The city of Hadriel

[ On the south shore of North Island, Ignis Scientia and Curufin Fëanorion stand in front of a stack of boards. The construction of the North Island pier has commenced. It will be a low, narrow, and simple structure, but solidly built. Shovels, picks, hand-crank drills, and sledgehammers are leaned against the embankment, where it is obvious that some earth-moving is already taking place in order to accommodate the structure as it goes up. The logs that will stand upright to uphold the walkway are already cut and shaped and are ready to be driven into the muck at the bottom of the water. Saws, hammers, pliers, and other tools are stacked neatly in their bins near the lumber, and cans of nails and fasteners. Gleams of sunlight break through the clouds occasionally, although a faint mist lies on the water, and the breeze is slight. It's a great day to work, not too hot and not too cold. ]

Welcome to our humble construction site! We intend to make life easier for anybody who uses a boat. Now you won't have to moor offshore and wade to get to the beach, just tie up at the pier and stroll along the walkway. When we're finished here, we'll move on to the other islands and do the same, so that everybody has a place to dock. We have some highly skilled people lined up to work with us already, but everybody who can dig or wield a hammer is welcome. We'll find you something meaningful to do!

[ They also won't mind if you show up just to cheer them on or serve the food. There are some tables with sandwiches and drinks, but the workers won't object if you bring more. ]

[ OOC: Ignis or Curufin or both will respond, and of course feel free to mingle! ]

[ And the post title is a quote that I mangled, from Criss Jami's Killosophy. ]

[ Curufin's face appears for a few moments in the frame. He grins. ]

Welcome to the Hadriel Fire Brigade and City Guard joint training exercises! This will be the first event of its kind, and we expect to have more them in the future. All are welcome! -- Brigade members, Guard members, and any Hadriel citizen who is interested in joining the Brigade. But you don't have to promise to join in order to take part. You are welcome if you are merely considering it, or simply interested in learning more about how to deal with a fire. You may also ask questions via the network, if you are not able to make it to this event but want to talk to somebody about the Fire Brigade and its functions.

[ He starts panning his phone camera around to show all the activities that are taking place along the north shore of the reservoir and nearby. ]

As you can see, we have built two fire engines, and we are giving the participants a chance to learn how to handle them. The first is a ladder truck and the second is a tanker truck.

[ The ladder truck is tearing around the curves of the nearest road, it's driver and riders whooping and screeching with glee. You can hear them all the way to the spot where Curufin is standing. ]

As you can see, the tanker truck is parked and we are practicing putting out a fire.

[ The tanker truck is parked beside a large wooden shack that the participants put up last week, and have now set on fire. Glowing orange and yellow flames sweep upwards from its roof. Unlike modern fire engines, this one contains its own water tank, since the firefighters do not (yet) have access to the city's water mains. The firefighters have already attached the hoses to the tank and opened up the valves and are trying to douse the flames. ]

And over there, we're running some practice scenarios that involve rescuing people from a burning building.

[ The view shifts to the disused, unoccupied spire next to Spire Two. People are running multiple flights of stairs, huffing and panting, with laughter and curses. They then descend, lugging the rescued "victims," carrying them on their shoulders. A group of people outside are waiting their turn to run up multiple flights of stairs to rescue either an actual person who has volunteered to be the rescuee or. . . a store dummy. They have a number of these doll-like objects on the lawn, and people have to carry them back up again periodically, as they run out of them upstairs in the spire. Good exercise for your calf muscles, that's for sure! -- whether you're carrying the dummy or one of your actual buddies. ]

And over there, we have a little tailoring operation set up. We're all going to need protective gear, including fire-resistant clothing, and there is a logbook for you all to put your names, sizes and measurements down. Somebody will be there to help you take your measurements if you don't know them.

[ Shot of a table with book, pencils and pens, tape measure, and cheerful helper. ]

And last but not least, here's our pumping station on the riverbank, where we get the water to fill the tanker truck's tank. There, also, is the building we are currently using to house the fire engines, and in which we are also building a second tanker trunk.

[ View of the waterworks building on the edge of the reservoir. You can't see the machinery inside, but you can see an open bay on the side away from the river, where the firefighters must park the tanker truck and screw the hoses into the apparatus inside and activate the pumping mechanism in order to draw up water from the reservoir and fill the truck tank. The second tanker truck, which is still being built, is parked outside of the firehouse. Around it are scattered tools and equipment, and people are working on it.]

And here's everybody's favorite activity -- the lunch table! As I said, everybody's welcome, including those who are just looking for a square meal at the moment.

[ View of the buffet table, which is really loaded. On it is also a stack of brochures with a description of the Fire Brigade and how to sign up. Somebody who can answer questions will be there as well. ]

If you're here in person, have fun and don't break a leg! But if you do, the first aid station is over there. [ Pan to another area by the water, where a table with first aid supplies is found, and somebody who can help. ]

If you just want to make inquiries or comments by phone, that's okay, too. I or another firefighter will reply.

Enjoy, everybody! And learn something new.

[ OOC: Feel free to post your character into any of these scenarios, or make up one of your own. Put something in the subject line to indicate which scenario it is. Examples: driving the firetruck, putting out fires, rescue operations, protective clothing tailoring, pumping station & machinery maintenance, building the second tanker truck, lunch table, first aid station. Or, like Curufin says, it's okay to talk to the firefighters by video or text. This is also a mingler, a free-for-all, so tag around if you like. The purpose of this net post is for the firefighters and Guard members to get together so that they'll all be on the same page when the real fire occurs, and for the firefighters (and Guard members, and interested parties) to do some rehearsing of their skills.

If you want to sign your character up to be a member of the Fire Brigade, you can go directly to this site, where there is information about the firefighters. The signup sheet is on this page. If you have any OOC questions to ask, contact Haze at tangyminx or PM me at so_dark_a_road. (I'm logged into Curufin's journal every day, so I'll get your message quickly.)

In case you haven't seen Hadriel's September Rundown, the mods have planned to BURN UP PART OF THE CITY on September 14. So now is a good time to join the Brigade! Or for that matter, the Guard. And because that is happening so soon, feel free to just post your characters in here with short threads or single comments. There'll be plenty of firefighting "for real" in just five days! ]