The John H. Glenn Jr., Washington, D.C.'s 70'-long flagship fireboat.
It was built in 1962 for the FDNY, and was purchased by DCFD in 1977 for one dollar.
All the air inside my drysuit escaped with an audible whoosh as I stretched the rubber neck seal outwards, à la Rodney Dangerfield. I struggled to stay upright in the water as air compressed upward from every limb of the suit, mindful of the multiple warnings to keep District river water out of my mouth ("…you won't leave the bathroom for a few days, kid.")
Once I had finally settled myself, I looked around again to marvel at what I was doing today (and I'm getting paid for this?!)
Rescue 3 and Engine 15 had put the boats in at Anacostia Park, and we had motored our way over to where the DCFD Fireboat is harbored. Shortly thereafter, I joined a few other guys who were repeatedly dragged over the bow as the crew of RS-3 practiced "saving" us.
I had never seen the city from the Potomac or the Anacostia before, so the views from the water were an interesting perspective. Needless to say, just zooming around was relaxing enough; it was a beautiful day to be on the water, and everybody had a great time while we ran our drill.
(Nevermind that my suit had a leak in it; I doffed the outfit to find my clothes completely soaked. Thank God I bring an extra uniform to work with me…)
I took a few neat bridge shots that I thought lent themselves well to black-and-white.
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As far as my recent meeting with the Medical Director goes, it was a very well-structured test of our knowledge up to this point. While the Doc ran us through varying scenarios to assess our medical knowledge, the Assistant Chief of EMS asked us operational questions to see if we had picked up on the nuances of being an engine company paramedic. Apparently we're all satisfactory, because we were released a few hours later with word that we'd have permanent assignments within the next few weeks. For now, we all stay with our current preceptors.
