Firefighting & Rescue Social / Professional Network
Ghosts in Firehouses?
OK, so I wasn`t sure where to post this topic. I figure the Non Duty Forum would be the best place yet my experiances have been on duty. If you have read any of my posts before, you`ll know that I`m a tad bit "off". That may answer a lot..... I won`t name the Fire Departments where my "contacts" have taken place. I`ll just use our company`s "System Status designator" name.
I work of the area`s ALS provider. We cover several counties in Michigan. We follow a system status protocol. We post at various fire stations within our coverage area. All the stations are volunteer. The stations vary in age from 10 years to well over 100 years in service. Some stations are within villiage limits and others are out in the "boonies".
One day during a class break, my bud John and I were BS`ing about ghosts at the various stations. Station 3 has one that stands in a corner near the TV. At station 2, the ghost seems to just appear anywhere in the tiny crew`s quarters. At station 24, the ghosts seems to like to hang out in the classroom area. That guy smokes a pipe, so I`m very fond of him. John explained how he encountered the ghost at station 3. Just a pale image of a person standing next to the wall. Station 3 is a beautiful old house. It has been in service since 1886 if my memory serves me right. The crew quarters now is in the back of what used to be the apparatus floor, maybe even in the barn area. 3`s is a classic firehouse. 3 story brick building within the villiage limits. Wonderful hose/bell tower still intact. The bell has recently been taken down from the tower. The chief has had a LOT of restoration work done on the exterior of the building. The bell is now on the floor of the newer part of the station and is being restored by dept members.
I have been working in the county where station 3 is located off and on for 2 years. My matrix is now in that particular county. I work there nights 4 nights a week. In the last couple weeks, when I get home from my shift, I noticed that my nametag was upside down on my uniform shirt. I thought that somewhat odd since I put the nametag on the shirt while it is on a hanger, after I iron it just before my shift. Our nametags are plastic with 2 straight pins that are held on with those round spring loaded backers. I figured that maybe in a hurry to get ready for work, I may have hung them upside down. Nobody had told me about the tag being upside down. We usually josh each other about uniform condition anyhow. So, last Friday night, I was at station 3. It was dead slow, which is crazy for station 3 on a Friday. The usual Friday "up north" traffic along I-127 always gives us a good MVC. Not this night. I read for a few hours, BS`d on my FaceBook a while and cleaned the back of the truck. Around 4 ish I decided to catch a nap. Something woke me up at around 4:30, I sat up and could feel something touching my chest. I looked down at my nametag, sure as shit, it was turning around almost in place to be upside down. I said aloud..."hey, what are you doing?" By now I`m standing up, in front of my face, I see the round backer clip floating. Just floating in front of my face. It slowly moved over the coffee table then dropped as if let go by someone`s hand. It fell to the table. Realizing what had just happened, I started laughing and said aloud..."you lil shit, it`s you that`s been doing that". I didn`t get a reply but I could feel a bit of that leftover humor you feel after a good laugh. This ghost has been known to change the TV channels or raise the volume up or down on the TV. He`s quite a character as I now see.
My experiance at station 24 isn`t as outward as the one at station 3. Station 24 is a rural firehouse. Maybe 20 year old building. It`s a very up to date, very "professional" volunteer department. When I have worked at 24, it`s usually at night. I take a book and sit in the huge classroom so I don`t bug my partners, who are usually trying to catch a nap as they watch TV. I`m a smoker. At station 24, we`re allowed to smoke out in the back of the apparatus floor. While I sit in the classroom and read, every once and a while I`d notice pipe smoke. A faint hint of an arromatic would pass by my nose, as if to say."smoke break". I`d laught to myself and say aloud..."sure, let`s go smoke"......If I`m there reading for more than a few hours, the "smoke breaker" would hit me about every hour or so. I was curious, so I walked around the classroom. Looking for a possible source to the pipe smoke. No AC units or heaters were on. No forgotten piper`s smoke bag left in the classroom.
At station 2 I only saw a "ghost" one time. I was asleep in the middle of the night. I woke up to see someone standing next to my chair. It was August and that station is usually very hot, even with the AC cranking. I woke up because I got really REALLY cold. When I woke up, this thing was standing there next to the lazyboy. I yelled."get the F outa here!".......I heard a low sigh type growl as this thing faded away. Now, I`m not sure if that was real of a dream. We had watched Escanaba In The Moonlight the night before. maybe I was just dreaming about the "buck fever" ghosts??.....lol.....
As John and I talked about our "sightings", a coworker and fellow classmate was listening in on the conversation. Mel said.......guys, you`re just doing that to scare me. I hate ghosts......We said, hell no, they scare us too.
So, imagine our delight that night. Mel was posted down to station 2. At about sundown her medic gets on the radio and asks MedCom if they can post at station 1. "My partner wants to see more action, she`s bored down here"......She wanted to get away from the ghosts John and I had planted in her head. She now works at station 24, 5 nights a week. I slipped and was telling another coworker about the ghost at 24 when Mel was within earshot. It worked.......Her partner, a pipe smoker, has been waking in the middle of the night. He`s lit a bowl in the classroom then put it out fast and gone back to "sleep". She wakes up and walks around turning all the lights on. Her partner said he`s going to give her a month of that then wake up screaming in the middle of the night, running to the truck yelling.."I`m not going back in there!!!!"........
Are we wrong for doing this?
Are these ghosts real?
Tell me about what you`ve experianced with "ghosts" in firehouses. My experiances have all been fun for sure.
Aside from ghosts at firehouses. I have had the wonderful pleasure of actually having contact with my grandfather. He passed when I was 14. I`m not crazy either, lol, my cousin has had similar contact with gramps. He was a warped mind alive, fun and full of life. He`s still that way long after he`s gone from here. I remember him taking us to his gravesite for picnics before he was even ill. Long before he died. He`d say...."I want you to know where I`ll be when I`m planted, so you visit". Even though it`s 180 miles from where I live now. When I`m in Toledo, I still go visit him. I walk up and start laughing, smiling all the while. Remembering those picnics right where I`m standing. With him, grandma and my cousins.
OK, talk to me. What "contacts" have you had?
Don`t take life too serious. Live , love, smile and laugh. It beats the hell out of crying!
I work of the area`s ALS provider. We cover several counties in Michigan. We follow a system status protocol. We post at various fire stations within our coverage area. All the stations are volunteer. The stations vary in age from 10 years to well over 100 years in service. Some stations are within villiage limits and others are out in the "boonies".
One day during a class break, my bud John and I were BS`ing about ghosts at the various stations. Station 3 has one that stands in a corner near the TV. At station 2, the ghost seems to just appear anywhere in the tiny crew`s quarters. At station 24, the ghosts seems to like to hang out in the classroom area. That guy smokes a pipe, so I`m very fond of him. John explained how he encountered the ghost at station 3. Just a pale image of a person standing next to the wall. Station 3 is a beautiful old house. It has been in service since 1886 if my memory serves me right. The crew quarters now is in the back of what used to be the apparatus floor, maybe even in the barn area. 3`s is a classic firehouse. 3 story brick building within the villiage limits. Wonderful hose/bell tower still intact. The bell has recently been taken down from the tower. The chief has had a LOT of restoration work done on the exterior of the building. The bell is now on the floor of the newer part of the station and is being restored by dept members.
I have been working in the county where station 3 is located off and on for 2 years. My matrix is now in that particular county. I work there nights 4 nights a week. In the last couple weeks, when I get home from my shift, I noticed that my nametag was upside down on my uniform shirt. I thought that somewhat odd since I put the nametag on the shirt while it is on a hanger, after I iron it just before my shift. Our nametags are plastic with 2 straight pins that are held on with those round spring loaded backers. I figured that maybe in a hurry to get ready for work, I may have hung them upside down. Nobody had told me about the tag being upside down. We usually josh each other about uniform condition anyhow. So, last Friday night, I was at station 3. It was dead slow, which is crazy for station 3 on a Friday. The usual Friday "up north" traffic along I-127 always gives us a good MVC. Not this night. I read for a few hours, BS`d on my FaceBook a while and cleaned the back of the truck. Around 4 ish I decided to catch a nap. Something woke me up at around 4:30, I sat up and could feel something touching my chest. I looked down at my nametag, sure as shit, it was turning around almost in place to be upside down. I said aloud..."hey, what are you doing?" By now I`m standing up, in front of my face, I see the round backer clip floating. Just floating in front of my face. It slowly moved over the coffee table then dropped as if let go by someone`s hand. It fell to the table. Realizing what had just happened, I started laughing and said aloud..."you lil shit, it`s you that`s been doing that". I didn`t get a reply but I could feel a bit of that leftover humor you feel after a good laugh. This ghost has been known to change the TV channels or raise the volume up or down on the TV. He`s quite a character as I now see.
My experiance at station 24 isn`t as outward as the one at station 3. Station 24 is a rural firehouse. Maybe 20 year old building. It`s a very up to date, very "professional" volunteer department. When I have worked at 24, it`s usually at night. I take a book and sit in the huge classroom so I don`t bug my partners, who are usually trying to catch a nap as they watch TV. I`m a smoker. At station 24, we`re allowed to smoke out in the back of the apparatus floor. While I sit in the classroom and read, every once and a while I`d notice pipe smoke. A faint hint of an arromatic would pass by my nose, as if to say."smoke break". I`d laught to myself and say aloud..."sure, let`s go smoke"......If I`m there reading for more than a few hours, the "smoke breaker" would hit me about every hour or so. I was curious, so I walked around the classroom. Looking for a possible source to the pipe smoke. No AC units or heaters were on. No forgotten piper`s smoke bag left in the classroom.
At station 2 I only saw a "ghost" one time. I was asleep in the middle of the night. I woke up to see someone standing next to my chair. It was August and that station is usually very hot, even with the AC cranking. I woke up because I got really REALLY cold. When I woke up, this thing was standing there next to the lazyboy. I yelled."get the F outa here!".......I heard a low sigh type growl as this thing faded away. Now, I`m not sure if that was real of a dream. We had watched Escanaba In The Moonlight the night before. maybe I was just dreaming about the "buck fever" ghosts??.....lol.....
As John and I talked about our "sightings", a coworker and fellow classmate was listening in on the conversation. Mel said.......guys, you`re just doing that to scare me. I hate ghosts......We said, hell no, they scare us too.
So, imagine our delight that night. Mel was posted down to station 2. At about sundown her medic gets on the radio and asks MedCom if they can post at station 1. "My partner wants to see more action, she`s bored down here"......She wanted to get away from the ghosts John and I had planted in her head. She now works at station 24, 5 nights a week. I slipped and was telling another coworker about the ghost at 24 when Mel was within earshot. It worked.......Her partner, a pipe smoker, has been waking in the middle of the night. He`s lit a bowl in the classroom then put it out fast and gone back to "sleep". She wakes up and walks around turning all the lights on. Her partner said he`s going to give her a month of that then wake up screaming in the middle of the night, running to the truck yelling.."I`m not going back in there!!!!"........
Are we wrong for doing this?
Are these ghosts real?
Tell me about what you`ve experianced with "ghosts" in firehouses. My experiances have all been fun for sure.
Aside from ghosts at firehouses. I have had the wonderful pleasure of actually having contact with my grandfather. He passed when I was 14. I`m not crazy either, lol, my cousin has had similar contact with gramps. He was a warped mind alive, fun and full of life. He`s still that way long after he`s gone from here. I remember him taking us to his gravesite for picnics before he was even ill. Long before he died. He`d say...."I want you to know where I`ll be when I`m planted, so you visit". Even though it`s 180 miles from where I live now. When I`m in Toledo, I still go visit him. I walk up and start laughing, smiling all the while. Remembering those picnics right where I`m standing. With him, grandma and my cousins.
OK, talk to me. What "contacts" have you had?
Don`t take life too serious. Live , love, smile and laugh. It beats the hell out of crying!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by DUST on
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Very cool topic I've enjoyed reading these posts a lot. I have had 2 ghosts experiences but neither occured at the fire station. I have had that feeling that I was not alone down in the truck bays to the point where my hair is standing up and I make a quick dash to a bay door to open rather than continue to walk through the dark bays.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Shaw on -
Don't most ghosts inhabit places near to where they died? If you have had no recorded deaths in your station, and it isn't built on an old Indian burial ground, why worry?
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Permalink Reply by Ralph L. Carr IV on -
Alan,
I`m not sure if anyone died in the building. It`s 113 years old and I`ve only lived around here 3 years. It`s not that I am worried at all about the "ghost". I think it`s fun. He just likes messing with the crews sometimes. Isn`t that what life in a firehouse is all about anyhow? This is a small town volunteer dept. Back in the day, the crews lived at the house and stood "fire watch" in the hose/bell tower. This "ghosts" can do whatever he pleases, it`s his home afterall. When I walk into the crew quarters, I always say hi to him.....lol..
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Permalink Reply by Lt. Dan (1508) on -
I can honestly say that I haven't had any "contact" with otherworldly beings at the firehouse... yet. We recently purchased the building and land next door and had it demolished for a 5600 square foot addition. That building, long ago, was a funeral home. My sister work in the building when it was a restaurant and she witnessed many unexplainable things. I am curious as to whether that will continue when our building is done.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Shaw on
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I didn't mean worry, like the ghosts were going to come get you.
My mom was a big believer in ghosts so I grew up hearing stories. Most of my family remembers seeing what we always called the ghost cat in the house I grew up in. Never really looked like a cat to me, but there was a low dark shadow (about a cat's size and shape) that would seem to walk around corners, only ever seen out of the corner of ones eye.
My mom also told me the story of seeing her father a little while after he died, sitting in her room, she woke up and he told her everything was going to be OK and to take care of her mother.
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Permalink Reply by Ralph L. Carr IV on
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I`m sure most "sightings" are the "see`re`s imagination. Then again, who knows. I think it`s fun. Since the night I called the "ghost" at station 3 a chit, my nametag hasn`t showed up, upside down.....
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Permalink Reply by Bill Deutsch on -
I've spent quite a few tours in the Oldest continuous use firehouse in the state. The pole was removed in the mid 20th Century. The wooden stairs leading from the ground floor bays to the 2nd floor Quarters are narrow and steep and noisy. Just walking on them yields a creak and groan at every step. A hurried trip up or down sounds like a drum solo. No chance of sneaking up or down. I and most of the others who live/work there have heard the distinctive sound of someone rushing up or down the stairs, but the fire doors don't open. If we go look, there's no one there. That we can see.
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Permalink Reply by Ralph L. Carr IV on
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It`s just a brother from long ago going about his duties. I was telling a partner about station 3 a couple weeks ago, and when she walked in the crew quarters door, the rocker was rocking....lol....She screamed an ran into the newer part of the station. I really like that "ghost" he`s fun. John said it was playing with his radio`s antena last week. Bending it back and forth as he watched TV. He didn`t realize it until the radio slid a couple inches from the momentum of the antean swinging...lol
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