Cap’s Long Day
Cap
leaned back in his chair and contemplated the stack of papers on his desk. Only mid-afternoon, it seemed like they’d
put in a full shift already and he was tired.
Too tired to tackle the paperwork that waited there for him. The headache that had plagued him all day
was slowly gathering force, and Hank briefly considered a quick break and a
couple of aspirin. But the
responsibility of being captain was something Hank Stanley did not take
lightly. He reached for the next folder
and began flipping through the sheaf of papers.
Man
has this been a long day.
A
sharp knock at his door announced Chief McConnikee’s entrance.
”Afternoon, Hank.”
“Chief. What can I do for you?”
Hank had stood to shake hands
with his superior and the men seated themselves as a brief silence fell between
them.
”Hank, you’re probably wondering why I’ve stopped by today, so I’ll get right
to the point.”
Captain Stanley nodded in
agreement, restlessly moving some of the papers aside on his desk.
Reaching into his briefcase,
McConnikee removed a thick manila folder and laid it in front of Hank, then
leaned back in his chair.
“We need to talk about OSHA
regulations and our liability insurance.”
Hank groaned and leaned his
elbows on the surface before him.
Resting his forehead briefly in his hands, he felt the lurking headache
finally take command of his senses.
“Sorry, Hank. This is something we’ve needed to discuss
for some time, and I just couldn’t put it off any longer. You see, I’ve just finished a workshop on
OSHA regulations and reporting. Along
with that, there’s a new set of guidelines regarding what type of incidents
must be reported and what our insurance company will cover. I’ve been looking over the records for this
station, and, well, there seems to be a trend developing here.”
Slumping further into his
chair, head shaking slowly, Hank knew what was coming next.
“Let’s just take a look at
this 200 Log, Hank. I think you’ll see
what I’m getting at.”
Moving from his chair to the
desk, Chief McConnikee stood quietly next to Hank and opened the folder. There in plain site, rested the dreaded 200
Log. Captain Stanley couldn’t seem to
gather the strength to look directly at the missive. Raising his head, eyes searching the room for some type of
escape, Hank swallowed another groan.
It wouldn’t do to lose total control, especially in front of the
Chief. He’d known this day would come,
sooner or later. He’d just been hoping
it would be later.
The Chief waited patiently
for Hank’s full attention. Finally,
with no escape in sight, the Captain looked directly at the white sheet in
front of him and breathed a long sigh.
“Yes, Chief. What seems to be the trouble?”
Why didn’t I take those
aspirin when I had the chance?
“Well, Hank. There seems to be quite a few injuries
recorded for Station 51.”
“Yes, Chief, there
does.”
Man, could this day get
any worse?
“And it seems that quite a
few of those injuries are taking place during your shift.”
“Yes, Chief, it does seem
that way.”
Can’t I come up with
something to say other than: “ Yes, Chief?”
I sound like a robot.
“And there seems to be one name that is repeated here quite frequently.”
“Yes, Chief, it looks like
you’re right.”
Yep, I wonder who’s name
that might be. . .
“Are you the one that fills
out this log?”
“Yes, Chief. I handle all those records myself.”
Why wouldn’t those klaxons
sound when you needed them?
“So there’s no chance that a
mistake has been made? What I mean to
say is, are there really this many entries attributed to this one employee?”
“Yes, sir, that’s
correct.”
There, found something
other than, “Yes, Chief.”
“Hmmm. Well, Hank. What seems to be the trouble with this young man?”
Chief, you don’t have enough time for me to explain
this guy and his actions to you. It’s
almost like there’s someone out there who plans these accidents and his
injuries for their own enjoyment.
The chief paused briefly, but when no answer came from Stanley, he continued.
“The man seems to be smart enough, did well in all his exams. He’s been with the department for quite awhile. Why’s he experiencing so many injuries? Is he unsafe? You know, the OSHA inspector could be sent out here any time to investigate. Are you prepared to answer the questions they’ll have for you?”
Hank wasn’t even prepared to
answer all the questions the chief just asked him and the pounding headache had
now turned into a full-fledged war of sledgehammers. He sat quietly in his chair, contemplating which question he
should answer first, and finally decided he’d answer none of them, at least not
in the traditional way.
“Let me explain, Chief. This young man is a very dedicated
fireman. He cares deeply for the people
he rescues or attempts to. Although
some of his techniques are a bit, unorthodox, he is always extremely careful
with his patients. Every case I’ve
entered in the log has presented extreme hazards, and I doubt anyone performing
those rescues would’ve come out unscathed.
Our biggest problem is probably the fact that this particular fireman is
the one who volunteers first for the most dangerous rescues.”
Chief McConnikee listened
attentively to Hank’s rather winded argument in his crew- member’s
defense. He shrugged slightly as he hid
a faint grin from the man. Well aware
of the closeness of this particular shift, he didn’t want to push Stanley too
far, but this was a serious situation.
OSHA regulations were not something to be ignored and the chief knew
full well the serious affects of an inspection.
“Hank, I’m going to leave
this in your hands for now. You’ll need
to speak to this young man, and I’ll trust you to impress on him the importance
of safety on each and every call. I
haven’t even begun to tell you about all the calls we’ve received from our
insurance carrier, but I have a feeling I should leave that for another day.”
The chief studied Hank for a
moment before continuing.
“You look all in, man. Maybe you’d better take a few aspirin and
grab a cup of coffee.”
The chief slapped Hank across
the back as he flipped the folder closed.
“I’ll just take this with me
for now. They need it back at the
office to prepare a summary for the year-end files. You’ll get a copy back when they’re finished. Any questions?”
“No, Chief. Thanks for stopping by.”
Yes, thanks for really
making my day. Just wait til I get a
hold of this particular young fireman.
After all he’s put me through, I’ll have him cleaning latrines for a
month!
With that, Hank stood and
prepared to escort the chief to his car.
As they reached the door to the apparatus bay, the klaxons finally
sounded.
With a deep sigh, Hank
muttered softly, “Too late to help me
now.”
Stepping quickly to the radio
to jot down the address, Captain Stanley glanced back as he heard the
approaching footsteps.
Hank immediately sensed the
disaster about to happen, for there in front of him was Gage, sliding around
the corner of the squad at full speed in his customary fashion. And standing directly in his path: Chief
McConnikee.
Captain Stanley shook his
head in quiet dismay as Gage barreled into the chief’s back, the impact sending
both men sprawling to the concrete floor.
Yep, Hank thought as he picked up the mic to call a Code I
into dispatch, it’s been a long day.
It’s been a very long day.
The End
Thanks
to Kenda & Audrey for their support and encouragement; to Kenda for the beta
read and to Ken for sending me to the OSHA workshop where this little piece was
born (yes, I really did pay attention).
