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I know ..

I know, I know .. I haven’t posted all week and, once again; I apologize.

I know I say it all the time but I just been covered up. It’s the start of the “busy time” for the farm and the weather has actually cooperated this week.

I’ve been putting in as much time as possible to get prepared for the upcoming hay season. The rains have stopped and the sun has been shinning so it’s been work..work …work.

We’ve been plowing, discing and spreading fertilizer. LOTS of fertilizer! LMAO … I know .. I know .. I spread that year round..LOL

I’m talking about a different fertilizer .. the pelitized kind.

Between the cost of the fertilizer and diesel prices, this just may be our last season. My stress level is through the roof!

The only good news this week is that my quality of help has improved. Of course right now I feel like Im running a “driving school” more than a farm but the little fella is catching on quick …

The Buckaroo has “driving fever” right now and I guess I’m actuall lucky to even get him to go with me and help any more. I think he’s found something he likes riding as much as tractors …. the 4 wheeler he got for his 3rd birthday. Here’s a short video … look at the little fella go!

LMAO .. that’s my boy!

So, 4 day break is over and I’m back at Lucky #13 for the Friday, Sunday, Tuesday cycle. It’s been a good day for a couple reason. The first being that it’s been a relatively quiet day. For that, I’m thankful because I need the break.

The 2nd reason is because Boots (Todd Harris) is off. Now I don’t mean that way … I miss him already and wish I was down at the beach with him. The reason him being off is “good” is because of who they sent to fill-in. WHEEZY.

Those of you who have followed me since the “Melrose Misfit” days will know Wheezy well. For those of you new to the site, you can find out more about and meet Travis Meador..aka “Wheezy” by clicking HERE .

So, Wheezy being here is also a good thing for a couple reasons. 1st .. I miss him. 2nd … he’s fun to work with. 3rd .. I can continue my “investigation”. You see, while Professor Fleitz and I were off taking over the Jersey Shore we had some “fill ins” here at Lucky #13. Wheezy just happened to catch that transfer as well.

While I was away, someone made me a new headboard. Just look at her … oh yea … she’s a NICE ONE ! It even comes with sound ! Yea … every time you move, turn or roll over something (or a couple of things) rattle and “clank”.

A BEAUTIFUL piece of fretting but nobody will “own up”. Insert a little “firehouse detective” work and I’m pretty sure I have my suspects narrowed down. God love him .. Wheezy aint smart enough to come up with all of this on his own but he is dumb enough to allow Boots to coach him along and talk him into doing it! LMAO

I wish I new who taught that scoundrel to fret ….hummmm… wait …. it was me! LMAO I guess it really is “all on the big wheel”. Like I said.. Wheezy (and Boots for that matter) is a blast to work with and he’s a good fireman to boot. I love him.

Moving on, I talked with Captain Schmoea little this evening and he asked about the tornadoes that slammed the East Coast. He was worried and wondering if we were affected.

Well, luckily; our immediate area was spared but a lot of folks within a 100 miles or so were not so fortunate. Yesterday, we sent a team down to Washington County, Va to help out.

The team consisted of 17 members from Roanoke Fire/EMS, Roanoke County Fire / Rescue and Salem Fire / EMS. Here are the men preparing to leave .

I just received word that the team has returned home safe and sound. I’m not sure what kind of work they were assigned but whatever the task, I’m sure they gave 110% ! Well done guys .. thanks and welcome home.

photo by Va. State Police found on WDBJ7.com

Here’s a picture of some of the damage from the storm that left 4 dead in SW Va.

You can read more on the storm and its damage on WDBJ 7.com

Other states such as Alabama were hit a lot harder. The death toll, at 329 (and possibly growing); is the worst since 1932.

See MSMBC article HERE

You know, my first thoughts were of the first responders. The fire fighters, medics and police officers. I wondered about the stations. Were any firehouses caught in the path of destruction? What about the first responders families and homes? Just like back in hurricane Katrina, many of these folks had to be out on the job that night not knowing if their own homes or families were affected.

Like me, just keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers as they begin to pick up and rebuild.

Ok, I’m gonna end here for tonight. I have a ton of stuff I need / want to tell and catch you up on but it will have to wait until tomorrow night. Until then, stay safe and in house! Thanks for following.

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 29, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, special-operations, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Buckaroo, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, firehouse videos, HTR deployment, HTR team, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, John Deer, John Deer 2555, John Deer tractors, MSNBC, Roanoke County Fire/Rescue, Roanoke Fire/EMS, Salem Fire/EMS, SW Va Tornado, Todd "Boots" Harris, Todd Harris, tornado, Travis "Wheezy" Meador, Travis Meador, Willie Wines Jr

“Tricks of the Trade” and some other stuff …

4 comments

We’re on the 2nd half of an Easter Sunday tour.

It’s been a beautiful, peaceful and quiet day here at “Lucky #13″ and I’m hoping it remains that way.

I hope you folks have enjoyed the same and that the Easter Bunny found his way to all of you…

I’m still looking for ~~him~~ .. ~~her~~ … them .. LOL

Talk about your Peter “Cotton Tail” … WOW! Somehow, I don’t remember the Easter Bunny looking anything like either of these two when I was a kid… hummmmm

Anyway, it goes without saying but in my earlier post today; I forgot to say “Thank You” to all of you Brothers and Sisters out there pulling a tour today. I hope you have a safe one!

I’ve spent most of the day catching up on emails,paper work, reading etc. When I do that, I often find several topics or subjects that I think would make a good “post” here on the site. Today, “MayDay” keeps coming to the surface.

Thanks to a suggestion by Burnt Chimney Vol. Fire Department’s Lt. Lee Powel, I started a little segment called “Tricks of the Trade” a while back. Just little” tidbits” or suggestions that I have found useful or helpful throughout my career. My latest dealt with ” RIT Tips ” while the post ” Get your own water” could also be considered a “Trick of the Trade”. They are never in any kind of order nor are they presented as a formal “class” (although formal classes are available through Ironfiremen.com).

As I mentioned, today the term “MAYDAY” seems to keep popping up so I decided to hit a few points. I could talk (type) for days on “MAYDAY”. There are several different approaches such as “WHEN” and “HOW” to call MAYDAY. I’ll briefly hit both …

Photo by Lt. Mike Overacker (Ret.)

A while back, my Department acquired a large commercial structure to use for training purposes. Our Training Division went in and set up several scenarios to offer “MAYDAY” training to every company in the City (Salem and Roanoke County also used the building).

They built a few “props” which turned out to be quite effective . They were easy and affordable to build and could be used in or outdoors. There’s no reason why your Department or Station couldn’t have one sitting out back right now.

Photo by Lt. Mike Overacker (Ret.)

The most effective prop for us was the collapsing floor.

The scenario was that you were following the hose line (for whatever reason .. searching, moving to back up etc). The line made its way around several obstacles and eventually up a stairway. After reaching the top, you started down what seemed to be a hallway (the drill was done with our face pieces blackened out).

After making it only a few feet down the hallway, the floor collapses beneath you. It actually collapses!

It should be noted that for safety reasons in this scenario, they did not allow us to carry a tool (fearing how we might land on it etc).

You can’t tell from the photo (right) but as soon as the firefighter reached the edge (note his right hand) and realized he was at a “hole” or drop off, they “pulled the trigger” releasing the floor.

Photo by Lt. Mike Overacker (Ret.)

It was totally unexpected by the firefighter and you felt as if you were falling forever!

VERY realistic without all of the trauma etc associated with such a fall (we landed in a box full of foam “noodles”).

The purpose of the drill was to test the effectiveness of how the member transmitted the MAYDAY after the collapse / fall.

You’d be shocked at some of the results found over those several days of training.

There are certain key elements that a firefighter in distress must communicate to the IC (Incident Commander) but it doesn’t always happen as it should. You would think that by now, 2011; it would be 2nd nature but it isn’t.

Photo by Lt. Mike Overacker (Ret.)

I recently listened in ~~amazement~~ horror as a special guest Captain Michael Long of the Camp Taylor (Ky) Fire Protection District explained how he “didn’t have time” to call a ”MAYDAY” ! Read the pre-show advertisements and Bio’s from The Company Officer HERE . You can also listen to the show from “Taking it to the Streets” on Firefighter Netcast HERE .

Although Chris Naum’s show that night was more focused on the Near Miss Reporting System, I couldn’t get that one sentence from Captain Long’s interview out of my mind .. he didn’t “have time”. With all due respect, I think the Captain was lucky.

I would argue that the minute (or less) that it takes to transmit the “MAYDAY” just may be the most important minute of your life. When a firefighter is in trouble, we’re in BIG trouble. When we need /call for help, we need it BAD and QUICK. That said, I want everyone involved knowing EXACTLY WHO I am … WHEREI am and WHAT’s wrong (as well as what they may need to help me .. equipment etc).

Photo by Lt. Mike Overacker (Ret.)

That gets me back to the RIT / MAYDAY training.

After the members took their fall in the floor collapse prop, the focus became “calling a MAYDAY”. Here are the steps we use …

Our first step is to activate the “Emergency button” on our portable radio. Every member should know where their Emergency button is located and should be able to activate it blindly with a gloved hand.

Next, the member should take a deep breath, relax (as mush as you can in this situation), get oriented and think about what you are about to say (transmit). You want the IC to know WHO you are, WHERE you are (or where you last were) and WHATs wrong. It should sound something like this …. “MAYDAY.. MAYDAY ..MAYDAY. This is Captain Wines, Engine company #13 assigned to Division 2. I was operating in Division 2, Charlie quadrant. I have fallen through the floor at the top of the steps. I believe I am now located on the 1st floor or basement. I am separated from my crew, low on air, disoriented and injured. I need assistance getting out”.

This transmission should then be repeated. After you receive confirmation that your message has been received, you should follow up with “I am now activating my PASS”.

Maybe not a “text book” transmission but one with some much needed information. I’ve painted a pretty good picture for the IC and RIT which just increased my chances for survival.

On another of Chris Naum’s sites, Command Safety ; I recently listened to an incident where a firefighter from Taftville, CT. fell partially through the floor and a MAYDAY was transmitted.

Chris’ take on this incident was directed towards the compromised floor assembly but I focused in on the MAYDAY transmission. Listen to audio and the actual MAYDAY as well as read more on the incident and floor assembly compromise HERE.

What do you think? Did the MAYDAY ”paint” a clear picture in your mind? Would you have known who was in trouble from your “accountability board”? Did you know this firefighters location? Was it clear what resources needed deployed?

Again, we have several directions we can go from here. What even constitutes a MAYDAY? Does your Department have SOP’s / SOG’s that out line what is or isn’t a MAYDAY?

Who can call a MAYDAY? Does every member on your rig have an assigned radio?

Are your members ready and prepared to call a “MAYDAY”? By that, I mean will they? The decision of whether or not to call a MAYDAY is made at the stations .. not on the fire scene. It’s a mind set developed through training. I often refer to an early article entitled “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY” by Burton A. Clark on Firehouse.com (it’s worth the read).

What happens “after” you transmit the Mayday? Do ya sit tight and wait for the Calvary or do you try to find your way out? ( That can go either way and can also depend on how much air you have left. I do recommend finding a wall if you are able. If you find a wall, sooner or later, you’ll find a door or window but all movement should be transmitted to the IC .. otherwise RIT is chasing a moving target).

So, today’s “Trick of the Trade” is training for “calling the Mayday”. Have your members practice it.. OFTEN. You don’t need the fancy mock floor collapse props (although they are inexpensive and easy to build for in or outdoor use). I often use the scenario Chesterfield, Va. used for there promotion testing back around 2000 – 2001 ( found in the above link to Burton A. Clark’s “MAYDAY..MAYDAY..MAYDAY). Of course, I mold the scenario to my needs and add my little “twists” if you will. I mentioned that drill in previous posts HERE and HERE .

If nothing else, maybe this post will spark a little discussion around the coffee table on how to call the MAYDAY. Ok moving on real quick .. I want to give a “shout out” and mention one of the newer members to the Fire/EMS Blogs Network family… ParaPup.

This gal is pretty cool and I like her style. She calls here latest post a “public service announcement” but I know it’s actually more than that.

It’s a post on mustaches. Of course she mentions me (although I was never officially interviewed for the piece) in the post which even contains a picture of Ron Jeremy. Wait … is she putting me and “the hedge hog” in the same category?? Hummmm …LMAO.

Anyway, today; ParaPup sent me a video about mustaches (she said in her post that she DIDN’T have mustache envy … ” In the event Captain Wines of Iron Firemen finds his way to this post, I’d like to go on record saying that I in no way, shape, or form have mustache envy. My informal polls proved pretty much unanimously that women with mustaches are not well received.” ..I think she does .. lol )

So, the video is funny as crap but contains some adult language. So, there’s your WARNING… do NOT view this video if such language may get you in trouble (ie: at the station / work) or if it may be offensive to you. That said, the language really isn’t that bad and it IS funny as hell … thanks to ParaPup for thinking of me and sharing. Enjoy..

That’s a wrap for tonight .. Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 25, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, news, special-operations, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Burnt Chimney Vol Fire Department, Burton A. Clark, Camp Taylor Fire Protection District, Captain Michael Long, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Wines, Chris Naum, command safety, Command Safety.com, Compromised floor assembly, firefighter training, Firehouse.com, floor collapse, funny videos, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Kathren Edwards, Lee Powel, MAYDAY, MAYDAY training, Mike Overacker, Near Miss Reporting system, ParaPup, RIC, RIT, RIT Training, Roanoke City Engine Company #9C, Roanokefirefighters.com, sexy Easter Bunny, Taftville CT, Taftville Fire Department, The Company Officer.com, Time for a mayday, Va Fire News, Vafirenews.com, Willie Wines Jr

Happy Easter from Ironfiremen.com

1 comment

What a BEAUTIFUL Easter morning here in Va.

I can imagine the excitement in everyone’s home as your “little ones” wake up to find what the Easter Bunny has left behind.

Brand new Easter outfits and the anticipation leading up to this afternoon’s Easter egg hunt. Let’s not forget the traditional Easter Dinner either …

I hope all of you have the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful day and spend it with friends and family.

I had mine over the cell phone this morning. The Buckaroo called to tell me how the Easter Bunny had came and detailed all he left behind. I think he had already eaten most of the candy because he sure was excited. I wish I could have been there to see it.

I also missed our Sunrise Service this morning as I’m on duty. I pass our small country church on my ride into the City and got a great view of our congregation amassed atop the hill behind the church. The Church is old and a small one. It wasn’t until just 2 years ago that we got indoor plumbing. We live in a farming community so the Church is surrounded by hay fields and pasture. The grass here is turning a luscious green and the view by the church, up the rolling green hills, acres away as the congregation gathered around a large wooden cross with cattle looking on and the sun beginning to break the horizon, was nothing short of spiritual. I should have taken a photo but was too caught in the moment. My Easter … A Fireman’s Easter.

That’s the point I wanted to make this morning. As you folks go about your day … whatever it may entail, remember that there are Brothers and Sisters all across the Country pulling a tour today. Folks on the job who missed Sunrise Service. Brothers who didn’t get to see the excitment in their kid’s eyes, who will miss Easter egg hunts and Easter Dinner.

I wanted to find a few pics of “Easter at the Firehouse” and ended up finding several of the Easter Bunny on the rigs. Here are just a few ….. if you have some (on the rig or in the station) I’d love to see em! HAPPY (and safe) EASTER !

(above) Banksville Independent Fire Department(NewYork) Engine 158

(above) New Cumberland Fire / EMS Cumberland County Pa.

Above photo from New Canaan’s The Daily .

Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 24, 2011 • Filed under: news, Uncategorized • Tagged: Banksville Independent Fire Department, Captain Wines, Easter, Easter at the Firehouse, Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny on fire trucks, fire truck photos, holiday firehouse photos, holiday photos, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, New Canaan, New Cumberland Fire/Rescue, Newark Tower 4, sexy Easter Bunny, The Daily, Willie Wines Jr

Graduation Day in Jersey

10 comments

What a great couple of days in New Jersey!

Rhett and I have been up here ( New Jersey ) presenting his class on Social Media. The Official title is.. Social Media The Fire Service’s Next Big Innovation.

We were VERY well received and the students showed a great interest in the class content. There were 46 students total and I honestly believe that each one of them came away with “something” ( isn’t that what “teaching” is all about? ).

Another ” win / win ” for The Fire Critic and IronFiremen.com. Everyone learned something (including us) and graduated with flying colors!

Thanks to Rhett for allowing me to “tag along” on the trip and to Kean University, The State of New Jersey as well as to the Ocean and Middlesex County Fire Academies for the hospitality and allowing us this great opportunity to get our message out.

We taught 2 days in 2 locations. Ocean County Fire Academy and Middlesex County Fire Academy. The class rooms ( Academies … facilities) up here are UNBELIEVABLY nice … and that’s an under statement. First class all the way! Plus we got to hang out on the Jersey Shore .

At home, we have a training “center“. These folks have FACILITIES!

WOW ! The Class Rooms .. Multiple burn buildings … Flash Over Simulators .. Drafting Ponds / Pools … Confined Space setups … Vehicle Fire props … Smoke Houses .. Driving courses …etc . They have it all and in multiple buildings.

Here are several shots of the facilities we visited this week …..

Imagine if we all had resources like this! Geesh … I wish I had brought my gear so we could have done some “hot classes” LOL. I love the masonry burn buildings vs the metal / LP gas one we just purchased. I also like how these folks have them set up with multiple options / scenarios.

So, we’ve had a good trip and are headed back home. I’m on duty tomorrow (Friday) so we’ve been kinda rushed this evening to finish things up and get on the road. Lucky for me that I have a GREAT Lieutenant in George Perdue. George is off on vacation but is coming in to cover the shift until I get to the station. THANKS A MILLION “Georgie” … I owe and LUV ya!

Apparently, the boys have missed me while I’ve been gone. Captain Todd Stone and 1st Lt Tim Cady covered my shift yesterday. Both are great Officers and true BROTHERS but apparently, one of them dabbles in “decorating” ..LOL

This is my bed.

That is NOT how it normally looks ..LOL

WTF ?!? They have mounted some kind of plywood board or something and hung everything under the sun from it… an axe ..air bottle .. rope .. hydrant caps .. A hydrant wrench .. my helmet and EVEN A WEED EATER??? LMAO…. I love it !!

BEAUTIFUL !!!! ~~I LOVE Firehouse “fretting”.~~Wait… what I meant to say was that there are a lot of things I can tollerate but “FRETTING” is NOT one of them ..LMAO!

I miss you too guys and will be home by lunch time…

Like I’ve been saying, Rhett ( Fire Critic ) and I (Ironfiremen.com) have a TON of exciting events and news coming in the very near future! This will without a doubt be our best years yet.

Look for more classes, preoduct reviews and breaking news on upcoming events soon!

I’m gonna end here for the night but will try to check back in tomorrow night with a few more updates. Until I get back with ya … THANKS for following. Please remember to “Like” “Share” “Reccomend” and “Tweet” my posts.

Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines.

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 21, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-prevention-education, news, technology-communications, technology-communications-ems-topics, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Fire Department training Centers, Fire Service Instructors, Fire Service Social Media, firehouse fretting, George Perdue, Kean University, Lt. George Perdue, Lt. Rhett Fleitz, Middlesex County Fire Academy, New Jersey Fire Service, Ocean County Fire Academy, Ocean County NJ, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke Regional Training Center, Social Media, social media classes, Social Media in the Fire Service, Social Media; The Fire Service's Next Big Innovation, Training centers

Live from New Jersey!

1 comment

Yea … New Jersey.

It seems as though Rhett (Fire Critic) and I have been living out of a suit case lately.

It’s been a really good year for both of our sites .. FireCritic.com and Ironfiremen.com but it has also kept us busy and on the road.

It’s been a great experience. We have made tons of great contacts and met some really remarkable people.

I hope to meet some more this week.

As you can tell by the title, we are in New Jersey.

You know …. where they film that MTV show Jersey Shore (yea … I have cable..LOL)

Anyway, I was thinking that maybe I would look up that wild gal from the Jwowwshow …. Jenni aka ” JWoww ”

Ahhhh .. I don’t know… we may just forget that thought and pay a visit to the BADA BING from the Sopranos.

Again, I don’t know … our 1st priority while up here (as always) is WORK.

Rhett is teaching his Social Media class for Kean University.

From FDIC to college courses! WOW ! The title of his class is Social Media; The Fire Service’s Next Big Innovation .

Once again, he’s all worked up and nervous ( remember before his FDIC class? )

There’s no need to worry though because I’m on the job. His cloths are ironed and laid out. His little belly is full and I even made him a “night night tottie”. The clock is set and our “wake up call” placed. All of my bets are that his 1st day of school in Jersey will be a huge success.

I mean he hasn’t even began to think about all the benifits of being a ~~teacher~~ professor.

Think about it … even in grade school, the students come to class on the 1st day bearing gifts ……. just imagine what it’s like on the college level.

Oh yea …. the ol “an apple for the teacher” gig.

Once again, that’s why I’m here. NO DISTRACTIONS for Professor Fleitz … I’d better nip this one in the bud …LOL

All kidding aside, Rhett has put together a great class from years of hard work and experience. If you haven’t yet had the chance to sit in on this course, I’m sure it will be coming to a classroom near you soon.

The Fire Service is changing from many directions at a rapid pace and Social Media is at the core. I say that because Social Media is allowing the change to spread at a rate never before experienced in our profession.

Today, news of LODD’s, Firefighter Close Calls, training innovations etc is available to ANYONE in the time it takes to type in a keyword. Fire Service web sites and blogs and growing at a record pace. Everyone is “getting the word out” … their “word”.

By hitting the “publish” key on this post, I am contributing to the growing change. By reading it, you are too. Is that a good thing or bad? That could go either way …..

I’ll update tomorrow on how things are going from school …. until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 20, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Fire Critic, Fire Science, FireCritic.com, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Jersey Shore, Jwoww, Kean University, KeanFire Safety.com, Lt. Rhett Fleitz, New Jersey, Rhett Fleitz, Social Media, social media classes, Social Media in the Fire Service, Social Media; The Fire Service's Next Big Innovation, Willie Wines Jr

Alive and on the road again …

3 comments

Sorry folks, I haven’t posted since my Friday tour at the station.

On Saturday, we ( The Roanoke Rampage ) hosted the Charlotte Cobra’s for some full contact football for charity.

Sunday was the Buckaroo’s 3rd birthday and today I’ve been trying to catch up on everything.

So, to catch you up we’ll start with FOOTBALL.

The work of the devil. The Damnation of my Fire Department. The reason for all of our excessive overtime. For the short staffing. The closed stations and lost engine companies. For the over crowded “light duty” detail.

We got about 3 inches of rain Saturday morning but it let up and the sun popped out just in time for our 3pm kickoff.

Sadly, only 104 of our fans are “die hard” football fans as the stands were a little thin. The good news there is the 104 who made it out let us know that they are true Rampage fans. They cheered every play! Thanks to our loyal fans and supporters … you folks make a difference and we can hear ya from down on the field.

I wish we could have given them a better game to cheer for.

It wasn’t meant to be. The Rampage now sits 1-2 for the season with 2 away games remaining.

Those of us remaining will not be intimidated by our Departments nor the odds we face in achieving a successful season by raising money for our 2 charities. Anybody can sit in the stands or at the office / stations and say this or that about the game or players.

Yea … we’re old (well I am any way). No … we are not professional ball players .. not even college or most high school levels to be honest.

We are men. Firefighters and police officers who believe in something and are not afraid to go get. Despite how sore we are. No matter how much each hit hurts. We’re not sitting back criticizing someone else for pursuing their passion … we’re chasing ours. We have HEART and you can’ teach that!

Charlotte kicked our tails and thats putting it politely.

They requested a “Team Captain” meeting at the half to advise us that they were gonna run the score up because that helps them in the league (which is not true).

Well, the score was bad enough but they didn’t get what they wanted. Our Defence held them several times on 4th and nothing and at least twice in the “red zone”.

They out played us. They have us on budgets and skill. They don’t hold a candle to us on class, determination or belt buckles! There’s a difference in “bought” and “earned”

We took our licks and left all the negative on the field. After the game, we are all “Brothers” again fighting for great causes.

We sat the Charlotte folks down for a great meal and some cold beverages.

Several of the guys remembered me from last seasons game in Charlotte. It was good to see these guys again and share a few laughs and memories.

The team said that Roanoke was one of the best “host” teams they have played. I guess that says something for us … I hope so anyhow.

Of course, they did a pretty good job of hosting us last season. Check out these posts to see for yourself … “…A Bull Bucking Blast Friday Night “ or ” Rampage Make Charlotte ”

( Check out those links above … several of our gals even rode the bull at the Wiskey River Bar ..yea .. I got it on video..)

Ok, so that was Saturday. Sunday, April 17th was the Buckaroo’s birthday. He turned 3 !

I had to mow the grass, set up this and that …. tables, chairs, gas in the grill, saddle the horses etc.

I don’t know how many showed up but it was a good crowd ( only a few no shows),

The Buckaroo had a BLAST and that’s what made it all worth the while

He got to open his new trampoline a little early so it could be set up before the party. The kids had a ball in this thing!

We also got the horses out and gave all the kids a pony ride.

Trampolines, little girls and horses .. what more could the Buckaroo want?

Look at my little fella mounted there. His left hand on his hip like he’s now all the sudden an “old hand” LOL

I shoulda just gave him a rope and sent him over to work the cattle ..LOL

It was a good day though. The kids had a really good time and the adults enjoyed watching the little ones play so hard.

On top of a great party, the Buckaroo also did very well in the present department.

He got tons of cool toys and stuff …. we are gonna have ball playing with it all …

Trains … guns … footballs … fire trucks … tractors … etc

Thanks to everyone (friends and family) who made it out to help us celebrate 3 wonderful years with my little Buckaroo!

Oh wait.. I almost forgot … he also got his 4 wheeler ( a quad for all my northern friends / readers).

He LOVED it!

He actually climbed into the bed of the truck before I could get it unloaded.

He has put a couple thousand miles on it already and is gonna force me to get yet another part time (or off duty job) to be able to afford gas for this thing.

We are also looking for a lumber supply company sponsor here on Ironfiremen.com because I’m sure that within a week or two we will be in the “ramp” building business .. LOL

So, Happy3rd BIRTHDAY to my pride and Joy .. Wesley Isaiah …”The Buckaroo” !

Today, I’ve been playing “catch up”. Catch up on everything ….

I was kinda looking forward to catching up on fellow bloggers. Ok .. one in particular. Captain Joe Schmoe from over at Report on Conditionshad an earlier post where we spoke of “airplane porn”. I couldn’t wait! Schmoe does NOTHING half ass. His follow up post promised not only the porn but a “fox” as well ! Good looking I’ll buy but a “fox” ???? I gotta see her first.

Well, ole Schmoe made good on the promise … check out my West Coast Brother here with his post titled .. ” Airplane Porn and a Fox for Wines”.

I’m also getting ready for another big road trip tomorrow with my good friend and “little Buddy” Rhett Fleitz ( The Fire Critic).

We are heading out to New Jersey tomorrow to present Rhett’s class on Social Media to our Northern Brothers.

Rhett will be teaching at the Ocean and the Middlesex County Fire Academy this week. He’s like a “professor” now … teaching for Kean University. See and learn more about the classes and locations by visiting Kean Fire Safety .com.

He’s excited and I don’t blame him! Don’t know if I’m as excited as he is ..(look below the belt line)…LOL

Anyway, we are Northern bound tomorrow morning. The Fire Critic and IronFiremen.com are on the road again! I’m not sure where Ocean or Middlesex County is located (although I like the name middle sex …) but, if you are near there and want or would like to hook up with us, drop a comment or e-mail and we can get out for a drink, tour, dinner or whatever. We will be in town through Friday … look us up.

Ok, so I gotta finish packing and get some rest. I’ll check in tomorrow sometime from NJ …

Until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 18, 2011 • Filed under: news, training-development, Uncategorized • Tagged: birthday, birthday parties, Buckaroo, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Charlotte, Charlotte Cobras, Fire Critic, football, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Kean University, KeanFire Safety.com, kids 4 wheelers, kids quads, Middlesex County NJ, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, Ocean County NJ, pony rides, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke Rampage, Roanoke Rampage Football, Social Media, social media classes, Social Media in the Fire Service, trampoline, Willie Wines Jr

Frivolous …hummmm

6 comments

There are several blogs / sites that I read regularly. One of those is Hydrant Gal (She calls it Hydrantgirl … I say “Gal”). I enjoy following her exploits plus I’m a sucker for a gal in wranglers and a cowboy hat. Anyway, her last post was about weird calls. You know … those calls where you ask yourself ..”did dispatch REALLY say what I thought they just said” .. or “they want me to respond for WHAT” ??? LMAO .. we’ve all had em. Hydrant Gal calls em “frivolous” … whatever that means (probably some fancy Canadian term).

My point here is that she jinxed us. Yep … we had one today. Dispatch hits our ring down phone. She gives me a number and tells me to call Police Sgt. so and so. He answers and says ..”Hey, is Captain Wines working today?”. LMAO .. now I’m trying to think where I was last night and what I did. Should I tell him I’ve never heard of the guy or that it’s actually me on the line..LOL.

Obviously, I tell him it’s me and then he asks .. “have you ever killed a deer?” LMAO .. I almost hung up. Now I’m thinking that this HAS to be a prank call. Well, the Sgt tells me his problem and convinces me he’s serious so we jumped on the rig and headed out to lend a hand …

We arrive and sure enough … there’s a wounded deer. Now, typically; deer are not a problem but this one was in the city. Not only was he in the city, he was in a VERY busy location.

He apparently had been hit and wanted to get inside this building to escape all the traffic. Needless to say, the folks who occupied this building were traumatized. City folk (men and women) watching this busted up and bloody deer keep slamming into the glass (obviously disoriented) trying to get in.

The blood was everywhere .. on the windows, doors etc. I don’t know how it didn’t break any of the glass but apparently worn itself out trying.

Our poor Brothers in Blue (or Grey in this case …Animal control) weren’t sure what to do.

They couldn’t shoot it due to it’s proximity to the building. They were afraid to approach it in fear that it would get up and run out into the very busy intersection and cause an accident.

Hummmm…. what to do … what to do…. I KNOW … call the Fire Department! LMAO.

Well, lucky for these guys … C-shift was on duty.

With me, Boots and Georgie on scene … something was gonna happen.

We devised a plan. A roof ladder, salvage cover and 10 minutes later, we were stuffing the deer into the side of one of those Animal Control trucks and washing down the ~~blood~~ …. errrrr hair.

I have to admit that this was the first time in my career that I’ve been called out to catch a deer!

I guess they figure Firemen can and will do anything …LOL

I do have to say that I was a little nervious that the needle would find the right target.

I don’t know what they had in there but I do know it works! We could have caught an elephant with that stuff …LOL

Of course the story has grown somewhat from the actual version. Now were up to a world record buck that Boots took single handily with 2 popsicle sticks and a tack hammer …LMAO

Of course we had to get a shot of him with the trophy… LOL.

So if that’s what “frivolous” means … we experienced it today.

We also caught a little work this evening.

The dispatch said “smoke from the roof ACROSS from ….”. Usually, when you get a report saying “across from” you have something.

We arrived with smoke showing from side Alpha and Charlie and marked it a working fire. I got a good look at Charlie, Bravo and Alpha as we pulled in with a decent smoke condition from the 2nd floor.

We’re kinda “John Wayne” out here in #13 land … our next in is a little ways off. Luckily, it was only a kitchen fire that had extended into the cabinets.

Once again, Boots saved the day. The incident could have easily been handled with 2 engines, a truck and medic.

Boots had her knocked down, searches completed (and “all clear”) and was starting to vent in no time.

Getting in quick makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE and our Department is on scene in 4 minutes or less 90% of the time.

We run with 3. That’s 3 TOTAL for all you New York guys. Yea.. 3 counting the Officer and driver.

We are lucky here at #13 in that we carry 1,000 gallons of water.

I typically don’t take a hydrant. We stretch dry, get in and on the seat of the fire quick, before it gets a chance to spread. Then, the 2nd due will lay in, establish command etc.

Our system works well … for us anyway and it helps that I’ve got a good crew.

That’s Boots and our Lieutenant George “Georgie” Perdue…. both “top hands” and good Jakes.

One neat thing about this call was that it is the first smoke condition I’ve been in with my new Illuminating Helmet Band from FoxFire / MN8 Products.

All the companies who came in behind commented on how much it stood out. The Chief said he felt like he could see me from a mile away. My Lt. from back in the Melrose Misfit days (Rob “Bugg” Reid) said he was “SOLD” on em the minute he made the apartment . Even through the smoke, he said I was visible from the door! So far so good for FoxFire and MN8 Products.

I’m gonna give it a little while longer before I do an “Official” review. I want to try and test it in a few more situations. The Brothers from County #1 did a short video with the axe we coated for them. I’ll get it up for ya soon but they seem happy with its performance so far.

Moving on….

I want to say Congratulations once again to Patrick Lynch of St. Michael’s College Fire/Rescue in Colchester, VT.

Patrick was the winner of our Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away. Rhett and I had the Buckaroo “pull” the winning “chip”. If you haven’t seen the video yet click HERE .

We had 104 entries. All of the entries can be seen on Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen’s Face Book page . Look for the Black Diamond Album under the photos section. If you move your cursor over the pics, you will see the entrants name and a number.

All pictures were numbered from 1-104. We then made a list of the names and their corisponding number. We also labeled 104 poker chips (1-104) and placed them into a X2 boot for the Buckaroo to pull from. Patrick’s lucky number was 90.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the event. It was my first of this size and I feel like it was a success. We all need to offer a special THANKS to Alan Lunder and his folks from Black Diamond Footwear for allowing us to do the Give Away.

These boots are valued at over $300! Be sure to “Like” and “Friend” them on Face Book as well as to drop them a comment of appreciation. We don’t have many companies out there willing to give away free products to the people who are gonna buy it anyway.

One last note for all you local folks is that tomorrow is the Roanoke Rampage’s last home game.

We play the Charlotte Cobras @ 3pm in Salem Memorial Stadium.

The forecast doesn’t look good. Storms and heavy rain but the game is STILL ON.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. It’s the fans who help us pay the bills (operating costs) and donate to charity.

Even our own department doesn’t support us so you fans are all we have left. Bring your rain coats and umbrellas and come on out … we’re always there when you need us!

I’ll check back soon .. until then, Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines.

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, news, rescues, special-operations, Uncategorized • Tagged: Alan Lunder, animal control, animal rescue, apartment fire, assist police, Black Diamond, Black Diamond Footwear, Black Diamond Girls, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Todd Stone, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Engine 13, Face Book, FoxFire, FoxFire Helmet Band, George Perdue, HydrantGirl, HydrantGirl.blogspot.com, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Lt. Geroge Perdue, M. Todd Harris, MN8, MN8 products, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, Patrick Lynch, police assist, Rampage, Rampage Football, Roanoke Rampage, Social Media, St Michael's College Fire / Rescue Department, Todd Harris, Working fire, X2 Boot, X2 Boot Give Away winner

We have a winner!!

6 comments

The Buckaroo and I were picking up some feed in town and decided to swing by Station #3 to see what my “little buddy” Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) was up to.

The Buckaroo just happened to be wearing his turn out gear so he decided to add his name to the run board….LOL

I didn’t even know the little fella could write (that’s what Rhett says about me as well …LOL).

Anyway, we had a very nice visit. It got a little “touch and go” there for a minute because the Buckaroo was gonna bump big Dave Lucas off the rig to get a seat. We sat him down for a minute and explained to him how running with 4 vs 3 made the rig more proficient and safer.

After considering the facts, the Buckaroo agreed and decided to let Big Luke ride as well (of course the Buckaroo took the nozzle position..LOL).

For the first time in a long time, the boys were running with 4!

We had the usual chit chat and then the conversation turned to the Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away. The deadline for entries ended at midnight last night and I need to draw and announce a winner today. Drew came up with the idea to video the drawing and let the Buckaroo “pull” the winner. Wingnut (Mulford) seconded the motion and Chief Gardner gave his nod of approval.

Chief Gardner? What …..you guys didn’t know that Station 3-A’s junior member got the big bump in promotions? Well, neither did any of the guys on A-shift but it just so happens that Ironfiremen.com has the proof (beating Dave Statter and the FireCritic to the story once again…LOL).

Oh yea… that’s JG .. Jason Gardner in a white shirt!

Who cares that Jason stopped by my station yesterday dressed for his 2nd job?

As far as I’m concerned, JG has a “white shirt” on so he holds rank on Rhett…LOL

Either way, it was unanimous to finish out the 2011 Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away in style.

WOW! What a GREAT Give Away. I have to admit that this is the largest “contest” or “give Away” that I have attempted on my own (well ..ok .. Rhett has been a HUGE help as always but I did do a lot of this one by myself)

BLACK DIAMOND FOOTWEAR has been a great company to work with. After I won the 2011 Black Diamond Fire Blog of the Year, I began discussions with the company about wanting to give back to the readers. In winning the Blog of the Year, I received a pair of X2 boots so we decided to give a 2nd pair away to the voters / readers. That’s a value of over $300!!

The contest was simple. Send in a pic of yourself by your rig and you were entered! Andrew Thomas was the first entry and had his pic up loaded in a matter of minutes. Thanks for keeping a close eye on the happenings of Ironfiremen.com Andrew.

We had 104 entries total. They came from all around the Country and World for that matter. We had entries from Alaska (Matt Mokracek and Steven Schreck) to South Africa (Iain Fourie)!

It was a blast seeing all the entries. More than fun … it was an honor. I seen a ton of PRIDE in the submitted pics. I also got a few laughs …. the creativity of firemen…

I’m glad we decided to “pull a chip” for the winner vs trying to pic the best because they were all GREAT shots. Thanks to everyone who entered. That said, there has to be a winner so lets see who it is ….

That’s right folks … Patrick Lynch, St. Michael’s College Fire & Rescue, Colchester, VT. Alumni Member/Board Director http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smfronline.org%2F&h=9f8cf is our WINNER!

Congratulations to Patrick on winning a new pair of Black Diamond X2 Boots!

With all the snow the folks in the North East received this year, Im sure he’ll put them to good use.

Thanks again to Black Diamond for giving me this great oppurtunity to give back to the readers.

Thanks to Rhett ( The Fire Critic ) for all his support and technical assistance and THANKS to all of YOU … the READERS … the FOLLOWERS!

And hey … don’t get discouraged. We have a LOT MORE planned here on Ironfiremen for the upcoming year. This Give Away is just the “kick off” to our best year yet! You’ll truly be amazed at what we have in store for ya. Stick with us … you wont be disappointed.

Until next post, stay safe and in house. Train HARD … work SMART. Are you Battle Ready? If not … then GET YOU BOOTS ON! BLACK DIAMOND X2

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 14, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, news, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Alaska, Black Diamond X2 Boot, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, contest winner, Fire Critic, Fire Fighter contest, Fire Fighter give away, FireCritic.com, firefighter, Firefighter boots, Firefighter PPE, Iain Fourie, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Jason Gardner, Matt Mokracek, Patrick Lynch, PPE, Rhett Fleitz, South Africa, Steven Schreck, Structural fire fighting boots, Willie Wines, Willie Wines Jr, X2 Boots, YouTube

Get your own water!

3 comments

Or maybe I should say “TAKE” your own water.

I received a few e-mails following Monday’s post “Tricks of the Trade.. RIT Tips“ .

The post was intended to offer only a few “tricks” concerning the removal of (dragging) a downed firefighter. The e-mails I received wanted to know more about what we carry with our RIT team ie: stokes basket, charged line etc.

In my Department, we do NOT take a charged line with our RIT. We put a lot of emphisis on the “R” in RIT … RAPID and do not want a hose line slowing the team down.

That said, if warranted; we will activate a 2nd team / crew with a line to provide protection for the RIT. On the other hand, the Brothers from one of our neighboring Departments (Roanoke County Fire / Rescue) take a line with their initial team.

I’m not saying either is right or wrong and think it all boils down to your Department’s SOP’s and how you train. I will add that it’s difficult to do both even though in today’s fire service, many of us are forced to perform multiple tasks regardless of what piece you ride (Engine men doing truck work, truckies doing engine work etc). The guys over at Brotherhood Instructors had a good post on this a few weeks back. See “Hose Line & Hand Tools”

Now I don’t want to get into the “take a line or not” debate but I did get to thinking about water. YOUR water and WHERE it comes from.

If I’m first in on a job, we stretch a line from our rig and begin our attack. Generally, the Medic unit will grab a 2nd line from our truck and establish 2-out.

As more companies arrive, a RIT is established and the 2-out advance in to whatever assignment. More times than not (depending on how quick the knock down comes etc),at some point; a 3rd line is pulled for a “back up”.

My question and point here is where does that 3rd line come from? In the above case, would it be once again from my Engine? Honestly (and sadly), in my Department; most of the time that 3rd line DOES come from that first in rig.

Now think about it from this view… All lines operating are from a single source . What if “something” happens to that Engine? Mechanical break down, trash in the hydrant, broken water main, busted or obstructed supply line?

This is the Fire Department …. the unexpected happens.

Now, all members operating are without water!

Go back to a RIT activation scenario. Maybe the reason for the MAYDAY in the first place was loss of water. Where will you get yours and how much time will you waste getting it?

Now, don’t get excited .. I’m not talking about every engine stretching their own line or bringing their own hydrant. There are too many factors to consider and the biggest may be apparatus positioning. If we had to leave a man at every pump, we’d have to add additional companies to the box to have enough members to fight fire.

What I will offer is at minimum, maybe having your “back up” line stretched from a second source would be a good practice. Most rigs carry at least 500 gallons of water these days so I’d go as far to say that as a back up you could do this from the tank (although I would have another engine sitting on a 2nd hydrant ready to lay in if need be).

Again, this goes back to how you operate, staffing, alarm assignments and your Department’s SOP’s/SOG’s. Take it to the kitchen table in your house. Make it tomorrows company drill. Talk about it a bit. Who knows .. it just may save a Jake’s ass one day .. maybe even mine or yours!

Ok, moving on.. I didn’t mention in Monday’s post that we had a special visitor. The Battalion stopped by and had Father Webb riding along once again.

You folks may remember my post from St. Patty’s Day when we first met Father Webb. That makes his visit Monday even more remarkable.

LOL .. everyone told Father about my site and that the pictures I took that evening would most likely end up in that night’s post. Of course he wanted the address so he could take a look and check out the site himself. LMAO.. A priest reading Ironfiremen.com …oh no! I told him to please keep an open mind and apparently he did.

Not even dinner at station #5 followed by a healthy dose of Ironfiremen could keep Father Webb away! He has been planning and working towards beginning a Chaplin Program here in the city and I can’t think of a better person. I’m very excited about the program and for Father Webb and the members of our Department. I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more of Father Webb in the future (as will you .. right here on Ironfiremen).

Ok, DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE to enter to win a FREE pair of Black Diamond X2 Boots. Entries close at midnight tonight!

FIND THE RULES AND HOW TO ENTER HERE

I will announce the winner sometime tomorrow right here on Ironfiremen.com so check in often. Also take the time to drop by Black Diamond Footwear to learn more about the boot and many more of their great products.

The contest was been GREAT! We’ve had just over 100 entries with a little time remaining. It has been really cool to seen the pics from various places. I even received an entry from South Africa today! How cool is that!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who follows the site and took the time to send in an entry. Thanks also to Black Diamond Products for giving me the opportunity to give back to the readers!

That said, I’ll have much more on Black Diamond and the contest tomorrow …..

Don’t forget to “Share” “Like” “Recommend” and “Tweet” me … You folks stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 13, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, news, special-operations, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Black Diamond, Black Diamond Footwear, Black Diamond X2 Boot, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Father Webb, Fire Department Chaplin, fire ground ops, Firefighter Chaplin Program, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, MAYDAY, pump ops, RIC, RIT, water supply, Willie Wines Jr

Last Chance

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The deadline to enter to win a free pair of Black Diamond X2 boots is tonight at midnight!

Click here for complete details and how to enter

Also take the time to visit Black Diamond Footwear to learn more about the X2 Boot and many more of their products.

You can also find Black Diamond Footwear on Face Book. Please take the time to leave them a comment thanking them for allowing Ironfiremen.com the opportunity to give back to our readers.

What are you waiting for??? Get those entries in!

Stay safe and in house! Good luck in the give away.

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 13, 2011 • Filed under: news, Uncategorized • Tagged: Black Diamond, Black Diamond Footwear, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Wines, Fire fighter PPE, Ironfiremen, PPE, Willie Wines Jr, X2 Boot

Tricks of the trade ..RIT tips

3 comments

There have been several incidents lately where “MAYDAY” was transmitted and RIT / RIC (Rapid Intervention Team, Rapid Intervention Crew) was activated. Dave Statter has coverage of the 5 firefighters injured in Washington DC HERE . Chris Naum has coverage over at Command Safety on the DOUBLE MAYDAY transmission in the Borough of Queens NY. Find that article HERE .

I hope everyone takes the time to follow these stories and then think about what you or your crew would do if found in the same situation. My mind has been on RIT and self rescue techniques so that was our company drill today. It was a good refresher for me and my crew so I thought I’d share a little of it with you folks.

I have missed the last few weeks of my “Tricks of the Trade” so this fill that gap a little as well (Thanks to Lt. Lee Powell of Burnt Chimney Vol. Fire Department for requesting Tricks of the Trade)

I’m gonna skip over a ton of stuff and get right to the ~~point~~ “trick” I want to focus on…. The “ROCK” and “RAY” harness to assist in removing a downed firefighter.

The “ROCK” is a technique used to turn a firefighter’s SCBA into a better “harness” for dragging. Think about it …. it’s already there and attached to the firefighter … so USE IT.

The “Rock” allows us to drag the firefighter by his SCBA and not PULL IT OFF OF HIM/HER. How many stories have you heard of members pulling the SCBA and / or coats off of downed firefighters while attempting to drag them out of a structure? This quick and simple technique will help avoid that while giving you move leverage options while performing the rescue.

After locating the downed firefighter …. check to see that he is breathing and on his remaining air supply. If unconscious, listen for the breaths while checking his gauges.

Our RIT Bag has several options to supply the downed firefighter with air. My Department uses the Scott AP50, 2002 edition. We have the option to “Buddy Breath” (not recommended in this situation because it “ties” you too close to the downed firefighter). We can do a “quick fill” of his bottle. We could also connect his face piece / regulator to our RIT bottle or change his mask out to the RIT mask / regulator and bottle.

After getting the downed firefighter “on air” (or while your partner is doing so) you need to place him in the “harness”

To do this, start by loosening his shoulder and waist straps. Do the shoulder straps first, then move down his body to the waist. After loosening the waist strap, unbuckle it.

Reposition one end of the waist strap under the leg on that side of his body and reconnect the buckle. You should now have the waist strap running between the downed firefighters legs.

Now, re-tighten both the waist and shoulder straps.

You can now drag / pull the downed firefighter by his SCBA without fear of pulling it off of him / her.

This harness should be used when removing the firefighter head first (the RAY is the better option for feet first drags).

I prefer a head first drag because it allows the victims arms and legs to naturally fall in-line with the body reducing the risk of snags and obstructions.

Again, at this point; you have many options available to you.

You can simply grab the shoulder straps and begin your drag.

This technique gets the downed firefighter’s SCBA up and off the floor but offers very little in leverage.

It also keeps or places your feet close to the downed firefighter forcing you to use short choppy steps.

Another option would be to use a piece of webbing through the shoulder straps.

This technique allows the rescuer to put some distance between himself and the downed firefighter. Depending on the length of the webbing, it still allows the rescuer to gain some “lift” on the downed firefighter again reducing snags / obstructions.

In this position, I could also turn and face forward while conducting the drag.

Another advantage here is that is room permits, 2 rescuers can perform the drag..(one pulling from each end of the webbing).

If your RIT / RIC operates with a “search rope”, you could even attach the rope to the SCBA harness with a beaner and have members from outside pulling as well … you are NOT going to pull the SCBA off in this position.

Another option is to use a tool through the shoulder straps.

This is obviously a two rescuer option with advantages and disadvantages.

The biggest limitation is having the space to utilize this option. In a residential structure, most hall or doorways wont allow this width (the 2nd rescuer would be on the pike end of the pole).

Should space allow this technique, it works very well. It allows each rescuer to be just off to the side of the downed firefighter while facing forward. It also allows for the rescuers to have lift on the downed firefighter which again reduces snags and obstruction.

Another option (which I didn’t photograph) is placing a charged hose line through the straps. If the nozzle has a pistol grip, it will act as a “hook” on the straps while you and your company pull the hose out of the structure. If you don’t have a pistol grip nozzle (or don’t trust it’s strength) simply run the hose several feet through and point the nozzle in the direction you’re gonna pull (out). Put your crew of however many behind the nozzle as if advancing it out. You can then radio out to the engine and have members out side begin to pull the hose out of the structure. While they are pulling, your crew advances out . The downed firefighter is drug from the “bite” created in the hose.

So that’s the “ROCK” in a nutshell. Remember that this is used for dragging a downed firefighter HEAD FIRST. The key to this drag is getting that waist strap under the leg and through the crotch. I would also utilize this harness for lifting a downed firefighter (as in through a hole in the floor etc).

The next harness is the “RAY”. It can be used when dragging feet first.

Again, this harness utilizes the SCBA which should already be in place.

After getting the Firefighter on air, unbuckle the waist strap and re-fasten it through a piece of webbing (looped webbing)

You can also just run the webbing behind the waist strap and then through itself.

The next step is to place 2 half hitches in the webbing around the downed firefighters legs.

One above the knees, the second below.

Of course the length of you webbing is a key element here.

A single half hitch will work but I have found that using two works better.

After the 2nd hitch is in place, you’re ready to pull.

Again, depending on the length of your webbing, this could be a single or multiple rescuer drag.

The length of the webbing also determines how far away from the downed firefighter the rescuer is able to get while pulling.

This technique is not the optimal in my opinion.

Although you get lift on the legs, the SCBA remains on the ground and is subject to drag, snags and obstructions.

Dragging feet first also allows the downed firefighter’s arm to open up and away from his / her body during the drag again adding to the likelyhood of snags etc.

The downed firefighter’s helmet also becomes a hindrance with this technique…. both to you and them. The helmet IS GOING TO DRAG and, with the chin strap securely fastened; will be choking him every foot of the way. It’s a judgement call but you may consider removing the helmet (or replacing it with a “rescue” helmet from your RIT bag ) when securing his air supply.

The bottom of the SCBA bottle is also a huge henderance with this technique. Because this end of the bottle is not rounded like the top, it also catches and snags everything.

The downed firefighter’s coat does the same thing and will “ride up” to the SCBA waist strap.

Not a pretty drag ( did you guys catch the quote from Kelly Grayson’s post today? … “just think of it like a supermodel with an STD: nice to look at, but not so much to play with” ). LMAO .. well, this drag is the same way. It does give you some options and leverage when you are forced to pull feet first though. Otherwise, you would pull the pants and boots right off this firefighter before you ever got him out.

Another hint is don’t forget the “built in” systems.

A new option from Scott is the “Scott DRL” or Drag Rescue Loop.

I wear Morning Pride Turn Out Gear with an intergrated DRD or Drag Rescue Device .

So there ya have it. Hopefully a couple helpful hints or “Tricks of the Trade” to help you out in a RIT activation. I hope you never have to use them but also hope you are trained and ready should you ever have to.

Thanks as always for reading / following. Please take the time to “Share” “Recommend” “Like” and “Tweet”.

Don’t forget to click here and submit your picture for our Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away!

The Deadline for entries is Midnight on Wednesday April 13, 2011.

Stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 11, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, news, rescues, special-operations, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: A day in the life of an ambulance driver, Black Diamond Boots, Black Diamond X2 Boot, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Chris Naum, command safety, company training, Dave Statter, David Rich, downed fire fighter, Drag Rescue Device, Fire Fighter rescue, fire fighter Tricks of the Trade, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Kelly Grayson, M. Todd Harris, MAYDAY, Morning Pride, Morning Pride DRD, Morning Pride firefighter gear, PPE, RIC, RIT, SCBA, Scott Air Packs, Scott Drag Rescue Loop, Statter 911, Todd "Boots" Harris, Todd Harris, tricks of the trade, X2 Boot

Better than the lottery … Today’s odds … 1 in 58!

4 comments

That’s right .. the chances of winning a brand new pair of Black Diamond X2 Boots is 1 in 58 !

So far, we’ve had 58 entries in the give away and there is still time to throw your name in the ~~hat~~ boot.

The give away runs until midnight on April 13, 2011. It’s easy and free to enter … don’t miss out!

COMPLETE DETAILS AND HOW TO ENTER

You can find an album with all the entries on the Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen Face Book Fan Page

Also take the time to visit the Black Diamond Footwear web site to learn more about the X2 boot and many more great Black Diamond products.

You can also find Black Diamond on Face Book . Take the time to stop by and leave a comment thanking them for allowing Ironfiremen.com this opportunity to give back to the readers!

I’ll leave ya with a little “browsing” music while you hit the “links” and enter to win …

Here’s Allison Krauss’ new video “Paper Airplane“ Enjoy and Good Luck!

If she was only a midget … Grrrrrr LOL

Stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 9, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: Allison Krauss, Allison Krauss Paper Airplane, Black Diamond, Black Diamond Boots, Black Diamond Footwear, Black Diamond Girls, Black Diamond X2 Boot, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Wines, Facebook, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Paper Airplane, PPE, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen, X2 Boot

What’s in your daughter’s dorm room?

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Here’s a pretty cool local news story from yesterday. A couple of our local Colleges (Virginia Tech and Va. Western) have been working together to highlight fire safety in college dorm rooms.

See our local news coverage HERE and the video below …

Stay Safe and in House.
Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 9, 2011 • Filed under: fire-prevention-education, firefighting-operations, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Campus fire safety, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Wines, College campus fire safety, Fire safety, fire safety research, fire video, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, live burn demo, sprinkler systems, sprinklers in college dorm rooms, Va Western Community College, Virginia Tech, VT, Willie Wines Jr, WSLS, WSLS.com

Ironfiremen.com says goodbye to Washington DC

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WOW … What a trip !

They say “all good things must come to an end” so I left DC this morning at 6am and headed back to the farm.

I hated to leave. The 2011 Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner was AWESOME.

I knew that this was going to be rushed trip but also one that I wouldn’t want to miss.

This was not my first trip to DC but it was my first CFSI Dinner.

I still can’t figure out why I was invited but obviously, someone thinks pretty highly of me.

I had my suspicions all along but after I arrived, there was NO DOUBT. Ironfiremen.com is climbing the ladder!

They put me up in the Presidential Suite!

I figured it must be the Presidential Suite because they even had a picture of The White House above the bed …LOL

All kidding aside, SPECIAL THANKS again to Rhett’s sister Vanessa for hooking me up with a great room for the night. If you’re ever in DC and need a clean, comfortable hotel with FABULOUS service, go to the Starwood Hotels, Four Point Sheraton .

So, I got in to town, grabbed a quick shower, changed and headed out for the Hospitality rooms before the dinner. Paul Andrews and Mary Valline of Go Forward Media met me in the lobby and gave me the FULL TOUR. Mary is the “Director of Events” while Paul is the VP of e-media Sales and Development. This basic means Mary sets everything up and Paul knows EVERONE there! LOL

MORE ON PAUL ANDREWS

The Hospitality rooms were full of our Nation’s Fire service leaders. Not just Chief Officers and legislators but Fire Service Product manufactures as well. Like I said … Paul knew em all and introduced me to each one.

I was fortunate and honored to meet the likes of the Lovely Mrs. Kimberly Henry who is the VP of Sales and Marketing for PBI Performance Products Inc. I also met Mr. Ken Creese who is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Sutphen. The list goes on and on and I was humbled and honored to meet each and every one of them.

Later in the evening, while in the restroom; the gentleman standing beside me spoke. “I LOVE that mustache”. I expressed my gratitude and glanced over (having to be careful looking over considering the place and position we were in ..LOL) and much to my surprise … there stood Randolph Mantooth ! Johnny Gauge. Johnny Gauge of EMERGENCY! HOLY COW !!… and he “loves” my mustache!

When I got back to our table, good friend and fellow Network Blogger Mike Ward was standing there. As we were shaking hands, I was so excited I had to tell him (Mike posts on FireGeezer who does the weekly segment Sunday Emergency) “I just met, talked to and “took a leak” beside Johnny Gauge!”. Of course, Mike immediately tweeted on how he sincerely hoped I had washed my hands! LMAO ….

I also had the chance to meet and speak with several folks whom I have followed and admire but have never had the opportunity to met in person.

Ray McCormick walked up and introduced himself. RAY McCormick! I have followed Ray for some time now and have a lot of respect for the work he has done to move our profession forward.

Erich Roden was also in attendance and another Jake that I have followed and admired for some time now. Erich and Ray are boththe Senior Editor and Publishers of Urban Firefighter Magazine.

Urban Firefighter Magazine is an online publication that is a MUST READ! If you haven’t checked them out yet … DO IT NOW! Trust me.

So, after “rubbing elbows” with all of those folks, we headed up to the dinner.

The room itself was awe inspiring for a guy like me.

I went to the table number listed on my ticket.

Actually, there didn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house. I introduced myself and took my place at the table.

Then, much to my surprise (and like Rodney Dangerfield); Dave Iannone came to inform me that I was in the wrong seat … I was suppose to be at his table … the “FRONT ROW”! LOL

Now we weren’t on the front row but we were pretty damn close. WOW!

I was seated beside Jeff of Elsevier Publishing.

WHAT A GREAT GUY! I have been around Jeff several times now while working with Firefighter Netcast for Fire/Rescue Magazine and he is an absolute honor to be associated with. A CLASS ACT ! I was never told, nor did I ask who paid for my seat but I feel like and assume that it was Jeff and Elsevier Publishing. Thanks to him and them for allowing me this opportunity. I hope I represented myself and our table well.

Just like the hospitality room, my table was full of “high profile” and big names within the Fire Service.

Even Bill Carey made the event!

Bill is the “man behind the curtain” for the Network and also writes his own blog Back Step Fire Fighter

Bill is such a fun guy to hang with! A WILD one this guy !! The only bad thing is that you can hardly get a word in edge wise around him … LMAO!!!!! If you know Bill, you’ll see the humor in that comment.

Bill Carey is very quiet and shy. Hidden, behind this facade; there is one of the most educated and intelectual men I have ever met. He’s “crazy smart” in a way I can relate to.

Bill and I had a conversation a little while back about a post he made. The post was about the Arlington Cemetery . The teams who take care of escorting the bodies of our fallen hero’s to their final resting place and an “unofficial” program for our wounded warriors to rehab on horseback. We both share a love of horses so I understood his perspective and direction. The irony and his educated grasp of literature in this post is awe inspiring.

Fact: Safety Is Relative. How Do I Know?
I Spend Time With Folks Who Have Been Shot At.

Our table had many other Talets as well. Tim Sendelbach, Editor in Chief; of Fire Rescue Magazine. CHRIS HEBERT …. that’s ***CHRIS HEBERT*** from the Go Forward Media and the Network was also there and seated just one seat away. Special thanks to Chris for all he’s done to help me and this site reach the point we have.

Dave Iannone, President and CEO of Go Forward Media was obviously there … he’s the reason we (or I anyway) was there. Special thanks to Dave as well for all his efforts in bringing Ironfiremen.com forward.

Of course, no event such as this would be the same without Tiger Schmittendorf. Tiger was his “normal self”. The jokes .. “yankee” accent and slow eating habbits.

Tiger is one of our next great leaders within the Fire Service. I say that knowing that he already is … “next” may not be the right word.

http://firecritic.com/2011/04/who-is-the-next-fire-service-leader/

The meal was as good as the company! FANCY !

Just as I had feared .. 4 or 5 forks, a bunch of spoons and several knives. I just sat and waited for Jeff to pick one up and followed his lead.

The menu … Bread … some kind of red (maybe tomato) soup with baccon (the baccon made it work) … a salad (a “hunk” of lettuce, a slice of tomato and walnuts dribbled with dressing) started the feast. After, Prime Rib and somekind of seafood with rice (???) squash, asparagus and yada, yada yada.

Jeff bought several bottles of wine for the table. Red and white and both in a corked bottle .. not from a box LOL.

Each plate looked like something from one of those cooking shows on TV …

They even make ketchup and mustard designs on the plates … LOL

There were several awards presented along with many great speakers. It was refreshing to know that, while our government was literally facing closing shop; there are still people in Washington who understand and respect the services we provide.

After dinner, there was more “meet and greet” with the attendes ….

A highlight of the night was for me to meet one of our local Chiefs.

Jack Jones is the Chief of Bedford County Fire and Rescue Services.

Bedford is a large County close to our City. It is basicly a combination Department / County that has a diverse population and development.

Chief Jones is a young and agressive Chief who has brought a lot of positive change to Bedford County and their delivery of Fire and Emergency Medical Services. In times of lay offs, brown outs and budget crunches, Chief Jones finds ways to bring quality training and programs to his members so that they can provide better services to the citizens of Bedford County! Great job and keep up the good work Chief! It was an honor to finally shake your hand!

So, that about sums up the night. A couple of beers at the Irish pub and back the the hotel room for a few hours sleep.

Up at 5 am .. a shower and pack and checked out by 6am. There must be a TON of bankers in Washington because apparently everyone up there keeps “banker hours”. LOL … If ya want to get around in DC without hastle … do it at 6am.

So, I made it home, safe and sound and drove straight to the Tech Farm to meet some folks and start my days work. The best part of it all was that the Buckaroo met me there and hung with me all day.

He got a new toy tractor (because he’s spoiled) and decided he’d move gravel ….

LMAO … he thinks he move the whole pile !

He played long and hard enough to do it ……..

That was the best part of the trip … comming home to him ….. safe and sound.

That said, not all of our Brothers from Washing DC had that same oppurtunity this morning. Early Saturday morning, 5 of our brothers were injured (burned) while fighting a house fire in NE Washington….. one critical. Dave Statter has the story and complete datails (with video and audio) HERE .

PLEASE keep these brothers in you thoughts and prayers!

Ok, I’ll check back as soon as I get the chance …. until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 9, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, funding-staffing, line-of-duty, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: 2011 CFSI dinner, 2011 Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner, Back Step Firefighter, Bedford County, Bedford County Fire and Rescue services, Bill Carey, CFSI, CFSI Dinner, Chief Jack Jones, Chris Hebert, Dave Iannone, Elsevier, Elsevier Publishing, Emergency, Erich Roden, Fire Rescue Magazine, Firegeezer, Fossil Medic, Four Point Sheraton, Go Forward Media, Jack Jones, Jeff Berend, Johnny Gauge, Ken Creese, Kimberly Henry, Mary Valline, Mike Ward, Paul Andrews, PBI, PBI Performance Products Inc, Randolph Mantooth, Ray McCormick, Sheraton Hotel, Starwood Hotels, Sunday Emergency, Sutphen, Tiger Schmittendorf, Urban Firefighter Magazine, Va, Washington DC

Ironfiremen.com is DC Bound!

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In a little less than 12 hrs I’ll be heading out for Washington DC to attend the Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner!

I can’t wait to get there!

I’ll be having dinner with some of the top leaders of the Fire Service as well as with many of our legislators.

I’m a little nervous … I mean after all, this is not the typical crowd that I’d fit into. This is a FANCY dinner!

I’m a little worried about which folk to use and all that…. you know … like what kind of knot to use when tying your napkin around your neck or do ya just tuck it in?

The dress code is supposed to be pretty upscale so I’ve been calling around town all day trying to find a place to rent a tux…. I wouldn’t want them folks thinking I’m just some dumb redneck who doesn’t even own a tux.

I really like the ones they used in the movie Dumb and Dumber …

I just cant decide on the color….

I also can’t decide whether to wear one of those Top Hats or break out the new Resitol Cowboy hat …

Either way, I’m gonna get one of those canes these guys had in the movie … Funny thing is .. the lady at the Tux shop kept hanging up on me…. LOL …DC will never be the same.

I’m wondering if they’ll send a “car” for me???

Maybe one of those big fancy stretched jobs ….

How cool would that be?

All that room to stretch out in …. I hear you even have your own 8 track in the back…

Word has it that the more expensive Limos even have a cooler full of beer for ya.

I even heard that the drivers get out to open the door for ya and everything.

They open your beers …. pour em into a cup (hope they stock Old Milwaukee).

Chauffeurs I think they call em….

Wonder if mine will be good looking?

You know .. I girl chauffeur …. with driving boots and one of those cute little hats…

Naaa…. no way I’m that lucky.

Anything they send after me would need to be rode ON rather than IN …LOL

LMAO .. I’d still ride it though! Actually, I guess I had better keep things a little “low key”. I’m really hoping that about 10-20 DC Police Officers have forgotten all about me.

Yea … on one of my last trips up there, Scott Mutter and I attended an IAFF Conference. Somehow or another we got hooked up with Dave Pulliam from Richmond Fire Department. Well, the three of us were standing there … minding our own business, talking to a group of nuns about Sunday school attendance and next thing I know we’re laid across a couple Police cars.

I think it was all a misunderstanding over a bet or something that Scott and I just happened to get caught up in. I say that because after Pulliam gave one of the cops the money he owed em .. they let us go. LMAO …(just kidding there …well somewhat anyway). That Pulliam sure is a smooth talker. That and he’s a BLAST to hang out in DC with. Rhett did a Book Review of Capitol City Fireman by Jake Rixner over at The Fire Critic. Dave Pulliam is mentioned in the book several times. Check out Rhett’s review HERE .

So, you can see why I’m anxiously nervous about the trip.

The good news is that I’ll be staying in “CLASS”. Rhett’s sister Vanessa Vincenti works for a big fancy hotel in DC and was willing and able to help me out on getting a room despite the fact that Rhett is staying behind on this trip.

Rhett says this hotel even has a hot tub!

Guess I should pack my Bermuda shorts huh? That thing even looks like it has room for 2 more people! I guess this pic is of a couple fellas who went up early for the dinner … check out the IAFF sticker in the window …LOL. Don’t yall splash all the water out now … I’ll be in by noon!

LMAO .. ok, enough of my sick sense of humor. I am heading up for the CFSI Dinner and it’s an honor and privilege.

Special thanks to Dave Iannone from Go Forward Media for the invitation.

Special thanks to Rhett and his sister Vanessa for helping me with the hotel. VERY nice accommodations!

So, I just have to make it through the rest of the shift, run home to feed and check the cows and then I’m outta here! That said, obviously I’m on duty today and it hasn’t been too bad.

The guys from Roanoke County Fire / Rescue Station #1C stopped by to drop off a tool.

I had talked to Captain Witt about painting one of their tools with the FoxFire illuminating paint that I just received for a product review.

I also gave them some tape to wrap a second tool on their truck and try out for me.

They seemed pretty impressed with a quick demo and were excited to get to try the product out.

That said, Boots (Todd Harris), Pete and I went to work on the tools … Roanoke County’s and ours.

We cleaned and painted the heads and handles first.

After that dried, we masked them up and did a little “prep” work to the shafts.

Each tool then was primed with a special primer provided by FoxFire.

The prep and priming was easy …

After a 30 minute wait for the primer to dry, it was time to mix the epoxy

After mixing the ingredients, you only have 30 minutes to apply the product.

The pressure was on but we got it done.

I will do a complete “Product Review” to include the application process etc in the future.

So, we got it mixed and started putting it on. I didn’t say “painting” because it is NOT painting.

Actually, the product is an epoxy and not a paint at all.

That said, it doesn’t go on like paint.

Lets just say that our first attempt at applying this product will not be found hanging in any art museums..LOL

It takes about 24 hours to fully dry and cure so we wont get to put the tools to use until next cycle.

We can already tell that the illumination factor is going to be nice. Boots keeps turning the lights on and off in the work room … he can’t believe how bright they glow already!

So, tune back in sometime in the near future for a complete and detailed review of the FoxFire / MN8 Products.

We rounded out the evening with a visit from Medic #5 who had 2 of our new rookies riding along.

I don’t remember their names and at this point in their career, that’s a GOOD THING! Either way, here they are…. congratulations and GOOD LUCK!

So, I’m gonna stop for now. I’m gonna take a while to listen in to Lt. Dave LeBlanc’s first show on Firefighter Netcast I’m a huge fan of Dave and highly recommend you tune in as well.

I’ll try to update from DC … wish me luck!

Until next time … stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 6, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, funding-staffing, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Capitol City Fireman, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, CFSI, Congressional Fire Service Institute, Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner, Dave Pulliam, dumb and dumber, Fire Critic, FireCritic.com, firefighter hand tools, FoxFire, FoxFire Products, funny post, IAFF, IAFF Legislative Conference, IronFiremen.com, Jake Rixner, MN8, MN8 products, RCFR W-1, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke County Fire / Rescue, Scott Mutter, Todd "Boots" Harris, Todd Harris, Washington DC, Willie Wines Jr

Must see video!

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This is why I’m going to DC on Thursday.

The video was taken from Brother Chris Naum’s site (one of em anyway) Command Safety.

Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 6, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, funding-staffing, news, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Chris Naum, command safety, firefighter pay, firefighter paycuts, Firefighter pensions, IAFF, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, MSNBC, Public Safety retirement, The Ed Show

Headed to the big house baby!

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Yea … I mean “THAT” house ….

“THAT” Big House ..

Look out Washington DC, Ironfiremen.com is headed to the White House!

LMAO .. just wait til they get a load of me! DC will never be the same!

All kidding aside, I feel honored and privileged to have been invited to the Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner this Thursday night.

Our Country’s top Fire Service Leaders will have dinner and meet / greet with our Nation’s legislators. I have made several trips to DC for the IAFF Legislative Conference in the past but, this will be my first trip to this event. I’m EXCITED!

Here’s a quote from the CFSI’s flyer ….

“ In past years, keynote speakers have included Vice President Joe Biden, President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, President George H.W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Vice President Al Gore, Vice President Dan Quayle, Secretary Tom Ridge, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Senator John McCain.”

Anytime we, as fire fighters; can have some face to face time with our legislators to discuss our issues, feelings and concerns it’s a positive situation. After all … that’s the foundation of democracy right? Now, whether or not they listen to what we have to say …well, we all know how that story ends but the good news is that we have the opportunity.

Unfortunately, I won’t have a travel companion this time. I’m not sure I’ll know how to act or what to do. I haven’t traveled anywhere in a long time that my “Little Buddy” Rhett (Rhett Fleitz … aka Fire Critic) hasn’t been by my side. The good news there is that I have something better …

A “hint” of his sister ..LOL (Funny how she got both the brains and looks huh?? LOL)

I have to be serious here for a minute. The Hotels in Washington DC and surrounding this event are EXPENSIVE. Outta my pay range expensive. Rhett’s sister Vanessa Vincentiworks for a big name hotel chain. Vanessa has helped our Local and fellow brothers multiple times with booking rooms etc.

On this trip, Vanessa was able to help me out….BIG TIME. So big that it made the difference of me making the trip or not.

SPECIAL THANKS to Vanessa for helping me make the trip.

If any of you folks are attending as well, drop me a line and maybe we can meet up at some point.

Ok, so it been a steady past few days and I apologize for not getting a post up yesterday. I’m back on duty tomorrow before beginning our 4 day break and heading out for DC.

Tomorrow’s schedule already looks full. I got a shipment in from my good friend Zach Green from over at FoxFire.

If you were at FDIC this year you were bound to have heard of him and / or his products.

They were the talk of the exhibit floor.

I put one of his Helmet Bands into service on my helmet yesterday and tomorrow, we plan to paint and tape a few tools.

Rhett has already started a 3 part “Product Review” over at the Fire Critic and I will begin mine very soon.

I’m taking a slightly different approach in that I plan to spread the product out just a little.

I contacted a Brother Captain out in the County whom I know and respect. I not only know this Captain, I also know his crew and respect their work ethic.

I spoke with Captain Witt of Roanoke County Fire/Rescue Station #1-C and gave him a demo of the product. I explained that I felt like if I could spread the product out a bit, I’d get a better feel for how it performs. Captain Witt was excited and agreed. The more fire fighter hands we can get this product into .. the better.

I think this will be a good strategy.

I trust Captain Witt and his men to get / give a through and fair evaluation of the product plus … having it in more than one set of hands increases the likelihood and frequency of it being used.

We still need to decide what we will paint vs tape. Unfortunately, I only had one helmet band and guess who gets that??? LOL .. yea ..ME.

Here’s the pic of my helmet before the FoxFire Helmet Band.

It’s the same band most of us wear every day…..

A piece of cut bicycle inner tube to hold my light and chocks.

Zach calls it an “antiquated piece of …” LOL

In my and the inner tube’s defence (while also being unbiased and fair) I’ll say this. The inner tube is cheap, accessible and it works well.

Here, is the shot of my helmet with the new FoxFire Helmet Band in place.

This band is a little wider than my tube but still fit. Zach, MN8 and FoxFire are well aware of some needed slight modifications(or suggestions) and are concidering making the necessary adjustments.

I could have folded the band in 1/2 but decided to wear it at full width for a bit so I can compare the two.

I know of some other possible modifications that may come out but I’m not sure if I should talk about those at this time or not.

I do know that Zach and FoxFire listen to and take seriously the input from the guys on the street. They WANT this product to work for us. Here’s a side view of the helmet band …..

I’ll post more on the product in the future as well as do an “Official Product Review” as soon as I’ve had the time to do a fair evaluation.

Ok, to wind it up for the night … don’t forget to enter to win a free pair of Black Diamond X2 Boots!

Yea… I said FREE Black Diamond X2 Boots!

We are having a “Give Away” here on IronFiremen.com and it’s easy to enter.

All we need is a picture of you beside, in front of, behind or around your “rig”.

See the “Give Away” DETAILS and how to ENTER by clicking here …

Also take the time to visit Black Diamond Footwear to learn more about the X2 Boot and many more of their products!

The pictures keep rolling in but the odds are still too good NOT to enter.

Ok, so I’ll check back in sometime tomorrow. I have more on the Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner, more on tool painting and FoxFire and another “Trick of the Trade” to bring to ya.

Don’t forget to become a FaceBook “Fan” of Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen.

Also remember to “Like” “Share” and “Recommend” the posts as well as to “Tweet” them on Twitter.

Thanks again for reading / following ….

Stay Safe and In House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 5, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Black Diamond, Black Diamond Boot Give Away, Black Diamond Boots, Black Diamond Footwear, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Congressional Fire Service Institute, Congressional Fire Service Institute Dinner, face in hole, Fire Service Social Media, FoxFire, FoxFire Helmet Band, funny pics, Hotel prices, IAFF, IAFF Legislative Conference, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, MN8, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke County Fire/Rescue, Roanoke County Fire/Rescue Captain Witt, Roanoke County Fire/Rescue Station #1-C, Social Media, Social Media in the Fire Service, Vanessa Vincenti, Washington DC, White House, Zach Green

Paying the price for charity

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The Roanoke Rampage football team got our 1st win yesterday against the South Carolina Commanders… final score 21-8

This is the 2nd season for the newly formed Rampage and our 1st victory in 6 games.

We are learning and growing with each week. We are also paying a price.

I say this NOT in a negative way but rather with the intent of educating others on our cause.

We are Fire fighters, Police and Rescue workers who play FULL CONTACT football to raise money for charity. We play in the National Public Safety Football League.

Our jobs dictate that we place our health, safety and lives on the line every shift but this … Football…. is on our days off. It’s our day off yet we still are out there putting it on the line. WHY? Because it’s the right thing to do and NOBODY else will.

Our charities of choice hit close to home. STEPS 4 BILLY raises money for research towards finding a cure for CTCL (Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomia).

Chief Obenchain made a huge impact on the Roanoke City Fire Department and many of it’s members. His “motto” hangs on the wall and is read to every new Recruit Class to this date.

See related articles / posts HERE and HERE .

A cause near and dear to our hearts but one that also reaches well beyond the “Valley” of Roanoke, Va.

Our 2nd Charity for this season deals with another battle lost to cancer by Roanoke County Police Officer Adam Childress.

Adam lost his long fought battle with Metastatic Melanoma on December 22, 2010.

He was first diagnosed in 2009 and fought back until he was able to return to duty. Sadly, the cancer reemerged and Adam was forced to call for medical assistance from his Police car.

He left behind, amoung others; a wife and daughter Keesha and Madison.

Adam wanted to play for the Rampage and would have wore the # 28.

His jersey and number is the 1st to be “retired” for the Rampage. A framed jersey was presented to his family in honor and memory of Adam and the sacrifices he made for our community.

Touching huh? Great causes by GREAT men. Hey folks … we do and see this EVERY DAY. We face it every shift. Now, the guys on the team are out there taking a beating … the bumps and bruises .. to raise awareness and raise money for causes such as these.

I know I am bias but we suffer enough with little to no comensation on the job. Now, we’re out there on our day off and can only manage 300 fans in the stand? WTF!

In our first game this season (against the Chicago Fire Department) we had 5 injuries …. 2 serious.

We lost 2 players to knee injuries and their job and pay checks could suffer (League average is 1 per year) .

We are not allowed to play (team rules ..NOT Department rules) unless we have our OWN supplimental insurance. Another expense to our players who are trying to “give back” and “do the right thing”.

Our Departments are not obligated to accomidate or help our injured .. though several do. Getting injured playing football is no different than having an accident at home ..falling off a ladder while cleaning the gutters … pulling your back moving the couch for the wife’s spring cleaning etc. If we don’t have the “sick” or “vacation” time saved up … we could be OUT OF WORK.

My point here is this. Yesterday, Zach Slayton (Rampage #96) suffered a broken leg. He’s now in a cast and I’m not sure how long he will be out of work.

Zach (and the rest of the team) has paid a price this and last season by just signing up. We make the practices. We buy our gear. We pay to travel. We even pay extra to accomidate the visiting teams. We miss “family time” … more than what our job deprives us of. We come home stiff, sore and hurt. We work and push through it.. we’re Cops and Firemen .. that’s just WHAT WE DO!

All we ask in return is for a little help. ATTENDANCE . We need people in the stands supporting us! Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children over 5. CHEAP concidering the price we pay. Sure .. it was cool and rainy yesterday. THAT’S FOOTBALL WEATHER !!!

The “RIGHT THING” is never easy to do …. I’m curious what the people here in Roanoke had to do that was better than raising money for our 2 charities or supporting their local Fire, Rescue and Police officers. 300 in the stands yesterday. 300 in a city of 100,000! We LOST money. That barely paid for what The City of Salem Charges us for the Stadium …. yea … they CHARGE us. By League rules … we also “HOST” the “Away” team. When they come here, OUR charities get the proceedes. When we travel … their charities get the funds. Give and Take …. that’s what it’s all about.

We have to put the away team up in a hotel and provide an after game meal (as other home teams do when we travel). You do the math ….

Your local Fire, Rescue and Police Officers are doing their part every day they report for duty. Here in Roanoke, we are going that “extra mile”. We are paying the price in more ways than one. We are fighting cancer and giving back. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Our next home gane is April 16, 2011 @ Salem Memorial Stadium against the Charlotte Cobras. The game is at 3pm .. I hope to see YOU there. You can bet that your local Fire, Rescue and Police Officers will be there to do their part!

Congratulations to the Roanoke Rampage on thier first win! Special thanks to oll of our wives and family who attended to work and help make the event a success (selling tickets, etc).

Here’s the local news coverage …

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 3, 2011 • Filed under: firefighter-safety-health, line-of-duty, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: Adam Childress, Billy Obenchain, cancer, Captain Wines, CTCL, Fire Officer Seminar, firefighter charities, Football for charity, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Line of Duty Deaths, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, Roanoke County Police Department, Roanoke Rampage, Roanoke Rampage Football, Steps4Billy.org, WDBJ 7 News, WDBJ7

Ironfiremen finds a new “hole” to climb into

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LMAO .. is that a BEAUTIFUL title or what?

I bet Dave Statter is wishing he never taught me about the importance of having a “catchy” title with your post. Yea… it’s all Statter’s fault. AGAIN! LOL

All kidding aside, I did find a new hole to crawl into today and I’ll get to that in just a moment.

First, let me remind you about the Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away we have here at Ironfiremen.com. Once again, you are correct. I said “give away” .. as in FREE. The X2 Boot is valued at over $300. You still have 11 days to enter and it’s EASY!

Click here for the complete RULES and how to ENTER

Ok, so today is my first day back to work in 15 days…Uggggggg. I traded a day off a few weeks ago so that I could make the Roanoke Rampage vs Chicago Fire Department Football game. Then, I had a “cycle” of vacation to attend FDIC … so it’s been a while since I’ve been in the house.

That said, you would have thought they would have taken it easy on me today. You know … break me back in gently.

NOPE! We were sitting on 7 runs and a HTR (Heavy Tactical Rescue) Drill before 1pm! GEESH!

The drill was a pretty good one though..today’s focus was “confined space”

The class was held at one of our local steel mills and proved to be an excellent location.

That big “tube” looking thing is part of the Arc Furnace Dust Control System.

Inside the tube, and down the slope to the right was a rescue manikin. The drill simulated a downed worker who had been inside conducting maintenance.

Our members had to enter the “Confined Space”. Locate the victim. Then access, package and remove him.

A good scenario with multiple aspects to deal with.

Here’s a shot from the inside looking out. Told ya a found a new hole to climb into.

This is the hole we had to crawl through (or fall through depending on you age and size) to get inside the tube.

Of course we are about 75′ off the ground with rope and air hoses hanging off us as well.

When inside the tube, everyone was “on air”. Instead of our everyday SCBAs (airpacks), that everyone is accustomed to seeing us wear; today we used a “supplied air system”. Which basically means that we had a lot of hose connected to us so we could breath rather than lugging a big bulky bottle around on our backs while in these types of “tight spots”. This type of system also allows us more air to breath than the above mentioned typical 30 minute bottle.

We also had to monitor the “air quality” at all times while operating inside the tube.

We had safety personnel positioned in key places throughout the excercise as well

Pictured here is Lt. Mark Brown.

Lt. Brown monitored the air at the entrance. He also helped members safely enter and exit the hole and tended our air lines.

Pictured here is Fire fighter / Medic Josh Compton.

Compton’s job was to keep everyone tethered and secure once they reached the platform.

Our HTR team is scattered throughout the City while our Rig and equipment is housed at station #6. The Brothers from Station #6 and Ladder #5 conducted the drill this morning and did an fantastic job.

Captain Scott Mutter had command of the incident so it ran like clock work! Thanks to Captain Mutter, his crew and the Brothers from Ladder 5 for some great training! Well done guys!

Ok, so it’s been busy busy and I still don’t have all my reports done! I gotta get on it. Before I go, I do have some good news to pass along…. THE RAMPAGE WON !!! WoooooHoooooo! Our first win in the League!

I had been getting reports as often as possible and believe the final score was 21-8 over the Carolina Commanders. The even better news is that there were no serious injuries today! Way to go guys … and that means BOTH teams! I’ll get a post up with pics and details as soon as I get em.

As always, thanks for following the site. Please take the time to become a “Fan” of Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen on Face Book as well as to “share” and “like” the post.

Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 2, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, special-operations, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Black Diamond, Black Diamond Boots, Black Diamond Footwear, Black Diamond X2 Boot, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Confined Space Rescue, Dave Statter, Heavy and Tactical Rescue, HTR training, Ironfiremen, Ironfiremen product review, Mark Brown, Rampage Football, Roanoke Rampage, Roanoke Rampage Football, SCBA, Scott Mutter, Special ops, Statter, Statter911, supplied air systems, training, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen, X2 Boot

Black Diamond X2 Boot give away entries

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The give away has been going GREAT!

It’s been really cool to get all these pictures and read the attached comments, stories etc.

If you haven’t heard about our give away yet, you still have time to enter!

Find all the details and how to enter here

I have created an album on my Face Book Fan Page so everyone can see who has entered.

Take the time to scroll through and see who you know. Better yet … send in your pic and we’ll add ya to the group!

I’m back on duty today and missing our 2nd Home game of the 2011 NPSFL season. Hopefully, Roanoke’s Bravest are “putting it on” The South Carolina Commanders right about now.

It’s been a busy shift thus far … I’ll try to update ya in a while.

Thanks again for following the site and to everyone who has taken the time to leave comments, send e-mails and / or enter the Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away. Good Luck to you all!

Stay Safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 2, 2011 • Filed under: news • Tagged: Black Diamond, Black Diamond Boots, Black Diamond Footwear, Black Diamond X2 Boot, Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away, Captain Wines, Face Book, IronFiremen.com, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, Willie Wines Jr, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen, X2 Boot

Charity Football

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ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!

You had better be …. The Roanoke Rampage will take the field for our 2nd home game of the 2011 season Tomorrow April 2, 2011 @ 3pm.

The Rampage will face The South Carolina Commanders at Salem Memorial Stadium in Salem, Va.

Most of you know by know that we play in The National Public Safety Football League. We are a non-profit league who plays 100% for charity.

Local Police, Firefighters and Paramedics playing full contact football! Yea … BING … BANG …. BOOM!

We will take the bumps and bruises but we also need your help. COME TO THE GAME ! We need the stands full tomorrow. South Carolina beat us last season in a close game so this year’s event should be a good one.

It doesn’t look I’m gonna get to make this one … I can’t get the day off and haven’t found anyone to work for me. The good news is that they dont need me anyway and I’ll be there in spirit.

Good luck and hopes for a safe game guys!

I’ll catch ya a bit later… until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 1, 2011 • Filed under: news, Uncategorized • Tagged: Captain Wines, female firefighters, football, Ironfiremen, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, Rampage Football, Roanoke Rampage, Salem, Salem Memorial Stadium, South Carolina Commanders, Steps4Billy.org, Va, Willie Wines Jr, Willie Wines Sr

Arrangements for IAFF Legend V. Bollon 1934-2011

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The IAFF has released the arrangements for Legendary leader Vincent J. Bollon.

I had the opportunity to meet Secretary / Treasurer Bollon on several occasions while traveling with IAFF Local 1132 and can assure you he WILL BE MISSED.

There is so much “behind the scenes” work that is done to keep our rights and jobs secure and I was fortunate enough to witness Brother Bollon working on our behalf.

VIEW THE COMPLETE ARRANGEMENT DETAILS HERE

Please keep Brother Bollon’s family (personal and Fire Service) in your thoughts and prayers as we absorb this great loss.

Thanks for all the hard work and effort Brother .. REST IN PEACE!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 1, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, line-of-duty, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: IAFF, IAFF death, IAFF L-1132, IAFF secretary / treasurer, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Local 1132, Professional Firefighters, Vincent J Bollon, Vinnie Bollon, Willie Wines Jr

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