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I happened across this picture over on Firefighter Nation.
It was posted yesterday by John a munch.
It’s title is “Hooking it” …. now, I’m no “Monday Morning Quarterback” (especially since it’s Saturday night..LOL) but I was just wondering…
photo from john a munch @ Firefighter Nation
Whadda ya think? Stay safe and in house…
Captain Wines
Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz had it right …. There’s no place like HOME!
Yea … I know that’s not Dorothy but it is how she would have looked had I been the costume designer for The Wizard of Oz … LOL
Anyway, Rhett (The Fire Critic) and I made it up to Baltimore for EMS Today and, most importantly; for the JEMS “Meet Up” sponsored by Physio Control. We weren’t sure we were gonna make the trip …
My father in law passed away unexpectedly this past Monday. The funeral had to be scheduled for Thursday morning. Soon after the services, Rhett and I were able to get on the road.
Just the ride up was a bit relaxing and a welcomed break.
Within miles of town, I knew it was gonna be a good trip…. check out this ride…
It’s called Follow That Fire Engine.com. A global expedition to encompass 9 months, for 3 charities with a single fire engine. They will cover 26,000miles, 5 Continents and 28 Countries.
The effort is dedicated to the memory of Garth Moore, a 33 year Fire Service veteran. Their goal is to raise money and awareness for three charities; Macmillan Cancer Support, The Fire Fighters Charity and The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.
You can get the entire story … meet the crew and follow their progress from the link above.
I wish we could have caught them stopped somewhere … they look like a friendly bunch.
I will say that it was a bit odd spotting such a rig in South West Virginia.
It just didn’t look right … and definitely stood out.
I’d dare say that it was the only Mercedes Fire Truck in the State.
It’s bed (if that’s what they call it) was loaded down with bicycles …
The steering wheel was even on the wrong side…
She did seem to have plenty of “ponies” under her though … she was running about 75 mph when we caught her.
Take the time to check out their link … I’ll add it again HERE.
Good luck and best wishes for the crew and their cause.
Ok, so we made the trip in about 4 hours. We stayed at the Sheraton with a great view of Camden Yards. We hustled over to the convention center floor to meet up with none other than Dave Statter.
Yep… that’s Statter and the Fire Critic at the same table. Just look at my two little “Computer geek” buddies … ok… I’m not sure “little” was the correct word but you get the point..LOL
Everyone asks if there is really a “feud” between these two or all 3 of us for that matter … well hell yes there is! LOL
We are sitting there looking at Dave’s latest Xtra Normal production … BEAUTIFUL!
Paul Andrews joined us for a while then it was a quick change of cloths before we headed out to the Meet Up.
WOW … what a GREAT turn out!
I know this will sound “cheesy” but I have to share it with ya. As soon as Rhett and I made town, we were approached by readers / followers / fans.
A guy walked right up to us .. outreached hand and told me ..”You’re Captain Wines” …. “I read your Blog everyday!” WOW! I had no idea … (wonder how he recognized me? … I wore my cowboy hat to try and remain inconspicuous..LOL)
All kidding aside, it was pretty cool to be recoginized from my site.
We met so many great people … friends, fans, followers and Fire/EMS Service leaders.
For us, it was all about “networking” … getting our name … face and sites out there.
We made a lot of great contacts and have some very exciting plans to work on.
This is gonna be a good year!
Special THANKS to Jems and Physio Control for sponsoring the event!
I even got the chance to Meet Kelly Greyson from A Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver.
More importantly, Kelly was the winner from the EMS side for the 2010-2011 Black Diamond Fire/EMS Blog of the Year.
That’s right .. the Fire and EMS Blog of the Year winners under the same roof.
Kelly was pretty cool. He even bought me a few beers!
The Happy Medic was in attendance as well as Mike Ward …aka .. The Fossil Medic (I love Mike’s view point on many subjects… follow his postings over at FireGeezer)
We finished off the night (and early morning) by visiting a few of the local “watering holes”.
WooooHoooo! I need to get out more.
Gals dancing on the bars … poles … yea.. we had a good time.
The music was a little different than what I normally listen to but I was able to suffer through it..LOL
Everyone kinda gathered at a joint named “Howl at the Moon”. I hear it was a really cool place.
Me?? My directions were off just a bit.
I had hooked up with some Brothers and Sisters visiting from Australia. Yea..how cool is that? They are visiting and touring the United States and took in the conference. Of all the folks to meet and hook up with … they found me! LOL
Anyway, we went in the wrong door. Apparently, we were in the bar “next door to” Howl at the Moon .. but hey … we had fun anyway!
Pretty cool “blokes” … “mates” or whatever it was they were calling each other. They were a bit hard to understand at times. I tried to explain that their accent was difficult for me to follow … they laughed and said it was me that had the accent! LMAO … a redneck and 4 Aussies .. Baltimore will never be the same!
I’ll post a little more on the trip and the folks we met later tonight or tomorrow (there’s plenty more). I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it home safe and sound and give ya a little “teaser”.
I’m back on duty tomorrow.. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Until I get back to ya … stay safe and in house!
Captain Wines
I posted some time back about a friend of mine I call “snow bird”. His real name is Adam Fleming but “snow bird” works too. Anyway, in the previous post .. “A Helmet tip to our Northern Brethern” I mentioned how Snow bird was building a custom bar from a 1988 Pierce Arrow Fire truck. The truck once belonged to the Orange, NJ Fire Department.
He called the other day to tell me the bar is finished. All he has left to do is a little decorating.
WOW! I really don’t know how to describe the work Snow Bird put into this and do him justice. It’s unbelievable! The attention to detail is remarkable. The easiest way is to just show ya ….
Check this baby out..
just look at the detail here (click the picture and it will come up on a seperate page. Click it again and it will enlarge). The front suction … license plate … mounted nozzle … the “343″ and FDNY stripe. And YES .. that’s the actual light bar mounted above and yea … it works! You open the door to get behind the bar …
He used the dash from the rig to control all the “gadgets” on the bar ….
He even included the “master switch”. Talk about a wiring nightmare …
The sink is a 2 1/2 outlet with gauges …. yep … they work too
Fiber optic lighting that can change to several different colors…. all of which can be operated by remote control! The back wall of the bar is just as cool. Custom cabinets, drawers and handles. He used the pump discharge handles and the “D-ring” handles from compartment doors.
Multiple layers of glass … laminated and plate, all raised and surrounded with the hidden lighting strips. Some sand blasted to give that “frosted” look … some shattered for a really cool look..
It has a working radio, head sets and air bottles …
He threw a little humor in as well …
The main theme was attention to detail … he didn’t just add a cross lay .. he connected it …
A real wheel … an actual tire … he even kept the valve stem …
With a project this size, Snow Bird called in a little help. He had a lot of contributors but 2 friends became instrumental. Robert Shumate took the lead on the the custom cabinets and wood work. He even used Chicago Bar rail! Robert is a shop teacher in the Roanoke County school system.
The 2nd major contributor handled the radios, lights, wiring and electronics. Joe Amato works for Pro Com out of Blacksburg, Va. Heres a pic of Robert and Joe …
Pretty cool huh? Actually, it’s AWESOME! I can’t wait to belly up and have a drink or two. Reckon he’ll stock my brand??? Old Milwaukee..
Probably not but I snuck a few in the fridge just in case … Shhhhhhhhh (lol)
Snow Bird should be extremely proud of the end result. True craftsmanship. Pride in his work and for his profession. WELL DONE BROTHER …. CHEERS!
I’ll check back in as soon as possible … until then, stay safe and in house!
Captain Wines
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