"We have an inbound emergency on the Ice Runway, LC130 inbound with engine #4 out," "911- there is an adult male passed out on the ice pier," "911- there is a vehicle heading for the Ice Runway emitting sparks and smoke."

To all that are reading, these quotes are a few of the emergency phone calls that I have dispatched since my arrival in October. The calls range from a fire alarm to an active oil spill that has to be contained by the spill team.

Normally there are about 2 calls a week. I have managed to average about 2 calls a DAY, during my day shifts, which has given me the nice nickname among the firefighters as "The Sh*t Magnet." To most this nickname would be offensive and cruel but here at the Firehouse this is an honor. Everyone loves when I work since it usually means they will have some type of emergency to go out on and get to put all their training to use. What I have come to learn is that the Antarctica Firehouse training program is one of the best around the world. I am definitely happy to know this, since a fire would be very detrimental to this small community. For example, if a dorm had a major fire or even the carpentry shop, the NSF would probably shut down the program until the repairs were completed. Unfortunately, this could mean an early trip back home for a lot of us. Keep your fingers crossed that this never happens, but if it does, I am happy to know we have such a great competent crew here to protect us. Wow, never thought I would say that about the people I work with.

So, what else can I tell you about my work? Well, on the other side I do answer a lot of phone calls for people's home phone extensions, and work phone numbers but I also keep track of everyone that goes on a hike, which could turn into an emergency call. If, for example, a group of people does not check back with me within 5 minutes of their estimated time of return from the hike, I start the process for a possible search and rescue. Since the conditions here can change quickly and drastically the average amount of time to rescue a person in such a cold environment is approximately 1 hour. Unfortunately some individuals here do not take this seriously, and I did have to start the search and rescue process on a crew that was just running late, but they forgot to call in. Crazy to think I might have had a helicopter looking for someone who was just taking a nice stroll.

For the month of November, I have been on the night shift (7am to 7pm). This shift is very quiet and has allowed me to paint 2 canvasses, write this blog entry, as well as play a lot of online games that I never knew existed until I came here. Who would have thought trying to keep a drunk-guy up with your mouse would be a fun thing to do for hours at a time. Take a look if you care to play too http://www.wagenschenke.ch.

Well, it is 4:00 am and Letterman just came on so I am going to sign off. I miss everyone and don't hesitate to email me. I always have time to write back.

Cheers!
Karen