Through the Glass Darkly

By Charles "Chuck" Stigelman

A good portion of my life was spent looking at life through, what seemed to be, tragic circumstances over which I had little control. Societal sorrows clouded my vision, like peering through a glass partition clouded by smoke. I never saw clearly how I could help others definitely. Once I stopped trying and started trusting in the one who could, my life's course changed drastically. It is truly stated, "Jesus never fails!"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638448860

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Through the Glass Darkly

Charles Chuck Stigelman

ISBN 978-1-63844-885-3 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63844-886-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Charles Chuck Stigelman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

To Marie Lenox. Without her exhaustive efforts at editing and godly council, it would never have come into existence. She merits my sincere thanks!

Foreword

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to Pastor Chuck Stigelman for the first time. His humility, respect, kindness, and desire to serve were easy to recognize. His love for the Lord Jesus is a blessing. Having read his stories about how the Lord worked in and through his life, I am grateful that he is my brother and friend. This book reflects a simple, clear message. Jesus saves! You will be blessed as you laugh and reflect upon the stories presented. No matter what your background is, the simplicity of trusting the Lord even in challenging circumstances is a wonderful encouragement. Enjoy! You won’t be disappointed.

Pastor Erik Christensen

Chapter 1

Fireman, Save My Children

This opening chapter recounts an occurrence about eleven years into my career as a Philadelphia fireman. Subsequently, we’ll visit some years early on and following that terrible night.

At 2:00 a.m., the hike-out alarm sounded—the deep, penetrating combination of horn, bell, and buzzer—designed not to be slept through! The system is also designed so that every light in the firehouse comes on automatically. The firemen scramble from wherever they are, race to the apparatus floor, and don their running clothes as they go: folded down bulky thigh-high boots, heavy canvas coat, and finally the helmet. Only the driver in the confines of the apparatus room has kept his street clothes on to prevent his boots from becoming caught on seats, emergency brake, or anything else in the apparatus cab. In 1979, our engine was still a stick shift, which added to driving difficulties.

Engine 18 was unique with respect to its location. It was housed on the grounds of the Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was assigned to the local territory, but should an aircraft emergency occur, we would become part of a three-piece unit that would respond to that emergency.

Engine 77, housed in the same building with us, was the other two parts of the unit: a nurse truck, carrying plenty of water to mix with any exotic chemicals, and a bright yellow attack vehicle fitted with roof-mounted water or foam cannon that was manned by the driver-operator. Since the heat of an aircraft fire is so intense, this method of first response gives immediate relief to victims and firefighters alike. These firefighters are dressed in silver suits of heat-repellent material. The trousers, worn under a hood, repel heat effectively, and an artificial breathing machine (Scott Pak) prevents breathing superheated air which is almost always fatal. However, these space suits, as they are often called, do have a downside. As the heat outside increases, the wearer’s perspiration also increases, causing the wearer to parboil in his own sweat. To combat this, the firefighter uses both hands straight-up signal to the water cannon operator, so that the water cannon operator directs water from the fire to the firefighter to welcome immediate relief. An alert driver has saved many brothers by quick, incisive action. There are also other hand signals used as needed for directing the water cannon such as attack, retreat, or cease-fire.

The nurse truck brings the water to the fire and saves precious time that could be spent locating a fire hydrant. The job of Engine 18 is to locate a hydrant, hook up to it, and feed the nurse truck via the hose line carried on board, ensuring a never-ending supply of coolant.

Each man of both engine companies is trained in every aspect of aircraft search and rescue, enabling any one of them to replace another as needed. Thankfully, in my time at the airport, that was never imperative for me. My primary responsibility was driving Engine 18 but not always! When not driving the apparatus, I could be called upon to man an artificial breathing Scott Pak, grab the hose line tip, help attach the truck to a hydrant, or perform any other acts ordered by the officer in charge.

When assigned the driver’s responsibility, I often saw an officer nearly standing on the floor-mounted siren button, right hand yanking the bell rope, and mouthing obscenities to any and all that were slow to give way. It is unfair for me to speculate on any of those behaviors; however, it is only fair to mention how truly well trained and clear thinking the majority of fire officers I encountered were in directing their men, always mindful of their safety.

The firemen assigned to Engine 77 responded to the apparatus floor every time an alarm sounded even though they often knew it wasn’t an airport call requiring their response. Still, they opened doors, cleared any traffic, and generally saw us off safely and then secured the firehouse until our return.

For the very early morning alarm that began this narrative, I was assigned to put on a Scott Pak and assume the role of a lead man. That meant grabbing the hose nozzle that is attached to the truck-mounted reel and then attempting to enter the burning building. Protected from smoke inhalation, one could knock down any fire immediately encountered while scanning the area for any survivors. The Scott Paks are very similar to scuba gear but modified for fire department use so that the wearer is breathing triple-filtered fresh air. No oxygen is added to the air in the supply tanks since it would induce a state similar to drunkenness. So breathing the filtered fresh air is superior to breathing smoke, and a drunken fireman is of no use to himself or anyone else!

As we approached the residential dwelling, I realized it was the house directly across the street from the apartment where we lived years before. The fire was going to be a bad one! The entire rear was engulfed in flames from the ground level to the second floor. Hose in hand, I rushed to the open front door where a garden hose was leading into the home. As I tried to enter, a woman grabbed my leg. Please get my kids out! She cried hysterically. I pulled loose from her and stumbled inside to find an off-duty fire chief, lying on his stomach with that garden hose spraying water toward the kitchen, trying to cope with the flames. He screamed at me to get the kids from upstairs, so I handed him the hose tip and bounded up the stairs. All visibility ceased past the