What The Luck!?

"Now, when approaching a fire the wind can change at any second making a seemingly safe position exceedingly dangerous. What is the recommended gear for protecting from sparks and smoke blown by the wind?" Reach was already quizzing them on the videos that had watched which shook Asher from his deep thinking. 

"Flame retardant jacket and pants with long legs and sleeves. And a mask thing?" Asher was able to answer the first half but forgot the name for the masks that fire fighters usually wore. 

"Asher, the name is gas mask or filtered respirator. The two versions are on the mannequin over there. I don't even have eyes and I can see it." Mat found this hysterical and started to laugh so much he nearly fell from his chair. 

"You use that joke all the time. We get it you are blind biologically but can still see. You are so creepy." Jess started to form a small hammer with her hair before Reach cleared his throat and made the two freeze in place. 

"Sorry"

"Yeah, sorry" 

The two were seriously scared of Reach who had only needed to clear his throat to end their fooling around. "Asher, the proper names will be important in real life. If you ask for the wrong gear for a situation you could become a victim yourself. What do you think would happen if you walked toward a windy fire with your school clothing on?" 

Asher thought for a second then realized that his clothing was all polyester fabrics. "They would definitely burn because of the material." 

"Exactly. But with the proper gear, you can resist the flames and heat to rescue someone or even assist in putting the fire out. Now, let's move on to why we cut the brush ahead of the fire and dig trenches if time allows." Reach continued on with the lecture while Asher examined all the gear on display within the room. 

He had only looked at it in passing but was now able to see it all clearly. The rock climbing gear was all set up with double the items required. There was a second set of ropes, carabiners, and even a second harness. This would mean that it was made for the rescue of a second person. 

"Reach?" Asher was slightly hesitant not to use Mr. or professor but was able to brush it off when Reach looked at him will his full attention. 

"What questions do you have?" Reach was still straight faced but it was clear he was welcoming questions. Unknown to Asher, not many would ask him questions due to his seriousness and slightly intimidating stature. 

"I see that the climbing mannequin has extra gear for a rescue. Would someone need to carry extra gear for a victim in a forest fire?" Reach looked slightly surprised and went to the closet to grab a large duffle bag. 

"In a forest fire, the gear is very heavy and slows down those who wear it. Carrying a full second set is very dangerous. But it is possible to give the main jacket to a victim and have one of these underneath or to provide a foil blanket that reflects heat." Reach pulled out a thinner jacket made from a silver material. 

"Oh, I have seen firefighters wear those on the news. They are supposed to be just as good as the thick jackets at protecting from sparks and flames but not as good as heat. They are very stylish though." Jess had seen them multiple times and jumped to try it on while looking at herself with her phone camera. 

"This is the blanket. It is made with reflective material and rarely needs any upkeep. It folds very small and is very light. This has been used for many years but still exists as a must carry safety item for dry climates." Reach shared this knowing that the kids would most likely not enjoy this as much as the high tech jacket which was more modern. 

However, Asher walked right up and started to examine the foil blanket. "These should be cheaper and easier to carry multiple. I could help way more people with this than one jacket." It just seemed like common sense to him. If he could assist more people then it was way more worthwhile to get the foil blankets than to get the jacket that he would most likely need to pay more for anyways. 

"Exactly right. That just earned you five points of extra credit. A helicopter could drop a hundred of thee in one trip where they could only drop a few jackets due to price points and manufacturing. This is one size fits all whereas the jackets need to be the right size for someone." Reach was energized by having a student that stuck to the safety standards and also looked to help more than a small number of victims. 

"Wait! He gets extra credit? On his first day? We have never gotten extra credit before?" Matt was beside himself hearing that the newest student to their class had been given extra credit so soon. It was something he had never even had the chance to grasp. 

"He was able to ask a question that improved the quality of today's lesson. Did you ever do that?" Reach loomed over Matt after saying this, snuffing out any opposition left. 

"In that case, I will strive to ask more appropriate questions." Jess was huffy because she had not asked questions either and did not realize she had been missing out on the possibility of extra credit all year thus far. 

The remainder of the class was filled with various questions and a huge amount of notes. Asher felt that he had learned more in this two hour class period than he had in all of his other classes combined. The sheer volume of knowledge on the specific forest fire rescue protocols was invaluable to him and his friends. He didn't even hesitate to send a copy of his notes to the group chat when he heard the bell ring. 

His excitement was too high as he was looking forward to the next day of classes and Asher darted out to the front of the building beating Jane and Art there. "You guys are so slow today!" When the two finally made it Asher had barely contained his excitement. 

"Bro, why did you send so many notes on fire safety?" Art had been very confused after seeing what Asher had sent the group. 

"Disaster relief training started today for me. I learned way more than I thought I would. It is all super important for rescues and stuff. Oh, check it out Jackson might be jealous." Asher saw a longer message from Jackson. 

"He did send a long message to the group." Jane started to read it out loud, "That class sounds like it is a required class for me to take if I want to be an expert at search and rescue. Thank you for the notes. I will look in to taking it after I finish my current course. Can you please share more notes so that I can get a head start? I will look forward to them. If you want I will meet you tomorrow at lunch to talk more." 

"Wow, he really got excited. But that's good, we will be able to all improve more as a group." Asher was very happy that Jackson had shown interest so much. They could both work to improve each other in this aspect making them a way better group for resues. 

"Do you think I should take that class too? I can take it next semester or maybe next year? There are way too many classes to choose though." Art was struggling with what he should take. 

"Naaah it is better fr me to take it and just continue the courses all the way through t the final one. I will share notes and I am sure Jackson will take it too. You should take something else that the group will need and that you can teach us." Art liked the sound of what he was hearing. If they did what Asher was suggesting they would be learning almost eight times what other students were learning.

"This is cool. We are already making progress in becoming real heroes. We have our classes that directly affect our heroics in the future and we are going to show off our skills in a tournament soon." Jane was getting ahead of Art and Asher as she too realized just how exciting the whole situation was. "Hurry up, we can do some training before I go home. I want to show you the block I was practicing today and how I can use it to stop that wheel kick of yours!" 

Jane pushed Asher on and soon he was chasing after Jane who had started running. Art refused to be left out and followed the two. They were off to another school night of training and dedicated studying. Before any of them knew it the night had already loomed overhead. 

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