putting away firehose

with a different type of hoser

My father was a hoser, not in the Canadian sense, but in more of a professional capacity. No, he did not work in irrigation, nor for the waterworks. He was neither farmer nor plumber, nor hoser roller coaster tester,¹

My father ran into burning buildings for a living. When he did this, he likely held a hose. His job? Make the burney parts wet. Find the fire-bits and put water on them.

Efficiency was important. Efficiency came from long endings. Long endings were important for quick beginnings. Does this make sense yet? Naw, I didn’t think so. Let me explain.

Firefighters on a call, treat every time they leave the station as a possible emergency. Frequently enough, it is. When things are urgent, the gear needs to come off the truck quickly, without a snag and ready to work. Immediately. It is often a matter of life or death.

To get the hose off quickly, they had to spend a lot of time tending to the hose, draining the hose and putting the hose in it’s perfect place. If I were a firefighte…