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If you can't stand the heat... Bush to World: Go to BlazesBy Rick Horowitz
When the first alarm came clanging in at Fire Station Eagle, a dozen men stopped what they were doing and prepared for battle. "Brush fire at Global Gardens," the dispatcher announced. "Let's get on it." "Not so fast," said Captain Bush. Global Gardens was the new condo development about a mile from the station. They could be there inside of two minutes, the men figured, and have the fire out in five. Their coffee would still be warm. But Captain Bush had other ideas. He was the new captain at Fire Station Eagle, and he had his own ways of dealing with things. "What do we know about this fire?" he asked his men. They stared back at him blankly. "Well," said one, "we know where it is, and we know what it is. What else do we need to know?" Captain Bush seemed unimpressed. "Before I send my men out to fight a fire," he said, "I need to know a lot more than that. I need to have the most recent and the most accurate and the most comprehensive data about the entire issue of fire prevention and fire suppression. I need a report." "A report?" "Absolutely. You aren't going anywhere until I see a report. Smith, Jones, McElroy -- you pull together everything that's out there, all the latest information. What we know, and what we don't know." "But, sir -- the fire? It's gone to two alarms." "The fire can wait -- this won't take long. Stand down, men, and return to your stations." Captain Bush may have had his own ways of dealing with things, but he was still the captain. So the men went back to what they were doing, except for Smith and Jones and McElroy, who pulled together every scrap of paper they could find about Global Gardens and about brush fires at condo developments. Then they stapled it all together and rushed it over to where the captain sat fiddling with his radio dial. "Some of 'em say it'll be 82 degrees tomorrow," he said in disgust, "and some of 'em say 83. How's a man supposed to know what to wear?" "The report, sir? You wanted our report -- can we go fight the fire now? It's a three-alarmer." But Captain Bush didn't respond. Instead, he took the report and -- lips moving, brow furrowed -- read every last word of it. Then he dropped it on his desk and gazed out across the room. "Just as I suspected," he said. "All sorts of uncertainty." "Uncertainty, sir?" "You bet. We don't know how the fire got started -- was it human activity, or some natural cause? If it was humans, we don't know which humans. We don't know how intense the flames are. We don't know exactly when hot becomes too hot. We don't know if maybe we once did something that's actually helping the fire to spread." "But it sure is spreading, sir -- it's up to four alarms. Shouldn't we at least -- " "I don't see why we should do anything until we have the answers. All the answers." The men were in an uproar. Global Gardens was in flames! People could be hurt, even killed! They had to act now, before it was too late! Captain Bush thought for a minute, then he spoke to his men. "You're right," he said. "It's time to act." "So we'll fight the fire?" The men looked intent, eager. Captain Bush looked calm. "Of course not," he said. "We'll do some more research." Posted 6/14/01. Feeling
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Rick Horowitz
