Station 1

A re-"C"ap

2009-11-12T23:45:00.020-05:00

The last few weeks have seemed like a blur. Instead of updating the blog during each shift, I told myself I would try to get to it the day after. That approach has failed as well so here is a brief recap of the last couple of cycles and I apologize for the long delay.
Last day of last cycle we had a structure fire in Garden City E11 pulled up and found heavy fire on side C and heavy smoke on Side A. E6, L1, M6 were on initial dispatch with E8, E1, Co 61 and M1 were the working fire crews. I was unable to get any fire shots but here are a few after the fact.

Chief Beckner and Lt. Randy Smith

E6 crew

The picture with Company was difficult to see but has been sent off to get some work done on it thanks to a friend of a friend.

Earlier in the evening we had the pleasure of being a part of the annual Fire Awareness Art contest. This included getting the station ready and setting up tables and making it look festive. Despite what Joe says, he really does like having his picture taken. Hunt checks Joe's reflexes and Joe didn't flinch

Before our guests arrived, we grabbed a quick dinner and were surprised how well JJ cleans up. JJ has been on 40 hours assisting with the interview process.

Chief and Lil chief showed up and despite what Chief Tartaglia will tell us, the puppet's name is not Sully.

Two buds Randy and Joe were ready to do their part and represent the city in their pretty blue shirts.

The award banquet started with introductions of the winners and their art teachers.

Here are just a few of the Art winners pictures.

Art show winners gathered at the front for a standing ovation.

Serving line for art dinner

The winners cake was almost too pretty to cut.

After dinner several of the families wanted tours of the station and the trucks. Joe can teach FF 5 when he gives a tour of the engine and the certificate will be delivered to each when they pick up their art. JK Joe!

Earlier in the day we had a call for smoke inside Fishburne mansion. Lt Conners and Ladder 1 services were requested inside.

A light fixture was the culprit and units cleared shortly.

Tim Parry visited the station today.

Last cycle we did some Pump training over at the civic center with Eng 4.

The wall gang PJ, Randy and Hunt soaking up some rays and telling stories.

If any one has every been down town you may have seen our friend "Coolio" He is the master of bizarre wardrobes and he changes at least three time a day. If you see him give him a wave and wait for the return sign. Look closely he is showing you a cross.

I was a little freaked when he first gave the sign.

Company 1 was sent down to the "old house" Historic #1 preparing for some elected officials to use the station for it press event. JJ cleaning Station 1's brass.

Hunt flexes Franklin County muscle!

After cleaning Station 1 the crew headed downtown to get some some stuff from the market.

Conners seems satified after lunch.

Cluster meeting was held at number 6

Ladder 1 at cluster after a "cut job' on 220
Becky and Conners

Randy and a "5 dollar cup cake" what is it about Randy and his love for sugar snacks???

Station 2 responded Spring Hollow for a working fire. All of the crews that responded will tell you that the smoke could be seen from whereever they were at when they were dispatched. Upon arrival, the companies found a shed in the back of the house.

E2 crew made a quick attack and knocked it down.

Breck the comedian as always or maybe he just does that when the camera comes out.

Hunt winds it up wearing some football gear he took from a 10 year.

Chief Beckner and Hunt discuss the finer "one liners" from Joe Dirt

Chief Beckner and IMS class held at the Big Show.

Fix it man Randy after flipping out of this chair once too often.

stressed out Adam

Bright Randy

Halloween visitor visits Daddy

"Ghost Rider"

C Shift Thanks You

2009-10-28T21:44:00.003-04:00

We would like to thank everyone for their tremendous support over the last week during the illness and loss of our great friend and Captain. The following people were instrumental in helping Chris and honoring his memory:
-RMH ER staff including the CT and MRI staff
-RMH NTICU
-Roanoke Fire EMS Admin. staff
-Captain Wines and LT. Fleitz for writing an detailed recap of Captain Brown's career
-Oakeys Funeral home
-Jordan Framing (for framing all of the collages seen at the funeral home)
-First Baptist Church
-All the Roanoke Fire EMS personel who cleaned Station 1 from top to bottom inside and out, including all of the trucks
-All of the off duty Firefighters from Roanoke County and Salem who staffed Roanoke city stations to allow City personel to attend the funeral. Station 9's blog has a complete list.
-All of the Roanoke City Police Officers who manned every intersection along the route.
-the Honor Guard
-Lynchburg bagpipes
-Roanoke City Dispatch
-Chung Price and his catering team
-Zac Beckner for his video presentation
-the personel who cleaned up after the reception
And lastly, the three who were there for the family's every need, and who will be mad for our mentioning their names, Jamie Brads, Toby Bedwell and JJ Price
We sincerely hope we haven't neglected to thank anyone.

We wanted to say thanks again to everyone involved
Station 1 C shift AKA "Brown's Hounds"

In Memory of Captain Chris Brown

2009-10-23T21:07:00.006-04:00

We have lost a true hero,

The BigShow and the entire Roanoke Fire/EMS deparment mourns the death of Christopher W. Brown

Click on this link for a look at Captain Brown's career Local 1132 .

If you ever worked for, or with, Captain Brown you would be able to tell a story about how fair he was to everyone, or how he took the time to teach you something or learn with you to make you both better firefighters, leaders or people. Captain Brown took time with each one of his firefighters or officers getting to know them as employees and human beings. The short time he was on this earth, he made a huge impact. Captain Brown did not ask his men to do something that he would not do and that was When you tried to get the broom, mop, flash light or tool away from him you were going to get a battle. He thrived on making this department the elite and it was contagious if you worked for him.

Your spot may be filled but you will never be replaced!

1965 -2009

Prayers for Captain Brown

2009-10-22T19:42:00.004-04:00

Captain C.W. Brown was admitted to RMH on Wednesday. Since then he has had multiple tests and a surgery involving a mass found on the left frontal lobe of his brain. We are asking for everyone's prayers during this trying time. Pray for his family.

Our appreciation to Station 2 and 5 today they came downtown and provided lunch and dinner for the family and crew while we spent the day at the hospital supporting Captain Browns immediate family.

***not pictured above but currently station at Number 1 Alex Hunt and Lynwood English***

"C" we are still here

2009-07-03T22:26:00.004-04:00

It has been a while again since our last post and I hear it every day between running calls, training, evaluations, hydrants and everyday operations, we have been busy at the Big Show. I did manage to take a few pictures.
We had a structure fire on Riverland with 2 patients transported to RMH. This picture was taken well after the fire was extinguished and we were able to bring two of the firefighters back to the scene after they were recruited to drive medic units to the ER.

Recently we had the Beckner family join us for a weekend breakfast. As always, it was good to see Chief Beckner's "MaMa", his sister and brother in law as well as Zack and Kara. We had EMS competencies this month which was hands-on skill based. Scenarios were given for first arriving BLS Engine to start treatment and then turnover to Medic units. Joe had airway Look, Listen and Feel with Miss Brock showing him where to start (Joe I am kidding)

As you can see Randy was wanting to get his hands-on since he was done setting the cones up in the street. I was actually surprised Randy got that close as he was convinced the mannequin was going to vomit.

Young Compton was back for half a day to assist Randy and Adam. It looks like Randy was still having some trouble with the hands on.

Randy turned out to be very useful in the hare traction scenario showing Compton what he would do if they were together on a Medic unit together. Don't worry too much Josh, Randy will get you all the equipment you need. You may have to yell and be ready to catch but he will get it to you.

Here Adam show Melissa a technique on using a cravat when you don't have a ankle hitch. I think Adam likes tying people up anyway??

As class was concluded Miss Brock ended with a video that "captured" Randy and Joe's undivided attention.

I want to apologize to all the readers of this blog for the large gaps between posts and hope to have smaller gaps in the future but no promises. A lot of things have been happening in the last month and I was not able to be there for it all. Until next time . . .

Long time No "C"

2009-05-24T19:18:00.017-04:00

It has been a long time since our last post and I want to apologize. We have been extremely busy at the Big Show and unable to keep up the blog. Here is a recap of the last couple of cycles.

As you see we keep our trucks clean despite Lt Joe getting upset having to wash the Engine twice. Ask him next time why get gets so mad??

We had a couple Fire in the last couple weeks. The last was over on Templeton only picture taken was during overhaul when Adam had to remove a throw rug from a K-saw that grabbed it when cutting through a floor joist.

This is a snap shop that I copied from a video taken from a person living near the fire on Elm Ave. I was off and missed the chance to take part in fighting this one but from I hear and the video shows C-shift made a quick knock down. The fire is still under investigation. We have a couple new guys at the Big Show so we wanted to do some extrication training. We met with Engine 5 on 11th St. which had arranged a couple cars from Garcia's to practice on. Ist scenario had a car on its roof.

Lynwood learning the use of the Rescue jacks.

Lynwood being showed purchase points when vehicles are overturned.
Lt Hodgen using the cutters.
Brady in action
Lynwood using the spreaders to gain access to pt. compartment
Lynwood working with the spreaders.

Lt. Conners showing a technique for the spreaders.As many know there is a Swine flu story on the news every day. Here is Randy being prepared for Swine flu calls when he was transferred to station 6.
The Big Show chef's have the difficult time of knowing how many to cook for daily, one day there may be 8 and the next there may be 18. Getting our "grub on"
Several times the Big Show is visited or their presence requested. This day the engine was invited to a community picnic in Highland park.
We constantly challenge ourselves with coming up with new strategies and practicing old ones. Today we were given the scenario of getting water to the simulated 5th floor of a structure using our ladder as the means of getting water to that floor. Ladder 1 has a pre made section of 2.5" hose to a gated wye that we connect to the ladder tip.
Preparing the tip to be used as a elevated water way

Setting the Ladder preparing for Ladder OPS.

Climbing the Ladder
Advancing the 2.5" from the ladder into the structure.
Final result water flowing.

Chief Beckner discussing various techniques when advancing hose inside a structure using the Ladder as the waterway.

Next scenario was removing a fallen firefighter from the 4th floor using the stokes basket and Ladder.

Loading the victim onto the Ladder to be taken to the ground

Bringing the victim back down Ladder
Final scenario of the day was vertical ventilation of the structure.

Rigging the Ladder tip for raising tools.

Taking crews to the roof.
After crews get to the roof they may need extra equipment.
Lifting the K-saw

I want to say I am sorry again about the large gap between posts a lot of things have been happening and I wanted everyone to know we are still around. We stay busy between training and running calls and the blog suffered but I will try to do better in the future. Take care, Be safe, and go home the next morning.

Too drunk for jail ?

2009-04-14T23:52:00.000-04:00

Today is the middle day for C-shift here at the self proclaimed "Big Show" (so some think) and I forgot to mention that we have a few officers off this cycle JJ took off with the family to Key West while Randy and his family went to Ocracoke, Conners is planning a quick trip down to meet up with Randy for a quick vacation. Courtney and JJ swapped vacations so he is filling JJ's shoes (and says his toes are sore) This put us short on officers but not to worry. Everyone here is capable of stepping up and filling spots Becky is driving Ladder 1
and Adam is Tilling today
Ladder 1 was keeping the road pretty hot this am running some EMS calls with 8 and 6 while Medic 1 was running into SE. It seems as soon as M6 gets a call we would get one forcing 8 to back us up. The cycle continued into the afternoon.
The last day Becky helped cook their was a rumor going around that she was getting moved.
I don't know if she had heard another rumor but Becky did her part of riding the ladder and helped Chef Decker with lunch and dinner.

The ladder did some tiller training to improve comfort levels on all those who do not want to be named. He is doing better and should be ready after a couple more laps around civic center. Young Compton got a break and got off the medic unit and hopped over to the engine to drive. Medic 1 was gone until bedtime and the volunteers put a truck in service. Medic trucks be prepared the City jail is beginning to refuse intoxicated people too drunk to stay their and wants them taken to the ER but the ER has no room. Good documentation, a call to RS1, and let the ER doctor know what the jail nurse says exactly. Needless to say our last pt spent less time in the ER than she did in the medic unit and back to jail she went. Until Thursday Be safe Roanoke!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T23:39:00.000-04:00

1st day back and it is Easter Sunday. Working holidays is a crap shoot sometimes your busy other times it is quiet. We luck into one of the quiet ones, but again the entire city was quiet.
Most of the morning was spent checking the trucks off and getting them prepared for the EMS inspection this week. We went over all the trucks with what we thought was a fine tooth comb.
1st call of the day was for smoke alarms going off inside the apartment building. We found moderate amount of smoke on the second floor. We had a difficult time convincing the residents that they needed to leave the building. We found out that one of the residents while cooking her Easter ham dinner accidentally turned on the wrong eye of her stove melting the plastic.

After clearing the smoke from the building and getting the elevator fixed we allowed the residents back into their apartments to continue the Easter festivities. We headed back to the station washed all the trucks since it turned out to be a rather pretty day. The majority of the day was spent waiting for the next call. We were pleased to know that the fine people of Roanoke decided to behave and celebrate Easter the right way.
Medic 1 Engine 1 had their last call at community hospital/urgent care for a wrist injury that medic 1 took to the ER.

College Of Health Sciences High Rise Drill

2009-04-07T23:27:00.003-04:00

Last day of the cycle for C-shift but the first day for us to be without Medic 101 as many of you know it was moved somewhere else not sure if it is Station 4 or 9 maybe even 2 but it is gone. Replacing Medic 101 on the south side is Medic 8 over in the high rent district of the city. On C-shift Ocho is going to have AIC's Jeesee and Stoval and the firefighters are going to be Bailey and EMT of the day depending on who turn it is to travel. Here we see our first glimpse of "Ocho" at the ER and we ended up seeing them there quite a few times today.

Medic one remained in service today and caught a call just before the drill/training at the College of Health sciences took place. The college's staff contacted the Fire Marshall's office to advise them of a fire drill they were going to conduct and Chief Beckner made most of the situation and designed a High Rise scenario to correspond. The college was going to evacuate the building and the fire depart was going to simulate a fire on the seventh floor. Unfortunately we missed 2/3 of the drill so most of these pictures were at the end. Companies involved Engines 1, 2, 5, 6 Ladder 1, 2 BC 1 and 2, Medic 2 and 6, RS1, Command Staff and members of the Fire Marshall's office. Engine 1 had Lobby control FF/EMT-I Smith gathering accountability tags and assignments in lobby.
Capt. Brown from Engine 1 also had elevator control.
Security was keeping a sharp eye on Lt. Hodgin and his ability to maintain his composure even if this was just a drill.
Again I nor "young Compton' were not able to participate in the drill or get as many pictures as I wanted. But what we heard from the college's staff they were impressed we the time and level of professionalism that they witnessed in the drill. Time was crucial, from dispatch to time a 2.5" hose line was in place on the 7th floor was 11 minutes. In that time the building was completely evacuated, lines stretched, 8th, 9th and 10th floor were searched and secured. We were unable to do multiple evolutions because the students had to get back to classes. The units cleared from the scene and returned to station 1 for the critique.
Representatives from the county and Salem were in attendance at the drill and critique and gave high accolades to the success of the drill. Surprisingly to us we do get paid to train.

The rest of the day was spent running EMS calls with Compton attempting to get all his calls checked off so he can be released as a AIC. Eng 1 Ladder 1 work a wreck on 581. Car vs Jersey wall.

Pt transported by M151 to RMH. Until next cycle Be safe Roanoke!

High Rise training

2009-04-05T23:25:00.001-04:00

Middle day for C-shift and after morning turnover

we started station chores and we may not get 'paid" to do it but pride in what we ride in is key and keeping them clean is a priority when we are not running calls. We had a busy morning between those calls and the Ladder gone to the store getting groceries. Lt. Hodgin takes the lead in maintaining the hose (only nozzle time he gets since being promoted to a LT) just kidding LT.
After a quick breakfast which Chef JJ says all the tough people in Franklin County eat? he called them "man pie" but I have heard overs call them quiche or even a omelet pie. But looks can be deceiving they were not bad but it is hard to beat sausage gravy on the weekend.

Once the kitchen was cleaned the "elite" core stations (1,2,5,6) met at he Big Show for some remedial training on high rise hose deployments for those transferring in from other stations or other shifts. Chief Beckner and Chief Barker discuss the importance of getting the hose on the correct side of stairwell for maximum proficiency.

Groups from Station 2 provide the visual example to the rest of us on hose deployment.

As you can see hose is on both sides of stairwell waiting to be charged and then advances onto the fire floor.

After training was complete we were informed of a drill next day at the college of Health Sciences where we will be able to take what we trained on today and use it in a scenario with students, teachers and other faculty leaving the building.

Medic 1 was steady the rest of the day as the engine and crews fixed dinner and prepared themselves mentally for whatever may happen next.

After dinner it was an attempt to watch a movie. First movie selected was Slum Dog millionaire between the small printed sub titles and a graphic scene(that made Randy sick and almost throw up) we stopped and switched over to the movie Shooter.

Randy recovered enough to fix himself some pop corn and enjoy this movie.

We are hoping for a safe night until next day, be careful Roanoke!

Busy Busy

2009-04-03T21:24:00.004-04:00

Day 1 for C-shift after a wet 4 day break and it seems A and B Shift were way too BUSY to post. That is OK because here at the Big Show we are all about being busy despite not getting paid to clean the station or the trucks or even train. Medic 1 was out the door this morning before 715 and Becky and Young Compton were not seen again until this afternoon. But every medic truck was BUSY today in the city. It seems as soon as they cleared the hospital sent center city they were dispatched with a engine somewhere. RS1 was called numerous time to let him know the city was dumped, it is a shame he can't twitch his nose or blink to produce a medic unit but that is another story.

Today we had a large Public Education event at the Big Show consisting of 78 kindergartners and their teachers and chaperone's.

Super Lt. Joe took LEAD and divided the group into 4 separate groups. It is funny how a 5 year old wants to see a couple things when it come to a fire station, the lights on the trucks and someone sliding the pole. Everything else is just a lot of words and their teacher telling them not to touch anything. But overall they seems to have a great time and even had their lunch on the back apron.

The tour ended so late we did not get a chance to go get groceries and ended up grabbing a sandwich from Firehouse Subs(no we do not get a discount). After lunch we stopped by Krogers before heading back to the station and review the pre fire plan of 920 Jefferson. On Tuesday we are going to be doing some High Rise training at this location and wanted to be proficient. After discussing our findings we headed over to look at the structure.

Tonight we had Lt. Conner step up to fill the shoes of our absent chefs and did a fine job in the kitchen despite Randy going after Hunt or throwing his plate at Conner. (ask Randy what his favorite sound is for more details)

After dinner we emptied the station running calls. We made it back a short time ago and now hope we can "kick it out for the night" Until Sunday. . . .

Suspended Ceilings

2009-03-27T23:47:00.001-04:00

Day 2 at the Big Show and it was going to be an early start to those on the engine and medic unit. We were scheduled for class at the training center first thing even before getting some breakfast.
(well at least one of us got to have a steak egg and cheese biscuit from Tudor's)
But before marking out of service we responded to Avante for a working code and after clearing up we headed to RVTC for a suspended ceiling class.

This class reminded us of the potential hazards we may come in contact with in commercial and some residential structures. Several videos of fire from around the nations with veteran firefighters and officers surviving collapses but getting in tangled with the different objects above suspended ceiling. Some hands on at the end of class again reminding us of how to handle different types of entanglements.

We made it back for lunch and then the medic truck got busy again. The Ladder truck went to class this afternoon leaving the engine with one task and one task only, to go to the store and get stuff for dinner. When the ladder and medic truck made it back to the station around 5pm we were surprised that the one task had not been carried through. We had a visit from Lt Craft (in compliance) today looking for JJ and inquiring about some contact he has received from a certain animal rights activist group, did I mention (in compliance)

Chef Decker made the command decision and order pizza after giving the engine grief and listened to their excuses. After dinner an attempt was made to watch a movie but was disturbed by the engine, medic unit and RS1 running a few calls. I was hoping the rain would keep most people inside tonight but they can only stay in so long before they get tired of each other and start calling us. Until Sunday. . .

Help us find the villian

2009-03-25T23:48:00.004-04:00

Another 4 day break over and we are starting Day 1 at the Big Show. Normal start to the cycle unit check offs, equipment checks, station chores before getting a little breakfast. Backup Blogger Becky and Young Compton are off this cycle and 1st Lt JJ Price is riding RS1 for Capt Bocock so one has to travel this cycle. Medic 1 was busy and Medic 101 was somewhere, at least we thought they were here today or Red Alert could have been wrong. Ladder 1 was heading out to the store today when the engine made a "strange sound" it was brought back to the station and determined it was the turbo, so it limped to the garage for repairs and replaced with Ladder 7's truck. Joe had to step up and fix lunch today and when Capt Bedwell heard about this he had to come by and see it for himself.

This evening JJ was asked to look into the mystery of a cow and its missing cowhide.

It seems that a cow was stripped to make a set of chaps for a compliant Lt to remain nameless.

We are contacting PETA and until their investigation is complete we will not divulge this information. At this time if anyone has any knowledge please contact us here at the Big Show so this culprit can be brought to justice.

Slow Sunday?

2009-03-22T21:43:00.005-04:00

The day started as it usually does; chores, unit checks, shipping bodies here and there to cover, paperwork, and meal planning. The Medic unit has kept the roads warm today, in & out on various calls for assistance (aka a fast ride to the hospital).
The picture below is a quick snap shot of Engine 1 staging on Jefferson at one of the multiple fire alarms at RMH. I managed to take this while waiting for security to find the front of the building. The engine has been on several calls today for various reasons from alarms to bum fights at the rescue mission.

Ladder 1 has had several runs herself today. Of course they went on the alarms, caught a pedestrian struck by a car, and even managed to get in some saw work at the fire over on Brandon with Engine 4. Luckily the fire started during the day instead of at night, it could've been alot worse than it was. All of the shifts here are happy to have the tiller truck back. Here she is on the fire scene.

If you notice in that picture Investigator 1 got out of the house today for us. It has even answered a couple calls. The Chief and RS1 have been up and down all day for one reason or another.

All together today (combining all 6 units) we've had close to 20 runs. Hopefully (knock on wood) that'll be enough for the emergency services god Motorola tonight.

Sorry we can't bring pulse pounding journalism or special interest stories like the unicycle olympics on C shift but stay tuned, maybe we can drum up some talent of our own (dodge ball with barbells?) who knows.

Friday, March 20, 2009

2009-03-20T21:56:00.004-04:00

Well since the blog master went to play at Medic...I mean Station 14, I will be blogging. It will be a little tough to do since Smiley and I weren't at the station most of the day. The reason behind that is that Smiley is on the 2nd Phase of becoming a Doctor....I mean EMT-I, so we were trying our hardest to get him some calls. Needless to say Medic 1 stayed busy well after midnight. Thanks to REMS Medic 151 for helping out through the night time.

The Ladder and the Engine guys mounted the 1000 GPM Mercury Monitors on Ladder 1 and Ladder 13. The guys organized and straightened out the Old Girl and getting her back into ship shape. Chef Decker was back with us today to give a hand in the kitchen. Randy and JJ did some sewing up in the sewing room.

We had some visitors today sporting birthday balloons, health kabobs (cheese and fruit) and cake for Josh's 30th. We always enjoy having company.....Thanks for coming by Lori, Teagan and Ryder. While they were at the station Josh decided that he was going to show us his guns and try to bench press 300 lbs.....almost Smiley. (Pictures to follow as soon as I get a hold of the Lead)

While getting fuel I learned something pretty interesting. Our own Captain Scott Mutter can ride a unicycle and is very good at it, really. I must say I was rather impressed, way to go Mutter. Smiley gave it a good whirl.

On a more serious note we are keeping Sydney Richardson's family in our thoughts and prayer. What a tremendous loss for Roanoke Emergency Medical Services and the community. We are also keeping Greg Gardner in our thoughts and prayers while he is battling health issues.

Have the ghosts found us?

2009-03-18T23:39:00.001-04:00

Busy start this morning with a couple of alarms and then a extrication. School bus vs car our PIO Tiffany arrived and capture a couple pictures after the door was removed and the pt's were being extricated.

We made it back to get our house chores done, trucks washed when Capt. Brown noticed a trail heading out the middle bay across the apron to the street. Apparently when water gets into the exhaust pipe of the reserve Ladder, once started and in motion leaves a trail of soot. Not one to ask his people to do something that he would not do he attempted to clean this trail. The only way to get the broom from him was to trick it out of his hands, unfortunately it was too difficult to get with just elbow grease.

Young Compton AKA "Smiley" was getting some cram time for his protocol test so he proceed to the next round. (*He took the test after lunch and passed Congrats young Smiley)

Chief Barker stopped by to look at his shift draft. If you have questions about your new assignment give him a call and he can explain who is going where and when.

The Big Show had a tour today the youngsters from Head Start got to see the Busiest Fire Station in the city. I am not sure who was more impressed the kids looking at the trucks or C-shift watching how 3 ladies and wrangle 14 kids and not lose it. Does the phrase "herding cats" mean anything?
Chef Decker took the day off but Chef JJ our resident thrifty shopper whipped up a batch of fajitas and fries.

After lunch we headed down to Station 6 for HTR training, unfortunately the medic unit did not get to stay for the entire training and only got to get a few pictures before leaving.

After training today, an alarm came in at 704 Franklin Rd Station 1 "the Big Show" A quick response time maybe the quickest in City History to get a Ladder, Engine, Medic, Battalion and RS1 all on scene. After searching the station top to bottom neither the pull stations or the Emergency buttons had been activated. The panel was not showing any activation. So now the thoughts of the "ghosts" from the old house had finally found the Big Show. Attempts were made to find out where the alarm may have come in from by pulling a pull station but for some unknown reason that information never made it to dispatch. Talk of bringing back the night watch rumbled through the station.

Before dinner Randy's wife Jill stopped by to check in on her beloved with hopes of keeping him in line. As we all sat down for dinner the tones went out for a report of a vacant house on fire on Riverland. After running around that area of Southeast we found a lady cooking her London Broil on the charcoal grill.
The medic units kept the roads hot into the night. Now we are hoping for a good night.

2009-03-17T10:30:00.004-04:00

St Patty's Day is starting like any other; checking trucks, running a few calls, getting the grub for our meals, and precepting students for the college. If you haven't seen them yet Overacker's site www.Roanokefirefighters.com has some pictures of the parade the other day posted. The Big Show had itself represented well. Be safe and enjoy all the green beer you can swallow.

Lessons Learned

2009-03-17T06:40:00.000-04:00

This St. Patty’s Day was filled with lessons learned for B Shift. To start there were 2 JCHS students riding the Engine & Ladder, so we got to review a lot of stuff with them. Next, a man from Waste Management is trying to obtain his EMT certificate and came to ride along. Most of us didn’t get to socialize with him because the unit he was riding stayed on the road. Then Engine 1, Ladder 1, Medic 1, Engine 6, Medic 6, Ladder 7, Engine 5, and a few assorted members gathered at 6 for HTR training. I was looking forward to hearing some good music until we got there and I realized they said we were training on the Bi-pod and not the I-Pod; oh well, still fun anyway. We all got some needed reminders of basic and advanced skills.

The students got a lesson in washing every unit in the house, and station chores which they thoroughly enjoyed. It's good to bring joy into the life of students. We learned that a fellow in a north side station was heard to say “she was only 185 at 5’ 2”, I’m not sure what the context was here but I felt obliged to include it. The Medic unit doled out some lessons yesterday too. For instance; a person went to RMH complaining of nausea and vomiting and belly pain. This person grew weary of waiting for the staff there to call her back to be seen after 1 ½ hours so she signed out and left. Instead of going home in Southeast they decided to visit our lovely southwest fire station. After smoking a cigarette, talking on the cell phone for 25 minutes, and eating a burger they came in and asked for assistance with ‘severe’ abdominal pain, exactly 2 minutes after the chef called the troops to the table for dinner. After a discussion the pain, err patient, was transported to the ER where the nurse immediately recognized her and sent her back to triage 15 people down on the list. Important lesson to her, the ambulance can’t get you seen any faster than walking in some times.

Our final lesson of the day came to a member of team transient deciding to nap away the ½ gallon of Wild Irish Rose he decided to consume in the St. Patty’s Day celebration. What was his lesson? Don’t go to sleep on a bench at a hotel, they’ll call the cops.

Over all this was a good cycle for B Shift. No major incidents and everyone is going home safely with all of their appendages and healthy as when they started the week.

Council man Ride-A-Long

2009-03-11T22:33:00.006-04:00

Last day of the cycle at the Big Show for C-shift and before the day got started we had to ship Hunt to Station 9 to see if he could work on those Misfits and Becky to Station 7 to give the newlywed a break off the bus. I want to say a big thank you to 1st Lt Price for stepping up and going beyond what he is required to do by riding Medic 1 today and then we went and stuck him with young "future AIC" Compton on top of that. Just after finishing morning chores and checkoffs we were informed we would be having a ride along City council man Court Rosen spent the day with us and JJ was the one that grabbed his ear first.

The ladder truck has IMS training this morning, the engine and the medic unit had a couple runs. When we got back to the station we cleaned the stairwells and put down some new wax. After the IMS training we met for a quick lunch out today,

before the Engine had to go to the afternoon session of the IMS training. Today IMS class was the annual refresher and the use of the command board.

Chief Beckner expressing how important using IMS is for the safety and control of all fire scenes.

Here we have Capt. Wines in command riding on Engine 1 (apparently he is coming to front) after his request to be moved to the "Big Show" This training was showing how important it is for everyone to know and be comfortable with using the IMS board. We all discussed how command could be taken to a higher floor and the steps taken to prevent confusion.

Tiffany stopped by to talked to council man Rosen about some child seat installation for the near future as he and his wife are expecting anytime now.

After dinner and are normal clean up, we wanted to look and see how bad it was behind the stove. It had been a while since we had done it but after moving them out it was no where near as bad as we thought it might be. We knocked it out and mopped up ready to "kick it out" for the rest of the night.

Chef Decker fixed a post dinner snack something between a glazed doughnut and a cinnamon roll.

Chief Beckner's son Zach stopped for a visit to see dad. The night slowed down a bit from the steady day and now we are hoping for a quiet night.

Where did the day go?

2009-03-09T20:55:00.007-04:00

It has been a busy day here at the "Big Show" between calls and training. Medic 1 was out early and often and when 101 marked in service the paced did not slow down. The Ladder boys dropped the Tiller off at the service center and then spent the entire morning at the training center on the driving simulator forcing the engine to cook. But Chef Decker switched over to save the day. Today's lunch menu consisted of beans and grilled cheese sandwiches and I can almost guarantee they were both better hot, or at least warm.

Engine 5 stopped by today to pick up their copies of the new map books and you too can have one for a meager $10. Our two resident fire investigators were in class all afternoon upstairs for a monthly, annual, whenever we can find the "right time to train" class. The medic units paced did not slow down and before we knew it it was time for dinner. Chef Decker worked his kitchen magic tonight and fixed his version of Capt "skinny" Graham's stuffed shells and salad.

Despite the look I do think Joe approved but one can never be to sure. We had a visitor show up tonight flaunting a new shirt that a few thought would upset the "Big Show" but knowing it is all in fun we wanted to post it's picture.

Maybe some of the boys from 2 can start their own blog and show some more of their creative writing juices. Well I know today's post is shorter with less pictures but when your gone most of the day you only get to hear about it and not see it. I just hope tonight is better than Saturday night?

She's back!

2009-03-07T23:11:00.001-05:00

She's back!

Ladder 1 our tiller is back from Pa. She returned sometime last night. A sight for sore eyes, now if we could just get her back in service. The cab was lifted to check the oil after her trip.

Today we had to ship Hunt to 11, Smiley to 2 and Joe to 11.

Remember last week when we received all that snow? "The most in a few years"? Well, today it was going to reach into the upper 70's. Some of the boys decided to ride their bikes into work and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Once we finished our normal morning chores we were asked to rinse down the front apron that was still covered with salt. This may have been an easier task if we would have had some water pressure, but we made due with what we are given.

Once we finished with the front, we headed to the back. Before getting started we asked Becky to move a couple of the bikes to the front of the station. Becky used to be an avid rider but those days are in the past.

Smiley says it takes a real man to ride his bike but Becky wasn't impressed with the weed eater.

I did hear that she was fond of moving Randy's bike to the front of the station so we could finish washing out the back aprons.

With Ladder 1 back in the station we decided that she needed a thorough cleaning before she was restocked and put back into service.

Chief Beckner brought his ranger in with his pressure washer so we could give the ol' girl a scrub down since she has not been washed since mid October.

Cheif Barker stopped by to go over some strategy and tactics with Chief Beckner. Here you see the two of them enjoying the nice day and arm chair quarterbacking the proper techniques used in a high pressure washer.

We had another visitor stop by today and many of you will remember Sport. He used to work with us about 6 years ago before re-locating to the Henrico Fire Dept. Sport has not changed but his boys have (not pictured) it seems like last week when Decker was wrestling them in the back yard at Station 2. Now Decker says he doesn't want to hurt them and get them in trouble but I think Sport's oldest might take him. Here is a small reunion shot with Sport. He wanted to let any one interested know that they are accepting applications in Henrico.

After finishing what we could do on the ladder truck we put her back in the bay and let the compartments air dry. It was the first chance to actually enjoy the nice day, hard to believe last week it was in the 30's and we had 8 inches of snow Monday.

Chef Decker never gets to rest as we can see here. He fixed another great meal with ham, potato casserole and creamed corn.

After dinner we ran a couple calls but nothing to brag about. We are settling in hoping for the night to be nicer than the day.

Popsicle patrol

2009-03-02T20:57:00.005-05:00

Last day of the cycle for C-shift, I don't know about being a "blog master" but I worked today and thought Becky did a fine job while I was off. Well as many of you know who live in and around the Roanoke area, we had the first significant snowfall in a few years yesterday and last night. A-shift had the pleasure of putting the chains on last night and seemed to test the snowy "waters" a couple times. Today we had to get Adam over to Station 6 to grab the service truck with the plow and he got the pleasure of cleaning the aprons for all the fire stations. So if you get a chance tell Adam Thank You.

After morning chores, Decker, one of our resident chefs made some fine homemade biscuits. Those and last day's pork chops were a great breakfast.

Young Smiley was playing musical trucks again today trying to get those ALS calls needed for his first hoop. The more calls he runs the more the number needed goes up according to the training bureau.

Medic 1 was on "Popsicle patrol" with all the people falling outside today. They were probably wondering, is sleigh riding as fun as I remember it? For lunch today we had JJ's special potato soup, and I quote "I bet ya never had potato soup like this before!" As usual JJ was right, the soup and grilled cheese hit the spot on a cold snowy day. We had a visitor stop by the firehouse today

Retired Lt. O. Smith of the the SML Smith's, the only thing changed with Oscar was the beard. He was looking for his buddy Joe who had a case of the "white fluffy flu" or something? Kidding you Joe, hope you feel better at least next Saturday the temps will be in the high 60's. After lunch JJ and the boys brought out a large carrot cake to celebrate the Captain's "??th" birthday. It was yesterday so call him up and wish him a belated one, he will tell you how old he turned.

After lunch the Ladder truck had a chimney fire with the boys from 6 in Southeast and were capable of handling with the units on scene.
As the snow melted we were able to take off the chains and cables.

Waiting is part of the game.

Things picked back up just before dinner but we were fortunate to sit down and eat tonight. Today Medic 101 started their new budget shifts working 9-7pm and they got to eat before getting off tonight. We are going to watch a movie but you know how that goes. So wish us luck.
Well it figures, towards the end of the movie the fire tones went out for a house fire in Southeast. Ladder 1, BC1, RS1 were on first dispatch with E6, M6 and E11. M6 was on their way back from the ER and gave a sizeup bu most missed it because of their quick response everyone was still on Tac 1 marking enroute. M1 and E14 were the WF units, Engine 6 arrived and made a quick knock down on a mattress fire extending to the entire room. Check out Station 6's blog for pictures and more info.

Visitors

2009-02-28T20:38:00.005-05:00

Another day and no Chapy, you get me the fill in. Today started just as any other Saturday: check the trucks off, washout, clean the station and so on. Brooks graced us with his presence today. We began to prepare for a "12" person station tour! As we were midway through brunch our visitors started arriving and they continued to arrive. By the time the arrival of "Moms Group West" we had approximately 60-70 people here for a tour.(as seen below, minus a few) The whole station participated in the tour.

We split everyone up into 3 groups and took off. Everybody had a good time and enjoyed the visit. Thanks goes to the group for the brownies.

We send Congrats out to Max Smith, Randy's son, for his 1st Place in show and 2nd Place in speed in his Pinewood Derby Event.

The Engine and Ladder had a few alarms at the jail today. Medic 1 ran a few calls and praying for a quiet night. Well shortly after he "snow" began to fall the madness of course began. Engine 1, Ladder 1, BC-1, Medic 1, HTR-6 & RS-1 all went on a wild goose chase for a vehicle over an embankment. After a few round-abouts tire tracks were located and the vehicle was gone. As the madness continued Medic 1 was dispatched for someone bleeding to death.....Not so much handled by PD.Smiley is gettin a little closer to getting Phase 1 out of the way. The praying for a quiet night isn't workin out to well........we will see.

Till next time..........

The blog must go on.....

2009-02-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

Well here it goes my first try at this since our Blog Master is gone. Once again we were up against it at the "Big Show". The morning started as usual doing our morning duties. Of course Medic 1 was the first out of the house this morning, then Medic 101 came in and we never saw them again. Ladder 1 had EMS Training today, they said it was exhilarating. After class the Ladder guys stayed busy and ran about 8 calls. I couldn't keep up with the Engine. We rarely saw our little "Smiley" cause he spent the day with RS1 trying to make it to Phase 2. We had a visit from Chief Grigsby, Chapy aka Blog Master and Tiffany. We were suppose to have some Boy Scouts come by but they were a no show. Alex spent a portion of the day doing the drug card thing, as I finished up some HW.

Gonna put a small plug in this: Everyone please remember the MDA Golf Tournament June 25 at Hanging Rock Golf Course. If anyone wants to put a team in let me know, wanna donate some money or prizes just let me know. If you are intersted in helping out, let me know.

Sorry Chapy, see what happens when you tell me to blog. Come home soon.......

So ya wanna fight?

2009-02-21T21:30:00.007-05:00

Day Three at the Big Show and we wanted to get all the trucks cleaned up top to bottom before washing out. It is a good thing Adam is not afraid of heights or water or he would have been in trouble. After the Ladder got back they got some help from an unlikely subject (the last time she helped in the kitchen is when there were rumors of moving her out) Just kidding Becky you know you are a big help. Medic 101 did not get to have lunch with today because they were stuck over at the Civic Center for ACC Hockey Tournament. It was so bad that they sent the first AIC home and had to call Jose in as the relief driver. Ran into the boys from Station 9today on the medic unit at the ER and told them about out blog and hope to have it ready so we can get links for 3, 6 and 9 tonight. Young Compton AKA "Smiley" was riding the Medic truck today attempting to get a few more calls in and I have figured out that he is going to be a fight magnet. The first pt we had was assaulted by some "close friends" of his causing a LAC to the top of his head. After convincing him to calm down we loaded him up and headed to the ER to save him from getting arrested. About 6 blocks later he got agitated with the questions we were asking (name, DOB, where does it hurt?) when he attempted to swing at the Young AIC. Once he was convinced hitting was not allowed in the back of the medic unit, he was taken away to the ER with our brothers in blue with a new set of bracelets. Later on in day we were on scene at the Rescue Mission when a large fight broke out into the street. It started out like a playground fight and soon 15-20 were involved but when PD arrived everyone forgot who was involved except the big boy in the yellow coat. I was surprised PD didn't want to pawn him off on us.
Tonight after dinner we had a couple of cuties stop by to show off their stuff.

It was great to have some cute visitors after dealing with some of Roanoke's "finest"
A-shift has been notified about the blog and more info from them is sure to come. I hope to get B-shift involved as well, until next time. . .

Full House

2009-02-19T21:28:00.005-05:00

Today was one of those days when you start out on one truck and wind up on the other trucks at least once before the day was done. Today we had a full station 2 College of Health Sciences Fire students and two Radford Nursing students. We had Stoval riding with EMS Capt. Bocock attempting to get his last call so he can get checked off. We now have a new card carrying EMT-I many know him as Smiley, but congrats to J. Compton AKA "Smiley". By the time he gets done jumping through all of the hoops to get turned loose he can retire. If you get a chance, tell him congrats. Today A. Fleming's daughter came by the station to have lunch with dear old dad and asked him if she could take a picture for her photography class. As you can see above we did our best to oblige. This is everyone except our boy Hunt. He is on vacation this cycle and is being missed by all. The reserve ladder was taken to the shop yesterday and replaced with Ladder 7 and is busting at the seams with all of our equipment. Tonight at dinner we had 18 eating and our beautiful huge table was not big enough. It started slowing down this evening after the students went home and we hope for a good night.

C-shift

2009-02-17T19:18:00.002-05:00

Today was Day 1 for C-shift and it started off normal equipment check off after morning turnover. B-shift advised that they were having trouble with the nozzle on the reserve ladder (901). Here is one of C-shifts mechanics investigating the nozzle. Medic 1 was out early and often and got some help when Rogers showed up to put Medic 101 in service. Ladder 1 had to go to the garage for a professional opinion. After dinner Northside had a fire on Norton and we had to send INV 1 over to investigate.

Big Show

2009-02-13T21:43:00.001-05:00

With so many stations starting thier own blogs, I was asked to get the ball rolling on one for Station 1. Like station 3, 6 and 9 I hope to get all three shifts involved. For those that don't know about Station 1 here is a little info: Built in 2007 currently these trucks are assigned Ladder 1, Engine 1, Medic 1, Battalion 1, RS 1, Medic 101 and INV 1. It is also the head quarters for Fire Administration.