Being prepared

We live across the street from a mid-rise retirement/semi-assisted living facility.  The number of emergency calls to the building is high, which really isn’t surprising.  We hear sirens at al hours of the day and night.  Sometimes, the trucks go to this building first, only to realize the call was to another nearby building, so they have to move to the right location.

Right now, I am looking down at four fire trucks as they respond to a call.

The first-responders to most of these calls is the “rescue truck.”  These are the guys that have the basics of every major emergency on-board.  They go in and assess the situation and call for appropriate backup. Sometimes the backup is other fire trucks. Usually it is an ambulance.  Depending on the details provided in the emergency call, the backup is often on the way before the rescue truck fully assesses the situation.

Today’s call was apparently a fire call of some sort.  The rescue truck loaded guys up with hoses and other gear and they hurried into the building.  Other guys began hooking hoses up from the truck to the standpipe system.  Other trucks began arriving, preparing and waiting for further instructions.

The hoses were never charged. Just about the time everything was set up, they began cleaning it up.  The situation was aparently not severe.  Only two trucks remain and most of the gear is packed up.

I’m sure the emergency-responders get tired of getting calls from that building.  Especially when the situation sounds worse than it actually is.  But, some of the calls are genuine emergencies and need the full response the situation requires.  The first-responders can not delay, nor can they approach any call half-heartedly . . . because they don’t know which calls are more serious than others.

I am reminded to approach my life the same way. I can’t always assess up-front how much effort and energy it will require.  I need to stay prepared to go all-in every time.  I also need to know how to quickly assess the situation once I’m in to know how many resources it will require to get done.

Four trucks showed up today, but only one got all of its gear unpacked.  The four trucks demonstrated an appropriate preparedness to go all-in, but the follow-up actions demonstrated the ability to assess and act appropriately.

I was a Boy Scout, and the Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared.”

How can I learn from this today?  How about you?