Over the years I have witnessed and been out many a storm helping others in their time of need. From a lightening strike on a church on Xmas day, to being up on the roof taking down the remains of a dangerous structure chimney with lightening flashing all over the place over head.
We do everything to control our safety whilst up on the roof, but we are at the mercy of mother nature and the elements. Flash floods, gale force winds, hail stones, thunder and lightening.
Yet fighting it is hopeless. We cannot hold it back, re-direct it or stop it. As a team we bond and work together to resolve the situation as best we can with what we have. I recall another festive period where we called out to flooding after flooding. In the end we were doing the minimum with plastic sheets at the doors with clods of earth dug up from their gardens to hold it down.
Fire Service life is all about improvise. Not sure they teach this any more. Every piece of kit has many uses, it just doesn't know it yet lol.
Last night we had a storm brew and show itself. We are about an hour away from the mountains, close enough and it seems far enough to miss the worst of it. I fully appreciate the sound is amplified by the mountains and valleys, but last night's storm was pretty impressive and makes you see just how insignificant we really are.
The angry clouds just clustered and grew, but it was the light show that just kept going and the distant continuous thunder that when it caught up with the storm, you knew it had arrived.
An incredible light show using the clouds as its backdrop, and then out of it came 1 bolt, straight down to the ground. Thump!! Again our remaining 2 x single pained windows rattled in their frames. That's some serious air pressure and power.
But what amazed me the most was the strength of this storm in that around 2am, and by this time it had moved over and away, we had bright stars directly above and clear skies as far as we could see, yet the skies were still being lite up by the lightening that was many miles away.
Storms come into our lives for natures reasons and we have our own storms and challenges of various sizes to contend with too, and at fires we have to hit it hard, at times taking intense heat to prevent it escalating, but when its raining we cannot stop it. If we learn to embrace and accept the outcome from things we cannot change and that are beyond our control, then we are on the road to being content within so we no longer have to worry about this issue.
We owe it to ourselves to be happy and enjoy life too remember.
For not having to respond and be out in it any more, I am grateful
For not having house damaged, I am grateful
Grateful for many things and the simplicity's of life.
We cannot stop it.....only embrace and accept it. Humble in acceptance.
Bon weekend everyone and keep talking if needed, stay safe.
