If it's stupid, but it works... It's not stupid.

As many of you know, I volunteer at a local Fire Department here. Last week we had an interesting call. It happened during our drill night.

We were practicing drafting and shuttling and, of course, as soon as we hook everything up, the tones go off. There is a call for a suspicious smell in an area with a lot of power lines. The person thinks it might be an electrical fire. The area is very close to a local elementary too. So, we suit up and take off. When we get to the address, there is a sign out front that says "Katrina Recovery Efforts -- FEMA -- Army Corps of Engineers... etc etc"

The gate to the compound is locked but there is a distinct odor in the air. It doesn't smell quite electrical, but I can't place my finger on it. Dispatch doesn't have a combination to the lock and we can't get anybody's attention to come and open the gate for us. So, Chief decides to jump the fence. He goes over and radios back that there is a garbage can on fire inside the gates. It's not a big fire though and someone is on the way to unlock the gate so we wait.

The person gets there and informs us that it is not FEMA that owns the compound but the sign is a front for what actually goes on there. It is the County Narcotics Investigation Unit. Nice. The gentlemen informs us not to worry, they are just burning "stuff." Then I realize what the smell is.

The fun never stops.