07/19/2026
“Picking up”
The walk back to the rig is usually quiet.
The equipment is dirty. The gear is soaked. You’re tired, sweaty, and a little beat up.
The adrenaline is gone, and the work isn’t over. It’s time to pick up.
To most people, a fire is a headline.
To the family standing outside, it’s one of the worst days of their lives.
There is nothing glamorous about a house fire. It’s a loss. It’s uncertainty. It’s watching memories disappear.
Our job isn’t to glorify it.
Our job is to stop it from being worse.
This photo was taken tonight after Truck 12 responded to an auto-aid structure fire in South Holland. Like departments across our division, we answer the call for one another because emergencies don’t stop at city limits.
We’ll pick up the hose, clean the tools, check the air bottles, and get ready for the next one.
Because someone else may need us before the shift is over.
That’s the job.
