'Twas the night before the Big Guy comes

'Twas the night before Christmas, and everyone knew
The kids gobbled dinner; sweet tea and hot stew.
Smoke detectors hung on the ceilings with care,
Standing ready to shout, “Get Out! Fire! Beware!”

Stockings were hung far away from the fireplace,
But we had our escape plan ready just in case.
The children were safe, behind closed bedroom doors,
The Great Pillow Fight continued on well past four.

Me in my Batman cape; The Wife in her halo,
Had just gone to bed, after eating some Jell-O.
With cat, Poof, sleeping – purring at my feet,
The windows were sealed against possible sleet.

Suddenly air horns and sirens pierced through the night
They woke me up, getting closer. Oh my, what a fright!
O what could it be? O what could have gone wrong?
As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait long.

With all the noise outside, I jumped out of bed
Tripping over the cat, and then hitting my head.
I ran into the lamp, it fell down and it shattered,
“What’s all that noise?” I thought, “What could be the matter?”

Out on my front lawn, what did I see…Oh dear
Eight, burly firemen in red trucks and their gear.
One was giving orders, and wore a white hat,
He was pudgy and round; okay, a little fat.

In a moment I knew that it must be Chief Lance,
‘Cause I heard him shout, “Send me an ambulance!”
He called the men round him and called each by name,
Told them what to do and when he called them; they came.

“Bobby and Rick, Ed and Fred – stay in pairs,
Get all your equipment ‘cause we’re going in there.
Mitch and Steve get the kids out, help Billy and Joe
Hurry now, hurry it’s time we must go!”

“We’ll put this fire out ‘cause I got command
It won’t take long till this fire's well in hand.
Take that ladder to the roof, and then cut a hole
Take that fire hose up ‘cause this house just might blow.”

Four firemen ran with air tanks strapped on their backs,
Two others were carrying axes, getting ready to attack.
Then I heard firemen stomping up on the roof
They sounded like Santa’s reindeer pawing their hoofs.

I turned ‘round, and what did my wondering eyes see?
A fireman dressed in turnout gear, signaling for me.
The detector went off; the room filled with smoke!
The Wife and I crawled low, so we wouldn’t get choked.

Looking at our house on fire, I had a great fear
Then Chief Lance said, “Don’t worry, your children are here.
Fire started in the chimney and spread to the roof
Everyone’s out safely now, now here’s your cat Poof.”

The firemen put the blaze out; rolled up their hoses,
Put ladders on trucks and blew their dirty noses.
Faces covered with soot, and clothes covered with ash,
Off they rode to another fire; off they rode in a flash.

The firemen all gone; Chief Lance last to leave
Driving off he yelled, “Y’all need us, call me please!”
We stayed the holidays with our next-door Neighbor
The way it turned out, it was the best Christmas ever.

We had nothing to give, not one present or gift,
Holiday time with family was what we cherished.
On Christmas Day that year, it started to snow,
Safe and together; that’s all you need, ya know?

Happy Holidays from Fireman Rick, The Wife, and The Boy.