One Diamondback reporter’s day as a county firefighter

As we pushed the hose and nozzle closer to the fire using muscles I had no idea existed, it became clear Capt. Steve Gallagher and the other instructors weren’t joking when they told me to tuck all of my hair into my turnout hood so it wouldn’t catch fire.

“We don’t want you writing about how we ruined your hair,” they said.

The Prince George’s County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association IAFF Local 1619, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department and the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute hosted the second annual Fire Ops 101 training Friday. The departments invited state and county officials and media personnel to learn how to become a firefighter for the day at the MFRI station in College Park.

From the newsroom: Whether or not to run a cartoon of Jesus being shot in the head

It’s been a typical Thursday night in the newsroom; at 7 p.m., the editors were mostly silent, editing stories and laying out pages. The Diversions page had already finished and Opinion was in the final stages of layout when assistant opinion editor Maria Romas said, “Guys, I think tomorrow’s cartoon is too offensive.”

“What is it of?” I asked.

“It’s Jesus being shot in the head.”