Chasing Firetrucks

This is an offbeat post here on my wedding blog.

Yesterday was odd for numerous reasons – a full moon maybe? A few odd things here and there, but after a full day at “work” from a wedding, I was driving home on Northbound I-15 and was approaching Mira Mesa Blvd exit. It was 12:45am. I saw a faint plume of faint smoke (or what could have been steam from a building, etc.) up on the left (West) side of the freeway. It was just about unremarkable, but as I approached the exit, my periphial vision caught what I could have sworn were pretty big flames. I knew then it was a decent sized fire.

I used to chase firetrucks around the neighborhoods on my bike as a kid. I quickly turned kid again.

It was late, I was in no rush to get home, I usually spend 30-45min unwinding anyway. Mira Mesa Blvd was void of it’s usual gridlock traffic.

“I’m going to go find this sucker and chase a fire truck”.

Soon after the first firetruck arrived.

I drove back Southbound on Black Mtn Road, and got my way behind Mira Mesa College. Had I not had my GPS, this would not have been possible since I had no idea where I was heading. I only had a sense of where the fire was. About 6-7min later, I ended up in some back roads and driveways of what must have been Mira Mesa College and got to the dead end of a driveway. I then saw the flames. They were busting out from behind a few small buildings and a work-week cafe. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t your everyday college bonfire either. It appeared to be a small building or large shed.

Wait . . . Where are the firetrucks?

It had been at least 8-10min since I saw the flames on the freeway. Surely there would have been officials en’route. Without assuming, I called 911. I told them I’m at the scene of a fire. Asking a few general questions as to where I was, they said they had “already dispatched to the Southbound side of 15 at Mira Mesa” I then heard the faint sound firetrucks in the background – they indeed had been dispatched. Wait! I told the dispatcher that the fire was not on the 15. It was in the backside of Mira Mesa College. I rattled off the street names from my GPS and some other details. She took my notes and let me go.

White smoke = steam from water.

A few minutes later, a cop showed up and I directed him to behind the building where the fire was. Within 4-5min a boatload of firetrucks showed. And then a few more cops, and then a few more firetrucks. There must have been 2 dozen firefighters, 4 or 5 cops. Within 8-10 min, they had 2 or 3 main lines charged up and dowsing the flames. It was out in less than 2 minutes.

I just sat quietly off to the side. I felt odd. Some civilian dude, in a shirt & tie, obviously after a long night, or day at work, hanging out on the side of a scene of a fire at 1:00am, in some remote, weird location behind some college buildings, snapping a few pics. One of the firemen, a female actually, approached and asked me how I was there. I just told her the quick version of above. She thanked me, I thanked her. It was a cool way to end a long, and at times, Odd day.

I forgot to mention that I was simply trying to chase a few firetrucks.