A Day with The Eagan Fire Department

On September 11th, 2012, I had the opportunity to watch as some members of the Eagan Fire Department participated in a training exercise.  Faced with such a great opportunity, there's no way I couldn't bring my camera.  The irony of the date was not lost on me, and as I snapped away I couldn't help but think about the 300+ firefighters who died on this date in 2001.

The men and women who make up EFD are mostly volunteers living in the community, people with full time jobs and daily demands on their time, just like many of us.  Still, they give their time because they have a desire to be a helping part of the community, and I could tell there was a feeling of pride and camaraderie among them during this training.

Here, firefighters listen and absorb information and last minute instructions to train hard and be safe.

Providing the instructions and always monitoring safety.  These folks take their training very seriously.

Gearing up.

While everyone gears up, there's a crew on the other side of the training building stoking the fire to keep it real.  Real hot, that is.

Back here, these firefighters keep it hot, all in the name of training.

You can't get water to the fire without a hose.  Everyone pulls their weight here.

And you can't get water to the hoses without the engineer.  Today's fire trucks are incredibly sophisticated machines...

...with really cool looking, and REALLY LOUD sirens!

Thermal sensing devices help firefighters see through smoke.

When the exercise is over, it's time to roll up the hoses and pack up the equipment.  Everybody works as a team.

Thank you, Eagan Fire Department, for giving me and my camera the opportunity to spend a few hours watching you train.  And a heartfelt Thank You for what you do!