NEW ORLEANS — Firefighters put their lives on the line every day, and at any minute a 911 call could come in. When that emergency call comes in, firefighters run toward the flames.
So imagine being a firefighter during a New Orleans summer, especially when excessive heat warnings are in place. The New Orleans Fire Department put our Eleanor Tabone to the test, to see if she could pass as a firefighter.
During the summer you and I take refuge inside, where there's air conditioning. Imagine if that luxury was snatched away from you, and you had to run into the heat of a fire.
That's what our firefighters do every day. When the heat index hits those record highs, these guys don't shy away.
Firefighter Christina Irey says firefighters train for New Orleans's brutal summers.
"It is grueling, it has its challenges, the heat is probably the biggest challenge of all," Irey said. "A lot of us will come out and run the towers you see behind me. We do a lot of workouts at the firehouse in general... we also stay hydrated as much as possible."
So if reporting in the heat wasn't bad enough, I accepted the challenge. Fitted with gear, I decided to take part in the firefighter agility test. Firefighters train to get into their gear in under two minutes.
Putting the 75 pounds of gear on in itself is hard, and I'm already sweating, and with a 20-pound hose lopped over my shoulder I was off.
By flight two, I am feeling the weight of all this gear.
At flight four, I'm questioning why I willingly accepted this challenge.
By the last flight, every muscle is burning.
The pain isn't over yet. A hose get's tossed over the tower and down six flights of stairs. To pass firefighters need to pull up the 50-foot hose in under 25 seconds. In 23 seconds, I got it over the wall.
The stair climb is one of five tests in the firefighter agility test. They have to complete the stair climb in under 75 seconds, I did it in 74.
Kaleb Joseph graduates from the firefighting academy next week.
"Firefighters aren't supposed to complain about the heat," Joseph said. "Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to save lives... I am a little bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I decided firefighting was for me."
While I passed, I think I'll stick to holding a microphone.
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