In 2008, I was part of a cleanup that challenged my breakfast forever.

Growing up in a tiny East Texas town, I sadly never really put much thought to what I would do as an adult.

Of course I would be a fireman, a stunt man (thanks to The Fall Guy), and eventually a pilot/ astronaut. DUH. Isn't that what everyone wanted to do.

But those were dreams.

Never did I think I would one day travel the nation and world helping people get their lives back together and get paid for it. Never on my radar.

What those of us in the business love is we seldom know what the next phone call will bring.

2008, Cedar Rapids Iowa flooded. I mean BADLY flooded.

One cleanup I was part of was the Quaker Oats facilities. Multiple locations all over the region.

One thing you brain cannot phantom are the results of conditions. 


Quaker Oats stored their grain and oats in large (LARGE) solos and containers. When penetrated with water...you get one of the most horrendous odors you could almost imagine. 

Fermentation on that level is nauseating. 

This fermentation also creates extremely high levels of....Methane. A very explosive gas. 

So the cleanup required a lot of early tedious cleaning that included shovels.  100's of men and women to clean out and remove the fermenting material to be able to open up,  y the area and allow better equipment to remove everything. 

This was my first time with PAPR's. But the smell still came through. 

Another issue from the high levels of methane and the use of shovels was the potential for sparks. 
So only plastic shovels and tools were allowed. One spark would have injured or killed dozens or more. 

So this is likely where some of my advanced interest in safety came from. 
I learned from environmental professionals , IH's and Occupational Safety Consultants exactly what it meant to look for risk, not only wait for it. 

We wore monitors for exposure levels, strongly abbreviated work cycles and used cleaning processes not found in the IICRC. 

A fireman, stunt man or astronaut would have their own particular hazards to manage, but I bet they can still eat oatmeal. 

What will the next phone call bring?