Ok, so the other night, I gave you a little taste of our experience in Chicago but, I have to tell you that there was so much more. Yea, we had fun..ok.. we had a LOT of fun but, we also worked a little and learned even more. Although I wasn’t able to attend any of the lectures / seminars, because of where we were and who I was with, I actually got to hear the “meat and potatoes” of a lot of the “hot topics”. Let me explain. For starters, Dave Statter and The National Fallen Firefighter Memorial were a big reason and help in us (Rhett / firefighter netcast) being there. Statter is the host of Fire Hero Radio and did several interviews / pod cast while at FRI. If you don’t know by now, I am and have been a big fan of Dave and this week we actually got to meet face to face.
He was NOT a disappointment in person. Statter’s work and passion for the NFFF was not only admirable but intoxicating. We did a short pod cast late in the day on our last at the show. He and his wife spoke of the grounds and surrounding area of the memorial and the conversation was near spiritual. Beyond that podcast, I was also able to hear Richard Gist discuss the NFFF’s Behavioral Health Initiative as well as listen in on a talk with NFFF Director of Fire Programs Victor Stagnaro.
Other NFFF interviews included topics such as Everyone Goes Home Program discussed with Ralph Webster and Mike Brooks.
If you are not familiar with the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation YOU SHOULD BE. It was humbling to learn and see just a small piece of how much work and effort goes into keeping the foundation running and in the public eye. The 29th Memorial is coming up October 2nd and 3rd 2010, make plans to attend now.
Another huge reason for our attendance was due in no small part to Fire Rescue Magazine. We were set up in their booth. Tim Sendelbach is the Editor in Chief and he was with us from day 1.
Fire Rescue Magazine was a huge contributor / sponsor of FRI so Tim had access to all of the speakers. Tim began the week with an interview with Chief Conneally who was the event’s keynote speaker!
Tim stayed in front of the mic tirelessly to capture the hottest topics from FRI straight from the presenters mouths. We heard Tony Kern speak on “The War on Error Management”. We heard Billy Schmidt speak on “Training Management” as well as Martha Ellis on “Firefighter Fitness”. Rick Black, Butch Cobb and Ralph Donio were interviewed on ISO and Accreditation. Other interviews included Brian Crawford, Marc Revere. Adam Thiel spoke of Fire Service Challenges and the value of labor / management relationships.
Tim spoke with Chris Riley on Leadership and the Company Officer Handbook. I even got to hear Tim interview the past and newly elected President’s of The IAFC Jeff Johnson and Jack Parrow on the challenges and future plans for IAFC and FRI!Now, I didn’t list titles with any of the above names for fear of getting them wrong, but trust me.. everyone of them are a Chief Officer with “EFO” and /or “CEO” behind their name along with many more credits (these people know what they are talking about).
Another “big name” / company that was partly responsible for us being there was Go Forward Media. I have to tell ya.. if it involves the Internet or getting your name out there, Dave Iannone, Chris Hebert and Paul Andrews are the guys to see! That’s part of the big announcement I’ve been telling you about. I’m making the move and the guys are bringing me over to The Fire / EMS Blog Network. This is a humbling and HUGE step for me and this little rag of a blog. That said, I guess I’m gonna have to step it up a little. Now Chris and I talked quite a bit about it and he said to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Apparently people like my style of writing and enjoy the blog. I guess it has been my past content / post (here and at Engine 9 blog) that has allowed me to make the jump to such a well rounded and respected group but, I still feel that this group deserves a little more. That said, I will continue to post as I have in the past but plan to add a “spin” as well. I’ll try to weigh in on some local, state or national events / news and maybe add in a little training column here and there… who knows. I know you’ll like the new look and hope you’ll enjoy the small changes. I know I’m excited. Let me know w
hat you think. It will take us a week or so to make all the necessary changes so hang in there…it will be well worth the wait. Ok, so theres a little wrap up of Chicago, I’m on 4 day break and back in the hay fields but will try to get another post up soon. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter (this is a huge help for the “big switch” so tell all your friends too). Thanks again for following, stay safe and in the house, I’ll see ya soon.
Captain Wines
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Everybody knows that there’s no place like home but I must also admit that I had a really good time in Chicago. I have so much to tell ya about, I’m not sure where to start. I guess for tonight, I’ll throw some pics and brief comments etc at ya so you can see one at least one side of what we were able to experience. You all know by now that Fire Rescue International 2010 was held in Chicago and Rhett invited me along. Rhett was heading up to work the exhibit floor for one of his many companies. This trip he traveled as Firefighter Netcast. Our job was to record and produce several interviews / pod cast for various clients. I will post on those clients / interviews etc tomorrow because the content / networking was unbelievable. Tonight, I’ll show you a few of the faces, some of our travel and a little of the show… so here we go.
After registration etc. we sat down to shoot the bull and have a cold beer or 20 with Chief Art Reason. Art’s real name is Art Goodrich. He is the host of one of the regular shows over on Firefighternetcast entitled The voice of Reason. Art is also the one who got to interview Steven Pasquale (“white Sean” from Rescue Me).
Art and I hit it off from the start and he even showed me his tattoos…
Of course then, Rhett had to show how tough he was so he held his hand over a candle for 10 minutes (Art or I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was one of those candles that used a light bulb instead of a real flame..LOL)
The next day, we went to work on the floor. 
We seen TON of familiar and famous faces
(Chief Brunacini in top photo and Dave Statter below) There were TONS of vendors as well. A lot to take in. Everything from antique apparatus to state of the art..
And as much as I make fun of the “yellow” fire trucks in our area, you have to stand up for this PINK one… Pink Heals
Two of the competitors for my Department’s new station alert system was on hand as well. Here’s a shot of one of them.. WOW!!! What a demo. And I also got to see all the “latest and greatest” from Scott. (Eat your heart out Smurf)
We took in a ball game and even had a few beers with Chief Billy Goldfeder
My presence on the trip was quite the influence on Rhett. 
Sadly, I’m afraid the strain was more than he could bare … LOL
I’m gonna stop there for tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll bring you more of the people we met and the life saving initiatives that were discussed. Until then, stay safe and in the house.
Captain Wines
Ok, that’s not Chicago but the pic says a whole lot about our situation right now… STUCK!! Oh yea baby.. another wonderful flying experience. We have been sitting, walking around and drinking in Chicago’s OHare airport for ohhhhh about a week now. Yea… stranded. Once again, Rhett’s “discount flight plans” came through. It appears as though “something” has happened to our plane. Something “mechanical” but apparently secret enough that they wont tell me.
This airport / flying business is starting to remind me of a really bad movie..
I tried to tell em that I am pretty good at turning a wrench. I can weld and fabricate just about anything. They assured me that they have their own mechanics and have the situation well in hand…
WOW!! Had I only have known. All kidding aside, we are stranded in Chicago but things are working out. I will update with details of our adventures as soon as I get home. You wont want to miss that post! Here are a few “teasers”…. I got to meet and hang with Steven Pasquale (white Sean…aka Sean Garrity) of Rescue me and Chief Billy Goldfeder. IT WAS COOL!!!!!
Ok, thats enough for now.. I have to go to the “lost child” desk and see if I can find Rhett. Wish me and us luck.. hopefully we’ll see good ol Va soon.
Stay safe and in the house til we get there..
Captain Wines
You all know by now that we have indeed landed in the Windy City and all I can say is WOW! There is so much to take in, I just may stay another week. Well there is so much to take in and the fact that I’m a little scared of the flight back to Lynchburg. Yea… leave it to Rhett! “Oh, we don’t have to drive Captain..I can save us a ton of money on airline tickets if we fly out of Lynchburg”. HOLY CRAP! I’ve never been so nervous…
Thank goodness Rhett’s Firefighter Netcast partner John Mitchel took care of the rest of the arrangments. He follows the blog and has gotten to know me somewhat through my postings. That said, he even went as far to assure that I had an egg sandwich for breakfast this morning..how cool is that? He also made our sleeping arrangments. The hotel we are staying at is unbelievable! Again..WOW!
Here are a few shots …
And, contrary to what you may believe, this place is “right up my alley”..oh yea… they even have pictures of naked gals on the ceilings..
The city?? Fits me like a glove as well. I’ve found a farmers market, a watering hole and even a cow. Yep.. a cow in downtown Chicago…
Rhett and John were off testing their karoke equipment for our hetic schedule of pod cast tomorrow from Fire Rescue International. You should see Rhett practicing his radio voice. He tries to make himself seem “taller”. You know… that “deep” Barry White voice. I swear..if I didn’t know any better I’d believe Rhett is a good 2 inches taller when he’s on the mic.
While they were out testing / practicing I took a short tour of the town. You seen the pics above but I also made it by a station. I got the chance to visit station #1 here in Chicago. They are a fairly busy house that runs an Engine, ladder and Medic. Here are the pics…
I also noticed a little of how these guys work up here. Rhett would fit right in as a Lt. / driver / chuffeur etc. look at these “midget style” hydrants..
LMAO… anyways, we’re here and doing fine. We have a baseball game to attend tonight, maybe some dinner and a few drinks. Up early tomorrow to set up the karoke machine and prepare for some interviews. Here’s the headline… Chief Art Reason is going to interview “white Shawn” (Steven Pasquale) from the TV show Rescue Me and I will be there. YEA!! Tomorrows post will have a pic of me and a cast member from my favorite TV show.. have I mentioned I love this town?? Ok, so I met plenty of new peeps tonight..I’m plotting changes etc for the site.. and I’m going to turn it up yet another knotch. Stay tuned… you wont want to miss this. I’ll be back tomorrow, follow me on “picture book” and “churp churp” as well. Until then, stay safe and in the house.
Captain Wines
I don’t know how but we actually made it to Chicago. We flew out of “lynchburg” on a one prop piece of rivot loosing, metal flapping, don’t know how she didn’t come apart piece of ..yea to land in Charlotte. From there, we took a real plane to Chicago. I actually fell asleep at takeoff. I’m in the center seat. My head on one gals shoulder… drool not noticed. My hand in the other gals lap, her massaging my fingers.. no better way than to put me to sleep! Rhett in a panic the whole time! Me tired of fretting about him. we arrrive just as I had anticipated…safe and sound. Make it to our room.. The “RITZ” I’m telling ya (1st class all the way) and have a “unwind tottie”. WOW! I needed one. Then off to dinner. Chris Naum and John Mitchel took VERY good care of us. Thanks a million for the great conversation, food and beverages. Later on, we held an “in house” chat with a local CHIEF. WOW!!!!! Anyway, it’s gonna be a good trip. The gals seem to like men in cowboy hats who say “yes Mam” and “thank you”. Something was also mentioned about big mustaches… hummmmmm. anyway, we are tired and going to bed. I’ll have some pic’s etc tomorrow plus some details of our trip so far. Check me out or follow now on Face Book and Twitter.. see ya in the morning. Until then, stay safe and in the house.
Captain Wines
We fly out tomorrow morning. Those of you who know me are aware that I don’t get out or away from the farm much so I’m pretty excited about our trip. Knowing my inexperience in these matters, Rhett called earlier today to check on me.
Rhett: Hey Capt. How’s it going? You excited? Need anything or are you even packed yet?
Me: Packed yet?? You gotta be kidding me! I’ve been building rolls and packing for a week now. Not to mention getting the mules ready.
Rhett: Mules?? What exactly are you up to now??
Then I explained the process…. no spur of the moment job by any means..
Rhett: You really are an idiot! Don’t you have a suit case?
Me: Sure I have a suitcase but how in the heck will I get all this stuff in it?
After I piled all my cloths in it, the top wouldn’t close.
Rhett: Have someone sit on it until you can get it zipped… GEESH!
Me: Ok, but what if someone can see or gosh forbid steal my undies?
Rhett: How can anyone see your undies if they’re in a suitcase?
I explained the over stuffed travel satchel then continued..
Me: Plus, now they have all those fancy, high tech x-ray scanner thingy machines at the airport. Rumor has it they can see EVERYTHING!
Note: I’m in neither of the last two pics but sure hope that gal in the bottom one is in the line in front of me 
and the conversation continued..
Me: I am a little worried about the scans and searches… you know I stand out and get picked every time. That said, I have developed a plan..
Me: PLUS.. I bought a book and have been reading up on such activities..
Rhett: (while laughing) Look.. I told you that instead of driving the “Cowboy Cadillac” I would use my vast resources and find us a really good deal. I did just that! We are flying out of Lynchburg and they most likely don’t even have the scanners etc. so you have nothing to worry about.
Me: Lynchburg??? Your “vast” resources??? REALLY good deal?? Hummmm. So, what kind of plane are we taking? Do they show movies? Have dancing gals or serve in flight beer?
Rhett: Trust me Capt… Top of the line.. first class all the way.
(what else would you expect out of Lynchburg @ $29.95 each way??)
Rhett: You are getting worried and all worked up for nothing.
Me: You mean you’re not?
Rhett: Why would I be??
Me: Well, what about you getting past security? What if they have those signs like they do at the carnival??
Me: The only way we’re slipping past this one is with you in a 8 inch pair of high heels or if the people in Lynchburg are as backwards as I think they are..
Rhett: Relax… we’ll do fine with the flight.
Me: I hope so cause I’ve been planning our activities for a week now.
Rhett; Planning? What have you been up to now?
Me: Moi?? Nothing special. Just been using my extra special, high tech, one of a kind, make ya have a really good time, above normal senses.
Rhett: Your what??
Me: My.. errrrr… ummmm well, it’s like radar only more like NUDAR!
Rhett: Are you out of your mind!?! Becky will kill me… hell, she’ll kill us BOTH!
Me: Rhett, listen to me… I’m not talking one of those sleezy joints with naked gals and such… I’m talking first class here.. a place for “gentlemen”
Me: Wasn’t it you who told me just the other day about packing my football pads and getting some new fancy type of britches? You said no jeans or cowboy hats. We will be “rubbing elbows” (so I read between the lines and packed my pads)with some pretty important people up there. The everyday attire will be “slacks” and a nice shirt.
“SLACKS”??? WTF! What is a “slack” anyway? I spent most of the day shopping in Blacksburg and I couldn’t fine a “Slack” store or department ANYWHERE! Is that some kind of “Yankee” term or what? And like I dont have nice cloths? Well I’ll have you know that since I couldn’t find a “slack” store, I went to the golf shop.
Rhett: Why go to the golf shop?
Me: Well, I figured John Daley is on TV and famous and all, so I’d just pick up a little something from his line..he’s always wearing nice britches and all.. oh yea.. Capt gonna have his “bling” on in Chicago.. Look out ladies!
Hell, I even took a bath…
Chicago will never be the same! We’re there tomorrow, look for us at the Fire Rescue Magizine booth, hit me on my cell or in the comment section here to hook up. We have plans to catch a ball game, hit a few stations and who knows what else… See ya there, until then stay safe and in house.
captain Wines
I know.. I know but its been kinda busy lately. No kidding, things have been fairly steady both on the job and at home. I know I have a lot of catching up to do so grab a seat. For starters, I should be off on vacation today but Coon and I switched a day so I can make Fire Rescue International in Chicago next week. Rhett and I are making the trip up and I CAN’T WAIT! He touched on the trip over on The Fire Critic site. Look it up and hit the links to read all about FRI. Anyway, after tonight, I’m off for a while and my next post is likely to be coming from the Windy City…so stay tuned… it’s gonna be a BLAST! Ok, on with the update. The big news??? HE DID IT! Yep, our own little Pee-Wee has officially tied the knot! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Collin Humphries… 
It was a very nice outside service located on a farm in Botetourt County. In the shot above, Mr and Mrs Pee-Wee are standing in the alfalfa field next to where they were officially “hitched”. Now don’t get me wrong… this marriage didn’t come easy for Pee-Wee. I thought I gave him a pretty good “talk” days before the “big day”. Little did I know that the Preacher wanted to tell him a few things too…
LOL..looks like he’s giving him the “what for” right about then huh? Short, sweet and to the point. Then it was on to a great meal, some cold beverages and a little dancing. There were plenty of Firemen in attendance and even a few retired ones (Josh Holmes of Melrose Misfit fame and Dr. David Guinn once FF/EMT of the deuce were both there). Me and the Buckaroo along with the boys from #3C wouldn’t have missed it for the world.. Here are a few more pics…
Pee-Wee and the Mrs headed down to the beach while the rest of us losers headed back to work. As you may expect, it was another “busy busy” day. We watched the paint dry a while. Literally. A-shift took some time to clean up a few of our hand tools and put a nice new coat of paint on em. Gotta admit, they look pretty good… nice job boys..
Well above expectations after seeing who was assigned that day… now if that ain’t a “Redneck Runboard” I’ve never seen one…
LOL.. Oh yea, we had a visitor on Sunday as well. Charlie “Big Red” Williams. Charlie and I go way back. I have so many stories I don’t know where to begin. One of the best was when a bunch of us all rode the bikes down to Myrtle Beach. While on the beach, we ran out of…errrrr.. well we ran out of beer. So, Chuck and I made a run. No need to change right? I just jumped into my Black Diamond pull on fire boots, and grabbed my wool ball cap (with ear flaps down no doubt). Now mind you, I also had on my swimming trunks (yea.. shorts, pull on boots and a wool hat with ear flaps maybe a “wife beater” but nothing else). We are walking around the store.. Charlie trying his best to loose me, me staying right on his heels. A huge black man, neatly dressed and the skinniest, whitest kid in South Carolina dressed as I was. I’m picking up tee shirts, shot glasses what ever and yelling at him…”should we get this for mom”…”hey dad..look at this one!” LMAO!!! You should have seen the looks we got! People were stopping him..”Sir, your son is calling you” LMAO! He coulda KILLED ME! Anyway, when I made 1st Lt. I got to work with Charlie at station #13 for a while. He came up before that in stations like #9 and old #3. A “Good Jake”. Here’s a shot of Charlie..
After Sunday, we headed into 4 day break. RAINED every day! Good for hay..bad for getting anything done. The best part of break was that I got to babysit the Buckaroo a few days! Scary right? For some reason, the girls think I am spoiling him. Actually I think they used the word “ruining”. Can you believe it??? NO!
I made sure he had on boots and a hat every morning before we went to work.. Even a clean / dry diaper. We ate like Kings and even alternated between Country Music videos and Cartoons while dining… French toast and some cartoon Spanish speaking hippie type hooker named “Dora” … what more could a 2 year old want?
I’m even teaching the little fella to read… OH YEA.. at 2yrs old! The trick is getting them in the “right” place. You can’t learn to read just anywhere…
He just may be the youngest reader of Fire Rescue Magazine EVER! LMAO.. I think he just looks at the pics and I figured Fire Rescue Magazine was way better than Hustler. He is kinda like his “Paw Paw” maybe just a little. We worked hard, played harder and caught a nap when we could..
Ok.. that was my “Buckaroo moment”… moving on to today… all shook up. The Engine was out, the Medic had 2 students (Newman’s last ride…good luck brother) and I traveled to Lucky 13. Rode with Boots and George “Georgie” Perdue. Both Top Notch if Clayton doesnt ruin em…lol Here’s Georgie wheeling
Nothing too exciting. We did have a 85 year old man drive through 2 yards, over some rather large shrubs, across about 60 foot of chain link fence, through 3 support braces for a shed roof style carport (causing it to collapse), hit a parked vehicle, went over the bank and found the ditch. You have to pay for rides like that at amusement parks… 
Oh yea.. and more training with those guys in the “yellow” fire trucks..our brothers from the County. And yes.. that damn Rucker was there again and he continues to make fun of my daughter… His day will come.. 
To close, the fleitz family dropped in tonight. Becky wanted to make sure that I was gonna stay close to and look after Rhett while we’re up in Chicago. She’s worried about all his “Blog Groupies” and the crowds that are sure to encircle us. I assured her that she has no worries. I’ll keep him in my hip pocket everywhere I go She seemed relieved
For those of you going to Fire Rescue International, look for us at the Fire Rescue Magazine Booth. I’ll be the cute, skinny guy with the big mustache who looks like he’s actually old enough to work here.. LOL. See ya in or from Chicago.. until then, stay safe and in house.
Captain Wines
PS. My baby sister and girlfriend Kelly are in town and dropped by for a visit. Baby sis will kill me if she doesn’t make the blog and I figured you guys wouldn’t mind one more pic…
It seems as though we’ve been surrounded by yellow rigs today. I’ll get to that in a minute or twenty but there are a few other topics / headlines I want to hit first. Line of Duty Deaths (LODD’s) and serious injuries. Outside the United States, Geezer reported on a double LODD in Spain. Here in the U.S. we’ve been hit just as hard this week. To begin with, we lost a brother up in Chicago this week. Firefighter Christopher Wheatly lost his life after falling 3 stories from what was described as a ladder attached to the building (fire escape). Statter has the coveragehere This one kind of hits close to home for me and I’m sure for a lot of others on the job as well. Though I have never been to Chicago, I am going up in about two weeks to attend Fire Rescue International. Visiting a department / city that is mourning the loss of a brother is hard on everyone but who knows, maybe a large attendance of brothers and sisters from across the country will help our “windy city” brothers with the healing process. Detroit has also been hit hard this week with 6 injured, 2 critical when a brick wall collapsed. Statter also has that story here. Earlier, both Statter and Geezer reported on the attempted production of a documentary on the city in ruin. You can read the article here or just take the time to watch this video …
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13184388&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0
BURN Trailer from Tremolo Productions on Vimeo.
I don’t know, it just seems like more and more, cities across the country are asking us to do more and more with less and less and nobody seems to be listening or care. How many more brothers will have to die? How many more need to lay in the ER or rehab facilities? Have they ( local government, city officials, legislators, tax payers etc.)all forgotten? I know those of us on the job haven’t and I, for one; NEVER will! I wish I could just shake the $*&^#$&*% out of all of em… don’t even get me started. Anyway, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families, brothers and sisters up in Chicago as well as Detroit. Ok, moving on to local and happier news.. Tomorrow is a big day for us here at #3-C. Why you may ask….well it’s Pee-Wee’s fault..
Just look at him…GUILTY! And, it’s not WHAT he did, it’s what he’s GONNA do…
Call it what you will but at 17:00 hrs tomorrow our little fella is “tying the knot”…”taking the plunge” or just plain ol GETTING MARRIED! And NO.. it’s not gonna be a “shot gun” wedding but I did find a pic of a hot gal in a wedding dress holding a shot gun just in case…
The boys and I will do what we can to “red neck” it up a little. We have a few really good ideas for his wedding cake…
Or.. we thought maybe we could help with their limo rental…
I don’t know but I’m sure we can come up with something. Either way.. CONGRATULATIONS and best wishes to Pee-Wee and Amanda.
Ok, as for today and being surrounded by yellow rigs. It’s been another busy day around this joint. We started out the morning with sound good training (pre-fire planning and tours) with our Brothers from the County… yea, they run yellow rigs.
This “automatic-aid” deal is kind of new to us but I have to say, that at least on our shift; we have a good relationship with each other(except for when Rucker was making fun of my handicapped daughter). We even had some of the County guys practicing their assignment…
LMAO.. I’m just kidding.. it really was some good training today and plans were made for more in the future. We got to see even more yellow out at the airport. While making its departure for Orlando Fla. a plane carrying about 100 passengers blew an engine… and I mean BLEW. You can read some local coverage here. I got to snap a shot from our stagging area inside the ARFF station…
The pilot get her stopped in time, no passengers were harmed and ARFF had everything under control within minutes. So there you have it… we’re back on Sunday with an update from Pee-Wee’s nuptuals and who knows what else. Until then, stay safe and in house.
Captain Wines
MY ACHING BACK!!!!!
Talk about “carrying the load”!!
And OVERLOADED at that!!!!
That’s what it feels like on 3 Engine today. Carrying the load for the Medics ONCE AGAIN. Here we are sitting on 11 and they have all of what??… 3 or 4 runs? geesh. To top it off, every time we make it back to the house (either soaked from sweat due to the heat or drenched because of thunder storms) we find the “box boys” nestled on the couch, kool-aid stains around their lips (yea…RED) brushing cheese puff crumbs off their shirts! LMAO !!! I’m just kidding. It’s been busy for all of us today and I don’t know why… Friday the 13th is next day. But yea, the Medic has been just as steady. It’s almost felt like being at a County sub-station today. The Engine has ran about 3 across the line today plus we have 2 of their members riding as students on the box. Fran Gonzalez is becoming a regular around here and Jeremy Newman returns for his 2nd ride with us. I always post pic of the ride-a-longs so here is Fran and Newman once again..
We have a fill in on the Engine too. Opie was off to school today, tonight he is riding as the 3rd person on the box (part of the class requirements) and Pee-Wee is on vacation and planning to get married this Saturday (more on that next day). Anyway, that leaves us a man short so the South Side was gracious enough to send us a man from Station #11. Meet Jeff “Dud” Dudley…
Our runs have been nothing really exciting or out of the norm today…just a bunch of em. We did catch an alarm over at a new football stadium being built at one of our local high schools. The system for the stadium is separate from the school itself and something in particular caught my eye… here are a couple pics.
Nothing “standoutish” here right?? A football stadium under construction. Notice anything in the 2nd pic? The 3rd shot gives a closer view (I moved closer Schmoe..no fancy lens or camera tricks here..lol). Yep.. pull stations at the entrance / exit to an outdoor stadium. Now these high school games are popular and with the new stadium are sure to draw even larger crowds. Just imagine all those fans.. happy for a win..upset over a loss, pushing, crowding either in or out of the gates. I can see the puzzlement in their eyes when they spot the bright red pull stations..hummmmm. How many times do you reckon they’ll get pulled?? I’m betting we’re gonna see a lot of high school football action this fall. Anyway, like I said; not too much excitement today. And, in case you wondering, the best thing about 4 day break was that I wasn’t HERE. Other than that, it mostly sucked. As usual, nothing went as planned. The best part was when I got to watch the Buckaroo all day. We spent the most part of it mowing on the hillsides of the farm. Steep and rough but a beautiful view..
There’s nothing the little fella loves more than to ride the tractor. When he was a baby, I even had a car seat mounted in the cab for him. Now, he’s either standing at my side, sitting on wheel well or in my lap driving. Afterwards we cooled down in the creek for a bit..
Yea.. he’s getting big..and becoming quite the “rock chunker” too. Well, like I said; the Buckaroo was the highlight of my break. As for the rest of it, I just took out my aggression on the ground hogs…(***WARNING***the next pic contains blood and evidence of violence)
Hope the pic didn’t offend any of my “light hearted” readers. I would like to report that no animals were harmed in the taking of that photo but…well… the little fella didn’t make it. In my defence, it is a part of farm life plus… isn’t it nice to know we are still on top of the food chain?
Ok, enough for tonight.. We’re back for Friday the 13th and what is already shaping up to be a long post. I’ll see ya then but mean while, stay safe and in house.
Captain Wines
Don’t you love it when plans fall to pieces?? The fact that I’m here and posting means I am NOT going to get to see The Worx tonight. The good news is that the tickets didn’t go to waste and the farm “manager” (she got a field promotion from farm “hand”) is in for a good time tonight. Me…. I’m stuck here but if I make it another 12 hours or so, I’ll be on the bike and headed for the beach in the morning…OBX bound baby! The day here (heck..the week for that matter) has been somewhat hectic. I NEED this 4 day break! To begin with…. I might have jumped the gun last day. You see…well… ummm.. the honest answer is that it’s all Jimmy’s fault ( Jimmy Jennings aka Support truck driver). You see, he kinda tricked me last day with the new lawn mower. Having retired from here once already and worked with the likes of my dad, Jimbo knows how to fret. Anyway, I was thinking those South East Thugs over at #6 got OUR new mower and we were hung out to dry. Before I even looked inside our new out building, I had decided that we needed a goat and …and… well I’m not going to say if I brought him or not nor will I post his pics (IF…IF we had any). I mean come on!!!! A goat inside the city limits? At a firehouse?? Do you know the trouble that could cause?? Who would do such a thing?? Can you imagine what would happen??…..
LMAO…I aint saying either way but I should have checked the building first… 
Yep..Ol Vinnie came through with a brand spanking new Simplicity…and it was there the WHOLE TIME! LMAO.. aint she a BEAUT! Never mind the poor goat just may starve now.. whatdaya gonna do? So, we started off the day with me eating a little lawn mower “crow”. We had Pee-Wee and Opie off to Doctor school and a Medic student riding here. I guess Fran had enough because today we got a brother from Salem Fire Department. B. Hollins is out of station #2 I believe and got a small taste of the city today. Heres a shot of Hollins… 
We had our Medic out of service a while this morning for repairs so I sent him and Joe down to run out of “The Deuce” for a bit. They caught a few down there and then made it home to run several more from Medic #3. Nice job and good work today brother..come on back anytime. We stayed pretty steady on the Engine as well. Fire, EMS and a MVA with a tractor trailer and a secondary accident. 
Our brothers from “Lucky #13″ rolled in to assist as well as Medic Units 101 and 5. All totaled, we had 1 minor injury and a few “Allstate injuries”. After we had everyone packaged and shipped off to the ER, we had to hang around until we could get the roads opened back up. That put Coon and Pee-Wee on “traffic Duty”…
Yea.. we actually had a 4 man Engine for a short while…very short. Anyways..don’t Coon fill out that safety vest nicely??? LOL. It seemed like afterwards, we were catching one run after another.. I’ve been trying different views with my helmet cam and camera and got a little short video of us on a run today. Here’s the veiw from my seat…buckle up!
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
Eventually, we made it home and went to filling out reports and getting the grub going. Oh yea, after a week like this.. nothing else but T-bone steaks prepared by none other than “Grill Master” Coon
We even had another visitor today.. and a special one at that. Tyrone dropped in for a visit… yea.. he misses me! He was working in the area and couldn’t pass up the chance to stop in… 
Check out that fuzzy stuff around his mouth and chin… mustache envy??? Hummm looks more like a shock absorber for a high speed butt kisser if you ask me..LOL..and the glasses?? guess he thinks his future’s so bright he has to wear shades…LOL I tell ya what.. all kidding aside, just his presence changes the entire mood of a room. You can’t help but to be happy and laugh around Tyrone. He says he’s happy with the change / decision he made and that he is doing well… for that, I’m proud; but I sure do miss the little fella. I know that w
e are not the only Department in the Country that is faced with big turn overs and losing young members but still, something needs to happen. Rumor is, we had another young member turn in his papers yesterday. I dont understand it… I mean I can see their side for wanting to leave but also think we could work harder to keep our members here. It has to cost the city to loose em so soon. We have numbers / statictics for everything else, why can’t we figure out how to hire and retain members. When I came (and well before) you had to wait to get on. Then, if you were lucky enough to get the nod, you knew you were here till retirement and hoped that it would be 30 years or more until you got to that point. Again, I don’t know but it just doesn’t set well when you have so many young guys throwing in the towel. Was it more than they expected? More than they could handle? I know it’s not our call volume. Is it how they are treated? I know most of the newer members look at this as a “job” but for me, it’s so much more. For me, it’s a life..a “way of life”. It’s all I know and it hurts to see guys leaving it with a bad taste in their mouths. Just my opinion but who cares what I think anyway right?
Ok, I’m getting off the soap box and heading to bed.. Thanks for reading and following along. We start 4 day in the morning and come back Wednesday the 11th. I may get a post in before then but I’m not real sure about packing the lap top. Either way, until the next one.. stay safe and in house.
Captain Wines
Well, it’s our middle day of the cycle but after pulling that 72 hr stretch, taking off 24hr and coming right back, I feel like I’ve been here a month already. Of course I had to bust my butt all day yesterday catching up all the farm work missed from being here back to back to back so it really wasn’t a day “off”. The good news is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have tickets for one of my favorite local bands “The Worx” who is playing in Danville, gonna spend a night in a hotel and then it’s off to OBX on the bike for four day!!! I CAN’T WAIT! Today… it’s been hustle and bustle all day. We started of with a little training. We got loaded up first thing and headed over to Station #6 for some Swift Water Rescue and Heavy and Tactical review. A very good refresher and time well spent. Lt. Bugg led the first half of class which was swift water… you shoulda seen his little “river gypsy” grin… Here’s the boys practicing deploying our rope bags…
I think the ‘trick” or “key” to deploying the bags efficiently is in the “kick”. notice how they both kicked their little feet back while throwing..LOL. We even reviewed and practiced inflating a section or sections of 2 1/2″ hose using our SCBA. We can then float the hose out into swift running water ahead of a victim so that they’ll have something to grab onto as they come floating by..
And NO… Weaver was NOT asleep. He actually talked more today than he has in the last 10 times I’ve seen him. He even told a related joke.. a bad one but hey.. he tried. Here it is for #%$* and giggles…
A rope walks into a bar and orders a drink.
Bartender says ‘we don’t serve rope here”.
Rope goes out to the parking lot, rolls around in the mud to disguise himself and walks back in.
Bartender says “I’ve told you once, we DON’T serve rope in here”.
Rope goes back out, ties himself in a knot, and rolls around in the parking lot. The asphalt / gravel scuff him up a bit yet the dirt and mud remain from earlier. He enters the bar yet again.
Bartender looks at him and says “aren’t you that rope that I’ve already run out of here twice?”
Nope… I’m afraid not… ( A FRAYED KNOT… get it LMAO). I know.. I know..
Back to training..HTR wise… after the joke, we actually reviewed some knots and basic rigging. I don’t know why but the only knot Coon was proficient at was the “hand cuff” knot…hummmmmmm
While wrapping things up I kinda got excited. You see, we’ve had a new riding mower “on order” for some time now for our station. Well, I spotted our support vehicle driving by with a mower on a trailer in tow. Has to be ours right??? NOPE. He pulled in and unloaded her for those South East Thugs…look how proud Denver is atop the newest addition to their fleet..
I guess I’m gonna have to take things into my own hands out here in “never never” land and I think I have a plan. Due to the fact that we ARE a “GREEN” station, my options are somewhat limited but have no fear.. I got it all figured out (that’s why I make the big bucks).
We’re getting a GOAT! he’ll save us on fuel cost. He will mow and fertilize at the same time with no harmful emissions (well I guess that will depend on how much grass he eats but at least it wont be harmful to the ozone layer) If the economy stays the way it is.. we have our own milk and meat if he gets out of line.LMAO
We rolled out of South East and headed back to the house for a bite of lunch. Afterwards, we had a special assignment with our Battalion. We ended up developing something band new in the Battalion. For you older local brothers, (RFD) you may remember our “puppet shows” or “This week with the Chief”… we’ll we now have Story Time with Chief Adkins…LMAO
After story time, we had a few visitors drop by with home made cookies.. gotta love the neighborhood if nothing else..
Then the trouble started. In rolls PD’s mobile command unit. I cant release the details but I DIDN’T DO IT!!
LOL just kidding. Our Brothers in Blue set up outside the house to show off some of their toys to our neighborhood but, I bet if you drove by and seen em here you’d have wondered what I did this time..LOL I want to clarify something from last days post that came up in the comment section. I said something about having to “pull the book” on the boys. The title of the book is Effective Company Command by James O. Page. It was published in 1973 by Borden Publishing Company. As a rookie on Ladder #2-A I (along with every other member of the company) was tasked with memorizing paragraph 4 from page 121. I know it by heart even today. I have always showed it to / read it to my companies (sometimes prior to having to do it from necessity). I hadn’t gotten around to reading it to Joe, Pee-Wee or Lt. Bradford yet until last day (when I had to). It reads as follows…
“A drive through most any community is likely to present an occasional view of feminine charms. It is not the intent of this book to discourage the pleasure generally associated with such a view. However, it should be recognized that one of the factors which sets professionals apart from nonprofessionals is emotional restraint. A fire company which is viewed hooting, hollering, whistling or staring transfixed at an attractive female is likely to be categorized as a band of sex-deprived barbarians. On the other hand, a reasonably quick glance (maybe even accompanied by a collective smile) will assure the viewing public that their firemen are normal, red-blooded American males.”
There you have it.. and quoted by none other than little ol me.. “by the book” Wines 
Stay safe and in house…
Captain Wines
PS. WTF!!! Holly cow the City has gone NUTS!! One thunder storm and it all goes to hell in a hand basket. Working fires.. ONE.. 1 Engine left in service City wide, The Medics have been DUMPED, we got into our first fight on a call (first from #3 that is), was attacked by a skunk and I even learned a new “sexual” term on a call over on Hunt Ave… “fisting”… if you don’t know, you dont want to.. if you do know what it is.. YOUR SICK!
I may be on the down hill side but I’m still TIRED!!!!
ONE TIRED PUPPY I TELL YA
DRAGGING BUTT..
And, what’s worse?? The boys have rode me like a rented mule today! Never mind that I’ve been working all day every day for the last who knows when! Never mind that most days on the farm start before the sun comes up and doesn’t end until way after it has set. God forbid you don’t have time to do laundry in between all that and resort to wearing the only pair of socks you can find left in the house…..
So what if they’re short? They don’t make my feet sweat plus they make my legs look fuller. Then…THEN.. not only do they laugh at me.. they make me cook too!!??!!
It’s a good thing I had some help here today. We had 2 students riding the box. Fran Gonzoliz, a sister Firefighter/Medic from Roanoke County Station #3 and Sarah Pruitt from Franklin County Public Safety.
That’s Fran on the Left and Sarah on the right. Both ladies did a fine job today and seemed to enjoy their visit. The boys even behaved….. well somewhat. I did have to pull the book and read chapter 4 from page 121 of Effective Company Command to them. Go figure! Anyway, Sarah’s husband is Mike “Mikey” Pruitt of Franklin County Public Safety. Not only “of” he’s some kind of Deputy, (Master, General, Next to head honcho) Chief. Can you believe it? The same little Mikey Pruitt that once worked here in the City? The same Mikey that was assigned to me on the REAL 3 Engine? … LOL man the stories I could tell… wait… he knows a few on me too… hummmmm… maybe I’ll wait a while before I tell em LOL. All kidding aside, I really thought (and still think) alot of Mikey and am proud to see him to have done so well for himself. I have some good stories but I’m just too tired tonight. I’ll try to remember to tell one of them next day. For now, I’m calling it a night. We’re back on Wednesday…. I’ll be here, hope you are too. Until then, stay safe and in house.
Oh yea.. I almost forgot, Randolph Smiff (of “The Big Show” C-Shift) asked me to PLEASE mention Joe “one finger” Hodgen in tonights post… so there ya go
Captain Wines
Yes… that’s 72 hours STRAIGHT in the station! Ugggggg! It seemed a whole lot easier 10 or so years ago… wonder why that is? Anyhow, today I’m back at my normal station but on a different shift (B-shift) and in a different seat. The brother I’m covering for is a Firefighter and his Captain is on duty so that puts me riding backwards. Feels a little strange getting in a different door but riding backwards also brings back a few old memories. Here’s my door and the view from my office today..
Maybe I can get the nozzle “honestly” tonight… lol. It’s been a pretty good day all in all. I didn’t sleep well last night at “The Big Show” but have had a little down time today. A few runs, nothing notable but enough to make the day pass. We even had a visitor and old friend. Retired Lt. Chuck Wells dropped in for a spell. I spent several years assigned with Chuck at Station #2-A. After telling a few stories and what not, I asked Chuck to come out to the bay so I could grab my camera and take a picture. After getting out there, I told him to stand by the ladder (because he always fancied himself a “Truckie”). Well, we have a reserve “Ladder” in our house which is actually only a 75′ quint. Talk about throwing a rock!! “That ain’t no damn ladder truck son! What did I teach you when you came here?” LMAO he’s right and YES I remember and still believe. It’s funny how I (and Schmoe somewhat) just posted on what Chucky was talking about. You see, he had a saying and didn’t mind tell you… “REAL Ladder trucks swivel in the middle”. At the time, we were assigned to Ladder #2 which was a Seagrave open tiller. And, believe it or not.. the Captain, Chucky, Teddy, Barry or Lumpy would actually let me drive the tiller whenever it was raining, snowing or just plain cold as hell…LMAO. But he was right.. theres nothing like a tiller and his visit brought back some great memories of that crew and assignment. Here he is..
I miss those days. Ok moving on and speaking of pictures. Apparently Rhett is now trying to branch out and add the title “photographer” to his “RESUME”. Well la te da! Schmoe goes out and gets a fancy smancy new camera and little “Hedi Fleitz” has to jump on board in yet another attempt to “keep up with the Jones’”. Not only that… he then has the kahunas to make fun of my camera and the quality of my pics! Well, I’ll have Rhett and Schmoe to know that my camera is a special one in its own rights. Hand made by the “Melrose Misfits”. A one of a kind, made with love and care…??????? WAIT..what am I saying here?? they were fretting me too!
LMAO.. my first “no film” camera that I used for the blog was about 8″x8″ and held one of those 3×5 floppy disc thingys. Well, the boys laughed, joked and carried on such that they finally made up the camera in the above pic for me to use. They mounted my gem on broom handles, stole a curtain from somewhere, destroyed a vacuum to get the hose, who knows where they acquired the flash pan and, as far as I know; they stole the 100 watt light bulb from a nearby nursing home. And you wonder why I called em “Misfits”! No, all kidding aside, Rhett tricked one of his guys into mentoring him and his photography work. Drew Able (#3-A)has all the “latest and greatest” and is actually a damn good photographer. They both attended last weeks funerals in Rocky Mount and did an excellent job of documenting the services. You can read and view the full coverage either on The Firecritic or at VaFireNews. There was an unbelievable turnout to honor our fallen brothers. Firefighters from as far away as the FDNY were in attendance. Brothers and sisters from all around staffed stations and provided many other functions. Our Honor Gaurd was used graveside and once again made us all PROUD. I stole a few of their pics for tonight but take the time to visit Rhett’s site and look at them all.
Pictured in the top pic.. left side, near to far are Lt. Rob “Bugg” Reid, FF/Medic J. Hull, Battalion Chief Roger Manual and Roanoke County Lt. Toby Martin. Right side near to far is Lt. Dan Goodwin “Goodo”, Firefighter / EMT J.D Reynolds, Firefighter / Medic Travis “Wheezy” Meador. Solid work from everyone involved!
That’s a good stop point for tonight.. I’m right back here in the morning.. until then, stay safe and in the house!
Captain Wines
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