I was able to reassemble the American LaFrance truck to be used in Poser once again after losing it in November and made this image earlier this month along with a little story to go with the image. The call came in at 21:09 PM on January 5, 2022. "SVFD Engine 2... Structure fire sixteen kilometers North of Crystal City. GPS coordinates are ... Your assistance is required." Normally such a call would have been handled by another volunteer department closer to the fire but that department was attending a road accident and were not AOR ( Available On Radio ). Shiff, Cokie and Connie ran to the LaFrance and quickly got into their gear. Chief Bonnie headed for the F-150. Shiff started the truck. The GPS coordinates showed up on the Lieutenant's / Captain's monitor to her right. Connie, the Lieutenant, didn't like what she saw. "The fire is 42 kilometres (25 miles) from here. We gotta move !" She took out her phone and dialed a number which was promptly answered by Stan Wojcik a former firefighter of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. An injury forced him to leave the job he loved but his knowledge and experience were a valuable resource and asset to the Snowflake VFD. Stan's handle was Chicky. "Chicky, we got a structure fire North of Crystal City. We'll pick you up on the way." said Connie "No, give me the GPS info. I've got my gear and I'll get there in my pickup to see what I can do." was Stan's reply. Connie replied "You don't have an SCBA" **(Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus - respirator with an MSA or Scott oxygen bottle )** Stan ended the call. Connie didn't like that. However, Stan was 20Km (12 miles) closer and would get there first. Cokie was nearly in her gear when driver Shiff yelled out " Come on Cokie, let's go, let's go ! Shift the buns, woman !" Bonnie hopped into the F-150 which was recently equipped with Whelen light bars and sirens and roared out. Seconds later the LaFrance left the airfield and headed North. Connie's phone rang. It was Stan. "I can see the fire. The whole sky is lit up... This looks bad, guys" "Stan, don't try to be a hero, okay ?" replied Connie. Stan replied back "I can't promise that. Gotta go..." Shiff put the pedal nearly to the floorboards. With a full load of water, top speed would be a little over 120Kmh (70Mph) and what was more concerning, the structure fire was 42 kilometers away (25 miles). It would take twenty minutes to get there and a lot of bad can happen in that time. This is a rural area and lighting along the highway is nearly non-existent. Off in the distance, a tiny eerie orange red glow could be seen. An unnerving silence other than the wail of the sirens put the three on edge. Within fifteen minutes Bonnie arrived on scene and saw Stan exiting the fully engulfed structure carrying someone from the house. She quickly got out of the truck and ran towards Stan and as she did she could see the person Stan had carried out was that of a young girl. A teddy bear was a few feet away. "I got... (coughing) all of them (coughing) out" as Stan gasped for breath. The young girl was not breathing. Her parents were dazed and holding on to each other a few metres away. Bonnie Started mouth to mouth and Stan did his best to do chest compressions as he coughed. A few minutes pass. She pauses and calls Engine 2 on the radio. "Unresponsive young female. We're performing CPR. Hurry..." Connie turned around. "Cokie, we're almost there. Take the large med bag. Shiff will bring you the Zoll." Engine 2 arrives on scene. Cokie, grabbed the med bag, jumped out of the still moving truck and fell to the ground. She quickly got up and ran to Bonnie and Stan's location. Shiff jumped out of the driver's seat, grabbed the Zoll unit and made a bee- line to the trio. Shiff put the Zoll down and ran back to the truck to help Connie hook up the hoses. Cokie opened the med bag and handed Bonnie a breathing bag as she powered up the Zoll monitor / defib and began attaching probes to the young girl 's chest to get some readings from the Zoll. "Leads are on... Pause compressions..." Cokie looked at the monitor calling out "V-tach on the monitor. Resume compressions." ** V-tach is short for Ventricular Tachycardia which is a fast heart rate not allowing enough oxygenated blood to be delivered to the body. ** ** A shock or two from a defibrillator usually brings the heart back to normal operation. ** Cokie began placing two pads on the girls chest calling out "Attaching pads.... Pause compressions. Pads are on. Defibbing 100 Joules. Charging." A high pitch increasing in frequency eminated from the Zoll. A few seconds later the Zoll responded with "Shock advise" Cokie yelled "Everyone clear !" As the Zoll delivered it's shock there was the familiar "thump" sound. Breathing and chest compressions resumed for a few seconds. Cokie said "Let's do a pulse check. Pause compressions." Bonnie looked at the monitor saying "She's still in V-tach" "Charging 125 Joules" Cokie's voice reflected concern. "Charging !" The Zoll charged up once more. "Shock advise." "Everyone clear !" Another thump was heard as the Zoll discharged. Cokie looked at the monitor. The young girl was still in V-tach. Bonnie looked at Cokie and with trembling voice "You have to call it, Cokie..." Cokie looked at the tiny, lifeless body in front of her and began sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Time of death 9:39PM" Meanwhile, Connie and Shiff were doing their best to fight the blaze and eventually ran out of water. There was no fire hydrant to hook up the hoses. The structure would be a lost cause. Stan picked up the teddy bear and propped himself up against the left front wheel of the LaFrance. Bonnie and Cokie wept while trying to come to terms with the tragedy. Connie and Shiff, with tears in their eyes started getting all the gear together. The image : Volunteer firefighter Stan Wojcik ( pronounced Woe-chick) of the Snowflake Volunteer Fire Department holds the teddy bear of the deceased girl as Shiff tries to console Chief Bonnie North. The crew is devastated. They did their best but sometimes even heroes fail...