2 Great events and a miracle in Roanoke

There are several GREAT events coming up and 2 of them will be here in Roanoke.

The 1st I want to remind you about is our 5th Annual Fire Officer Development Seminar to be held at the Roanoke Civic Center on September 20th and 21st.

This year the speaker will be Christopher J. Naum, SFPE. Chris has a long list of credentials which includes Chief of Training for the Command Institute in Washington DC. You may also know Chris from some very popular sites such as Command Safety, Buildings on Fire and The Company Officer .

This years topic will be  “Five Star Command; Redefining Fire Officer Training for Operational Safety & Excellence”. You DO NOT want to miss this event! Winchester to Bristol …. anywhere within 100 miles (or more)  needs to be here. I honestly don’t think that there is a firefighter or Department in Virginia that will not take something away from Chris’ lecture.

Rhett and I will also be on hand and helping with the event. That said, you know we’re going to end up somewhere drinking a few beers and talking over all the latest happenings in the Fire Service…. that alone is worth the trip..LOL.

Registration is still open and we have plenty of room so bring your entire company. The presentation is the same both days so you only need to attend 1 day. The classes last from 08:30-16:30 each day with lunch and “break” snack provided . We also have some great items to give away and raffle.

The 2nd event is FIRED UP FOR A CURE and Roanoke’s Bravest will be out in force to help extinguish Breast Cancer!

“The goal of this event is to prevent, educate and advocate about the importance of self breast exams, mammograms and also to remind citizens to practice their fire safety plans”. 

The event will also be held at the Civic Center on September 22, 2012 (the day after the Officer Development Seminar).

It’s a family oriented event with TONS of activities.

The day begins with a 5 & 10k run.

Even if you don’t participate in the run / walk, be sure to show up and cheer on those who do … you never know who see.

Yep … that’s Rhett ( Lt Rhett Fleitz of FireCritic.com) and his beautiful wife Becky after last year’s 5k.

Rhett and Becky ran as a couple last year. They finished 67 & 68th @ 32minutes and 27 seconds… VERY RESPECTABLE!

They are planning on running again this year.

You may also find …. The Roanoke Fire-EMS fire safety house and fire trucks, Free food, Roanoke police department displays, Live DJ, kids’ activities, raffles and door prizes, Breast cancer awareness displays and much more!

Visit Fired Up For A Cure’s Web Site or find them on Face Book

 Ok, there’s the events … here is the “miracle”…

That’s Roanoke City’s Engine 8 parked inside of Historic Fire Station #1.

Now, to many of you; this is no big deal but for those of us who were around for Station #1’s closing … it is.

You see, among all the “smoke and mirrors” a previous Chief used to “sell” shutting down the station there is one statement I haven’t forgotten.

That Chief gave the main reason for closing stations as that they could not accommodate “modern day fire equipment” … they wouldn’t fit. I guess he was thinking it was easier to build new stations rather than put a little extra thought into out truck specs.

After all, that is a 2012 Pierce Engine backed into the station (psssst … look past the gals fellas … there IS a fire truck behind them..LOL).  Read more on the closing of Fire Station #1 HERE .

LOL … so that’s the miracle and I couldn’t let the opportunity to share it pass by.

Ok, so today is the last of our cycle and Rhett is working for Randy.

I think Randy’s brain needed a little rest. Our Lieutenant, George Perdue has started working with him on driving / pumping. Those of you have follow the site regularly will know that our little “Rookie Randy” just made it off probation last month. Learning to drive and pump is just the beginning of what he now has to learn.

Read “And NOW, the hard part begins..” Click HERE

We’ve had a busy morning but this evening hasn’t been too bad.

Rhett seems a little excited due to the fact that he’s riding backwards. He actually thinks he may get on the nozzle tonight. What I haven’t explained to him is that I plan on stopping at the hydrant so he’ll be out doing the “Hydrant Wrench Shuffle” while I make the stretch …LMAO.

Here’s a shot of us posing with the newest addition to our Challenge Coin and patch collection.

They were sent to us by Brother  David Lee Pfeil Jr of the Fort Detrick, Forest Glen Fire and Emergency Services Station #54 in Maryland.

He is also IAFF Local F-151 

Both the coin and patch are AWESOME … THANKS Brother!

Send us your coin and you too can have it proudly displayed on Ironfiremen or FireCritic.com

Gonna wrap it up for tonight and try to get a little rest. The pace has kinda “pick up” around here … we just took in a bad one (EMS run) but I can’t give details yet. I will give a helmet tip to the Brothers and Sister from Medic #4 and RS1 … good job guys!

Ok, until I get back, stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines