Get like Steve. Dude's got like 4 jobs, and he volunteers.

Meet Steve Adams: Father, Fire Station Captain, and part time nerd at the Apple Store.

To say Steve lives a busy life is an understatement. Consider the following: He has children (little ones mind you), leads a crew of impressive individuals whose sole purpose is smiting nature's scalding fury into ashes (and rescuing the occasional cat, and/or senile geriatric). And (because he owns a time machine) he's also one of those nerdy/trendy dudes that will help you pick which revolutionary product will enrich your life for the next 5 minutes.

"So he's a busy person, good for him. Why do I care?"

Despite all his nerve racking responsibilities, he still manages to be a ridiculously nice individual. So nice in fact, he and his fire department cronies, along with a crew from New York, went to Haiti only four days after it was decimated by that fateful earthquake. At this point, I want to explain a few things. As we all know, Haiti has suffered a natural disaster that no one could have anticipated. But, massive destruction as a result of an earthquake doesn't have to be as severe as what occurred in Haiti. Consider this, throughout the United States' history, Americans have lived through dozens of earthquakes that scored much much higher on the Richter scale than what occurred in Haiti ( 7.0 M_w).



So why did nearly every structure across the entire island disintegrate?


Well, from what Mr. Steve Adams witnessed, it all has to do with building codes and quality standards. Steve is a Fire Station Captain, it's part of the job to be familiar with structural weaknesses. The lives of his men depend on it. And it was immediately apparent to Steve that Haitian building codes are much less strict than their American and European counterparts. Structures were built on slopes without proper foundations or containment structures, improper building practices were used, insufficient steel, and insufficient attention to development control, all resulting in a nation of structures not capable of withstanding even a minor earthquake.

By the numbers: there are over 280,000 collapsed or severely damaged buildings, an even more staggering 230,000 dead, some 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless according to the Haitian government. And the death toll is expected to rise.

Steve experienced the chaos first hand, "We had people come up to us asking for help recovering dead bodies buried under the rubble. It was tough because we were there to rescue survivors. Not the dead." At this point the standard Steve grin had gone absent. "Haiti's infrastructure essentially didn't exist because the destruction was so severe. The only glimmer of organized government came from the likes of NATO, and crews like us. As a result, there was a degree of lawlessness among the people. Gun shots became a regular thing while there."

I, like most of you, had already gathered this from the news. Regardless, it's still shocking to hear first hand accounts. I wanted to know more
of what he'd seen, so I asked him what was the craziest thing he witnessed while there? He responded with an uncharacteristically somber answer.

"I saw a police man wildly chasing after a man. They scurried through the rubble until the man being chased fell. The policeman, gun drawn, caught up to the fallen man. And then proceeded to point his gun right at him. I never found out what the man did, but the so called 'police officer' shot him dead, right then and there. No one saw it coming, and there wasn't anything we could do. It was just sad to see something awful like that take place."

Steve remained alarmingly calm when describing back the shooting he witnessed. A lot calmer than I was just listening to him. So I asked him why he was so nonchalant about his experience.

"Sure, that was a crazy sight, and horrible. But that's life, the world keeps spinning. The Haitians come from a much poorer background and standard of living than you and I. As a nation, they were already struggling, but as a people, they are fighters. Out of all the chaos, I saw a people with a strong will to live. They have a toughness that you rarely see here in America, I believe Haiti will come back as a better nation than before. I really do have hope for them."









It was at this point Steve's phone was ringing off the hook. He had to go, so after a fist bump, warm smile, and a call to the wife, he was gone. But I did overhear him talking to the missus about what he had to do. I think it was go rescue a cat, pick up the kids, sell some iPhones, make dinner, perform CPR, and finish a puzzle or something.

I really enjoyed my talk with Steve, and definitely learned a thing or two about taking things in stride. It's hard for me to fathom how he does so many things at once, but he does it, and well. It's pretty impressive. No one can resist even a small smirk when he's around. Like the terminator, he looks human, but after you shoot him six times he just keeps going. That's why I admire him. Despite his ridiculous schedule, Steve makes time to give back, all the while maintaining the utmost positivity. Even random acts of mother nature's fury have a positive light. Human? Maybe. Cheerful? Affirmative. A machine? Without a doubt.




Photos Courtesy of Steve Adams