Chicago aldermen suit up to become CFD firefighters for a day
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Service is nothing new to one group of Chicago aldermen, but on Friday, they got to see what it takes to serve the community as a Chicago firefighter.
CBS 2's Noel Brennan tagged along as the fire department put the aldermen to the test.
"Feeling good. Focused."
As one of the rookies in the room, Jessie Fuentes knows a Chicago firefighter's shoes are big ones to fill.
But she looks the part – and feels it, too.
"It fits good. It's like an additional 30 pounds on my body, for sure," Fuentes said with a laugh.
Most days, the alderperson carries the weight of the 26th Ward.
"Today, instead of having candidates, we actually have alderpeople. We have people from Department of Law and people from the Inspector General's Office here seeing what it's like to be a firefighter for a day," said Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt.
Politics requires fighting some figurative fires, but nothing quite like this.
On Friday, some of the City Council met at the Quinn Fire Academy.
"Going to put on all this equipment and see if I can make it up all the stairs."
Fuentes and her colleagues take the easy way up first.
"Little fear of heights, so we're about to conquer them," she said.
Before they face the ladder, like any other recruit.
"Shoes are a little big, so I want to make sure they don't slip."
"It's a little bit of adrenaline. A little bit of fear, and then you make it to the end, and you feel like you're capable of anything after that," Fuentes said.
They learn to haul hose and bust open doors. It's just a taste of what it takes to wear these boots for more than a day.
"I feel a lot of gratitude and extremely humbled by the experience," Fuentes said.