search team with rescuing the occupant now!" (UNITS ON SCENE/RESPONDING TO SCENE: Engine 3-11 with 6(4), Tanker 3-61 with 2(2), Brush 3-51 with 4(1), Breaker 3-52 with 4(1), Engine-Tanker 2-12 with 8(5), Ambulance 2-41 with 4(2), Engine-Squirt 2-11 with 8(5), Truck 1-21 with 6(6), Ambulance 1-41 with 4(1), Ambulance 6-41 with 4(4), Medic 2, Medic 1, Car 3-01, Car 3-02, Car 2-01, Car 1-01, Car 6-01.)
Applejack replied, "Got it, Cap!" She and Big Mac then hooked their air regulators to their masks and ran up to Fluttershy's house. As they entered her front room, the smoke drastically reduced their vision.
Then, an Everfree firefighter yelled from the stairs, "We got her! We got her!" Applejack and Big Mac immediately ran over to where they heard the voices and up the stairs.
Applejack said to the three Everfree firefighters holding Applejack, "Me and my brother will get her out! What's the condition of the fire?!"
"It's all in the kitchen area and it spread upstairs and into the basement," replied the Everfree firefighter. "We knocked it down good, but it's beginning to spread again since we had to focus more on search and rescue."
Big Mac and Applejack then grabbed Fluttershy off of their hooves and ran back downstairs. When they hit the floor, they felt the heat inside beginning to rise, forcing them to drop down to the floor and drag an unconscious Fluttershy out through the oppressive heat and thick darkening smoke.
When they reached the outside front yard, they stood back up and tiredly handed Fluttershy over to two other Friendship firefighters pulling a stretcher before taking their masks and helmets off. Applejack then helped pull the stretcher to Ambulance 2-41 as she stared at Fluttershy with deep concern.
As they loaded her in the back of the ambulance, a sheriff medic jumped aboard carrying a medical bag. He said, "How bad is she?"
"She was unconscious when we got her," Applejack replied. "Looks like she took a lotta smoke into her lungs." She then turned away and shook her head in disbelief as the ambulance's back doors closed and it began to drive away to the hospital.
Then, Big Mac motioned one of his hooves to call Applejack over. "We're gonna go in again! We only were in the building for like 3 minutes last time!"
Applejack ran back over and put her mask and regulator back on alongside Big Mac before saying, "I hope she's okay."
"She will be," he replied. "Let's focus on the task at hand." He then pointed at a hand line near the front door. "The Everfree guys left that line for us."
Applejack then grabbed the nozzle end and Big Mac got behind her as they went in, the smoke now so thick that they could not even see their hooves in front of their face. Applejack sprayed the ceiling above her with short bursts, a technique called penciling that helped reduce the risk of flashover. They then pushed forward, down to their hind legs' knees due to the heat.
As they approached the kitchen, they were met with a wall of flame. Big Mac said, "Hit it!" Applejack complied and began attacking the fire, darkening it down but producing even thicker smoke.
Applejack thought to herself in her mind, "I don't even care about the house at this point, I just wanna know if Fluttershy will make it! She was in the house for a long time and breathed a lotta smoke in." At this point, the fire served only as a distraction from her thoughts about Fluttershy.
At 10:55 P.M., Applejack arrived at the hospital after Marble Mark had dropped her off. Her face dirty and her gear blackened with soot, she asked a nurse sitting in the front smoking a cigarette that she recognized, "Redheart, can you spray me down with a garden hose or somethin'? I don't wanna track soot and dirt through the hospital."
"Oh, hey, Applejack," Redheart replied. "I would have been at that fire on Harmony's truck, but I had to do some overtime." She was also a volunteer with Harmony No. 1. She then grabbed a garden hose from outside and turned it on before spraying Applejack down, including her face, for a few seconds. "That should get the worst of it off."
"Thanks," Applejack replied as she walked in, carrying her helmet on her back.
In Fluttershy's room, the rest of the Mane 6 plus Spike all sat quietly, fearing for Fluttershy's life, as Applejack walked in. Twilight looked at her and said, "You're a little late."
Applejack sighed and sat down in a seat. "Her house is gone. It began collapsing, so they pulled everypony out and had to go to an exterior attack with master streams. Half of her animals are gone, too."
"I'm afraid so," Applejack then buried her face in her hooves again. "I've never seen so many bodies, sapient or otherwise, before." She then sighed as tears began to fall from her eyes. "I don't know why this is affectin' me so much. They're just animals, damn it. I've literally seen dead kids with their heads cut off at accidents, and this is the thing that's affectin' me the most?! Why...?"
Twilight then got up and hugged Applejack as she broke down into a crying fit. "There, there... I... I'm sure Fluttershy will be fine, okay?"
Rarity said to Pinkie Pie, "She must have been referring to that bad accident last year with the family of 6 all getting killed by the drunk driver on M-22*."
"Oh yeah," Pinkie Pie replied, her hair down due to her sadness. "That messed up Applejack for a few days afterwards, didn't it?" Rarity then nodded.
Applejack then looked at Fluttershy and said to her, "Please, make it. For the love of God, make it."
Ambulance 2-41 backed into the station after coming back from the hospital. On board were Applejack, Big Mac, and Sunstream as the driver. It was the second call of the day, the first also being a medical call at 8:04 A.M. On average, Friendship would get about 2 medicals per day and 1 fire call per day for a total of about 21 calls per week for an average of around 1100 calls per year, making them the second busiest department in the county, with the busiest being Harmony No. 1 at 1350 calls per year.
As 1st Assistant Chief Shadow Mist*, a dark purple unicorn with a taupe mane, entered the station from the open apparatus bay, he said, "That's call number 507 for the year, fellas." He had 16 years in the fire company, while Marble Mark had 26.
"I swear to God," Applejack said to Big Mac as they got off the ambulance, their bunker gear smelly from trash in the patient's house. "Ponies need to start cleaning up after themselves. I am just about God damn done with hoarder houses."
"Tell me about it," he replied as he carried his gear to the decontamination room of the firehouse. He then turned to Chief Shadow, "Chief, me and my sister are gonna clean our gear."
"Alright. I'll go grab 2 spare sets for you to use until it's done." The chief then walked into the equipment room of the firehouse, a small room containing a bunch of spare coats, helmets, pairs of pants, hoods, boots, SCBA masks, and more. Interior firefighters had to clean their gear at least once every 3 months, and exterior firefighters had to clean their gear at least once every 6 months. Hoods and SCBA masks had to be cleaned at least once every month for interior firefighters and at least once every two months for exterior firefighters.
As Applejack and Big Mac disassembled their gear, they talked to each other about the fire yesterday. "Is Fluttershy doin' any better?"
"Twilight says she's still unconscious," Applejack replied as she took the inner liner of her coat out. "The doctors say that she only had minor burns, thank God, but she took a lot of smoke in. Discord was out in Canterlot at the time of the fire. He's pretty worried about her."
"No kiddin'," Big Mac replied. "It's so sad, what happened to 'er..."
June 5, 2017
The annual Ponyville County Festival took place starting today at the Ponyville County Airport, located to the extreme north of the county in the Northern Ponyville Fire District. Every fire department and EMS agency in the county sent a truck up to the festival with a crew and showed off their equipment and skills to the county residents. They also would recruit at the county festival. Due to this, a countywide mutual aid plan was enacted during the 5 days the festival lasted that added extra agencies to the run cards of certain incidents.
Friendship sent Engine-Tanker 2-12 with a crew of 8, 5 interior, and Ambulance 2-41 with a crew of 4, 1 interior, plus a chief to the festival. Because it was the beginning of the Summer Vacation in the Equestrian School Year, Apple Bloom also went aboard the ambulance. For the day, Friendship would run medical first response on their brush truck while either the South Ponyville Volunteer Ambulance Corps or Harmony No. 1 covered them with their ambulances.
Apple Bloom, wearing her bunker pants and boots, sat on the bumper of the engine, talking to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "Boy, is it hot out today..." She then wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her front right hoof. "So, you two wanna join Harmony, right?"
"Yup," Sweetie Belle replied, holding an application. "We've seen you do this, and we want to see what it's like."
Scootaloo then pointed up to the sky. "Hey, look! The Wonderbolts are doing aerobatics!" The Wonderbolts decided to join in on the festival this year, bringing in their planes as well. Half of their routine would involve flying under their own power with their wings, and then the other half would involve flying in their venerable F-4 Phantom IIs, an airframe that had seen service in Equestria since it had been imported from the U.S. in 1962 and had even been license-built in the country. Of course, among them was Rainbow Dash.
As she flew in formation to the landing area, she looked down and recognized Applejack among the faces in the crowd. She smiled as she touched down and the Wonderbolts ended the first half of their epic display, much to the crowd's applause. Soarin then went up to her and said, "Flight Lieutenant Dash, you're flying with me."
"Yes, sir," Rainbow Dash replied. The team would then run to their planes and scramble as part of the next segment of their display. Once Rainbow Dash and Soarin ran to their plane on the tarmac nearby, they quickly donned their flight suits as the ground crew readied the plane. Rainbow Dash, trying to put Fluttershy in the back of her mind, said to Soarin as she zipped up her flight suit, "We're gonna split off from the formation as part of the maneuvers, right?" She had forgotten.
"You forgot already? Are you okay?" Soarin looked worried as he began to climb aboard the F-4.
Rainbow Dash then shook her head and said, "No, I'm fine. Just making sure, sir." She, too, then climbed aboard, sitting in the back. As she did her pre-flight checklist quickly as part of the show scramble, she continued to think about Fluttershy.
About 25 minutes later, Applejack watched the Wonderbolts as they flew across the sky. Big Mac said to her as they watched, "Rainbow Dash is on one of the planes, right?"
"Yup," Applejack replied. "I saw her as she came down from the manual flight section, and I think she saw me, too."
In the F-4, as Soarin and Rainbow Dash peeled away from the formation, the last to do so, Soarin said to her, "Are you worried about Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow Dash sighed and replied to him, "Yes, Soarin, I am. I'm... I'm still paying attention, but I can't seem to shake her off my mind."
Suddenly, they both felt a thump in the plane as they heard the engine shut down. Soarin yelled, "Agh, fuck! A bird strike!"
Rainbow Dash attempted to steer the plane for a few seconds as she said, "Oh my God! Soarin, do we need to-?"
Soarin then yelled, "Eject! Eject! Eject!" Rainbow Dash immediately reached her hooves above her head and pulled down a tarp over her face with two levers, triggering both of their ejection seats. Immediately, the canopy was blown off by explosive bolts as Rainbow Dash felt a hard kick to her rear from the seat's explosive shell and rockets. She also felt her oxygen tube slash across her face as it became detached from the plane's oxygen system as she flew into the air, the wind blowing across her as she detached from her seat and her parachute began to deploy.
As she floated to the ground, she saw Soarin also float to the ground. However, when he hit the ground, he just simply collapsed without standing up. As soon as Rainbow Dash hit the ground, she detached herself from her parachute and ran to Soarin, fearing the worst. She yelled, "Soarin! Soarin! Oh my God, no!" She ignored the gash on her left cheek from the oxygen tube as she ripped her mask and helmet off.
As for the plane, it stalled and ended up slamming into an aircraft hangar on the site, destroying several other aircraft inside and creating a massive explosion. As Applejack stared at the explosion in shock, she could feel the heat from the blast hit her as all the firefighters from the other departments around her began donning their gear and getting on their trucks to go fight the fire. "Holy shit... No way..." She then came to her senses and began donning her gear before climbing aboard Engine-Tanker 2-12.
Back with Soarin, Rainbow Dash ran up to him and found him unconscious on the ground with a head wound. She shook him with her hoof and yelled, "Soarin, wake up! Please!" That's when she realized he wasn't breathing either. "Oh my god!" As she unzipped his flight suit and began to do chest compressions, she realized why he had been badly hurt: There was a large bruise on his forehead, and next to it was a bleeding gash. He had been hit by something as he ejected.
An ambulance from Northside No. 3 drove up to them alongside a county medic fly car. A firefighter immediately stepped out of the ambulance and asked, "What happened to him?!"
Rainbow Dash, now crying, said back, "He... He has a huge bruise on his forehead and a big gash! He's not breathing! Somepony help him!"
The county medic then ripped Rainbow Dash away as he yelled, "Ma'am, you're bleeding from your face! We need you to stop! We'll take care of this!"
Rainbow Dash fell back, too weak to resist, as she continued to cry her eyes out. As 2 firefighters and the county medic restarted CPR on Soarin, another firefighter began evaluating Rainbow Dash and applied a bandage to her face.
At the destroyed hangar, the airport fire department had sent 2 of its crash trucks and its structural engine to fight the fire. As Engine-Tanker 2-12 pulled up, Applejack stepped out, fully masked up, and pulled a 2 1/2-inch attack line with Big Mac and another firefighter.
Chief Rhodes told Big Mac, "Sergeant, I need you three to enter the hangar from the right side door and begin spraying down from there!"
Big Mac replied, "Got it!" The three then marched over to the front right side entrance to the hangar, which had been almost bisected by the crash. Applejack manned the front of the hand line. When they reached the door, Applejack turned around and kicked it down with her hind legs before dodging out of the way to avoid any backdraft, which ultimately did not happen due to the fire self-ventilating through the hole left by the crash. She then picked the hose back up, turned back around, and radioed, "2-12, charge the 2 1/2 line!"
The pump operator radioed back, "10-4, here comes your water!" Once the line was filled, Applejack opened up the nozzle and began spraying down through the door. Once they had been spraying for about 10 seconds, the three of them began to slowly enter the hangar, making a foothold at the doorway and staying put. As they continued, the 2 crash trucks opened up with master streams from their turrets, and an engine from Northern Ponyville opened up with its deck gun as Northside's ladder truck began to raise its ladder in the air to spray down into the hangar.
June 6, 2017
Fluttershy was now awake, having woken up during the middle of the night last night. Discord had come in during the day to check on her and inform her of the going-ons of Ponyville. "So, yeah, Rainbow Dash is pretty torn up about it."
"I bet," Fluttershy replied. "This hasn't been a good week for her or any of us. I lost my house and... And half of my animals... And now that crash happened." Fluttershy was still hurt about the deaths of many of the animals she cared for in the fire.
"Oh, tell me about it," Discord replied. "This has been a crazy past couple of days for us all. Twilight gave me a place to stay at her castle, so that's good. She's even offering to help build us a new house."
Fluttershy sighed. "She's really giving us a lot, huh?"
Then, Rainbow Dash walked in, wearing her formal military uniform and still having a bandage on her left cheek. "Fluttershy? Is it okay if I come here?"
"I don't mind," Fluttershy replied. "Come, sit down, Rainbow Dash." As she sat down, Fluttershy asked her, "How's Soarin?"
"He woke up," Rainbow Dash replied, still feeling down. "They got him out of cardiac arrest. Thankfully, he isn't paralyzed or anything, and his spine wasn't too badly fuc-... I mean, messed up. This was my first ejection and his first ejection. After three ejections, we're no longer allowed to fly combat aircraft and we're reassigned to either desk duty or non combat flight duty, basically any aircraft that doesn't have a hot seat. Spitfire has two ejections, by the way."
"I am especially," Rainbow Dash said back. "Fluttershy, Discord, I need you two to promise to tell nobody of what I am going to tell you next."
Discord, recognizing Rainbow Dash's seriousness, replied, "We would never." Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
"Good," Rainbow Dash replied before sighing. "Me and Soarin... Well... Me and Soarin have been dating on the down-low since the beginning of this year." She then became sad. "We're afraid to tell anyone because we don't want to get in trouble. Damn it..." She then buried her face in her front hooves. "I love him so much... It hurts to see him like this..."
Fluttershy replied, "What do you mean "trouble?""
"He's a Wing Commander, and I'm a Flight Lieutenant. He's only one rank below Spitfire, who's a Group Captain, and I'm the minimum rank needed to be a Wonderbolts within the IEAF. There is no explicit law in the military against us dating and fu-.... Ugh, I mean, having sex... Especially since we're both commissioned officers, but that doesn't stop overzealous commanders from finding other things to get us court-martialed." Rainbow Dash seemed angry when explaining this to Fluttershy and Discord. "It's so frustrating."
"I hope Spitfire isn't like that," Fluttershy replied. "When I did my two year draft stint with the Army Reserves Medical Corps, I managed to get lucky enough to get officers who weren't mean spirited like that."
"It's not Spitfire I'm worried about," Rainbow Dash replied as she laughed. "She met her husband in the Air Force, and he was two whole years younger than her. It's the people above Spitfire I'm more concerned about. Spitfire says that she almost got thrown out of the Air Force when the old Group Captain of the Wonderbolts before her found out. He was a great pilot and he knew his stuff in the field, but off the field he was a huge asshole, and I get that commanders need to be assholes sometimes, but this guy was an asshole all the time. It's a miracle she wasn't thrown out or thrown into a disciplinary barracks, which is a nice way in the military of saying prison."
Discord, amazed, replied, "Oh my... I would not want to work under him..."
While cleaning some machinery in the main barn of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Daisy Jo talked amongst each other. "I heard Soarin's doin' better now," Applejack said as she polished a pitchfork. "They got to him and reversed the arrest before serious damage set in."
"That's good," Daisy Jo replied as she grabbed some glass cleaner and sprayed it on a window. "Say, when's the officers' meeting today?"
"It's gonna be at 9:30 in the mornin'," Applejack replied. "We're gonna discuss-" Suddenly, both of their pagers, which they left near the door to the barn, rang.
"Ponyville County Fire Control for Friendship Fire Rescue Squad and Medic Zone 2, it's gonna be a Charlie response to 221 Schoolhouse Road for a 48-year-old female feeling faint with chest pains. Repeating, it's gonna be a Charlie response to 221 Schoolhouse Road for a 48-year-old female feeling faint with chest pains. Time is 7:46."
Daisy Jo said, "Let's go." Applejack and Daisy Jo then ran out of the barn. As they did, they could hear Friendship's loud siren roar in the distance. Daisy Jo hopped in her car while Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac, coming out of the house, ran to the station. As the three briskly galloped down Schoolhouse Road to the station, Daisy Jo passed them and pulled into the parking lot. It had been 3 minutes since the call came in. Shortly after she ran into the station, she radioed, "Fire Control, Friendship base acknowledging the call." By now, Chief Marble Mark was already on scene.
Once the three ran into the station, they quickly grabbed their gear from their lockers and carried it with them to the ambulance. Once they put it in the back of the ambulance, Apple Bloom jumped up front with Daisy Jo, who would drive, and Applejack and Big Mac sat in the back. Daisy Jo said to them all, "Ready?" She then turned the lights on.
Apple Bloom radioed, "Fire Control, Ambulance 2-41's en route with a crew of 4, 2 intermediates." The ambulance then pulled out of the station as Apple Bloom turned the sirens on. As soon as they did, the medic called in as arriving on scene.
At 7:53, Ambulance 2-41 arrived on scene. Applejack and Big Mac immediately jumped out and pulled a stretcher from the back. The chief, standing at the front door, said to them, "We managed to start stabilization. We're gonna have her transported soon."
June 12, 2017, around 9:30 P.M.
After some rescue-EMS training at the firehouse, Applejack and Caramel stayed afterwards to check the trucks. As Applejack looked over a bunch of spare SCBA bottles carried in a driver's side compartment on Rescue 2-31, a 2010 Pierce Heavy Walk-In Rescue with 8 seats, and filled out a checklist sheet, Caramel said to her, "Hey, Sergeant Applejack..."
The blonde mare looked at him and asked, "What's up, Caramel?"
"Do... Do you wanna get a drink from the bar after this?" Caramel showed her the "drink sheet," a sheet that all firefighters that drank at the bar had to fill out stating they would not respond to any calls for a certain amount of time after drinking. "It wouldn't hurt. We'd miss a medical at the most."
Applejack thought to herself, then said, "Eh, why not?" 1 hour later "It... It's no surprise, really," a drunk Applejack said to an equally drunk Caramel. "She was a fuckin' crazy cat lady! Of course she was a hoarder!" She then laughed. "I swear, I can still smell the Goddamn stench from that house sometimes. Whoo-whee, I've only seen 1 other hoarder house, and that was one that burned down in Yates in South Ponyville 2 years ago. Every department in this town and that town got called for either more manpower or a tanker. Hopefully, those are the only 2 I'll ever see again..."
"I hope I never see one," Caramel slurred. "Those gotta suck."
"You know," the blond mare said to the brunette colt. "You're a good guy, Caramel." She then laughed. "You always show up to calls when... Like, whenever... And, uhhh..." She paused. "You always, like, you always wanna step up and do stuff... That's good..." She then smiled. "Wanna go back to my place?"
Caramel replied with a stutter, "Uhhh... Really?"
"Eh, why not?" Applejack then threw her last bottle out. "It'll be fun..."
June 13, 2017, around 2:45 A.M.
The sound of a pager beeping instantly woke up Applejack, who immediately rose from her bed to find Caramel next to her. She shook him awake and said, "We got a call!"
The pager screeched out the tones of Harmony, Yates Village in South Ponyville, and a County Medic before a dispatcher started talking over it, reading out, "Ponyville County Fire Control for Friendship Fire, Harmony for a Truck, Yates Village for a Tanker, Medic Zone 2, respond to a reported explosion and fire in the area of Schoolhouse Road and Clifford Road. Caller reporting a large explosion and fire at the intersection. It appears to have involved two houses. Repeating, respond to a reported explosion and fire in the area of Schoolhouse Road and Clifford Road. Time is 0246 hours."
Applejack and Caramel ran out of the house as fast as they could. Trailing behind them were an equally tired Big Mac and Apple Bloom. Both were too tired to care about Caramel being at their house.
Within 3 and a half minutes, they all made it to the station. Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac, their gear lockers all grouped together, quickly put their gear on and jumped aboard Engine 2-11, a 2011 Pierce pumper with a 2000 GPM pump and a 750-gallon water tank that served as the first-out truck for in-district fires and fire alarm activations. Caramel also jumped aboard. Within 4 and a half minutes, a full crew of 8 had boarded the truck, including 5 interior firefighters. Apple Fritter sat up front. As the engine pulled out, she radioed, "Fire Control, Engine 2-11's en route with 8, 5 interior." As they pulled out, 3 more firefighters ran into the station, and 2 more cars pulled in.
It took Engine 2-11 3 minutes to get to the scene. At 7 and a half minutes, it pulled up to a massive fire. By now, the chiefs on scene had determined the cause of the explosion to be a passenger plane crash, and had requested Harmony to be re-dispatched for an engine, an ambulance, and coverage, Northside for an ambulance and coverage, Northern Ponyville for a tanker and coverage, Ponyville County Airport for a crash truck, Everfree for a tanker and coverage, Medan for an ambulance and coverage, Yates for an engine and coverage, Shaker Street for a brush truck and coverage, the South Ponyville Volunteer Ambulance Corps for two ambulances and coverage, and 3 more county medics to the scene.
As soon as they pulled up, Applejack and Big Mac pulled hand lines from the side and stretched them to begin an exterior attack on what remained of the house. There was no need for them to put their masks on. After they stretched the line to the front lawn, Big Mac yelled back to the pump operator, "Charge my line!" Shortly after, the line was charged with water.
As the two moved in and began spraying down the house, they saw a large crowd gather around the crash site. Applejack asked Big Mac, "Think anyone survived that?!"
"Don't hold your breath," Big Mac replied. "You know how these things go." As they darkened down the front wall of the house, they saw 2 firefighters nearby rush a stretcher away from the crash site. "Looks like they found somepony that lived, AJ."
June 16, 2017, around 2:33 P.M.
Applejack, Caramel, and Big Mac had just came back from a medical call and were at the station putting their bunker gear back together after having cleaned it yesterday. Ever since the plane crash, everyone had been rather quiet as they processed the enormity of the incident. The plane, Imperial Equestrian Airways Flight 822, had been a Boeing 737-900ER flying from Baltimare to Canterlot with 174 passengers and 6 crewmembers. Of those on board, only 5 passengers and 1 crewmember, a flight attendant, survived the fiery crash, which also killed a whole family of 6 on the ground and injured 6 others on the ground.
Applejack and Caramel in particular were rather quiet with each other. As Caramel packed his pants and coat away in his locker, Applejack said to him, "We haven't been talkin' since the 13th, and I'm sick of it."
Caramel turned to her and said, "Look, A.J., I shouldn't have taken advantage of you or anything, alr-"
"Bullshit," Applejack replied. "You didn't take advantage of no one when we went back to my house, Caramel. We were both plastered to hell and back, and we both wanted it, alright?"
Big Mac, wondering why the two seemed tense, said, "Can't y'all just get a room already? I know everything about what happened that night, considerin' how loud you were, sis." Applejack then blushed in slight embarrassment. "You too, Caramel. Anyways, I saw this comin' from a mile away. You two might as well make it official at this point."
Applejack paused as she seriously considered Big Mac's suggestion before putting her completed gear back in her locker. Then, she said, "Eh, why not? Caramel, wanna go catch a movie tomorrow?"
"Sounds good to me," Caramel replied. "I'm free all day tomorrow."
June 18, 2017
Rainbow Dash stopped by to see Fluttershy at the hospital again. By now, Fluttershy was beginning to start the steps to be released from the hospital, and her voice was no longer hoarse. As Rainbow Dash sat down in a chair, Fluttershy said to her, "The doctors' say I'll be fully back on my feet around July 20th. By then, Discord will be finished with the house replacement."
"Thank God," Rainbow Dash replied, relieved. "So, where will you stay once you get discharged from here until then?"
"Twilight offered," Fluttershy replied before looking out of a window. "She said that it was the least she could do."
Rainbow Dash then sighed. "This has been an awful month for me so far. First there was your house fire, then there was the crash with Soarin, and then there was the other plane crash in Ponyville just days later. Me and Soarin had to go through a shit ton of paperwork in regards to our crash, about 250 pages worth, and we gotta go to a military court hearing about it on the 24th in Cloudsdale." Rainbow Dash then mouthed to Fluttershy as she pretended to shoot herself in the head with an invisible gun, "KILL ME."
Fluttershy then laughed. "I would fall asleep at my desk constantly if I had to deal with all of that paperwork."
"Trust me," Rainbow Dash replied. "I've been there."
The shrill beeping of pagers alerted the whole Apple Family farmhouse around 3:30 P.M. Bright McIntosh, Pear Butter, Big McIntosh, and Granny Smith all turned to each other as several more tones dropped. Big Mac and Applejack had just come back from school.
Ponyville County Fire Control for Friendship Fire, Harmony for a Truck, Northside for the RIT team, Medic Zone 2, respond to a reported structure fire at 6 Schoolhouse Road in Ponyville Village. Multiple calls reporting heavy smoke coming from the attic and second floor and a report of somebody still inside the residence. Repeating, Friendship Fire, Harmony for a Truck, Northside for the RIT team, Medic Zone 2, respond to a reported structure fire at 6 Schoolhouse Road in Ponyville Village. Multiple calls reporting heavy smoke coming from the attic and second floor and a report of somebody still inside the residence. Time is 15:31.
Granny Smith said to a young Applejack, "Now, make sure to watch Apple Bloom, alright? You're gonna be the mare of the house while we're gone." She then collected her cellphone and keys.
"No problem," Applejack replied as she ran upstairs to her room to turn on a scanner to listen in.
Big Mac, Pear Butter, and Bright Mac all ran out of the house down the road to the station as Granny Smith hopped in an old rusty pickup truck with a blue lightbar on it. "Fire police work in that darn arena's gonna be a nightmare around this time of day." She then started it up and drove off, her blue lights flashing.
The three Apples were joined by four cows who worked on the farm. As they ran at a breakneck pace down the entrance road to the farm and then to Schoolhouse Road, Pear Butter said to Daisy Jo, "You won't be doing this much soon, since you're gonna be 2nd Assistant Chief soon."
"I can't wait," Daisy Jo replied. "I'll get to be like good ol' Bright Mac last year." She referred to the fact that Bright Mac had just stopped being Chief of the company in December of last year after a four-year stint.
Within three minutes of the alarm, the whole gang arrived at the station. Big Mac immediately ran into the radio room and radioed to dispatch, "Fire Control, Friendship base acknowledgin' the call." He then ran out of the room to put his gear on.
As more firefighters arrived at the station, they heard Car 2-01 radio, "Car 2-01 to Fire Control, working fire, working fire, working fire! I got heavy smoke pouring out of the home with people outside saying somebody's trapped."
Daisy Jo, the captain at the time, whistled and yelled to Big Mac and another junior firefighter who had ran to the station from school after it had let out around 35 minutes before, "Hurry up and get in the flipdowns!"
They both then finished their gear and ran over to Engine-Squirt 2-11, the first-out truck for in-village calls. Once they boarded and grabbed a seat, they closed the doors as Big Mac said, "We're all set!" It had been about 4 minutes.
Daisy Jo then radioed, "Engine-Squirt 2-11's en route with 8, 5 interior." The truck then pulled out of the station full speed ahead and onto the road as Rescue 2-31 and Ambulance 2-41 were readied to respond next. As it did, the firefighters inside began putting on their air packs.
"Car 2-01 to fire control," the chief of Friendship radioed.
"Car 2-01."
"I'm arriving," he replied. "I got a 2-story woodframe house with fire showing on the first floor. I'll be establishing Friendship Command. Transmit a 10-75 and retone us, retone Harmony for another ambulance, retone Northside for another engine, and dispatch Medan Village for a standby. Also, start me a second medic to the scene. Ponies on scene are confirming entrapment."
"10-4," a dispatcher replied. "A 10-75 has been transmitted per the orders of Friendship Command with confirmed entrapment."
At the 12 minute mark, as Pear Butter and Bright Mac moved through the building, carrying the trapped resident with them, Pear Butter heard a loud creaking sound below. The smoke was thick, and it was impossible to see through. "Hey, what was that?!" Bright Mac was unable to hear it over his SCBA mask.
They both then stopped as Daisy Jo approached from the opposite direction with another firefighter, all 4 of them staying low to the floor. She said to them, "Give him to us! We'll get him out!"
"Shit," Bright Mac yelled out before he threw the stallion over to Daisy Jo. "Take him!" As soon as Daisy Jo took hold of the victim, a loud cracking sound was heard beneath them. "Oh, fuck!" Pear Butter immediately screamed and grabbed onto her husband as the floor below the two gave way, sending them into the basement, which was fully involved.
Daisy Jo screamed out, "Pear Butter! Bright Mac! No!" As she tried to move towards the hole, she was held back by the other firefighter with her. She tried kicking and screaming, but it was no use. Soon, a third firefighter arrived, and they both proceeded to drag Daisy Jo and the victim out of the building. "Damn it, let me go!"
Upon the four of them exiting the building, Daisy Jo ran out, stared at the building for a few seconds, and then tried to run back in. Again, several firefighters had to restrain her. Big Mac, by now, was in utter shock. "Oh... Oh my God..."
"Pear Butter! Bright Mac! Damn it, let me in there!" Daisy Jo was then wrestled to the ground as another firefighter ripped off her mask and helmet. "Motherfucker! Let me go back in!"
"They're gone," replied the other firefighter. "Daisy, they're gone! We can't get them! Get that through your fucking head!"
Daisy then looked over to Big Mac as she calmed down, who was crying by now. She then stood back up and walked over to him. "I... Oh my God... I'm so sorry..." She then embraced him in a tight hug. "I... I failed..."
Granny Smith, devastated, looked on from the road as she said, "My son is dead... Oh my God, my son is dead..."
June 22, 2017
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Applejack replied as Ambulance 2-41 backed into the station after a medical call at what turned out to be a hoarder house. Along with her on the ambulance was Big Mac and Olive Ryder, Daisy Jo's younger sister, who had been in the department for 20 years and 3 months, and was an EMT-Intermediate like Applejack and Big Mac. "That old mare had trash and shit piled right up into the ceilin' in her home. The stench was awful. I saw the county sheriff medic gagging outside. He had the widest grin when we told him to return, since ALS wasn't needed."
"Same here," Olive replied. "I really hope we never get a fire in that house. I'm gonna have to take a really long shower."
"Chief Shadow Mist told us we're gon' let the fucker burn if we ever get a fire in there," Big Mac replied. "Unless she's in there, of course. I did hear some town cops talkin' about maybe movin' her into a nursin' home, since she seemed to be a few hay fries short of a kids meal, if you catch my drift."
"Of course she is," Olive replied. "All hoarders are."
Big Mac then said to Applejack, "Say, I'm gonna need some help with the plow when we get back to the farm. The blade is dull and it needs to be sharpened."
"Got it," Applejack replied as she fixed her coat in her locker. "How long should it take?"
"Not long," Big Mac replied. "Maybe about 15 minutes."
Investigators from the Imperial Aviation Authority had been in Ponyville ever since the crash of Imperial Equestrian Airways Flight 822 on the 13th, basing themselves out of the Ponyville County Sheriff's Office Headquarters. Today, they were to hold a press conference alongside American investigators from the FAA.
A reporter from CNN-Equestria asked the first question at a meeting room at the Sheriff's Office. Sitting at the table were representatives from the IAA, the FAA, Imperial Equestrian Airways, and Boeing, as well as Friendship Fire Company Chief Marble Mark and Sheriff Ivory Spirit, a gray earth pony who had previously served as a sheriff's deputy for 30 years, 26 of those years as a deputy-paramedic, before retiring and winning the Sheriff's election in 2014.
The reporter asked the FAA representative, "Will this crash impact air travel in the United States at all?"
"No," the representative quickly replied. "This crash will not affect any aircraft in the US at this moment. So far, we have not identified any mechanical causes of the crash."
A local news reporter then asked the IAA representative, "Have you begun to narrow down your list of causes?"
"We have," the IAS representative replied. "We have eliminated mechanical causes, and we have narrowed it down to pilot error. However, we did find traces of bird remains in the remains of the right engine of the aircraft. Right now, our current theory is that the plane suffered a bird strike, as indicated by tapes given to us by air traffic control, and the pilots misjudged their altitude while focusing too much on the damaged right engine, causing a controlled flight into terrain. Evidence for this can be found in the CVR and FDR transcripts we have just released to the public. At one point, the captain misjudges his altitude by about 150 feet just half a minute before the crash."
Later at day, around 5 in the evening, Applejack and Caramel hung out at the firehouse as they went through and checked out the ambulance. "So, Caramel," she said as she zipped up a jump bag in the back. "When are y'all gonna get your Basic or Intermediate? That's like the next step after ya get Firefighter 1 out of the way."
"I'm gonna be taking my EMR in September this year," Caramel replied as he checked off a box on a sheet. "I wanna see if I can handle being an EMT-Basic or even an Intermediate. If I can't, well, at least I got some medical training, I guess."
"Not a bad idea," the mare replied after she closed a compartment. "So, I've heard from the pipeline some stuff about Lieutenant Meadow Song. Don't tell anyone I told ya this, okay?"
"I won't," Caramel replied as he listened in. "What's up?"
"Apparently, he's not been makin' a lotta calls, and I guess the alleged reason is because he's movin' to Manehattan to be a paid fireman there." Applejack kept her voice down. "If he goes, Emerald Green's movin' up, and they're gonna have to have a new Third Lieutenant and a new Fire Sergeant."
"Any word on who would fill those?"
"They're considerin' me for Fire Sergeant, but they're stuck as to who should be Third Lieutenant. Maybe they could make Daisy Jo a Lieutenant." They both then laughed. "She'd be reluctant to, since she just stopped bein' chief 6 months ago." She then suddenly heard her phone vibrate in her locker. "Hold on." She then opened her locker and answered her phone, saying, "Hello?"
"Hey," Marble Mark replied to her. "I just wanna tell you that after some thought and discussion with the other chiefs, we think it would be best if you become a Fire Sergeant since we're gonna be making Daisy Jo the Third Lieutenant once Meadow Song leaves."
"Huh?" Applejack was in shock. "What?! That's actually happenin'?!"
"Yep," the chief replied. "Meadow Song is leaving on July 20 to move to Manehattan. Upon him leaving, you'll be a Fire Sergeant, and Daisy Jo will be Third Lieutenant. She surprisingly agreed to it."
"I'm surprised she did too," Applejack replied as she rubbed her forehead with one of her hooves. "Well, uh, thank you. I'm glad y'all considered me. Should we meet sometime this week or next week about it?"
"We'll meet on the 30th," Marble Mark replied. "Does 5 P.M. work for you?"
"Yeah," Applejack replied. "It does."
"Alright, I'll see you then. Bye."
Applejack then hung up. "Oh my God... I'm gonna actually be a Fire Sergeant..."
"No way!" Caramel's jaw dropped to the floor. "I guess Meadow Song really is leaving, then, huh?"
July 1, 2017
After a night of "fun" over at Caramel's house in the southern part of the village, Applejack relaxed around 11:22 P.M. As she read a text on her phone, she said to Caramel, "Sex is a lot more fun when you're sober."
"You can say that again," the light brown stallion replied. "Say, uh, Applejack, are you sure you wanted to not use protection this time?"
"My heat cycle isn't until August," Applejack replied. "Since you never had sex before me, I doubt ya carry anythin'. Startin' in August, though, we'll have to."
Then, they both heard their pagers ring. They both got up and put on bags that carried their stuff as they grabbed their pagers and Caramel grabbed a set of keys before they ran out of the room.
“Ponyville County Fire Control for Friendship Fire and Medic Zone 2, you have a Delta-response traffic accident at the intersection of Schoolhouse Road and Pennwood Road involving a vehicle that went into a ditch with possible airbag deployment and entrapment inside. Your time of dispatch is 2324 hours, Dispatcher 49.”
Caramel and Applejack jumped into his car and sped off to the call, with Caramel flipping on his blue lights. As they went down the road to the firehouse, they pulled over for a town police car that also was speeding to the accident. Within four minutes, the two of them pulled into the firehouse and jumped out of the car.
As they ran inside and began to put their gear on, the ambulance left with three people on board. The two of them quickly threw their pants on before grabbing their coats and helmets and running to the back of Rescue 2-31, where they boarded and took 2 of the last 3 seats available. As they put their coats on, the 6th and final firefighter boarded the rescue. Applejack then moved to the front of the walk-in cab and tapped on the window to the two seats up front before saying, “We got 6! Let’s go!”
Annan Machel, who was up front on the rescue, then radioed out, “Rescue 2-31 is en route with 6!” He then turned around and opened the window to the back before saying to Applejack, “Get the assignments for the extrication going, AJ! The car needs the front doors popped open and stabilization!”
“Got it, Cap,” Applejack replied as she took a clipboard from him. “Okay, Caramel, you and me are gon’ grab the cribbin’.”
“No problem,” Caramel replied as Applejack wrote his name and her name down on a paper that detailed work assignments for extrication.
“Billie Mae, EMS Sergeant Rose, y’all are grabbing the cutters and the spreaders. Billie Mae, you handle the cutters, and Marilyn, you get the spreaders. The car needs to get both front doors popped and to get stabilized, so I want Marilyn to start with the passenger’s side front door since the passenger’s got the most serious injuries accordin’ to the chief on scene. I’ll back her up when me and Caramel are done with the cribbin’. Caramel will back up Billie Mae with the cutters if we need to use them at any time.” She then wrote their names down as well as they both nodded. She then handed the clipboard back to Annan through the window as she told him, “We’re all set here!”
“Got it,” Annan replied as the rescue pulled up on scene. “Get to it!” He then radioed, “Fire Control, Rescue 2-31’s arriving.”
As the crew all got out, the crew on the ambulance as well as the county sheriff medic had gotten access to both patients through the rear door on the passenger’s side of the car, which was the only door not stuck. A second ambulance had been requested from Harmony and was about to call en route.
The car was mostly crumpled at the front from impacting a tree after it had gone into the ditch. The driver had hit the airbag at full force and was bleeding profusely from his face. The passenger had the same issue in addition to having both of her hind legs broken by the force of the accident, which made the accident even more so serious. As a result, a medical helicopter was called for the passenger so she could be taken to a Level 1 Trauma Center in Trottingham.
Applejack and Caramel carried down two crates full of wooden cribbing that they began to assemble into pieces before sliding them under the car to ensure the car didn’t move as they began to cut it apart. As they assembled them, the driver suddenly woke up and began screaming in intense pain. Applejack said to the deputy-medic inside, “Do y’all want another Intermediate in there? I can hop in.”
“I think I’ll be good,” the deputy-medic replied. “The driver just woke up.”
“I can tell,” she replied as she completed her cribbing and slid it in just as Engine 2-11 pulled up to the scene. She then motioned for the spreaders to come over to her side.
Caramel then yelled over to Applejack, “The cribbing is all set here!”
“Got it,” Applejack replied as Marilyn came over with the spreaders and gave them a test opening and closing.
“They’re all set to go,” the EMS Sergeant told Applejack as she stood close to the door.
“We’re gonna spread the passenger door,” Applejack told the ambulance crew and the deputy-medic inside. She then picked up a crowbar and whacked the door, putting the business end of it in the gap between the front and back door and making a purchase point by slightly spreading it. “Go for it.”
“No problem,” Marilyn replied as she pushed the tip of the spreaders into the purchase point and began to open up on the spreaders. As the door spread open, the sound of crunching metal emanated throughout the scene. After about two minutes, the door was popped off, allowing Applejack to push it out of the way as a stretcher was wheeled over from Ambulance 2-41.
Big Mac, who had made the engine along with Apple Bloom, pulled the stretcher down with another firefighter as Applejack and Annan carefully moved the passenger to the stretcher with the medic helping them. Marilyn walked over to the other side to begin spreading the driver’s side front door. Big Mac quickly grabbed a set of bandages to help cover up the cuts on the unconscious passenger’s face and wipe the blood off of her as Applejack held the medic’s IV bag. The 5 of them then walked up to the road with the stretcher and to the ambulance, where they would wait for the helicopter to land.
Applejack said to Apple Bloom, who was setting up the landing zone lights, “AB! Sis!”
“What’s up?” Apple Bloom ran over to her to see what her sister needed.
“Get your medical gloves on and start pickin’ up bandages and shit near the car,” Applejack replied as she took her rescue gloves off. “Bring ‘em up to the ambulance so we can dispose of ‘em when you’re done.”
“No problem,” Apple Bloom replied as she took out two rubber medical gloves and put them on her front legs before going bipedal and walking to the accident to ensure she didn’t contaminate her medical gloves with gravel and dirt.
Applejack then said to Big Mac, “This ain’t the worst accident I’ve been to, at least.”
“Far from it for both of us,” he replied. “Faaaar from it.”
The fire company held its monthly meeting today. For the dayside crew, the meeting began at 9 AM and ended at around 11 AM or 12 AM, while for the nightside crew, it began at 6:30 PM and ended at 8:30 PM or 9:30 PM. Usually, Applejack would attend the night meetings and night drills, but she began to attend day meetings and day drills with Caramel, starting with today.
"Alright," said company president and Fire Police Captain Ellis Bitter as she filed some papers into an envelope. "I would like to call this meeting to order at exactly 0900 hours on July 4, 2017, or Month 6, Day 22 of Year 2502 in the Traditional Equestrian Calendar. First on the agenda is an important topic that 2nd Assistant Chief Rhodes has a report on. Mary Jane, proceed."
"Thank you," she said as she read off of a paper. "We are now speccing out a new engine, as Engine 2-11 is almost 26 years old. It have served us well, but it is time that a new piece of apparatus is purchased to replace this venerable truck. A committee which had been set up at the last month's meeting has agreed to the following: The new engine will have a 2000-gallon-per-minute pump like ETA 2-12, have the same water and foam tank dimensions as the current engine, and have the same number of seats as the current engine."
Then, they got interrupted by a call. Applejack asked, "What is it?" As she did, the firehouse siren went off.
Ellis listened in on her pager. After a few seconds, she said, "EMS call!" Several volunteers then got up and left to get on the ambulance. As they did, they waited for the dispatch to end, and then started up again.
As the meeting started up again once the siren began to wind down, Applejack looked at her phone and noticed a text from Fluttershy. It read out, "I need some advice. Call me when you can."
"You want to become a firefighter?" Applejack was confused as to why as she met with Fluttershy around 1 at the county hospital.
"I do," she replied. "I'm being discharged tomorrow, and soon after I am, I'm going down to the Everfree firehouse and applying. What's the process?"
"Well," the blonde pony replied. "I'm not a member of Everfree, but if they're like us, you could find their website and print out an application there, or stop by whenever they have a meeting or another event at the firehouse. When you're done with the application, you'd drop it off in their mailbox, and then they'd contact ya. All applications are voted on by the company, and odds are, you'll be voted in. They'll run a background check on ya an everything, and you'll have to pay membership dues. Our's are like 60 bits ($15) per year, and I can't imagine Everfree is any different."
"I see," Fluttershy replied as she thought to herself. "How is Everfree Fire?"
"Well," Applejack replied as she gave a concerned look. "They're the smallest department in the town with only 20 volunteers. Some of their guys got a reputation for bein' "whackers," or ponies who're way too into the fire service. I'm not sayin' you shouldn't join, but just be aware that you may run into some... Interestin' characters there. They won't mistreat ya, but they may be a bit... Well... Hyperactive."
Fluttershy was confused. "Whackers?"
"They're nicknamed that 'cause it's joked they jack off to firefightin' and EMS," Applejack explained to her. "They probably don't, but the way some of them act, y'all'd think they do. Again, not everybody in Everfree is a whacker, alright? Don't let it discourage you from servin' your community, Fluttershy."
"I won't," Fluttershy replied, confident. "I wouldn't let those... Whackers... ruin it."
July 8, 2017
That Saturday, Fluttershy walked down to the Everfree firehouse. Her own house was being renovated due to damage from the fire, and Discord had pitched in much-needed help. As she walked up, she noticed a car in the parking lot and two bicycles in a bike rack, indicating there were firefighters there. An early 20s looking firefighter with a dark brown mane and light blue hair, wearing a baseball cap with a Maltese Cross and "EVERFREE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY" on it, noticed her and said to her, "Hi there!"
"Hey," Fluttershy nervously replied. "I... I don't know if you recognize me, but you helped rescue me."
The firefighter then remembered. "No way... You were that last house fire we had in-district right? I am so sorry for what happened to your house and animals."
"Thank you," the yellow-haired mare replied. "We're actually almost there for rebuilding. Anyway, I was thinking... Do you have applications to join?"
The firefighter was surprised. "Huh? Wait, really?"
"Yeah," she replied. "I want to help others in their time of need, like you did for me." She then stood firm, a wave of confidence blowing over her. "It's the least I can do for the ponies that saved my life."
"I understand completely," he replied. "My name is Bluegrass Hazel, by the way. I'm a Lieutenant. I've been in Everfree for about 8 years now, since I was 14. I'll run in and get your application." He then walked into the station. "You can come in if you want. We don't bite."
As Fluttershy followed him in, she saw that the station was old in its appearance. It had four apparatus bays and held an engine, a tanker, brush rig, and a brush breaker, all of which were older in comparison to Friendship's fire apparatus. In the back were about 30 gear lockers, of which only 20 had gear. Bluegrass Hazel grabbed a three-page application packet from a folder on the wall and handed it to Fluttershy. "Thank you," she timidly replied.
"No problem," he replied. "What will happen now is that we'll call you to come in on the next company meeting. There, you'll meet the fire company at large and introduce yourself. From there, we'll do a background check, and then we'll vote on you for the next company meeting. The next one after that, if you get in, we'll invite you and swear you in as a firefighter. Our next meeting is July 10. We hold meetings on the second Monday, and training drills on the first, third, and fourth Monday's. Are you available for the day meeting or night meeting?"
"Either or," Fluttershy replied. "Though night is preferable."
"That's fine," he replied as Fluttershy grabbed a pen and began filling the application out. "Assuming everything goes right, you'll be sworn in in the September meeting."
On the same day, Caramel walked out of a gym at the Ponyville High School, confident in himself. He had just taken a civil service exam to be a dispatcher with the Ponyville County Sheriff's Office. As he walked out, he was met by Applejack, who smiled and asked him, "So, how do ya think ya did?"
"Very well," he replied. "Of course, I won't know until the results come out, but I feel like I did very well." He then got into the Apple family pickup with her. "I was apparently one of only about 5 to even take the test."
"That sounds about right," Applejack replied as she started up the pickup. "They don't hire too often. They only got about 20 dispatchers." As they began to drive away, she looked over at him and smiled. "Now, what do y'all wanna d-?"
Suddenly, the sound of their pagers interrupted them. Caramel replied to it, "Oh, fuck me. Of course."
"Ponyville County Fire Control to Camp Fowler Fire, Camp Fowler Ambulance, Winsome Falls Fire for an engine, Winsome Falls Rescue, Blacksmith Road for a tanker, Friendship #2 for the FAST team, Medic Zone 3, you have a Delta response to the High Pond Mobile Home Park at 4870 Fowler Road for a reported structure fire in Lot 12 involving a kitchen fire in a trailer. Residents have advised that they are out of the trailer at this time. Time is 1147 hours, Dispatcher 34."
"Might as well go," Applejack told him as she turned on the blue lights on the pickup and sped off to the firehouse as the siren blew. As they sped down Schoolhouse Road, they saw several volunteers that lived in the village begin to get in their own vehicles or run to the firehouse down the road, just outside the village line. They then heard a vehicle siren behind them. "Is it a chief?"
"Yeah," Caramel replied as he turned around and saw Car 2-13 approach from behind. As Applejack pulled over for him, he sped off to the firehouse, planning to board the rescue. Within three and a half, they pulled into the station and ran in just as Rescue 2-31 was started up by a driver.
Caramel was not yet RIT-trained, so he stayed back as Applejack hurriedly threw her gear on. When she was done, she ran to the back of the rescue and boarded from the rear doors, becoming the last firefighter to get on before it left. As she closed the rear doors, it sped out of the station with 6, 5 FAST, lights flashing and sirens roaring as it sped to the fire. As it did, they heard more tones play out over the radio, indicating it was a working trailer fire just as Friendship was re-toned.
"Caramel," a firefighter called out. "Get yer gear on and hop in the ambulance! It's a 10-75!" The siren on top of the firehouse roared to life once more.
"On it," Caramel replied as he ran to his gear locker and began putting his gear on as several more firefighters ran in. When he was finished, he ran to the back of the ambulance and opened the rear doors, jumping in with an EMS-only member dressed in a green reflective jacket as they closed them. Once everyone was seated, the ambulance sped off with 4. It would serve as the FAST ambulance, dedicated only to treating injured firefighters. "Lieutenant Wonder, where do you want the stretcher pulled?"
"Park it in front of the ambulance," Chelmsford Wonder, the Rescue Squad Lieutenant sitting in the back with him, replied as she got rubber medical gloves on. "Load up the RIT medical bag and the ILS bag on it. Also, since you're interior, grab an air pack just in case."
A crew of air crash investigators had just left the Friendship #2 fire station around noon after doing some final interviews with firefighters who had responded to the crash of Imperial Equestrian Airways Flight 822. They were close to figuring out a cause, and wanted to collect more eyewitness testimony before they departed for Canterlot. At the firehouse, Applejack, Annan, and Apple Fritter had been talking among themselves about the day when they heard an interesting call come in through the scanner in the rec room of the firehouse. Annan asked Apple Fritter, "What was that?"
PONYVILLE COUNTY FIRE CONTROL FOR WINSOME FALLS FIRE, WINSOME FALLS RESCUE, CAMP FOWLER FIRE FOR AN ENGINE, CAMP FOWLER AMBULANCE, MEDIC ZONE 3, RESPOND TO 6720 FALLS ROAD, 6720 FALLS ROAD. IT'S GONNA BE A DELTA RESPONSE FOR A WORKER WHO FELL DOWN A SILO AT THE LOCATION AND IS UNCONSCIOUS. WORKERS ONSITE WILL GUIDE YOU TO THE LOCATION OF THE SILO. TIME IS 1210 HOURS, DISPATCHER 33.
"Worker fell down a silo," Apple Fritter replied as she tuned the scanner to the Town of Camp Fowler's fireground channel. "This should be interesting."
As Applejack and Annan gathered around the radio, Car 22-01 radioed, "22-01 to Fire Control, I'll be en route, do you have any information about what's in the silo?"
"The workers did not specify," dispatch replied. "But they did say it was a chemical silo."
"10-4," Car 22-01 replied. "Can you go ahead and start me a 10-80 as a precaution?" He had requested a hazmat response to the scene.
"10-4," dispatch replied. "10-80 transmitted at 1211."
"We're going on that," Annan replied as he walked out of the rec room to the apparatus bay. "It's gonna be us, the airport, and Thunder Lake, plus Blacksmith Road on standby." As the three of them walked out and began to put their gear on, they heard their tones go off as the hazmat assignment came in.
PONYVILLE COUNTY FIRE CONTROL FOR THE PONYVILLE COUNTY AIRPORT, FRIENDSHIP FIRE COMPANY 2, THUNDER LAKE, BLACKSMITH ROAD ON STANDBY, COUNTY FIRE/EMS COORDINATORS, AND MEDIC SUPERVISOR 1, RESPOND TO A DELTA RESPONSE 10-80 AT 6720 FALLS ROAD, 6720 FALLS ROAD, IN THE WINSOME FALLS FIRE DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF CAMP FOWLER, FOR A WORKER WHO FELL DOWN A CHEMICAL SILO AND IS NOW UNCONSCIOUS. TIME IS 1212 HOURS, DISPATCHER 33.
Immediately, the three hopped aboard Rescue 2-31 as Annan radioed from the front, "Friendship Base acknowledging the call." Little did they know what would befall them next.
At 1241, Rescue 2-31 had arrived. Its 6 personnel were dropped off at the staging area while several Winsome Falls firefighters readied a rotary saw and two Camp Fowler firefighters readied a hand line. Confused as to what they were doing, Applejack turned to Annan and pointed over to the group. "What are those guys doin'?" The scene was a farm near the eponymous waterfalls nearby, and the silo in question was at least 60 feet high and composed of metal. Many emergency services personnel had descended on the farm by then.
"Huh," Annan replied, equally curious and confused. He then turned to the staging officer, Camp Fowler's captain, and asked him, "Hey, what are those guys doing over there?"
"The plan right now is to use a saw to cut a hole in the side of the silo," the captain told him as he pointed out where the spot to be cut was. "They're gonna use a hand line to prevent sparks from flying."
Annan and Applejack were both immediately concerned by the reply given. As Annan turned back around to Applejack, he asked her, "That don't sound right."
"Yeah," she replied. "It doesn't." She then looked back over and saw the Winsome Falls firefighters get ready to make the cut. Due to the hazardous materials inside the tall metal silo, all three using the saw were on air, as well as the two Camp Fowler firefighters on the hand line. As they made their first, second, and then third cuts, it looked like their gamble was about to pay off.
Apple Fritter said to herself as she looked over, "Maybe they really were onto somethin'." Suddenly, however, Annan and Applejack's fears were realized, just as they began the fourth cut.
As the saw was halfway through the fourth cut, a deafening explosion occurred, blasting the five firefighters back several feet as flame engulfed them for a split second and then retreated, followed by screams of pain. The top of the silo was blown off, and flew a good hundred meters before coming to a rest in a cornfield nearby. The loud blast caused everyone in staging to recoil before they turned back around to a chaotic scene of firefighters walking around with various injuries, internal and external.
Applejack, Annan, and Apple Fritter all ran over to help, catching one of the Winsome Falls firefighters just as he was able to collapse to the ground. As they gently lowered him to the ground, they ripped his mask and air pack off to let him breathe fresh air before also beginning to strip him out of his turnout gear to check for injuries. The disoriented firefighter asked, "What? What did...?"
"Sir," Applejack told him. "There was an explosion. Y'all got knocked back a bit by it. Can ya hear me?"
"Yeah," he replied. Since he was wearing his full personal protective equipment ensemble, he only had several minor burns, as seen by the three of them when they examined his body for injuries. Once he was out of his gear, the three of them picked him up by their forehooves and carried him towards a waiting Winsome Falls Volunteer Rescue Squad ambulance.
As the two ponies on board Ambulance 20-41 rushed over, the driver asked, "What are the extent of his injuries?"
"Minor burns," Annan told him. "Looks like some pretty bad bruising all along his front. Could have been a lot worse without his gear." He then turned back around to the firefighter. "Sir, do you know what day it is?"
"It's a Saturday, right?"
The response was concerning, as it was a Monday. "Okay, how about this? What is your fire company's name?"
"Winsome Falls," he groggily replied as he felt his forehead with a hoof. "My head fucking hurts."
Apple Fritter said to the crew, "You guys need an Intermediate to get on?"
"Yeah," the EMT on board replied. "My driver's only a CFR, and I'm only a Basic."
"I'll get on then," Apple Fritter replied as she took her air pack off and jumped aboard the ambulance. "Captain, I'll call y'all when I'm all set at the hospital!"
"Got it," he replied as he, Applejack, and the two ambulance volunteers placed the injured firefighter onto a stretcher before loading him up on the back of the ambulance. Once he was loaded, Apple Fritter closed the back doors just as a sheriff deputy-medic hopped on from the side door carrying an ALS bag, having seen the earlier events nearby. As the ambulance then sped off, Annan and Applejack turned around to face the scene once more in shock.
"I knew that would happen," Applejack quietly said to herself. "I fuckin' knew it. Cuttin' into the side was a terrible idea." She then picked up Apple Fritter's air pack and put it on her back to carry it back to the rescue. As she climbed aboard the rear and put it and her own air pack back in the cab, she saw the scene before her and shook her head in disbelief, hoping inside that nobody got critically injured or worse, killed. As she walked out, she grabbed a box of medical gloves for her forehooves, getting ready to switch gears to EMS rather than firefighting or hazmat.
July 14, 2017
In the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack tallied up apple trees along a row by hoof, counting along with a tablet as she went along. While for years such tasks had been done by pencil and paper, the addition of technology was proving to make such tasks far easier than before. As she finished the row, she pressed an enter key on the screen and sighed. "It's so much easier now," she remarked to herself. Then, she heard a scream from nearby that made her drop the tablet on the grass in fright. "What the hell?!" She rushed away from the row, not caring about the tablet.
In the barn, Daisy Jo and another cow who was also a Friendship volunteer were standing outside as Applejack ran up to them. Daisy Jo directed Applejack in as the other cow had dialed 911 and was speaking to a dispatcher. "In here! In here! He got shocked by something! I disconnected the power to the equipment he was handling already!"
Inside, Applejack saw an Earth stallion, about in his mid 30s, that had worked for them for the past 7 years. He was not moving, and seemed to not be breathing as well. Applejack quickly began a primary assessment of his body, confirming that he was in full cardiac arrest. She also saw several electrical burns from where he had contacted exposed wires. "He's in full arrest! I'm beginnin' CPR!"
As Applejack began performing CPR, Big Mac ran to her and joined in, carrying a combination EKG Monitor/AED as they heard their pagers ring in their rucksacks. Applejack's pumping of his chest resulted in the sickening crunch of ribs breaking, a sign that she was pushing deep enough to reach his heart. Additionally, a small amount of vomit began to spill from his mouth, the result of his stomach being pushed down. After about 30 compressions, Big Mac shaved off two patches of hair on the stallion's chest with a razor in the AED kit and then attached the AED pads to the worker's chest. "It's analyzin' his heart rhythm." Then, the AED lit up. "Shock advised! Clear!" Applejack then held her forehooves up as Big Mac applied a shock, making the stallion's chest rise. Then, Big Mac said to her, "I got a better rhythm now. He ain't in v-fib anymore."
As Applejack began to check the worker's airway/breathing/circulation, Car 2-01 arrived on scene. Marble Mark jumped out and grabbed an EMS bag from the back of his car before running in. Daisy Jo told him, "They shocked 'em already! He's not in v-fib anymore!"
"Got it," he replied as he joined Applejack and Big Mac. The three then began to work tirelessly to save the worker's life as they heard Ambulance 2-41 call en route over the radio, hoping their efforts would not be in vain.
