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Count down to 13 !

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YEA BABY!!! If I make to 0750 in the morning I am outta here for a 13 day break! WOOOO HOOOO! I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve today. I was thinking of going to bed right now so I don’t have to wait so long to wake up and get outa here. The break has both good and bad news. The good news is that I’m off (good for me and the boys). The bad news is that I will be twice as busy while off than if I were here. I guess it’s not so bad though because I enjoy the work. My work begins first thing in the morning, as it does every morning with feeding; then we’re loading up and headed out to a local livestock show / sale. The Central Va. Livestock Show and Sale for 4H and FFA. We have a small group of kids at the farm (friends and family) who have been preparing and working with a group of show heifers. They have already made 1 show this year and made a very respectable showing so we’re looking forward to a good weekend.

I have hay equipment to prepare, fertilizer to spread, barns to clean, fields to plow and the list goes on and on. Squeeze in there a few motorcycle rides, a float or two on the New River and maybe even a little fishing and that makes for a busy week. Oh yea and let’s not forget a football game in Orlando Fla. on the 8th. I haven’t decided yet if I am going to make the trip. That’s a lot of time and money away from the farm to spend sitting on the bench. The only plus I can see is that it’s in Orlando… bikini babes and the beach..hummmm? Anyway, whether I go or not, the Rampage will play the Orlando Gaurdians and enjoy a weekend of football “on the road”. Please continue to support our efforts in the National Public Safety Football League as we work to raise money and awareness for Steps 4 Billy. Ok, enough about cows, football and my break…don’t want to jinx it (LOL). Well, I haven’t mentioned Opie in a while and that’s because he has been on a 13 day break himself. I have to admit that I’ve been a little depressed and worried because I haven’t heard from him. I’m legitimately concerned for his health. You see, he’s gone on one of those Fancy smancy golf trip thingys. GOLF! #*&@$#^*$#^*%%$#! A waste of good cow pasture if you ask me. But anyway…he hasn’t even called to check in. They can say what they want but I KNOW that golf is hazardous for your health. Why else would they strategically place “ball washers” throughout the course????

And they give you those little 1/2 towels to dry your balls…. why would they even be wet???

I mean, I don’t see what the attraction is. Riding around a pasture in a funny looking little car hitting a defenceless ball around with a stick. And, to top it all off, it’s with a bunch of guys in funny looking cloths…nickers or something I think they call em..

WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE! That’s no guy and I’m pretty sure those are not nickers she’s wearing…. Do you mean to tell me that my sweet, innocent little Opie is out some where stuck in a pasture with a bucket full of balls and scantily clad girls with a bag full of sticks??

OMG! I’d better get up there to check on him! I just hope they don’t sell alcohol…

What to do…what to do? I shoulda known. I helped out one year at our IAFF Local’s MDA golf tournament. Now I didn’t play but did sacrifice my time and donate my efforts to drive the beer cart while escorting the Hooter Girls around to meet the teams. A dirty job but someone HAD to do it. I was just glad that Scotty and Big Luke rode along to watch over and protect me. You see, the gals had their own club and it made me kinda nervous… had some kind of funny end on it. Musta been coated with some kind of laughing powder too because every time they’d get it close to their face they would just laugh and giggle…

LMAO..OK it took me a while to get here but I want to remind everyone that our 30th Annual MDA Golf Tournament is just around the corner. The date is June 8, 2010 with a “shotgun start” @ 08:30. Contact “Pookie” Smith AKA Rebecca Smith at BecGrrrl@Yahoo.com for more details. Deadline for $200 entry fee is June 1st, cost rises to $240 after. The price includes all fees (greens and cart), food, beer and tons of prizes and give aways. Bottom line..contact Becky, register a 4 man team and come out for a great time while supporting an even better cause.
Now Firehouse stuff… (thought I’d never get here right). Today has been so so. Kinda busy but the weather has been perfect. We spent the morning testing hose. That means taking it all off the truck, charging it, testing it, then breaking it all back down, draining and re-packing. Sounds like work huh?



After hose testing, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and geared up for some in house training. It’s kind of a “Search” and “Mayday” drill rolled into one. I had the boys pack up with darkened masks and radios. I explained to them to conduct themselves as if this were an actual event. I then had them conduct a search. This allowed me an opportunity to observe their search patterns, technique and communication skills. Then, during their search I quietly removed Coon from the group (Coon has been through this drill before with me back at #9 and was briefed ahead of time). I was then able to observe how Lt. Eugene and the boys reacted at the loss of a member. How long would it take you to notice him missing? What would YOU do? How would YOU react? Would YOU call the “Mayday”? Would you be too embarrassed or scared to? (what if you called it and the missing member was just around the next corner or standing out front with the Chief? you know somebody would laugh at you right?)Do you know how to call a “MAYDAY”? Where is your “emergency button”? Well, the correct response is to CALL THE MAYDAY! It takes dicipline but that train of thought HAS TO BE DRILLED INTO OUR MEMBERS. I’d rather you call it and the member be ok and just around the corner than to hesitate or NOT make the call and the member actually be in distress. Any way, the boys did fine and it’s a great inhouse drill. Here are a few pics…


After that drill, we headed into the AC for some territory drills. Old school style..fill in the blank…errr street..


I said inside to the AC..why is Joe sweating??

Moving on… ** NOTICE** THE REMAINDER OF THIS POST CONTAINS NUDITY.. IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED AND / OR DO NOT WISH TO VIEW SUCH IMAGES DO NOT READ FURTHER***

It seems as though we have a fan here at Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen. Hydrant Girl has not only been following along with us, she also takes time to drop a few comments. Here’s her pic….

Bunker pants and a wedding dress…hummmmm bet that made for an interesting honeymoon….LOL… Puts a new twist on our most reliable pick up line huh? Oh come on…I know you’ve all used it….”ever seen a naked firemen?”… “Want to?”..then..

LOL.. well hopefully he is a “future” fireman and at least he kept his boots on (a chip off the ol block..OH NO!) LOL … Anyway, Hydrant gals last comment was on the pics of Clayton on the 2002 Salem Ave Fire. In honor of her following us I’ll add a few links and more cool pics before wrapping up. More photos from the fire in the previous post can be found here and here from Mikey Overacker’s site, Roanokefirefighters.com For some great shots of “Iron firemen” from the FDNY past, check out this link to Michael Dick’s photo collection with great content such as this (link also found on right sidebar)…

I’ll toss in a few more local shots that can once again be found over at Mikey’s site..Roanokefirefighters.com. Here are our South Side Brothers and Sisters in action…



GREAT knock down boys! SOLID work! Here’s one of 2 Ladder in operation on a multi-alarm from C-shift…

Here’s a cool shot of now retired Battalion Chief Audie Ferris and Captain Todd Stone of A-shift. Notice the #3 on the shield… that again is the “real” #3 from down on 6th and Rorer

Last but not least, here’s one of men and Battalion Chief Bobby Slayton talking it over…

OK kids… hope that holds ya for a while cause I’m outta here! I will try to make an update post while off since I bought this new fancy lap top computer thingy. Everyone stay safe and in the house.. if ya get a chance to drop by and make sure the boys haven’t killed Eugene I’d appreciate it :-)
Captain Wines

Posted by on April 29, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

One day left..

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Tuesday, middle day of the cycle and again, it feels as if I’ve been here 100 hours already… Geesh! It’s been another one of those typical “staffing” days. EMT-I class, HTR training and who knows what else. Anyway, we marked the Engine out of service all day. Coon and Joe rode the box while the Officers traveled. Yea, both of us. Eugene went to Lucky 13 while I rode down at “The Deuce”. Fun Fun. Things finally settled down and I got back here to “never never” land around 18:00 (that’s 6pm for all you non-firemen types lol). So then it was catch up on paperwork etc… again you can imagine just how happy and excited I am right now. Anyways, all that means is that I’ve gotten ZERO pics for tonight’s post and that should make this one short and sweet. I mentioned Eugene went to Lucky #13 today and his chief assignment was to fret the crap out of Captain Martin. Well guess what?? He did! It just so happens that today is Clayton’s birthday. WOW!! 62 years old and still partying like an animal… LOL …if they put candles on the cake I know it was the most fire he’s seen in years…well since his last birthday anyway LOL. NO all kidding aside, Clayton is the Capt. of Ladder #13 here on C-shift and a good and long time friend. Clayton worked several years with my dad down at old #1 and since then has been assigned on shifts with me throughout the years. He’s always been a “go getter” and a heck of a fireman. Here are a few shots of him…This is me and him “talking it over” after a good knock down by the brothers from E5. (pic by Mikey Overacker). Here’s another of Clayton in action from the tip of Ladder #2. This was a parking lot I made back in 2002 from the “REAL” Engine #3. WOW… talk about “Iron firemen”…. No mask.. yea yea I know. In today’s fire service it’s more “stupid” than “Iron” but I guess back then we just didn’t know better. I will say that since then we have both learned to wear our SCBA in all IDLH atmospheres. And hey, who knows? It may even add a few years to our pensions. Anyway, those pics were all from Mikey Overacker and none really showed Claytons face very well so here are just a couple more for those of you who don’t know him… HAPPY BIRTHDAY Clayton! I believe it’s 52 instead of the 62 I posted above. OK, moving on. Rhett has indeed made it back home from FDIC. Lucky dog! I’ve always wanted to go myself. Anyway, I was catching up on his adventures up there over on Fire Critic. For those of you who don’t know, Rhett is also co-running a site named Firefighter netcast where he and his partner John Mitchel of Fire Daily produce live “pod casts”. They have some really good guest on various fire related subjects. You can also call in and be part of the show yourself. It makes for some really good discussions / debates and is well worth a listen. Anyway, I was very impressed with how professional and CALM Rhett sounded from FDIC. I mean I knew he was an “Arthur” but a broadcaster??? Whoda thunk it? Not me because I’ve seen him on the job. A real “Nervous Norton” this guy. I remember him coming to work with us back when we were at #9. Becky had packed is lunch, made sure he had granola bars and water and even made him a little back pack with clean undies and extra socks… everything he’d need to work with a band of “misfits”. LOL yea right! I thought he was some kid running his paper route that day. I mean just look at him. Scared to death. Like a kid getting on the school bus or something LOL. Needless to say, we fretted the poop out of him that day. Blew him up twice and that was just the beginning.. .
By days end, he was worn out. Poor little fella… And now here he is trying to pass himself off as some “broadcasting” media mogul! The “Oprah” of the fire service?? Who’s he think he’s kidding? “Boob signings” and “booth babes” my butt! Seriously… he doesn’t even look old enough to work for the fire department OK OK.. Rhett knows I’m just busting balls here. We are actually very close friends and Rhett has been a huge help in my blogging adventures. All kidding aside, Rhett has been very busy with and doing a great job of publishing and promoting his multi media projects. He runs several web sites and blogs as well as “picture book” and “churp churp” acounts(that’s Face Book and Twitter for you computer geeks). I guess I’m just going to have to pick it up a little around here in an effort to keep up or at least not br
ing embarrassment to our house our his media empire. That said, I’m in the process of streaming to “Picture Book” so you guys can follow more easily. I should have it up and going by next day and will let you know for sure when it’s done. As of now, you can search “Ironfiremen.com” and should be able to make a friend request. Just bear with me another day or so and I’ll have it up and going. OK, to finish up tonight I wanted to leave you with another recent fire pic. Again this one is from “B-shift” and NO.. 3 Engine was NOT there. What I like about this photo is the IMS (incident management system) example. Here is a Battalion Chief (now Battalion 1B formally Battalion 1C)and a Senior Captain exhibiting IMS at its best. They have all the bases covered..errr well all “directions” covered anyway.. I need you “north”… now you go “south”..you there..hey head “west”. A “blitz attack” surround it and ambush from all sides right “Lucky”. LOL Let me see your “war face”! Ha ha.. alright alright. The man nearest, facing us; is Captain Chris Trussler also know to me as “Lucky”. Well, as fate would have it, being I transfered to “The Deuce” this morning; I got to see and talk a bit with Lucky as he was coming off duty. He mentioned my comment which referenced him when I blogged about the cracked windshield on Engine #3 the other week. The conversation brought us to some recent pics and this one in particular. We had a few good laughs over it this morning and I thought you would too. I understand our brothers and sisters from B-shift did a heck of a job over there as did the Incident commanders. I’ll tell some Trussler stories here some day…I have a ton of em and you’ll die laughing. Anyway, that’s enough for tonight. I’m back on Thursday for our final day of the cycle. Until then, stay safe and in house… Captain Wines

Posted by on April 27, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , ,

We’re back

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Well, 4 day break is over and “C-shift” is back to duty. We had our 2nd football game of the season yesterday against the Washington DC Generals and lost 28-2. Yea .. I know but, as it’s been said several times;the fact that we are even on the field is a win for us. The rain held off just long enough and considering all of the other events in and around town this weekend, I think the attendance was great. Even though we want to win, our main goal is raising money for our chosen charity Steps 4 Billy. We were able to present the Obenchain family with another check yesterday for $2,500 and know we will deliver more. Here’s a pic of the team lined up behind the family and our team leaders Todd Stone and Chris Price who presented the check. (Photos again courtesy of Angela Jones Peay)

Here’s another action shot from Angela…

We did accomplish a first for our team this season, we actually put some points on the board! For those of you who know football, you can figure that 2 points came from a “safety” and that means our defence scored em for us. I gotta give it to those guys…they looked and played GREAT! They are without a doubt the strong point of our team. Hats off to Matt Wheeling for another outstanding job as Defensive coach. Some of you who followed me here from the Melrose Misfit Blog may recognize Matts name from A-shift. I don’t think Matt will be making the Orlando trip because his wife is expected to deliver their first child that week. So, THANKS again for all the hard work and congratulations on the upcoming birth. Special teams also did fairly well ( after DC ran the initial kick off back)and blocked a kick. I’m not sure of the official stats / numbers but we also racked up a QB sack or 2. My stats? NOT too impressive. The good news is that I didn’t get bucked off…

Oh yea.. riding the ol bench! I’m real happy. I guess maybe the coach figured that after coming to practices, long nights of studying play books, setting up tents etc for the after game party, that I needed the rest. Whatda gonna do? Anyway, next game is in Orlando Fla. against the Guardians on May 8th. OK, enough football. It’s been a nice easy day here in “never never” land. The most excitement we’ve had was earlier this morning when a mysterious vehicle took down our street and stop sign. Sounded like a bomb went off but were never seen the vehicle..

A-shift has been busy around the house with Captain “bucket head” Craft cracking the whip. The boys made a super nice assignment board for us and did a little clean up work in the appliance compartment of the Engine…


Nice work men! Not much else to report. The city as a whole has been busy enough, just not us. Here’s a cool shot from a recent fire over in SW. B-shift I believe.

The pic came for Mike Overacker’s site Roanoke firefighters.com. I’ll also add in a pic of A-shift Lieutenant Rhett Fleitz.

I guess he’s trying to fret with this pic from his Fire Critic site. Word is he’s wrapping up his “boob signing” and “baby kissing” tour up at FDIC and heading home (he IS an Arthur you know). I’m sure he’ll have a few good lies..errrrr stories to tell when he gets in here on Wednesday.
That’s enough for tonight…I’m worn out from pulling out all those bench splinters lol. Everyone stay safe and in house… see ya Tuesday.
Captain Wines

Posted by on April 25, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , ,

NOT when the Captain is stressed…

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Ever heard the saying…”today’s NOT the day”? Or how about this is not a good week for that? I know… we all have em but it seems as though mine has carried through since January. Yea, I’m having a bad year. Nothing is going my way and my stress level is through the roof… hell, higher than that

Even the “Cowboy Cadillac” laid down on me today…geesh whats next..the dog?

Needless to say, when I’m in a grumpy mood …. DON’T PUSH IT. And in all fairness, I guess I haven’t been around some of the men out here in “never never land” long enough for them to get a “good read” on me. I would guess that the Melrose Misfits just had me spoiled because they could read me like a book. Hell, Bug knew by my mustache. Apparently I rub or play with my whiskers in certain different ways depending on my mood / thoughts. I’m not sure how he knew but, he did and that’s a good talent for a Lieutenant. You see, Captains can be…ummmm…errrrr…well, we can be difficult. I know because I lived with one of the toughest and meanest coming up as a private at #5. One of the best firefighters I ever worked around. He taught us more by accident than most did on purpose BUT..BUT.. he was a son of a gun to live with. If he was in a bad mood (and we knew when he was) he got the ENTIRE upstairs to himself. We’d find stuff to do and make darn sure it was as far away from him as possible. You see, a Captain in many ways is like a gunney. For 24hrs anyway..we own you and you DONT want us unhappy or mad!

(I was gonna load the video where gunney is telling em all how its gonna be but there was just way too much cursing, racial remarks etc. but you get the point.. if not search “is that you John Wayne” on youtube). Anyway, for whatever reason; I was rubbed wrong today so we WORKED. What’s even worse is that it was “busy work”. You know… a “green station” has a lot of glass. A LOT LOT LOT. So… we washed windows…big and small..we got em ALL.

The sun was shining, the day was beginning to warm up a little….hummmm good day for a hydrant drill. So, we laid a few hundred feet of 5 inch from up the street all the way through the station.

Any hey.. since we laid a line…may as well stretch one too. 200 ft of 1 3/4 hit the ground. You know what? As long as we have the line off and a good hydrant, we may as well “wash out” the bay and front pool. Who cares if it’s not Friday yet. Nice work boys…a hydrant drill and a hose line drill, now I guess we better get all that hose back on the rig huh? Hose loads 101.


All that work and the high pollen levels had the rigs looking a bit dusty so… we washed em. Even the reserve piece. Wiped em all down so they wouldn’t spot but then we had all of those towels to wash and dry. Heck why we were at, we went ahead and shook out, beat and cleaned our fancy smancy rugs…

Eat? Whatda ya mean eat? Who has time to eat…we got work to do. LOL I’m not THAT much of a butt hole… we stopped for a glass of water and a spam sandwich. Actually, the day really wasn’t “that” bad and the work load only lasted for a short while. I think the boys were actually excited about it because I heard em whispering something about a “sock party” for Eugene our hyperactive Lieutenant. I’ve never been to one of these here parties but, if invited; I think I’m gonna wear these…whatda ya think?

Like I said, the day wasn’t near as bad as I made it out to be. This morning we spent most of our time sitting and chatting with an old friend. Retired Deputy Chief Winston Simmons dropped in..

Chief wasn’t carrying the axe today but he did come bearing gifts. One of our local churches has a program call “in the shadow of the steeple” through which they reach out to the community. For some time now the church has been providing us with bottled water and today, Chief made the delivery. Im not 100% sure of his retirement date but, pics of his retirment party (and the one above) can be found on Mikey Overackers site Roanoke Firef
ighters.com. Sitting around listening to Winston spin a few stories had me thinking back to last day when Chief Bobby was in the “hot seat”. He told a story of how he got a nickname that I never even knew he had. Apparently, as a private; Bobby’s shoes were always dirty. REAL dirty. So dirty in fact that the men often accused him of plowing in them the day before (and in those days, you plowed behind a mule…lol). Well, at the time, the Department supplied shoe polish to the stations because the regulation was for your shoes to be polished to a shine. Since they were always dirty, Bobby’s shoes got polished every day. Add in some top notch “fire house detective work”. How could he dirty shoes THAT bad in one day? Could he have more than 1 pair? Heck, mix in a little “firehouse logic” and I think they even accused him of wearing friend’s and family’s shoes to work just to take advantage of the “free” shoe polish. Thus a new name was born… KIWI

LOL you gotta LOVE those old stories! Ok, to wrap up tonight I wanted to talk a little about football. YES…FOOTBALL! Tomorrow night, the Salem Red Sox is having a “Roanoke Rampage” night. Our players are selling tickets to the game. The good thing here is that the money from tickets we sell will go to our charity.. Steps 4 Billy. What’s even better is the fact that tonight’s game was rained out so tomorrow’s is a double header. Scheduled times are 5:30 and7:05 SO .. find a football player and buy a ticket. Get 2 for the price of 1 and help a great cause. Players will be in the parking lot selling tickets or simply contact a firehouse for the nearest player. The main thing here is to ATTEND! Now, next up is our last home game. This Saturday, April 24th we will host the Washington DC Generals for our final home game this season. Kick off is at 3pm but just like at the last game, there will be plenty of tailgating starting early. I will be there around 8am with the “Cowboy Cadillac” and camper

Rumor has it that there will be several more camps set up this weekend so MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW! Rain or shine, we have tents, tarps etc. It’s gonna be a BLAST and all for a GREAT cause. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT and hope to see you there Saturday. OK, that’s it for tonight. See ya tomorrow at the baseball game and again on Saturday. Everyone is invited and welcome at my place so make sure to drop by. Until then, stay safe and in the house.
Captain Wines

Posted by on April 20, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Alive and kickin..

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Well, we all know that “the word” travels fast in the fire department and apparently I’m a hot topic for the rumor mill once again so lets set the record straight. I was injured last week. A dislocated shoulder early Monday morning. NO… it was NOT a football injury. NO… it was not from a bar room fight. YES.. a cow ran me over and YES… she was 10 times bigger and meaner than the one that damn near killed Lynn Flora (lol). There is/was good and bad news. The good news is that nothing was torn … the bad news is that its sore….REAL sore. I’m on the road to recovery though.. back to work today and planning on football practice tomorrow. A little black and blue, still sore but alive and kicking (I’m tougher than I look you know). The cow???? Well lets just say she probably hurt a little too… This is not the first time that me and a farm animal have squared off. A few years back, a colt and I had a little misunderstanding and the firehouse cartoons were funny as crap! It used to be posted on the Rumor Mill but I can’t seem to get it to load. I will work on that and get it up here so you all can have something else to laugh at me about… I am here for your entertainment you know..(LOL). Seems my last post drew a few comments and I’ll say this… comments are welcome.. good or bad. Hey, I know I’m a target for some and not the most popular for others. The thing is, if you don’t like what I’m posting on or could care less what I have to say on this or that… DON’T READ THIS BLOG. Easy huh? The title “Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen” was meant to show respect to the men who fueled my desire and Passion for this job. The men who were tougher than the equipment they had (or equipment they didn’t have). The title in no way was a representation of how I view myself but I will say that I have had the honor to go through a few doors with some “iron firemen” and it seems more and more today that the title has been reversed. Today, it’s more like Iron ladders and wooden firemen. Now that’s not to say that we don’t have some good ones left because we do but a lot has changed. One of my favorite reads is Fire Engineering Magazine. If you don’t take this mag you should really consider doing so. You can check them out online as well. Anyway, the March issue has a good article Firefighter Casualties: when “old school firefighting” doesn’t work. Look it up on page 105. Another good read from their web site is “The new old school“. Just today, Battalion Chief Bobby Slayton stopped in for a visit. He literally sat for hours at the kitchen table telling us stories of the “good ol days”. He had us rolling in the floor! I hope the boys know how lucky they are to have had the chance to sit there and hear Bobby be so open and candid with his stories. In the recent past; we’ve put on a retiree breakfast at our Union Hall and at the last one, Rhett Fleitz (Fire Critic, Roanoke fire.com) was fortunate enough to capture some video of now deceased Retired Captain Pete Price telling some old stories. Guys.. we can’t get moments like these back! This is the passing of our history and traditions. It’s what made us who or what we are. It brings Maranda Lambert’s song to mind.. “The house that build me”. Now she’s not talking about firehouses I know, but there’s also no doubt that houses like #5, #3 and #9 played a huge role in who I am. I’d dare say you have a house that helped mold you as well. Who’ll tell those stories? Think about it. I’ll add the video for the song in case you’re not a country music fan and / or don’t know the song… that sexy little Texas accent don’t hurt none either..
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf6wHW1YKkg]
Ok… let me get off this rant..or semi-rant before I get all worked up but before I do..call this a “dog and pony show” if you will. That’s ok but, if you work here it’s part of YOUR history as well. Yea. This site, the Station #9 Blog, Rhett’s sits etc have documented some of the history of our job / department. I guarantee that even now you sit around telling stories like “one time” and “so there I was” and one day you’ll be trying to remember what happened that time so and so did this or that. Well guess what… you can probably scroll through or search some of these sites now and find that story. So.. YOU’RE WELCOME!
Ok ok… on to today. We have a new ride! I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not too excited about E3 and that waste of material bolted on the top but I’m equally not so sure I like the replacement B-shift acquired for us… Yes..that IS what it looks like it is…. The boys said she handles like a dream but will only pump ketchup, mustard or relish. Must work though… they had 4 mulch fires yesterday and I don’t think any of em are still burning so they must have put em out. Might have made the clean up a little more difficult though. How many firemen does it take to wash a “weiner”? JG was so excited he even SANG! Oh yea..the ol weiner song.. Look out American Idol
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
LOL.. le
ave it to a fireman. Good job JG! Of course you all know he was bribed / tricked and had no idea that the camera was rolling. OK, I’ll wrap up with another short explination. Opie’s dad also commented on last days post. He likened me to Festus of “Gunsmoke” fame. I’ve had several people ask me who “Festus” is. You have to be kidding me right??? Well here’s a short clip (and good story) of Ken Curtis as Festus… enjoy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8363Z3V0Es]
That’s enough for tonight.. thanks for reading, I hope at least some of you still enjoy the content. Stay safe and in the house.. we’re back on Tuesday.
Captain Wines

Posted by on April 18, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , ,

Heading to 4 day!

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WoooHooo! I can almost smell 4 day break. Another 12 hours and we’ve got it made…till Friday anyway. It really hasn’t been a bad cycle if you don’t count being stuck on duty with all this nice weather. The good news is that the forecast for the week looks just as good. What to do what to do? With so many options, it’s gonna be difficult to fit everything in. Here’s a good hint for all the local folks.. the lake activity is beginning to pick up. I decided to head down to Bridge Water Plaza last night and sip a beverage under the stars out by the water. Talk about relaxing! I cant wait to log some hours at SML this summer. For our non-local readers, we have a pretty nice lake near by with recreational opportunities out the yang. Here’s a promotional quick look…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nypg5qoUMCM]
There’s a huge Bass tournament heading our way this week and Pee-Wee and I are making plans to follow some of the action close up in his new 19′ Pro Craft. Now, we’re not going into this blind…we have a few anglers in mind to keep tabs on…well ok, I have just 1… Jason Quinn

Can you believe it? Evan Williams has a Bass Boat! Wonder if they’ll pass out free samples? Could it get any better? Well no it couldn’t because Old Milwaukee doesn’t have a boat LOL. I’m sure we’ll make due anyway. Again, it’s just the hassle of trying to cram a bunch of fun / stress free stuff in before reporting back for duty on Friday. Well for some of us anyway. “SOMEBODY” (cough cough Coon) sucked next cycle off. Oh yea..the beloved 13 day break. He’s been walking around all day with that poop eating grin on his face too. He’s a little planner so I’m sure he has every minute of it scheduled. Gonna float “this” section of the James today…”that” section next day. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t call and rub it in. “Guess where I am capt?” hehe “guess what we’re doing Capt”. Guess I’m gonna have to buy a canoe. And don’t even get me started on the cruises and beach trips. Again with the phone calls or worse yet.. pictures!

@$#%^^&^%$##(&^%$#$%^%^$#**!!! OK…OK…just let me catch my breath here… it’s less than 12 hrs till break now. On to today’s activities. It’s been kind busy round here. Funny thing is that we’ve ran just as much automatic-aid into the County as we have actual city calls today. Now, don’t get me wrong… we don’t mind helping out our County brothers. It does have it’s benefits…

Oh yea..love me some Brusters ice cream! You just can’t drive by and not stop. The kids LOVE it. They get to talk to firemen and see a “real” fire truck…a RED one (all those poor County kids usually get to see are the County’s yellow / greenish ones LOL). That plus it’s funny as hell to see Pee-Wee with a chocolate mustache. And what the heck…Pee-Wee’s been hard at it all day. Single handily doused a raging mulch fire. Darn near jumped the line but he managed to cut it off at the head..

I tell ya what…the kid never backed up… steady pushed forward! And just Look and Opie, Coon and Eugene… leaning on the rakes! Does this look like a VDOT job or something?? FINE example there boys…Geesh. Well, continuing with the norm… nothing really too exciting today. The bay is full of apparatus to include a reserve ladder and engine. Our engine woke up yesterday morning with a cracked windshield. Captain Craft (A-shift) and my self have tried to figure it out and the only thing we can figure is that some sniper fireman wants a Captains spot on E3….

That baby is dead on for right between the eyes in the Captains seat….anybody seen Trussler? Not much else to report on. I did have a really nice day on the farm yesterday. My number 1 farm hand the Buckaroo was able to spend the day with me and help work a few cows… I know I talk about him alot here but hey…. he’s my first grandson (I have 2 daughters..no sons) and this IS my site. So, here’s my Buckaroo moment…
First, he has to preview the work at hand…

Then its time to saddle up …


Now it did get rather warm in the evening yesterday so I had to give him several breaks to get a little hit of something to drink….and NO… not beer.. I don’t think they even sell those little “pony Millers” anymore. He’s a Dr. Pepper man…well, that or Kool-aid.. RED.

And when the work was all done..I even took a breather with the
little fella…and in his favorite hiding spot too…the feed trough

That’s gonna wrap it up for tonight.. We’ll be back on Friday. Until then stay safe and in the house.
Capt. Wines

Posted by on April 11, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Middle day blahs!

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It’s the middle day for C-shift and I can’t wait for 4-day. Today feels like it’s lasted 48 hours already. The day started out BEAUTIFUL. Joe is off on vacation so that has us running with the minimum … 3 on the Engine (and YES that’s counting the Officer and driver) and 2 on the Medic. Not a big deal any other day… our department runs with 3 regularly….like every day regular. Anyway Opie and Pee-Wee have EMT-I class on Tuesday’s and Friday’s so this morning, they reported straight to school…apples in hand. That left Coon, Eugene and myself here at 3 house. Again, not that big of a deal…mark the Medic out of service and run the Engine right?? NOPE. The Misfits were down a man as well so the decision was made to mark our Engine out of service, send a man to #9 and the remaining 2 men here put the Medic unit back into service. Yep..you guessed it. Coon is the medic so he couldn’t go. Captains sometimes travel / transfer but me…. well not today. So Eugene was off to Melrose leaving me and Coon on the box….yea.. I love riding the box..

LOL that pic actually came from back in our station #9 days but it fits here as well. We did a decent post that day on my “taking one for the team” and riding the box. Check the link out, I think you’ll enjoy it if you didn’t follow us back then. Anyway, today’s ride didn’t last long. There was a change in schedules so Eugene got to come right back home as soon as he got to #9. Coon and I started to just throw our gear in between the rigs because we were tired of switching from one to the other. In the end, as it always does; everything worked out. The boys got back from school just after lunch and that allowed us to put both units up and running. Oh yea.. good news from class too. Today was the big mid-term exam. They have been studying like crazy and it paid off. BOTH PASSED! Congrats to Opie and Pee-Wee, I understand the test was pretty hard. Keep up the good work boys. I’ll get a pic up of my 2 little geniuses in the next post or so. So, after the morning shuffle, things kinda smoothed out.A pretty normal day all and all and because of that, there’s not too much exciting for me to post about. I asked Winters one time why she didn’t keep the Station #3 blog updated regular when she was here on c-shift and her reply was that you can only blog so much on what you eat and how many times you wash the truck. She was right. AGAIN. That said, I’m not going to post on tuna fish sandwiches and taco salads. Well actually, we have done a little more than that today. We’ve been watching the traffic roll by. Lots of it and TONS of bikes.

Wait…not those kind of bikes… motorcycles. The Blue Ridge Bike Fest is in town this weekend so the streets are full of bikers out enjoying the weather.
The show looks as if it’s going to be a blast as well. All weekend long and they even have a BIKINI CONTEST! Now normally I’d be excited but the thought of some of some big ol biker dude in a bikini just isn’t doing it for me…lol.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HzEJyOVWl0]

Looks like it’s a pretty good place to be huh? So that’s about all the excitement I have for tonight. I’ll give ya a few links to check out.
I love Report on conditions. Schmoe is a great read. At times, its as if we even think alike (not saying much for him I know). Check out one of my favorite post of his from back in 2009. YOU’LL LOVE IT!
I also keep up with The Fire Critic. I’m a little bias here because the writer not only works for our Dept. he is also assigned here on another shift.
Retired Lt. Mikey Overacker runs a site that usually has some pretty good pics of our members in action. Check him out here.
Oh yea… while browsing around a little I came across some old videos that were funny as HECK! They were pretty popular at one time but seemed to have faded away. There are several episodes but I’ll only post the first.

WARNING !!!ADULT HUMOR FOLLOWS. If adult / firehouse humor does or may offend you, you shouldn’t be here anyway.
For those of you who aren’t offended and haven’t seen the Fireman Perry videos yet…ENJOY.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jezSeQnfCg]

Ok, that’s all I got tonight. Wish I could make the bike show tomorrow but I don’t think it’s gonna happen. I’m gonna be riding….just not an “iron horse”

A full day of working cattle! Could make for some interesting pics for Sunday’s post. Until then, stay safe and in the house.
Capt. Wines

Posted by on April 9, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Gonna be a long one..but full of pics

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Well, the Roanoke Rampage had our first game this past Saturday and there’s good and bad news. The bad news?? We lost…9-0. The good news (and a lot of it) is that the game and entire day was a huge success. I’ll begin by saying this. Not many people got behind us. Most laughed. Others made the smart ass comments. It was wide spread that we’d never get it done. We were all gonna have broken legs or arms and subsequently be fired. We were gonna look like idiots, be an embarrassment to our city and department and would never draw a crowd. HA! Guess what…. we did it! Just by opening the gates and taking that field, we proved a lot of folks wrong and I believe changed some minds and gained fans / support. There were over 700 paying attendees and over 100 sponsors / guest. South Carolina’s team said this was the largest crowd that they’ve seen in the league yet and we were their 5th or 6th game! And, good crowd meant money for our charity…Steps 4 Billy. Karen and Randy were in attendance and even took the field pre-game to accept a signed football from the team. More good news… no serious injuries. A few bumps, bruises, pulls, strains etc. but basically we held up. We learned a TON! Hey…this was the first time we have ever done this. There were bound to be mistakes and short falls. Now that we know em we can work on fixing em. Our next game is at home as well on April 24th. against Washington DC. I’ll post more on that on another day. But back to Saturday, it seemed as if everyone enjoyed themselves. I haven’t heard a negative comment. The tailgating was awesome both before and after. I left the station that morning and went straight to the stadium to set up. With the help of my brother Jackson and Smurf (from station #6C) we were up and running by 08:30.



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Smurf had the “cyber cafe” set up inside while Jackson got the corn hole boards and outside entertainment ready. Several friends from the farm rolled in with the grill, about a 1/2 beef, 1000 or so hot dogs, kabobs etc. Oh yea…and COLD BEER. Then Chuck, Chad, David, Buddy and the crew rolled in. They backed the trucks up and unloaded just as much stuff! The last count was 36 people all together! It was a blast. Here are a few more pics from early on…









The Buckaroo made it out to wish me luck as did my baby sister (and mother / step father) who came in from NC to see me in action. The stands were full of fans as well..here are a few random shots from the cheap seats..









And believe me… we had just as much fun down on the field. Our defence looked fantastic…offence needs a little work. South Carolina played BOTH WAYS! Wow..talk about heart.. my helmet is off to those guys. I have a few action shots but they didn’t turn out too good. Luckily, I found some though. I got to meet Angela Jones Peay today. She is the wife of one of our firefighters from A-shift Mike Peay. Angela used to be a sports photographer and did an awesome job behind the lens. All of the pics below are compliments of Angela…









Angela has a lot more for you to see on her “picture book” (thats Face Book for all you computer geeks lol) page. Check em out, again she did a great job of getting some quality shots. And, Yes…the 3rd pic down is me running the ball. Ok..it’s me running for my life LOL (i had an off day and shoulda cut that one back)but theres the proof for all you non-believers. I dont know all the name / number combos so I wont attempt to list everyone pictured. We do however have a TON of media guides (programs) left over. Cost is $2.00 for a piece of FD history. Contact any player or Todd Stone via the team web site for your copy today. Ok, that’s enough football for tonight…just remember next game Saturday April 24th and the Wednesday before that (4/21) the Salem Red Sox are promoting “Rampage Night” at the baseball game. All players have tickets for sale. Make plans to come out for a night of fun and baseball to support your favorite football team. OK OK on to firehouse stuff. It’s been another busy one! Running all day, classes, physicals you name it! I haven’t been able to get any good rumors or gossip because we haven’t stopped long enough to talk to anyone. We started the morning off with a little ARFF training… joy joy. Afterwards, we did a little pump training as well. Here’s a few shots of Eugene putting her through the paces..







I wish I had a name for her but I don’t. The Engine I mean. You see at Station #9, we called our rig the “War Wagon” and she was! She was an ENGINE. She didn’t have one of those almost a half of a ladder thingy on top. A stick….blitz attack..LMAO yea right riding with 3? Anyway, I haven’t found a name / title to fit it yet BUT give me some time.. I’ll get one. Better than that, give me your suggestions. What should we (I) call Engine #3? Post your reply in the comment section. Speaking of the number “3″, while at training this morning I noticed something kinda cool. Some history. They have the old wooden lockers that used to be at old station #3 on 6th and Rorer (the REAL station 3). Anyway, if I remember correctly, then Captain Terry King (now Battalion 2B), Lt. Chris Brown (now Captain, deceased)and the remaining C-shift crew built the lockers in order to give our new turnout gear a little more protection from the elements. Anyway, I had made Captain and was assigned there as well. Back then, before these fancy name plates and such; we simply wrote our names in our spot. A lot of names scribbled on those lockers. Some good memories too. I even found mine…wish I could go back there now..





And, since I mentioned Station #9…I had another realization today. You know, we’re really not THAT far apart. It’s almost….ALMOST starting to feel like #9 out here now. (long pause and uncomfortable quiet) Ok.. well it IS starting to look more like it…



“Pimp Mobile” in our territory … LMAO! Guess there really is “one in every group”. Ok to wrap things up, Pee-Wee managed to tame the beast tonight. Our grill that is. You shoulda seen him out there “doing it”. It pushed him back for a minute but Ol Pee-Wee stood his ground. Hamburgers done to perfection…





Last but not least.. our 2 ride-a-longs from Rookie School. Cadets James Walker (left) and Ronnie Mitchell (right). Graduation is scheduled for Friday April 16th. Congratulations to them all, good luck and we look forward to seeing you out in the companies..



And YES! I pulled a pretty good one on em before they left. Amazing I know..there are a lot of things I can tolerate but fretting is NOT one of em :-)

Stay safe and in the house. We’re back on Friday and Sunday.

Capt Wines

Posted by on April 7, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , ,

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!

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I CAN’T wait!! Tomorrow is the first home game for the Roanoke Rampage. We play for the National Public Safety Football League and will be hosting the South Carolina Commanders tomorrow @ 3pm at the Salem Memorial football stadium. Tickets are $7 and all proceeds go to our charity Steps 4 Billy (Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL). There will be an Easter Egg hunt for the kids at half time and a chance to get an autograph or picture with your favorite player on the field after the game. What are you waiting for??? Come on…EVERYBODY loves football…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OKwRsnWO84]
A full day of fun for the entire family. Before the game, there will be plenty of tailgating. I already have the camper hooked to the “Cowboy Cadillac” and should be set up by 08:30. Food, beverages, corn hole, good company and an all around good time. Look for us and come on out….
The weather is supposed to be in the high 80′s so make your plans NOW to attend. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!It will be a good time and for an even better cause. And hey… there may even be a bonus. You see, the Commanders have a cheer leading team! I don’t know if they travel with the team but I sure hope they do…Meet the “Combat Cuties”!

Damn!! Why don’t we have some of those?? My weakness… thigh highs or “hooker boots”…well either of those or midgets lol :-) I just don’t know if I’ll be able to handle all the excitement of this weekend. You see, the weather is supposed to be beautiful all weekend and Pee-Wee just bought a new boat. That’s all he’s talked about… yada yada BOAT.. yada yada FISHING. So… I’m trying to get him to take us out on the lake Sunday. Oh yea! Warm weather, boats, the lake, bikini girls…WoooHooo. Now Pee-Wee keeps insisting on this fishing crap. Well, as his Captain, I’m obligated to teach him. This weekends lesson?? MULTI-TASKING!

What a gal…just look at how big those…ahhhh..errrrrr.. FISH are. LOL you thought I was going to say something else didn’t you? HaHa. Oh wait, was there even a fish in that picture? What was I thinking any way? That was stupid…one girl and a couple of firemen on a boat… how smart is that? It would never work. Geesh! Anybody with common sense would know that one would never be enough…

LMAO..now that evens the odds. And hey, this could all be wishful thinking… I haven’t even seen this boat yet. What he’s calling a 19′ Pro Craft could easily turn out to be the SS Minnow

Now I’m WAY too skinny to be the skipper (as is Pee-Wee) but I can see my “little buddy” as Gilligan (in looks.. not actions) LMAO

LOL…I was “just funin” (but they do look a little alike). I’m sure Pee-Wee’s boat is top of the line. He and his dad have had her out and says she’ll fly and runs smooth. I can’t wait for my ride. As far as the fishing beauties..you’ll just have to wait to see how things work out ;-) Want more good news / excitement?? I think I’m going through a mid-life crisis. I’m not sure IF that’s the correct term or even WHY they call it that. By all rights, my “mid-life” crisis should have occurred at 9 years old. Who would have ever thought I would have lived past 18? LOL. 20??? unbelievable…25 a miracle! So here I am at 41 and buying a new bike. I already HAVE a bike! A good one too. The sad news is that it now has to go. I don’t have a pic today but will get one up on here soon. Shes a red and pearl white Honda ACE. 1996 model, wind shield, tank bra, saddle bags, Corbin seat, custom exhaust with 113,000 miles. Yea..113,000, one owner and has needed nothing other than oil changes and tires. She’s been a good one and it will be hard to let her go. The dealer and I couldn’t agree on a trade in price so I need to sell her outright. $2,500.00 is my asking price and I believe it to be fair. The ol gals replacement?? Yea..I’m a sucker… it’s a Harley. 2010 Street Bob

And just think.. for around a cool $14,000, you can own one too! Now, if I can figure out how to connect a hay wagon to em LOL.
Ok, so that’s football and home life. Here?? BUSY AS HELL! We’ve been running / working our tails off today. Don’t believe me? Come to the game tomorrow and take a look at mine…nothing there! No, we have been busy today. mowing grass, washing out and a TON of calls. We even had an airport alert for a F-18 out of fuel. A F-18 over the “Noke”? Hummm. Anyway, today is vehicle fire and motorcycle wreck day… Hummmm motor cycle “wreck” day…see above pic. Anyway here are the boys getting er done and another shot of an unlucky rider who needs to learn to be a little more alert..


Turning into quite the photographer huh? Notice on the shot of the boys mowing… I got 3 of em in 1 frame.. a rider, pusher and weed eater. Oh..something else cool around 3 house is that the boys from A-shift made us a cool little board to place our accountability tags. They also worked on some kind of yankee load for our bumper mount trash line. Never seen it before but seems as if it will meet our needs. They’re thinking anyways..keep up the good work guys..




Ok, that’s enough for tonight. Need to rest up for tailgating and the BIG GAME tomorrow. No kidding… WE NEED THE SUPPORT! Come on out early and make a day of it! My rig should be easy to spot, come on by and make yourself at home (bring a chair). OOps wait. I gotta explain something. There was a comment on last days post about my cup size. If you look at the pic, you can see the size listed as “teen”. LOL! What you can’t see is the sizing chart. Now mind you…I didn’t make the chart BUT it was clear and easy to read. A waist size (and I dont know what your waist size has to do with your …errrr cup size) of 28 (I wear 28×34)needs the “blue” label or “teen” size cup. Now, they don’t tell me how to fight fire so I’m not gonna tell them how to measure ….ummmmm… cup sizes. And anyhow, a teen size is actually BIG. Relitivly speaking… I mean a teen size on one of our line men???? looks tiny. The same teen size on my skinny little frame…HUGE! LMAO !!! Ok ok everyone stay safe and in the house tonight. Hope to see you all at the game. Thanks for reading.
Captain Wines

Posted by on April 2, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , ,