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And now, the HARD part begins…

Yesterday, I was back to duty and my first order of the day (beyond PPE checks etc) was an extra detail of PAPER WORK!

I hate paper work but this was some I didn’t mind. Our favorite little “Rookie”, Rocket Randy Armbrister; from Max Meadows, Virginia is eligible to come off of probation.

Randy came ”in Company” back on July 10, 2011. See that post by clicking HERE .

Of course, it wasn’t long before I had to “pull the book” on him and get him back on the “straight and narrow” …. LMAO …see that post HERE .

It’s been a good year and I’ve been VERY pleased with Randy’s performance / progress.

He graduated with Honors from Recruit Class #14. A 16 week “Rookie School” where candidates receive State level training and certifications in classes such as Firefighter I & II, EMT-B, Haz-Mat Awareness, EVOC, MAYDAY, RIT and much, much more. It’s basically Firefighter “Boot Camp”.

Randy passed all requirements and graduated receiving the “Captain Chris Brown Character Award” It says a lot about how he handled himself during Recruit School.

As mentioned above, he was assigned to Engine Company #13-C on July 10, 2011 and most think that day (when the Rookies are assigned to company) is when you begin to “coast”….. NOT IN MY COMPANY!

For me, that’s when the recruits begin to learn the difference between “the book” and “the street”. This is the time where Captains and Lieutenants hone a young recruit into shape. It’s where and when they learn the “common sense” of firefighting. There are just so many “tricks” and “techniques” that we’ve learned over the years that just aren’t in the books…. this is our time to pass em on.

Plus, every Company / Department is different. We all have different response areas, different types of building construction, we need different hose loads, different strategies / tactics etc. This is the time that a Firefighter earns his stripes …. it’s when and where they learn to fight fire and become firefighters.

It was no different for Randy.

His first day was all about his SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus). If he didn’t know it inside and out … if he couldn’t operate with it on … if he couldn’t make a bottle last past the front door …. if he couldn’t recognize and correct a potential problem then he would be useless to me, the company and the Battalion.

That day, he did all his station duties wearing his SCBA.

He cleaned and swept. He mopped the floors and even mowed the grass while wearing his SCBA.

I posted about it HERE and took a lot of grief over it.

TRUST ME … I had his best interest in mind. I was not “busting balls” or picking on him. I needed to make sure he was comfortable in his SCBA. I needed to know that he could work in a stressful situation and remember to control his breathing …. trust me AGAIN … HE WAS STRESSED.

Much to my surprise (at the time), Randy did VERY well. I was impressed.

we moved on to Calling the MAYDAY …. Self Rescue … Searching …. Stretching the Line …. Fire Attack … Hydrant work etc.

In the past year, we’ve covered it all and in DETAIL.

I hope Randy has realized how lucky he has been to have had a Senior Firefighter like Todd “Boots” Harris and a Lieutenant like George Perdue to “show him the ropes”.

I think he knows and I’m sure he’s learned a thing or two along the way over the past year. As a Captain, it’s been exciting to watch …. a huge source of PRIDE in knowing that we are passing along something that we LOVE to do.

Again I’ll say that Randy has done VERY well. It’s obvious that this is the job he wants and he’s willing to work for it.

With all that, and a full year behind us; it was time for me to make a decision. Time for me to put MY name on the line.

Time for me to write a letter … one way or the other.

That picture to the left is the letter I wrote. Click on it and enlarge it so you can read it …. I think it’s pretty much self explanitory.

HE MADE IT!

I’m PROUD of Randy!

I’m PROUD of our Training Division, of my Company and of our Department for setting our standards so high. Randy will make a good fireman.

I hope that one day he will remember everything those who have contributed to his development gave … I’m sure he will … it’s in his character. More than that, I hope that one day, he too will pass along all that he’s learned to another young recruit. He should never quit learning.

Here’s the thing …. I’ve submitted the letter. If the Chief accepts it and signs off, the easy part is done …. NOW is when the HARD PART begins.

It’s EASY to get this far …. hundreds if not thousands of members get this far. The “hard” part is “keeping fire in your life”…. staying “Battle Ready”.

Keeping the desire to learn. To train, to stay healthy, physically fit and in the shape to do the job required of you. To keep motivated. To keep the discipline to push yourself to the “next level”. To maintain a positive attitude.

My good friend and Brother Firefighter Zach Green of MN8-FoxFire once gave me a gift. It was a framed quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson and it says ” Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path & leave a trail”

That’s a pretty awesome quote and I think it fits perfectly. Our “Rookies” are the next generation firefighters. We have to give and show them what we know and have learned then hope they carry on the tradition…. I’m excited to see where they take us!

Congratulations to Randy Armbrister and all the other members of Recruit Class #14 who have made it off probation … make us PROUD Brothers!

Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on July 14, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, news, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: brotherhood, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Fire Critic, firefighter pics, firefighter training, firefighters, IAFF, letters of recommendation, Probationary Firefighters, Randy Armbrister, Recruit Class 14, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke Fire/EMS, Rookie School, SCBA, Scott Air Packs, Scott AP50, Statter 911, Todd Harris, training, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen, Zach Green

Dirty old Firehouses …

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We were asked to help on a special assignment today. Our Battalion called and asked us to assist with some station cleaning. The kicker was that it wasn’t our station …. it’s actually not an operating fire station at all.

It was our now closed “historic” Station #1.

Built in 1907, it lasted 100 years before being being shut down in 2007. It was closed along with Station #3 and the two consolidated into our new headquarters Station #1 (aka… “The Big Show”).

The closings became a huge battle between our members and administration. A lot of our Department’s history came from within those walls. It was a house full of TRADITION, PRIDE, HONOR, RESPECT and BROTHERHOOD. It the house my dad retired from. It was a bitter fight and there are plenty of mixed emotions that linger still today. For many, the closing of those doors signaled the end of an era for the Roanoke Fire Department.

Learn more about Roanoke’s Historic Station #1 HERE and HERE

They wouldn’t allow us (the members .. IAFF Local-1132) to have it. Promises were made and not kept. They do allow us to park our antique fire truck there and the Department houses a couple reserve pieces there as well. They’ve allowed the Police Department to occupy an office up stairs and even put two horse stalls (for the mounted patrol) down in the bay. The mounted patrol has since been disbanded (but the stalls remain). They also allow city workers access into the station to eat, use the restroom, hide, nap or who knows what. That’s part of the problem. With no history or ties to the building, they don’t even bother to clean up behind themselves.

Anyway, we met Battalion Chief Adkins and the members from Station #2 down there to do a bit of house keeping today. It looked BAD but the guys made quick work of it.

Upstairs was swept and mopped. The bays were washed out. All the trash collected and taken out and we even polished the brass.

It looked 100 times better after about 2 hours of work but could have stood much more. I’m glad none of our retired members seen it in the shape we found it…. it would have been embarrassing.

There were a lot of young members on the detail today. Young as in they weren’t even here when the station was open or never had the honor and privilege of running out of it. I think it was a good experience for them.

They got to hear some of us older guys telling stories from her “glory days”. They got to see and hear first hand some of the history and tradition of their Department.

Randy got to polish his first brass pole. There aren’t many members left in our Department who can say they polished brass at station #1.

Another “newer member”, Ronnie Mitchel ( from #2-C ) got to sweep and mop the front stair case. A wooden, spiral staircase. I could picture in my mind now retired member Jimmy Jennings doing it. It was one of Jimmy’s “pet peeves” and he took a lot of pride in assuring those steps were spotless.

The station has 2 spiral staircases leading upstairs. Older houses had spiral stairs to keep the horses from finding their way upstairs in the event they got loose.

Grooved floors from the days of horses. Wooden floors and lockers (with brass knobs) in an open bunk room. Deep sky lights. Stamped tin ceilings….. she was a sight to see.

Thanks to Chief Adkins for seeing the need and getting it done. Thanks as well to my boys, Captain Graham and the members of Station #2-C for a job well done!

So, we also had a visitor today. A ride-a-long.

Michael Whiteaker from Bristol, Tn. made his way up for a visit and ride.

Michael’s dad is a retired Deputy Chief ( with 33 years of service) with the Bristol (Tennessee) Fire Department. Michael plans to follow in his father’s footsteps and is thinking of applying here to do so. He scored well in Bristol’s process but is currently working in their Police Department. Yea … I let a cop do a ride along but not before I explained to him that with a little extra effort and a few more points on the test … he could have been a fireman. LOL.

Learn more about the Bristol, Tennessee Fire Department HERE

All kidding aside, Michael scored 2nd in Bristol and seems like a great guy. We took him out to our regional training center and introduced him to the training chiefs of all 3 jurisdictions ( Roanoke City, Roanoke County and the City of Salem). He went with us to Station #1 and even caught a few runs (nothing to write home about). I hope he enjoyed the visit as much as we enjoyed having him.

Moving on, we are still getting ready for FDIC. It’s just around the corner and will be here before you know it. Once again, Rhett and I will be there with Zach Green and the MN8-FoxFire Team. We will be attending the Fools Bash, The IAFF party, the NFFF Stop, Drop and Rock and Roll event, the Fire/EMS Blog Meet Up and many more events. We want to meet YOU while we’re there. The easiest way to catch up with us is to come to the booth.

Meet us at FDIC 2012 in the MN8-FoxFire Booth #3026

Speaking of Rhett …. he’s in Aruba without his computer and his phone turned off. Of course he did manage to post a single pic on Face Book to rub it in.

I say “rub it in” because once again, he is traveling without me. Yea…. he left me here to take care of everything else while he’s laying on some far off exotic beach. I’ve been worried sick!

So many things could happen on a trip like this….

He can’t even swim! Good thing I packed his water wings.

He made 100 excuses for why I couldn’t go.

He even said that he didn’t think I’d “fit in” over there …. you know … wearing my fire boots around all the time and such.

Can you believe that?? ME … NOT fitting in somewhere?

He didn’t care that I was willing to leave my regular footwear behind for something a little me fitting of a beach environment. When I showed him my new boots, he laughed… HE LAUGHED!

Well, despite this leather exterior … deep down … I do have feelings and I don’t mind telling you that they’re hurt.

LMAO … you folks stay SAFE and in House! I’ll be back on Saturday.

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on April 5, 2012 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: brass fire poles, Bristol Fire Department, Bristol Tennessee, brotherhood, Captain Willie Wines Jr, FDIC, FDIC 2012, Fire Critic, fire poles, firefighter pics, firefighters, Fools Bash, Historic Fire Stations, historic land marks, Ironfiremen, MN8 FoxFire, MN8 products, NFFF, Roanoke's Historic Fire Station #1, Rookie Firefighter Randy Armbrister, Station 1, Todd Harris, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen, Zach Green

I’m alive! Half naked cowboys, firefighters down, head shaving and a lot more “catching up”

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Despite what The Fire Critic (Rhett Fleitz) says, the stress was NOT more than I could bare.

Read his post ” Apparently it was more than Willie could bear“

There was a ton of “talk” going around the valley after my postings on the state of Botetourt County’s Emergency Services.

( Revisit those posts by clicking HERE )

A lot of that “talk” surrounded the rumors of the Buchanan VFD Chief Billy Joe Carter hunting me down for a fight. Apparently, that’s all it was … “rumor”. I spoke with Billy Joe personally over the phone. He wanted me to know that he was NOT hunting me down and wanted to share some of “his side” of the story. I told him that I thought I had heard “his side” from the TV and newspaper interviews but he wanted to go into more detail etc. He also stated that the e-mails I copied in the bottom of that last post were NOT from him.

Anyway, Rhett was partially right in his post. It was NOT more than I could bare and I have NOT been in hiding. BUT …..

The Buckaroo is ALWAYS on guard !

LMAO …. this is how the little fella greeted me a few days back when I got home from the firehouse. Is he ready or what? I reckon it’s a good thing Carter didn’t come a looking.

If you haven’t read it or hit the link above, here’s a quick quote from Rhett’s post….

“Word is that the Buckaroo is on a 24 hour watch…sitting in a rocking chair on his front porch with a red tipped pistol, his knife (with zip securing it), some bug juice, and a tonka truck. Rest assured that the Buckaroo has things under control.”

So everyone can rest assured … I am very well protected, alive and kicking.

The Buckaroo was down for a few days with the flu and we have been VERY busy on the farm. We have been sorting and hauling cattle or delivering hay from sun up to way past sun down. We even baled hay a day this week. Seriously … we BALED HAY this past Wednesday! By the time we got back to the house, grabbed a bite to eat and got our baths, it was straight to bed vs trying to publish a post.

I’m back on duty today (starting a Fri, Sun, Tue cycle) and have a ton of catching up to do so I’ll see what I can fit in and keep your attention.

I finally put my new helmet into service today!

I received my new Phenix Leather helmet back in January but needed to have it blessed and outfitted with a new front before putting her into service.

Read about me getting my new Phenix HERE

Our Department Chaplain Father Sandy Webb came out on Feb. 11th and Blessed it for me. I have a tradition of having my helmets Blessed and must admit that this one has meant more to me than any of the others.

It was apparent that Father Webb was honored to have been asked this favor. He was very prepared and moved me to tears with his prayer. I elected to do the blessing in private and not share the experience with the entire company. That was just my personal preference but it’s also an experience I would recommend to any of you.

Read about having my helmet Blessed by clicking HERE

I LOVE my new helmet. It’s a lot lighter than the New Yorkers I’m used to wearing. I have it out fitted with a MN8-FoxFire illuminating Helmet Band and Tetrahedrons. She’s capped off with a custom shield from BOX ALARM LEATHER ! If you haven’t checked these guys out yet … YOU SHOULD.

So I broke her in right too.

We started the day off by heading out to Troutville for some great hands on RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) training.

The Troutville VFD has a GREAT facility for RIT training!

It’s an old school building that has been converted into class rooms and multiple “mock ups” for MAYDAY and RIT situations.

We are able to run multiple companies through multiple scenarios simultaneously.

Talking about these situations in a classroom setting is one thing but getting “hands on” for actual experience is invaluable.

Something seemingly as simple as moving someone “down” up a set is much more difficult when it’s a firefighter.

They are wearing an air pack, turnout gear, helmet etc.

We have several “techniques” to help us overcome these obstacles but it’s takes continuous training, progressive thinking and modifications to keep us in the condition we would need to be if the situation ever arose.

Getting a firefighter out from the 2nd story is another scenario we trained on.

It’s not always possible to go out the same way you came in.

Often times, the interior means of egress may become cut off or blocked by debris in these types of incidents.

Here, we practiced taking a downed firefighter out of the 2nd floor window using the SCBA as a harness.

We used search techniques to follow hose lines to downed firefighters.

We were able to deploy some not often used search rope and techniques.

We practiced techniques for removing members from basement areas where there was no stair access and got got lots of time and “hands on” with our RIT bags (carried only on our Ladders at this time).

Another really cool thing about this morning’s training was the fact that Father Webb was not only in attendance, HE PARTICIPATED. Yea … Father Webb joined us for RIT training … turnout gear, SCBA and all. He was even assigned to my crew! Here’s what a local reporter thought of the training ….

So, moving on; I’m headed down to Surry County North Carolina tomorrow to attend the 1st Brotherhood Cuts event. These guys are trying to raise money through the National Firefighters Endowment to purchase some much needed Bail Out Kits !

Rhett posted on the event HERE

It’s a GREAT cause and hopefully you’ll see many more pop up across the Country as the Firefighters Endowment continues to support needy firefighters and their Departments. Never heard of the National Firefighters Endowment?? Don’t know what they do??? Here’s a quote from their “about” page …

“National Firefighters Endowment is a non-profit, public charity with a driving passion to protect the lives of our firefighters. We believe that small actions can have life altering results and that the right equipment in the hands of our heroes can literally be the difference between life and death.”

Visit and learn more about the National Firefighters Endowment by clicking HERE

It’s Friday night and we’ve had a long tour. I’m going to stop here for now but will be back on Sunday …

Until then, stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on March 10, 2012 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, funding-staffing, news, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: brotherhood, Brotherhood Cuts, Buchanan Vol. Fire Chief Billy Joe Carter, Buckaroo, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Fire Critic, firefighter equipment, firefighter pics, Firefighter safety, firefighter training, firefighters, firefighting video, Ironfiremen, leather helmets, Lt. Rhett Fleitz, National Firefighters Endowment, Phenix Helmets, Randy Armbrister, Rapid Intervention, Rhett Fleitz, RIT, RIT Training, rookie firefighters, Todd Harris, Troutville VFD, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen, WSLS News

A “feel good” story… this is the coverage Fire/EMS wants… Autism awareness

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This is the kind of coverage we need . Positive results for unknown situations. Children with Autism. How do we handle rescues? Here’s a father / firefighter on the NBC Today Show telling and showing us how … take a minute, watch the clip and dig deeper… the next child could be in your 1st due!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Posted by Iron Firemen on March 1, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, ems-health-safety, ems-topics, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, news, patient-management, rescues, special-operations, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Autism, brotherhood, Buckaroo, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, daily news, Fire Critic, firefighter pics, firefighter video, firefighters, hot topics, house fire, IronFiremen.com, Lt. Rhett Fleitz, MSNBC, NBC, Special rescues, The Today Show, Today Show, Wooden ladders and Iron Firemen

A HUGE “LET DOWN”

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Things around the Ironfiremen.com World Headquarters have been a little hectic to say the least here lately. I’ve had a full schedule and have been doing my best to try to stay “caught up”…. I haven’t been doing too good of a job.

Our latest adventure found me and Rhett smack dab in the middle of The Big Apple … oh yea .. New York City BABY!!

We met up with Zach Green inside the City for a few days before heading South to Jersey and teaching Rhett’s Social Media Class.

Reads Rhett’s thoughts on our trip HERE and Zach’s 2 part installment HERE and HERE .

It was a very emotional but successful trip for each of us. Rhett and I have had an unbelievable year and it looks like things are only getting better. We have some big things coming up and can’t wait to share them with you … stay tuned.

Rhett is holding one of our “Brotherhood Chips” in the above picture…. They have been a HUGE success. Special THANKS to The Chip Site for the great design and quality work.

Get you Fire Critic / Iron Firemen “Brotherhood Chip” by clicking HERE .

I’ve also been busy here on the farm.

This is my busy time of year so the Buckaroo and I have been doing our best to sort all the cattle and finish up in the hay fields.

Of course, we have all of our “regular” chores to attend to as well …. mowing the lawn etc …

The good news is that The Buckaroo is a Top Hand here at the Rocking “W” Hay and Cattle Company .

LMAO … my 3 best workers in one photo …

If you ever meet me in person, ask me to empty my right front pocket …LOL. I have about 10 different keys in there….

His 4-wheeler, the tractors, mowers etc …. I have to take the keys out of every piece of equipment on the place or there’s no telling where he’d be.

That said, if you happen to pass a 3 year old and 2 dalmatians on a 4-wheeler, tractor, mower or 5500 Dodge flat bed, please tell him to get back home … his “Paw-Paw” is looking for him ! LMAO

Ok, to my title … A Huge “Let Down”. Because I’ve been so busy, I recently dropped the ball in helping out a couple good friends and Brother blogger / firefighters. I let them down.

Bill Carey over at Backstep Firefighter had asked me a very small favor a few weeks back. Bill runs a GREAT site that should be in your “favorites” and is a “MUST READ” for anyone “on the job”.

Bill and Dave LaBlanc had asked for readers to submit articles concerning running “short staffed” or with 3 (and even sometimes less) members. Bill is a good friend and knows that my company / Department typically runs with 3 and asked me to submit an article.

All of this was a “lead in” to Bill and Dave’s live pod cast over on Firefighter Netcast ( A View From The Front Seat ). I let em down and did not get an article in. Rhett and I were able to catch part of the live show while in NYC … they did a GREAT job !

Learn more at Backstep Firefighter’s ”Real World Staffing” by clicking HERE

Bill and Dave brought many valid points to light on a topic that affects many of us on a daily basis. Not just firefighters either … a short staffed Department / rig affects our citizens as well. We can NOT do our job as safe or efficiently while short staffed as we can when running with a minimum of 4. Running short places our lives and YOURS at risk!

See a “Melrose Misfit” post of mine on this issue HERE

There are 7 Tactical Functions that have to be completed on EVERY fire … running short directly affects how (and in what order) we accomplish / achieve these objectives.

Take a Department such as mine … 3 members on each piece ( Engine and Ladders) … 2 on a Medic. Take a typical 2 story, wood frame residential structure with fire showing from the 2nd floor, Alpha / Delta corner at 2am.

My rig carries 1,000 gallons of water so I go in … pull past and give my size up. I exit the truck and conduct a 360 while my lone firefighter stretches dry to the front door. My Lieutenant ( our Driver / operators ) assists the stretch from the rig and gets the pump set.

The 2nd in piece is the 2nd Engine. They stop at the hydrant, drop off their lone firefighter and lay in. The Officer establishes Command while the driver helps make the hydrant connection into my Engine.

Let’s say the next in is a Medic Unit. More often than not, we will assign these members as “2 Out” … NOW, my crew (me and my firefighter) can make entry. Of course, the only way this scenario works is IF there are no injured civilians in the yard upon arrival … otherwise, the Medic Unit would have Medical duties vs. their “2-out” assignment. You also have to consider that the members on that Medic Unit need to “dress out” when assigned “2-out” (another delay).

The next arriving is a 3 member Ladder. We’ll take forcible entry out of the equation ( I most likely did it from the Engine if needed / possible) and go to their main objective .. LIFE SAFETY. They will go right into a Primary Search. Here’s the thing there though … most likely, the Officer and firefighter will split and conduct their searches ALONE. The driver will set the rig, get the fan to the front door and throw some ground ladders for secondary egress ( again … ALONE ).

A 3rd engine arrives and will be assigned as RIC ( The “2-out” crew can now advance and act as the “stair” or “Back up” line).

A 2nd Medic Unit arrives and is assigned “Medical”.

The Chief gets in and assumes Command but holds the officer who established command to assist.

That’s a total of 17 members on scene … 2 members on the fire, 2 searching, 2 on a back up line and NO VERTICAL VENTILATION ( we use PPV). Every member on that scene is working their butt off!

There are a lot of other functions / decisions made in this scenario that place us (and our citizens) at risk. We are FORCED to take a 1 3/4″ hose line and stretch it dry. Ever tried to stretch and handle a 2 1/2″ alone?? To the 2nd floor of an occupied structure? How effective was that?

Does the first in go to the fire or attempt a search? Maybe both? ( so the crew is separated again ). A single firefighter fire attack crew? Train to work in pairs but operate alone right?

What will that firefighter(s) do once he / they get to the fire? Do you put it out or wait on the searches behind you? Ever heard of “Door Control”??

Maybe the first in should go straight to the search?? Who’s on the fire? How long will it be before someone gets on it? What’s killing the trapped occupants … smoke, heat etc??? Hummmmm WHAT DO WE DO?

My point here is that when we run with less than 4 members on a rig, we are faced with some very difficult decisions. Which of those 7 tactical functions would you perform first? Would you have waited for “2-out”?? Our members are doing “more with less” on a daily basis and it’s one big crap shoot!

Our strategies and tactics must change and adapt to the environments in which we are placed. I’m not so sure that our training methods and text books shouldn’t be changed as well. I mean we may as well be teaching single firefighter techniques right? Why teach and drill into a rookies head the “team concept” when in reality, they are gonna end up on the nozzle or searching alone? How about this … let’s put our Department, City and State Official’s feet to the fire ( no pun intended ) and honor NFPA 1710 and 1500 and get America’s staffing up to acceptable levels!

I could go on and on and on but I’ll spare you. Bill and Dave … sorry I let ya down Brothers … I would have LOVED to have gotten a post in for ya and to have thrown it back and forth on the netcast.

For all of you Brothers and Sisters out there running short … Stay SAFE and hopefully ..in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on November 3, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, funding-staffing, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Backstep Firefighter, Bill Carey, Brotherhood Chips, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Dave LeBlanc, Fire Critic, firefighters, Fox Fire, house fire, Ironfiremen, Lt. Rhett Fleitz, minimum staffing, MN8 products, NFPA 1500, NFPA 1710, NYC, staffing, The Big Apple, The Chip Site, Zach Green

LOL … Ahhhh the places I could go!

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LMAO …. I have SO much content and “directions” I could go in for a great post. Of course, my regular readers know that the one thing that I don’t tolerate is “fretting” so I guess I’ll shoot it to ya straight.

It’s been a busy summer for me but for some reason, these last few weeks have really taken their toll. I’m not sure if Im just getting old or if all my work, travel and “running around” has just finally caught up with me. Either way, I’m whooped!

It doesn’t help that Im riding as the “acting” Battalion this cycle. It seems like every time I ride the car, “something” happens so I’ve just been sitting back waiting for whatever it’s gonna be this time.

See previous post … “Buckle Up”

We’re working Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this cycle (24 hour shifts). My first day had me starting out in a “Harassment in the workplace” class. A half day in a class room with 2 lawyers … WoooooHooooo! The remainder of the shift wasn’t too bad. No real big excitment. Several runs including a kitchen fire but nothing major. Wednesday, the Buckaroo and I had a busy day on the farm. Of course it rained all day so we were soaked and freezing by the time we got back to the house. Good thing for me is that I would be able to unwind later that evening.

Good friend and Brother fireman Captain Joe Lyons from the Westfield Fire Department in Indiana had contacted me about a trip he’d be making to our valley. Captain Joe, Senior Firefighter Chad Everitt and KME rep. Mike Smith arrived around 6pm Wednesday evening.

We wanted to make sure the guys were taken care of so Rhett (The Fire Critic), Todd “Boots” Harris and I met em at the hotel around 6:45. We ended up next door at a local Mexican Restaraunt for sizzling hot fajitas and cold beers.

It was a good dinner! We hit it off right from the start. Captain Joe was waiting outside the hotel when I arrived. I came disguised in my daughters little sports car type vehicle. As I got out and headed to the front door, the Captain came to greet me. Hummmm … how’d he know it was me?? LOL. I guess the bunker boots, mustache and cowboy hat were a bit of a clue.

These guys are good firemen. We were a good fit. It was like we had known each other for years. It’s funny how that works out amoung brothers. I’ve had the honor to meet folks from all across the Country and beyond yet we all seem to share the same experiences. It doesn’t where you’re from when you’re “on the job”…. we all “relate” . It’s the same story with different names from one state to the next.

The Capt. and Chad ( aka “Trucker” ) work for the Westfield Fire Department. Mike Smith is the President of Donley Safety , their local KME distributor. Westfield has a new KME ladder on order but is also working on a new “prop” for their training facility. The guys needed a fly section from an aerial for a paripit wall / roof mock up and Mike had the connections. KME’s ladders are built here in Roanoke so the guys hooked up the trailer and hit the road. West Virginia proved to be an interesting leg of their journey as they were able to stop and chat with one of their State Police officers (LOL). After meeting us, they probily thought they were STILL in West Va!

Anyway, yesterday; I got my Battalion paperwork duties cleared early and escourted the guys over to the KME facility at 07:30am. Afterwards, they would head out for home. I hope they enjoyed the trip … I know for us, it was an honor to meet and share a few stories, beers and a meal with our brothers from Indiana. Let us know the next time you guys head our way!

After getting the guys over to KME, I headed out to our 4th Annual Officer’s Seminar.

This years presenter was Retired Deputy Chief James P. Smith of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Chief Smith is a GREAT speaker who presented “Strategic and Tactical Considerations on the Fireground” .

Chief Smith has a book by the same title … find that book by clicking HERE . To see more topics offered by Chief Smith, click HERE .

It was refreshing to here someone with Chief Smith’s experience and education speak. The Chief could talk “fireman” because he is one! He worked through the ranks … he’s “been there, done and seen that”. He was even there for the One Meridian Plaza Fire back in February 1991.

Fire Service leader, good friend and Brother Chris Naum remembers the One Meridian Plaza Fire over on Command Safety.com HERE

The turn out for our Seminar was good but could and should have been so much better.

We lost 3 Brothers in the One Meridian Plaza Fire. Due to the PRV (pressure reducing valve) limiting water to the upper floors, the members were forced to hand jack 5″ hose to the 28th floor! Not just once … they made 3 stretches of 5″ ! Multple alarm fires (as in 4th alarm and higher) seemed to be “normal” for Chief Smith. He’s even taken in multiple refinary fires! How could you not learn something from a man with this kind of experience?

The seminar’s attendance was well rounded. We had members from The City, Roanoke County, Salem and several surrounding combonation or volunteer Departments. I hope we were able to “break even” on expenses so that a 5th Annual can be scheduled.

Obviously, these events come with a cost. In an effort to offset these cost, we do several things … raffles, 50/50 etc. I think the biggest “hit” is the helmet raffles.

Captain Billy Scearce from the Danville Fire Department put a custom paint job on two fire helmets.

These helmets turned out AWESOME !

See previous custom painted helmets from Captain Billy Scearce HERE .

Special THANKS to Captain Billy Scearce for a FANTASTIC job! Find Billy on Face Book .

I had to remain “in service” so I was in and out of the seminar to take in a few runs.

Nothing big until Captain Martin of City Engine #3-C advised dispatch to notify the Battalion that he was on scene of a mutual-aid “working fire” with our brothers from Roanoke County.

I switched over to the County tac channel just in time to hear command request a 2nd Alarm. I responded in.

By the time I got there ( less than 4 minutes) , companies were already taking up. WTF ?? I thought he pulled a 2nd??

Well, as it turns out; the IC (Incident Commander) struck the 2nd due to the occupancy. This location is a nursing / assisted living facility. Apparently, they had decent smoke showing upon arrival.

The 1st arriving members (County #5 and City #3) along with the sprinkler system were able to knock the fire down rather quickly.

It was a good call. We all know and had just heard from Chief Smith how it’s better to have companies rolling and not need them than to need them and not have them rolling.

My biggest shock was having that many members on scene of a fire under control and a Deputy Chief having to load hose! Yea… a County Deputy LOADING HOSE … on a City rig no doubt! LMAO.

Good job by all members on scene !

After the seminar, I had a pretty busy day. Sleeping in a strange bed in the busiest house in the City …. NOT MUCH REST.

The Brothers from County Station #1 must have known I’ve been having a busy month and invited me out for breakfast before they headed out to the 2nd day of our Seminar (same lecture in 2 days to allow for work schedules etc).

My wife dropped the Buckaroo off at the Station this morning and we headed out to meet Captain Witt and the crew.

BROTHERHOOD ! These guys “get it” .. A GREAT COMPANY !

Thanks to Captain Witt and the boys for the invite … we enjoyed it.

Tomorrow, will be just as busy.

I’ll begin the day with an airport disaster drill. Afterwards, I’ll head over to our “Fired Up for a Cure” event to benifit breast cancer.

There will be all kinds of activities on site.

Kid events .. Fire, EMS and Police demos, free ice skating, music, 5 and 10k runs, free food and much much more.

Check out Va Fire News for more details by clicking HERE .

I’ll even be wearing a PINK shirt ..

Check in tomorrow night for pics and details.

Until then, STay Safe and in House ….

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on September 23, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, in-the-line-of-duty, major-incidents, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: 1991 LODD, 2nd alarm fire, 4th annual officers seminar, 5 inch hose, 9/11, 9/11 memorials, Bedford County Fire and Rescue, Bedford County Fire Chief Jack Jones, Billy Scearce, breast cancer, brotherhood, building fires, Captain Billy Scearce, Captain Brian Witt, Captain Wines, Chief Dustin Campbell, Chief Jack Jones, Chief James P Smith, Chief Marci Stone, Chris Naum, Command Safety.com, custom paint jobs, custom painted helmets, Danville Fire Department, Donley Safety, fatal highrise fires, Fire Critic, fire department training props, Fired Up for a Cure, Firefighter LODD, firefighter photos, firefighter pics, firefighternetcast, highrise fire, IronFiremen.com, Joe Lyons, KME, KME Fire Apparatus, Marci Stone, Mike Smith, mutual aid fires, Officer's Seminar, One Meridian Plaza, One Meridian Plaza Fire, Philadelphia Fire Department, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke County Fire / Rescue, strategic and tactical considerations on the fireground, training props, Va Fire News, Westfield Fire Department, Westfield Ind, Willie Wines Jr

Buckle up!

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I really haven’t checked in with a “full” post since our 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in Greenbelt, Md back on the 11th. I received a TON of e-mails, text messages and comments on the site from that post ( I Cried ) … THANKS!

I was hesitant to hit the “publish” button on that post. I had so much I wanted to say and share that I thought it came off as “rambling” and maybe even kinda “cheesy”. Those of you who follow me regularly know that YES .. I do get emotional because I am passionate about the job. Sometimes, it’s difficult for me to control those emotions. The bad thing is that I type like I talk (and think ) and always say whats on my mind. Sometimes ( in my postings ) it comes across ok … other times not so much.

The message I was trying to deliver was how honored and proud I was to have participated in this climb. It was the 3rd climb this year for Rhett ( Fire Critic ) and I and, our 2nd with Kevin Totten and Tommy Warshaw. I got to climb with my dad who is retired from the job with right at 30 yrs while Rhett climbed with his 8 yr old son!

More than telling our story, I wanted to inspire you to experience your own.

I’m sure these climbs will hold a different meaning for each climber while Im just as sure that you’ll have to climb to find it. Other than climbing on the rigs everyday and performing our duties with PROFESSIONALISM, PRIDE and HONOR I can’t think of a better way to honor the 343 FDNY fallen.

I had mentioned in my post how we were planning to climb in Richmond before Chief Bashoor invited us to Greenbelt. What I failed to mention was that 4 of our brothers from Roanoke did attend the Richmond climb! You guys may remember a past Lieutenant of mine from back in the Melrose Misfit days … Rob “Bugg” Reid. If not, CLICK HERE for a great post and the chance to meet “Bugg”. He had wanted to organize a climb here in “The Noke” but couldn’t get the details worked out with the “powers to be”. They represented us well and even climbed with their SCBA ! THANKS …. CONGRATULATIONS and WELL DONE men!

So, obviously, Im back to work. Laast cycle was a mess due to my being off for the climb, Boots being on vacation and Georgie off sick. Little Randy stayed at Lucky #13 one day but would ship out to ride the Medic on the last day of the cycle.

He ran out of Station #5 and had a pretty busy tour.

He continues to see and hear things that aren’t an everyday occurance down in Max Meadows, Va.

He was almost involved in a fist fight and bitten. Yea …. BITTEN (he said she was tougher than she looked..LOL)

We also managed to squeeze in a little SWR (Swift Water Rescue) training …. just wait till little Miss Dana sees him in his new vest and fancy hat!

So, we took a 4-day break and returned to duty this morning. It’s gonna be a long cycle! Once again, I’m riding as the “North Side” Battalion Chief. For some reason, whenever I ride “the car”; we’re busy. This cycle has already started out that way!

Last time I rode the Battalion … see 1st arriving pics and post from a 2nd alarm fire

I rolled into the Chief’s Office this morning with a full schedule. Every Captain and 1st Lieutenant on the shift had manditory “Harassment in the work place” training …. WooooooHooooo !!

We also had “night training” scheduled for Station #5 at our Regional Training center beginning at 19:00 (7pm).

Take the busiest company in the Battalion out of service for a while and “something” is bound to happen..right?

The call went out as a stove on fire.

Boots got Georgie and Randy in first for a quick save.

This one could have turned bad QUICKLY.

There’s also a quick and simple PSA from this incident … NEVER leave pots / pans unattended while cooking.

A 2nd PSA is to install smoke detectors and assure they have working batteries. The detectors in this house alerted the two occupants and allowed them to exit the home safely before our arrival.

The night is young yet and I sure hope things quiet down a bit. I have a busy day on the farm tomorrow and the next two days here is looking full as well. Tomorrow evening, Rhett and I will get to meet another reader / follower of our sites. Captain Joe Lyons from the Westfield Fire Department in Indiana will be stopping in town. Rhett and I will give him the nickel tour of our city, make sure he gets a good meal and share a few stories over a cold adult beverage. I believe the Capt will be in town to visit our local ladder truck manufactoring company.

On Thursday, when I return to duty; we will be holding our 4th Annual Officer’s Seminar. This year, our featured speaker will be Retired Deputy Chief James P. Smith from the Philadelphia Fire Department !

This is a GREAT OPPURTUNITY for our area firefighters.

The Chief’s topic will be “Strategic and Tactical Considerations on the Fireground” This is one of many topics that Chief Smith lectures on across the Country.

Click HERE for more topics offerd by Chief James P. Smith

Click HERE for Chief Smith’s 2nd edition book “Strategic and Tactical Considerations on the Fireground”

This will be a 2 day seminar (same presentation, Thursday and Friday 08:30-16:30) and there may still be space available. If interested, contact one of the Chiefs listed on the registration form above / left.

Saturday will be the last day of our cycle but another full one as well. I have an Airport Mass Casulity Drill scheduled in the morning and our “Fired Up For A Cure” event that evening.

Not only will I be there, I’ll be wearing a pink shirt. YEA … a PINK shirt!

I’ll post more on the shirt deal tomorrow or next day.

In the meantime, Rhett has more details on the event over on Va Fire News … CLICK HERE .

Like I said … it’s gonna be a wild cycle … you’d better BUCKLE UP!

I’ll check back in as soon as possible. Until then, Stay Safe and In House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on September 21, 2011 • Filed under: fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: 2nd alarm fire, 343, 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Greenbelt, 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Richmond Va, Backstep Firefighter, Bill Carey, building fire, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Chief Bashoor, Chief James P Smith, FDNY, fire department night training, Fire Department training, Fired Up for a Cure, firefighters, firefighting books, Greenbelt Md, Joe Lyons, Kevin Tottin, kitchen fires, Melrose misfits, Officer's Seminar, PGFD, Philadelphia Fire Department, Randy Armbrister, Rhett Fleitz, Rod Reid, September 11, strategic and tactical considerations on the fireground, Swift Water Rescue, SWR, Tommy Warshaw, Va Fire News, Westfield Fire Department, Willie Wines, Willie Wines Jr, Willie Wines Sr

A bad day for Randy gets worse … we could both be dead!

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I arrived at the station at about 06:30am this morning. As I always do, I went to my gear locker, got my PPE and placed it by the rig. Everything has it’s place and something caught my eye … something out of place.

It was a face piece … an SCBA mask and it was laying in the floor out in the bay by the Engine.

HOLY CRAP ! What if the boys had caught an early morning run and the fireman didn’t have his mask! I picked it up with intentions of placing it on the rig by whomever’s gear it belonged to. When I looked at the name, guess what I found??? RANDY !

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME ! He left in such a hurry yesterday that he forgot to properly stow his equipment. Not just ANY equipment mind you … HIS MASK! Actually, now that I think about it; it’s not even his … it’s City property that was assigned to him and placed in his CARE. Does a Rookie Firefighter think so little of this piece of PPE that he would just leave it laying about?

Maybe he thought his moma was going to come in to the station later in the day and clean up behind him? Maybe he just figured A-shift would get it? As a matter of fact, I’m not so sure he was thinking at all. GOOD THING I CAME ALONG WHEN I DID.

I had taken all the chains off my truck and left them in the barn this morning so all I could come up with was some rope.

A few quick knots later and I had invented the “Rookie Randy SCBA Mask Retention Tool” LMAO

We attached one end to the mask and the other to the Rookie Firefighter who apparently has trouble keeping up with and taking proper care of said mask.

The funniest part was waiting for him to miss it. He came in as usual at around 07:00am and got his gear from his locker. I watched through the window as he began to place it on the rig and make his morning checks. He musta made 20 laps back and forth between his locker and the rig. I stepped out and asked him if everything was ok. He had “that” look on his face.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell me that he had lost his mask but he also knew that he didn’t want to lie. LMAO … you shoulda seen the look on his face when he seen his mask and new “Mask Retention Tool” laying on the table.

That was just a little fun to start the day off. My regular readers know that there are a lot of things I can tolerate but “fretting” is not one of them… LOL. After his morning check offs, cleaning duties and egg “sammich” our morning was fairly busy. It’s been pouring rain for the past two days so I had a couple “in house” drills planned for the day.

My first was to be a “territory” drill. I’ve had the map of a small section our 1st due on the board since Friday (just the blank map..no street names). He’s been studying but he’s memorized them in order. He’s been chomping at the bit for me to let him fill in the street names … he had a pattern in his head and didn’t want to loose it.

The Captain always throws a kink into things. I printed off all the street names and cut them out (almost like little label size pieces). They were all shuffled up, in no order and I even added 2 street names that were not on this map. He had to draw a slip of paper and correctly add the street name to the map. LMAO … you shoulda seen his face when he pulled the street not on the map. Hell, it’s not even a street from our side of the tracks. It was one he should have known. I added in the street that our main hospital is on … Belleview. He’s been there at least 10 times on the Medic unit but has never thought to read the street sign. A little more ~~fretting~~ .. errr “fun”, but lessons learned and a good in house drill.

Our next drill wouldn’t end so well or with a laugh.

We’ve been working hard with Randy. We’ve covered a lot of topics in a short period of time. This should all be just a refresher for him seeing as he just completed a 14 week cadet school.

That said, what you learn in rookie school vs what you learn “in company” is two different things and I understand that he is under a lot of pressure.

We’ve worked on SCBA’s, portable radios and communications. We’ve covered situational and positional awareness, making the stretch, search / rescue and ventilation. We’ve gone over offensive and defensive attacks, exposure protection and even V.E.S (Vent Enter Search). We’ve talked about MAYDAY’s, C.A.N reports (Conditions, Actions and Needs), R.O.A.M (Rules Of Air Management), and L.U.N.A.R. (Location, Unit, Name, Air and Resources). Today, we had an overview. He thought he had a good grip on what he needed to know.

I placed us out of service, requested a tac channel for training and had Randy gear up. I told him we were going to conduct a “search” drill. Boots would act as “command” while Randy and I would have the assignment of “Search Group” with instructions of conducting a primary.

I blackened his mask and we entered the station from the bay. We conducted a right hand search which led us into the bunk room. I kept close to him. I asked if he was “ok” and would give the occasional instruction as to which direction to move. Then, I simply quit talking, got up and exited the room with Boots.

RANDY NEVER KNEW I WAS GONE

He kept working. Focused on the task at hand. He finished his search of the bedroom and moved out and into the locker room. Still, he hadn’t missed me!

Had this have been real life, I could have been dead. Maybe I fell through the floor. Maybe I had a heart attack. Maybe something fell on me. The bottom line is that I was gone, he wasn’t even aware of it and now, he was ALONE.

If he was lucky enough to have made it out, would he have known where to tell the Chief to look for my body? Exactly where did he loose contact with me? Was he even thinking in that manner (obviously not) ? He should have been.

This drill was never REALLY about searching. It was more about situational awareness and knowing when to call the “MAYDAY”. I try to imprint this into a rookie’s head at an early stage … THEIR LIVES DEPEND ON IT !!

LOST, TRAPPED, DISORIENTED, SEPERATED FROM YOUR CREW, OUT OF OR LOW ON AIR, INJURED

See Burton A. Clark’s 2002 article in Firehouse Magazine entitled MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY .

I have conducted this drill for many years as a Captain. See a previous post about that HERE or take a step back in time to our “Melrose Misfits” days for more MAYDAY training HERE .

Take the time to hit the link to Burton Clark’s article above. IT’S WORTH THE TIME ! In the article, he talks of the similarities between fighter pilots ejecting and firefighters calling the “MAYDAY”. He lists 10 reasons for the failure or delay in pilots ejecting…

” The failure or delay to eject can be attributed to 10 reasons that must be addressed in ejection training according to Richard Leland, Director Aeromedical Training Institute Environmental Tectonics Corp.

1. Temporal Distortion (time seems to speedup or slow down). 2. Reluctance to relinquish control of ones situation. 3. Channeled attention (i.e. continuing with a previously selected course of action because other more significant information is not perceived). 4. Loss of situational awareness (i.e. controlled flight into terrain). 5. Fear of the unknown (i.e. reluctance to leave the security of the cockpit). 6. Fear of retribution (for losing the aircraft). 7. Lack of procedural knowledge. 8. Attempting to fix the problem. 9. Pride (ego). 10. Denial(i.e. This isn’t happening to me). ”

I don’t know which one affected Randy. Maybe it’s me. Maybe my teaching techniques are “off”. Maybe they’re all wrong! What I do know is that I have to figure it out and embed it in his mind while I still can. The older he becomes and the more time he gets on the job, the harder it will be.

STAY TUNED …. training at “Lucky #13″ on C-shift is about to get turned up another notch!

Does your crew know when and have the disipline to CALL A MAYDAY? I hope so. If they don’t, it’s time to turn it up another notch in your house too.

Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on September 6, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Burton A. Clark, C.A.N report, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Fire Department training, firefighter pics, firefighters, firehouse fun, firehouse jokes, Firehouse Magazine, Firehouse.com, funny firehouse pics, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, LUNAR, MAYDAY, MAYDAY training, positional awareness, PPE, Randy Armbrister, ROAM, rookie firefighters, SCBA, search and rescue, situational awareness, training, training rookie firefighters, turnout gear, Vent Enter Search, VES, Willie Wines Jr

People you don’t want to see …

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Dentist, doctors, morticians, the health department nurse after a Friday night at the local strip club … you know, all folks you don’t necessarily WANT to see.

How about your local Hazardous Materials Response Team ??

Usually not … but in my case today, they were more than welcome.

This morning, our local / regional Hazmat team was out on the farm bright and early for something very serious …. TRAINING.

Our team consists of members from Roanoke City and Salem Fire Departments and these guys are on top of their game. The best of the best. I sometimes kid and call them “glow boys” but I also have to give credit where it’s due.

I call em “glow boys” because they take care of hazardous materials / waste that will make you turn a pretty shade of bright green if ya get any on you. The “bad” stuff.

Stuff that will actually kill ya before you know your dead !

Yea …. the Fire Department does THAT too.

Well, when you deal with this kind of stuff, you have to be on top of your game and the only way to get and stay there is through training.

My Battalion Chief, Teddy Adkins; is also our HazMat Chief. Kevin Tottin holds that position in Salem. Tommy Crozier (pictured left) is our State Officer from VDEM (Va. Department of Emergency Management).

You folks should know / remember Kevin from here on Ironfiremen.com. He is a great personal friend and has partnered and helped out on the farm for the past few years. Tottin and The Buckaroo are “thick as thieves” ..LOL

Tottin came up with the idea to use the farm as a location for some Regional Team training and we were happy to oblige.

He came up with a pretty good scenario. The local FD was out for whatever reason, found an old barn / shed full of pesticides / herbicides and called in Hazmat.

Not an unrealistic situation.

Kevin used water and food coloring to fill several containers and placed them inside one of our old run down sheds. He placed real labels on the containers and he decided to make some of this stuff BAD…. REAL BAD.

The members of the team had to approach this stuff. Identify it and then decide how to handle, remove and dispose of it.

Of course not all of the containers were in tact. This IS a farm you know. They had spills, leaks etc to content with on top of everything else.

All kinds of equipment … staging areas, decon, etc. Those big yellow suits, SCBA’s, 55 gallon drums … GEESH!

Good thing they had enough help!

Oh yea… there was NO WAY that the Fire Department was gonna be at the Farm and The Buckaroo not be right in the middle of it all!

He was in heaven! His 3 favorite things combined … The Fire Department, the farm and his 4-wheeler.

Now, we was very quiet around the guys. He has never net most of them and is quite shy. But, as soon as they pulled out …. OMG! It was like one of em slid him some crack or something. He’s STILL talking about the day! JACKED UP ! LMAO

Of course, the firemen seemed just as excited to see the little fella riding around on his 4-wheeler checking everything out. I didn’t say it (or write it) in a recent post titled “Family“ but it was very evident today. In that post, I spoke about having a “Fire Department” family and without a doubt … should anything ever happen to me … the Buckaroo will have 100 “Paw-Paws”.

Just knowing that makes it easier to do the job!

The team will be out on the farm for the next 2 days so each shift can benefit from the training. I’m on duty tomorrow but I’m sure the Buckaroo will have his “Nana” up and out early so he can be down there to help with the setup and keep an eye on the daily operations.

I hope the weather holds out for em like it did today.

While the team was on site, it stayed dry. Of course, they had wet, high grass and mud to contend with but the rain held off. Held off until the team returned home and we had work to do!

%$^^%$#%#^& …. I can’t seem to get ANYTHING done here lately! We had hoped to mow some grass and clean up a bit so the place would look nice for the boys … DIDN’T HAPPEN ! We had to just park all the equipment and seek shelter.

We hung out in the barn waiting for the rain to stop but as soon as it did, it would start right back up. The good news is that the forecast is for clearing conditions over the next several days. The bad news …. I’m not gonna be here to get any “catching up” done.

If everything works out, I’ll be hanging out at the Pa. Fire Expo with Zach Green and the folks from FoxFire. I’m excited about the trip but still need to cover my shift at Lucky #13 on Saturday.

Regardless if I make it or not, if there’s ANY way you can … TAKE IN THIS EXPO. While there, be sure to stop in The Fire Store booths (located in the North Hall, booth 817-826) to meet Zach and see all the great FoxFire products.

While in the “North Hall”, also stop in and visit some more of Ironfiremen.com’s friends and family between booths #122-127. Go Forward Media , Fire / Rescue Magazine , Brotherhood Instructors , and Wall Shields .

Ok .. I’m gonna wrap it up for the night. I’m back on duty in the morning and will check in as soon as I can. Until then, Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on May 19, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, hazmat, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: ATV, Brotherhood Instructors, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Wines, decon, Fire Department training, Fire Rescue Magazine, Go Forward Media, hazmat, Hazmat training, Hazmat truck, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Kevin Tottin, Lancaster County Firemans Assoc, on the farm, Pa. Fire Expo, Regional Hazmat team, Roanoke Fire / EMS, Salem Fire / EMS, spills and leaks, Teddy Adkins, The Fire Store, Tommy Crozier, training, VDEM, Wall Shields, Willie Wines Jr

Product review … FoxFire Firefighter Products

4 comments

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do at home and here…so here’s a post long over due.

You folks may remember about a month or so ago (April 5, 2011) I posted about receiving a package from FoxFire ( previous post ) .

I talked about Rhett (The Fire Critic) and I meeting Zach Green and his team up at FDIC.

They (the FoxFire Products) were the talk of the FDIC 2011 exhibit floor!

Zach sent us some of the product and asked us if we would do a “product review” for them. Of course, we were thrilled. After seeing the product first hand at FDIC, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

The Company is actually called MN8 Products . They are a firefighter owned company (which is a HUGE plus for me) who offers energy efficient and eco-friendly products utilizing breakthrough advanced illumination technology.

Their product offerings for the fire safety industry are marketed under the name FoxFire.

FoxFire products utilize an advanced “photo-luminescent” technology that possess the unique capacity to absorb and store light and then release it as a bright luminance in the dark.

In fireman terms … it glows in the dark and can be charged quickly by ANY form of light (it doesn’t necessarily need sunlight to charge).

At this time, FoxFire offers 3 products for firefighters…

1.) Helmet bands

2.) Do-it-yourself illuminating epoxy kits

3.) Heavy duty grip wrap

I have all three of their products and have been using them here on the job since their delivery. Pictured on the right (leaning on the bumper from L-R) is our TNT Tool with the do-it-yourself epoxy applied to the handle. Our short (closet) pike pole with the heavy duty grip wrap applied to the shaft. And, pictured on the bumper is my helmet with the FoxFire helmet band.

I LOVE THESE PRODUCTS!

My favorite by far is the Helmet Band.

Most all of us who wear a “traditional” or leather helmet have a band around it to hold a light, wedge etc. That said, most of the bands are usually an old inner tube. That’s what I’ve worn until now and they have always worked fine… plus they’re cheap .. or FREE.

The FoxFire band cost about $20 and it is worth EVERY CENT!

It’s thick, durable and heat resistant.

Plus, it GLOWS IN THE DARK. You have to understand that … it’s not reflective .. it GLOWS. Old style “tetrahedrons” are reflective … they have to have light shinning on them to be reflective. This technology doesn’t need that .. it glows.

It does need light to “charge” but not necessarily sunlight and not a lot of it. Now, direct sunlight is best and with only 30 minutes of exposure, the band will glow for hours. My helmet sits on the dash of the rig. Our bay doors are tinted and kept closed most of the day (not a lot of “direct” sunlight gets to my helmet). The glow will last the entire shift. The pic above was taken in the day time but you can still see how bright the glow is …. it’s AMAZING.

The safety features are worth the money alone. How does a helmet band offer safety?? ACCOUNTABILITY! I stand out like a sore thumb with my helmet on. My crew (or other members on scene) have no problem keeping up with where I am. Even the chief commented on a recent fire how every time I passed a window, he was able to see me!

They also have this type of band available for your SCBA bottle!

There is really nothing I can find wrong with the band. We (Rhett and I) did have a few suggestions as to possible modifications that would give the band more uses and that’s another great thing about MN8 Products and FoxFire … they listen to the people using their product.

Next, let me tell ya about the ” do-it-yourself epoxy kit” .

My Firefighter, Todd “Boots” Harris; and I applied the product to two of our tools. You can see some pics and read that post HERE .

Actually, one of the tools (a pick head axe) belonged to our Brothers out at Roanoke County Fire / Rescue Station #1. We chose our TNT tool because we carry and use it a lot.

First off, let me say that I use the word or term “epoxy” … FoxFire doesn’t. I use it (or call it that) because one thing is for sure … it’s NOT paint!

I learned that lesson well in the application process. Actually, Zach warned me about it prior to my receiving the kit. Let me explain..

There are several “parts” to the kit. The “epoxy” comes in 2 parts … it has to be mixed. DON’T PANIC … they give all the stuff you need. Basically, you’re adding a “hardener”.

That’s one minor downfall to the product. After you mix the product … you only have 30 minutes to apply it. Anything longer than that and it gets rock hard in the container. I recommend doing it off duty .. if ya catch a run … your done.

Like I said, FoxFire provides everything you need to “do-it-yourself”. They even give you materials to clean and prep the tool.

The hardest part is the application. I say the “hardest” but it’s really not difficult. It’s “hard” because we are firemen (and I didn’t listen to Zach). You can’t “paint” this stuff on. You apply it and let it run down the handle or smear or spread the product over the tool. Like a fireman .. we tried to paint..LOL

It only took once to understand what Zach was talking about in the application process. Every tool after the first came out better and better. Now, that said, nothing was wrong with the first. I just wasn’t 100% happy with it’s appearance when dry. It had runs in it. Again, after we realized to spread evenly vs. paint … it worked very well.

FoxFire gives you enough of this epoxy to paint approx 3 tool handles. It can also be used on the heads. It covers metal, wood or fiberglass. They even give you sand to add for extra texture / grip.

Like the helmet band, this epoxy GLOWS IN THE DARK. It not only glows .. it ILLUMINATES ! I liken it to a “glow stick”. Again it needs a minimal charge and doesn’t require direct sun light. With that minimal charge, it will illuminate for an hour and can glow for up to 17 hours.

The illumination from these tools are a huge asset when searching. The glow (illumination) is unbelievable … you have to see it to fully understand. Think about applying this product to the tip of your ladders! How easy would it be to see and find the tip from a smokey roof when it’s glowing? How about the bonnet of your hydrants? Your headlights don’t have to “shine on it” to spot it or make it reflect. Again, this product doesn’t reflect .. it GLOWS. You would be able to spot a hydrant in front of or behind you… regardless of where your headlights are pointing.

This product has SO MANY POSSIBILITIES! Again, the kit will cover approx 3 tools and the cost is right around $100.

Next up is the Heavy Duty Grip Wrap.

Now, it even comes in multiple daytime and “glow” colors

Picture here is Orange … glows orange, White .. available in a blue or green glow, and Yellow which glows green.

The wrap is made of heat resistant, rip-stop silicone. It has a unique surface that allows a firm grip, wet or dry, with or without gloves.

It sticks to itself. They call it “self adheres”. It’s not “sticky” .. it doesn’t have glue on it. It sticks to itself and can be reused over and over.

Like the other FoxFire products, the wrap glows and illuminates. It emits light just as the helmet band and epoxy.

It’s sold in individual rolls and costs about $50 per roll.

I HIGHLY RECCOMEND YOU TRY ONE OF OR ALL OF THESE PRODUCTS!

Be warned though .. after you do, you find more and more uses / benefits etc and will be “hooked”. It works that well!

Visit their website to learn more or purchase any of the above products … MN8Products.com

Still unsure? Come see for yourself. Yea …. COME SEE FOR YOURSELF.

I’m going to join Zach and his team this weekend at the Pennsylvania Fire Expo in Lancaster County, Pa. Zach and his FoxFire team will be set up in The Fire Store booth which will be located in the North Hall, booths 817-826. If the set up is like FDIC, Zach will have several tools on hand and a pitch black tent for you to see first hand how well these products work!

Catch me there and I’ll demo it for you myself !

Well, that probably won’t work because Ayrie, FoxFire’s “Illuminating Goddess” will also be there and if you had to pick between me or her showing you the product … you had better pick HER …LOL

All kidding aside, make it out to the Pa. Fire Expo. This will be my first trip up but from everything I’m hearing, it’s a huge and GREAT show to attend.

Hopefully, We’ll see you there!

Ok, that it for tonight … I’m on duty, listening in to the Firefighter Netcast Show “Taking it to the Streets”, and still have reports to complete. I’ll check back as soon as I can ….

Until then, Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines.

Posted by Iron Firemen on May 17, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, training-development, Uncategorized • Tagged: Captain Willie Wines, Captain Wines, epoxy, FDIC, FDIC 2011, Fire Critic, FoxFire heavy duty grip wrap, FoxFire Helmet Band, FoxFire Product review, FoxFire Products, FoxFire tool epoxy, Ironfiremen, Ironfiremen product review, IronFiremen.com, Lancaster County, Lancaster County Firemans Assoc, MN8, MN8 products, Pa, Pa. Fire Expo, product review, Rhett Fleitz, TNT, TNT Tools, Todd Harris, Willie Wines Jr, Zach Green

There’s one in every company!

2 comments

I don’t know why but I always seem to get em …. GOLFERS!

Last year it was Opie … now it’s “Boots”

Taking off work to travel all the way down to the beach just to play a silly game.

I have to admit that I don’t fully understand the fascination. I’ve voiced my concerns in previous posts but they are worth mentioning again.

Golf is a waste of good pasture! Think of how many cows I could run on any given course with minimal fencing.

photo by Matthias Claimer from ESPN

There also has to be some hidden health issues that the PGA and government aren’t releasing. I mean why else would they put “ball washers” at every stop? What EXACTLY is on the seats of those funny little golf cars?

Of course Boots is a little older and more experienced at the game than young Opie was.

Boots most likely has a cart full of beach babes or little golf goddesses handing him his clubs

Yea… I’m sure of it…. I know how he operates.

I bet he has one of em covered in his balls right now!

I just hope he used one of them ball washer things …

LOL … I’m just kidding … I’m sure Boots and the gang are behaving themselves.

This is a regular trip for these fellas. A couple Brothers from the Department own a condo in Myrtle Beach and every so often a group of head down for a week of relaxation and golf.

It looks like they’ve had good weather and nobody has called for bail money … YET.

I actually wish I was with em..

I have a little “traveling” of my own coming up.

Friday, I head out to California to play a little football!

The Roanoke Rampage are traveling to take on the Orange County Lawmenon Saturday May 7th.

I’m pretty excited about the trip for a couple of reasons….

I’ve never been to California but have always wanted to go. My baby sister actually lives in Orange County so I’ll have the chance to see and visit her while I’m there.

A couple of the guys and I are planning on staying an extra day or so to see some of the sites. We plan to take in a few firehouses in LA and who knows …. I might even bump into Captain Joe Schmoe from REPORT ON CONDITIONS while I’m out there (I’ve got him narrowed down to living somewhere on the West coast near a desert). What are the odds???

Anyway, it’s gonna be a good trip and I’m excited.

So, I know I have a lot of catching up to do but there has been a TON of good stuff here on the Fire/EMS Blog Network all week and I want to make sure you haven’t missed it …

Rhett posted a couple videos of John Stewart from The Daily Show. Rhett found the videos after Mike Ward posted them over on Fire Geezer. If you haven’t seen em … take the time! Here they are …

The Daily Show – Friends Without Benefits
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show – Friends Without Benefits – 9/11 Responders
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Dave Statter had several good articles up this week as well (as usual). We had one where a volunteer Chief may have withheld a water supply from the paid staff while operating at a working fire. The story is out of Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania (Bucks County). Check it out HERE. And since I have California on my mind, Dave also has some cool helmet cam footage of the brothers from East Palo Alto going to work HERE .

Chris Naum has come out with several more FANTASTIC articles that are ”MUST READS” for every member.

Check out “2011 Focus: Surviving the Fire Ground …” from Command Safety.

Over on The Company Officer, he asks if we have done Anything with the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives lately.

He also has his hands on the findings from the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) studies conducted on fire service ventilation practices as well as the impact of changes in modern house geometries. Some of their findings may shock you and should affect the way you work. The UL also developed an online interactive training module that is worth a visit. Check out Chris’ entire artile HERE .

Any from the Network, Isaac Frazier asks about when to “mask up” on his Face Book page “First Due Questions” . Isaac puts up some GREAT questions that make for outstanding company discussions / training. If you haven’t checked him out yet .. take the time.

Hydrant Gal is loving life. She seems to be settling into her new job North of the boarder just fine.

Apparently she got a raise with her new position. Yea .. she just bought a new horse trailer …. a 3 horse slant with a dressing room! Of course she just HAD to drop me an e-mail and ~~brag~~ rub it in a bit…LOL

I’ve followed Hydrant Gal for some time now and am glad to see things going her way. She even took the time to send me something from a recent trip she took to Punta Cana (where ever THAT is).

It was a post card. The picture was from the back of a gal wearing one of those “almost non-existent” bathing suits. She said she seen it and immediately thought of me. Hummmmm I don’t think she’s EVER seen me in a g-string …LMAO.

OK, so that should catch ya up on what I’ve been reading this week. I have a couple good posts scheduled for this week so keep checking back. I’ll leave with a short clip of the Buckaroo talking about his 4 wheeler yesterday. He was up and waiting for me when I got home … we cant feed or check cows before he rides a little. You can see his excitement in the video … check him out.

I’ll check back in soon. Off tomorrow, back on Tuesday and then 13 days off! Until I get back to ya … Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on May 1, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives, 4 wheelers, Bensalem Township, Brad Glidden, Buckaroo, Ca, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Chicago, Chris Naum, command safety, Dave Statter, East Palo Alto, female firefighters, Fire / EMS Blog Network, Fire Critic, Fire Due questions, Firegeezer, golf, helmet cam, helmet cam videos, Hydrant Girl, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Isaac Frazier, John Stewart, Mike Ward, Myrtle Beach, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, Opie, Orange County, Orange County Lawmen, Pa, Punta Cana, Report on Conditions, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke Rampage, Roanoke Rampage Football, sexy golfers, Statter911, surviving the fire ground, The Company Officer, The Daily Show, Todd "Boots" Harris, Todd Harris, UL testing, Underwriters Lab, 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

Ironfiremen.com says goodbye to Washington DC

4 comments

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

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

I almost cried … FDIC continued

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I haven’t talked about it a lot but now I can. He’s been nervous … real nervous. Rhett has been scheduled to teach at FDIC for some time now and I can tell how it has worried him in the past few days.
He’s been a nervious wreck! He hasn’t slept a wink since we’ve been here.

Wednesday night, I gave him an extra bottle of milk and rocked him for more than 2 hours before he finally fell asleep. Thursday morning, I got him up, got him his bath, ironed his cloths and got him ready to start the day (quite a task for a 34 year old…LOL)

It worked… the little fella looked “rested” for the first time since we pulled outta Roanoke.

As I said, I got him up, gave him his bath, ironed his clothes and got him dressed.

I took him to the lobby for a pop tart and bowl of cereal …..

Got his coat , sweater and back pack on and put him on the shuttle to the conference center…. I didn’t know how it would turn out.

In the end, my “little buddy” did perfect. A solid 10! He ACED it!

His Social Media class went great! All the worry and fretting for nothing! I was like a father sending his son off to school … PROUD! LMAO … I say that jokeingly but also very seriously.

This was the first time Rhett has presented this calss and he did it at the largest venue in the Fire Service… FDIC. Not only did he have the brains and balls to pull it off … people actually showed up! 70-80 people with some great reviews. A total success for the expectations he had going into this deal.

CONGRATULATIONS to Rhett for a job well done! He represented himself, his companies, his associates and Department very well.

Ok, so I got Rhett off to school and then I had to help John (John Mitchel) setup the Firefighter Netcast Booth and prepare for our days work.

As usual, Fire / Rescue Magazine set us up in their booth. A little work here and there, some pre-casting check offs and we were open for business.

We had some open space in the schedule which allowed us the time to meet some new companies / folks and conduct some random interviews.

Part of our job here is recording pod cast for Fire/Rescue Magazine Editor in Chief Tim Sendelbach. This is not the first time we’ve done this for magazine nor the first time we’ve had Tim behind our mics.

It’s a GREAT oppurtunity. Tim attracts and schedules so many great and “big name” guest.

The neat thing is that we get to hear these folks speak first hand on topics that affect and impact the fire service in a huge way.

Yesterday, Tim had the Brunicinis on. Not just the famous Chief Allen Brucini but The Chief AND his sons! WOW! Me and the Brucinis … now theres something you don’t see everyday!

We met so many great people (as we always do) and I’m thankful to John and Rhett for allowing me to be a part of Firefighter Netcast.

Not all of the people we met were guests on the show.

We had friends and fans stopping by all day. “Fans” .. can you believe that? I have fans?

LOL .. well it’s true. Heres a brother who stopped in to say hello. I can’t remember his name but he is actually from a town pretty close to us … Wythville, Va.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to stop by the booth and say hello … it was humbleing and a pleasure.

The “floor” of FDIC is AMAZING! This place is HUGE and every vendor in the country must be here. They opened the exhibit floor with Pipes and Drums … very cool

We got a few short breaks during the day and took a little time to hang out at the Black Diamond booth.

We got an up close and personal look at several boots from the owner himself Alan Lunder.

Rhett was like a kid in a candy store ….

He picked up, touched and tried on every pair of boots that they had on display.

Me? I found the Black Diamond girls.

$#*^&%^%$##&^^&%!!!

Sorry folks… I hit “publish for this post and then realized that more than half of it was “lost” somewhere.

I’m gonna throw in several pics here and then catch ya up a little later… sorry for the screw up.

Sorry for the screw up…. I’ll fix it in a bit.

Stay Safe and in house.

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on March 25, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, training-development, Uncategorized • Tagged: Alan Brunicini, Black Diamond Boots, Chief Billy Goldfeder, Chief Brunicini, Chris Naum, Dave Statter, FDIC, FDIC 2011, Fire Critic, Fire Rescue Magazine, Firefighter Netcast, FoxFire, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Pipes and Drums, Social Media, Tim Sendelbach

Arson fires on the rise, more of EMS Today and the fire truck bar.

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We had a Captain’s meeting today and our Chief updated us on a briefing that he had recently given our City Council.

Kind of a “State of the Department” if you will. Our “numbers aren’t that bad. In my mind, there were 2 “stand out” categories… “Dollar Loss” … in 2010, we had around 3.6 Million Dollars in fire damages. I know … you’re thinking 3.6 mil doesn’t sound so good to me right? Well, there were 2 more factors thrown in there. We had 2 Major fires in the City last year .. that took a BIG chunk of that 3.6 The other factor was the “Pre-incident dollar value”…. what it was worth before it burned. That number was over $185 Million. All the fires were valued at over 185 million and we held damages to 3.6 That means we saved 181.4 MILLION in property!

The other “number” that hit me is our percentage of holding our fires to “the floor of origin“. We dropped off in this category falling to only 62%. Now generally, we do a GREAT job of holding our jobs to the “room of origin” (we are on a fire in 4 minutes or less 90% of the time) so I was shocked to learn that our numbers had fallen as to the floor of origin. Why the drop? ARSON

Our Arson numbers are higher than ever (38%) and climbing. Our Chief explained to Council that it’s even a “different” arson than what you might expect. We are not seeing “arson for hire” (where an arsonist is paid to burn down a building so the owner might collect on insurance) we are seeing intentionally set fires out of vengeance. The story even made the front page of today’s paper .. here’s their “on line” abbreviated article.

The fire from the story (where the fire was out on arrival) is not the only example of “arson for vengeance” here in the City. We had an employee of a local Pet Smart set a fire during business hours, in broad daylight causing over a million in damages. See that post from the “Melrose Misfit” days HERE .

Anyway, I thought that was an interesting fact ….. moving on

I wanted to share a few more shots from Baltimore and EMS Today.

Here’s one of me and PJ Cane. PJ follows the site regularly and was the first guy to come up to Rhett and I when we arrived. PJ not only follows my site, he often takes the time to post comments. I have been wanting to meet him for some time now and was glad to have the chance.

He was there with his soon to be wife and that in itself is a whole other story… I’ll post more on that and PJ soon.

Here’s another shot of me and Dave Statter.

I always enjoy getting up with Dave on these out of town trips because it gives me a little help busting Rhett’s balls…LOL

It is a little embarrassing that everyone else is eating steak and lobster and drinking beer while Dave orders all that fancy / smancy “organic pod of split pea” soup and white wine … LMAO

The good news is that he really is a great guy who’s fun to be around … OK..OK .. the honest answer is that he bribes us to hang around him with wallet photos of his wife…LMAO (just kidding Hillary)

Here’s another of me and my new found “Aussie Medic” buddies and then some fellow bloggers / friends..

We had a really good trip and only met one person who I wish I hadn’t. I don’t know this guys name but he was hanging outside our window Friday morning. Hanging … literally.

Now, we stayed at the Sheraton which by most standards is a fairly fancy joint. The rooms were comfortable and spacious. They had hot water. The heat and AC worked. We had a fridge and the drink / ice machine was on our floor and near by.

I just figured that they would have had a better “wake up call” system in place.

I don’t know “what” this guy was grinding on all morning but what ever it was sounded like finger nails across a chalkboard …. YEA … that’ll get ya out of bed in the morning!

Ok, my post on Snowbird’s custom made Fire Truck Bar was a huge hit. The bad news is that I didn’t even show ya all there is to see. There are so many things, big and little; that he did that I couldn’t cover em all in one post.

One part I didn’t talk much about was the back bar.

If ya look closely in the pic to the right, you notice how the bar top looks like broken glass. It is.

I don’t know how he even came up with half the stuff he did! For the back bar, he used 3 sheets of glass … 2 tempered, 1 laminated (he could NOT use the actual windshield from the truck because it was curved and not flat).

Anyway, through trial and error (it took him a few trys) he figured out to lay down a sheet of tempered first. Then he placed the sheet of laminated glass on top of that. He added the 2nd tempered piece (after placing decals on both the top and bottom sides to give it a 3 dimensional look) on top of that.

His outside framing allowed for room to pour a 1/8″ coat of bar top to seal and protect the glass. THEN, he drilled a hole and hit the laminated piece with a window punch. It “spidered” perfectly and looks super cool! Check out the video of him making the punch..

COOL huh??? Anyway, I talked to Snowbird earlier today and we’re gonna do something here @ Ironfiremen to add a complete slide show or something so you guys and gals can see the entire process .. start to finish.

That’s gonna about do it for tonight … they are calling for heavy rains again tomorrow so I had better try to get a little rest. I’ll check back in as soon as possible. Until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on March 8, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, ems-topics, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, news, training-development, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: Adam Fleming, arson, arson fires, arson for hire, Baltimore, Baltimore fire, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Wines, custom bars, Dave Statter, dollar loss, dollar loss from fire, EMS Today, EMS Today 2011, Fire Geezer, fire loss, Fire Truck bar, Iron firemen, IronFiremen.com, Pet Smart, Pet Smart fire, Phillip Dillon, PJ Cane, property damage, property damage from fire, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke Arson fires, Roanoke Times, Sheriton Hotel, Snowbird, STatter911.com, Todd Harris, Willie Wines, Willie Wines Jr, Working fire pics

Back to the grind stone and another “Trick of the Trade”

3 comments

Well, 4 day is over and it’s back to the ol grind stone at Lucky #13. This last break BLEW by and I mean that literally. The winds have been between 40-50 mph this week! I’ve already lost one barn to the winds this winter and I’m shocked I didn’t loose another.

The Buckaroo and I have managed to keep ourselves busy around the farm. Cattle prices are high so we cut out a load of calves and went to market.

We’ve also been “on the hunt”. I guess it’s due to the “new moon” but the coyotes have been running thick! This is also our calving season and as you can imagine, coyotes and new born calves don’t mix. I keep a riffle in the truck and tractor but when I know the chance of killing is high, I also strap on my pistol.

Of course that means the Buckaroo has to carry his pistol as well ….

You can’t see it well in the picture above (his cammo jacket is doing its job..LOL) but trust me …. the little fella is packing heat.

I think I’m gonna need to find yet another job to keep the little guy in caps… LOL

The good news is that despite the high winds, the temperatures have been above normal. That makes it a little easier for me and the Buckaroo to do some outside work. I’m pretty proud to say that so far, the little guy would rather be outside working or playing with me rather than sitting inside and watching TV or something. He just may turn out ok…LOL.

Since I’m on the gun subject, don’t forget to buy a ticket for the ROANOKE RAMPAGE gun raffle. I talk about our team on here often but in case you’ve missed it, we are a group of Fire, Rescue and Police members who play semi-pro, full contact football for charity in the National Public Safety Football League. Our charity is fighting (CTCL) Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma in the name of a fallen Battalion Chief from Roanoke, Billy Obenchain Steps4Billy.

In order to raise funds, we are holding a GUN RAFFLE. Tickets are only $10 each! You must be 21 yrs old to enter and the winner will be drawn during half time at our 2nd home game vs. The South Carolina Commanders on April 2, 2011. We NEED to sell these tickets!

We will be raffling off 3 guns…. 1st Prize is a BUSHMASTER MOE M4 223, 2nd Prize will be a GLOCK 19 9mm. and the 3rd Prize will be a WALTHER P22 LR!

Use the “CONTACT” link at the top of this site to get my e-mail. Drop me a note if you’d like to buy a ticket and we’ll work out the arrangements.

I also want to remind you to make plan to be in Baltimore, Md for EMS TODAY March 1st-5th.

Don’t just plan to attend the conference, be sure to attend the “Meet Up” ( JEMS Connect) on Thursday, March 3rd from 8-11pm.

Rhett Fleitz (Fire Critic) and I will both be in attendance as well as many other of your favorite bloggers … here’s an excerpt ..

“Connect with hundreds of EMS professionals at the Meetup, Thursday night during EMS Today

Stop by Uno Chicago Grill at Harborplace in the Inner Harbor from 8pm-11pm. Enjoy beer, wine, soda, appetizers and tons of connections. Plus, meet your favorite Fire & EMS bloggers from the FireEMSBlogs.com community, contributors from JEMS, our Facebook Fans and more!

Pick up your invitation to the event at one of these booths in the exhibit hall on Thursday, March 3rd (5:00-7:30pm)

Ok … moving on. At the request of one of my readers, I started posting a little segment I call “TRICKS OF THE TRADE”. You can catch my first “installment” HERE. I mentioned that I would try to make it kind of a “regular” posting or at least try to hit it once a week. That said, tonight; I bring you the 2nd installment.

Tonight, I want to talk about AIR PACKS or SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus). I’m not going to give an air pack class nor will I go into details of how they work. I want to briefly talk about wearing them … well wearing them correctly.

One thing that sets good firemen apart from bad (in our minds anyway) is being able to last. I’m not talking about how long you can go on a 30 minute bottle … I’m talking about how long and hard you work on the scene.

You see so many young or probie firefighters these days out in the yard giving high fives, smacks on the ass and telling stories of how they were in there “doing it”. All smiles … proud … air packs on the ground with the bottle empty.

What they don’t realize is that the real firemen are still inside working. Overhauling, mopping up etc. Us older Jakes last longer for a couple reasons but the easiest is because we wear our pack correctly. How many times do you see the “old guys” on a 2nd bottle while the younger members are sprawled in the yard? We may be tired but it’s NOT because our gear put added strain, stress etc on us (I talked about proper fitting PPE in the 1st installment). How you wear you SCBA makes all the difference.

Here in “The Noke”, we use Scott air packs. More specificly, Scott AP50, 2002 edition. (picture above right)

Now, I know how cool it looks when you see a crusty old Jake walking around with the waist belt unbuckled. It’s the “Tommy Gavin” or FDNY look.

Notice, in this pic; my waist strap in unbuckled. Looks cool but puts undue stress on our bodies and increases fatigue. It makes you work harder. Work SMART…. not hard!

The Scott AP50 is designed to ride on our hips. Scott paid people good money to study, design and build em this way. When worn correctly, all the weight of the pack rides on your hips… NOT your shoulders. The key (or “trick”) is to fasten the belt!

In my department, I think I know why some members don’t fasten the strap. We transitioned to Scott from MSA several years ago. Back then, we wore the MSA Ultralite II. Those packs were designed to ride on our shoulder. The regulator was on the waist belt but it didn’t need to be fastened or worn tightly. Maybe the reason is simply out of old habits? I don’t know

What I do know is that when worn correctly, the Scott air pack is an asset and not a burdon.

It offers great mobility and allows me to work without getting tired too quickly.

Now, don’t just buckle it … wear it right. Just like you used to see us tugging on our shoulder straps with the MSA pack, the waist belt needs to be tight on the Scott.

The tighter, the better. Also notice (in the pic to the right) the belts location. High on my hips … across the Iliac Crest (thats medic talk for ”hip bone” ..LOL)

For those of you not using Scott, know your equipment. Each pack is designed to be worn a certain way in order to cause less stress, exertion and fatigue to the firefighter.

When you younger members see an older guy walking around with the straps swinging… don’t imitate it. Wear yours right and odds are you’ll have enough gas left in your tank to be in there beside that old Jake pulling a little ceiling.

I know that was simple … but trust me. I hope it helps.

I got a few reports to finish up and then gonna try to catch a little shut eye. I’m not sure who wore who out the most over 4 day break … me the Buckaroo or him wearing me out. I just hope I get the chance to and can sleep as sound as he does … LOL

We’re back on Friday and Sunday but I’ll try to check in before that.

Until the next time …Stay safe and in house.

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on February 16, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Baltimore, Billy Obenchain, breathing apparatus, Buckaroo, Bushmaster, Capt, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Chief Billy Obenchain, CTCL, Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma, EMS Today, FDNY, Fire Critic, Firefighter PPE, football, gun raffle, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Jack Wines, JEMS, Jems Connect, JEMS meet up, Md, MSA, MSA Ultralite II, National Public Safety Football League, NPSFL, PPE, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke Rampage, Roanoke Rampage Football, SCBA, Scott Air Packs, Scott AP50, Steps4Billy, tricks of the trade, Willie Wines Jr

The end of the dreaded Mon, Wed, Fri cycle…

7 comments

You guys know I hate this cycle …. Monday, Wednesday, Friday …uggggg!!! Well, it’s almost over. About 9 more hours and we’re headed to 4 day break! It’s been a crazy cycle …. heck a crazy WEEK for that matter. This is a cycle where you (or I anyway) feel like you can’t get anything accomplished on your days off. The Buckaroo and I have both been sick and for whatever reason, things just haven’t gone my way.

This weather in Va is killing me! Cold one day and warm the next. Mother nature can’t seem to make up her mind. Frozen ground to knee deep mud! #@%$&^$#!#%& The older I get, the less tolerant I am of even the simplestthings. I was having this discussion with the Buckaroo yesterday day because 1.) he’s the only person who will listen to me and 2.) he’s also the only one who understands me…LOL. The little fella even tried to make me feel better. He went and dug out his Halloween mustache collection and put a “special” one on just for me …. he said for me not to worry because he’s “getting old too” … LMAO

Now how could something like that not make anyone’s day better?

Of course now, I’m thinking the little fella may be color blind because you guys can plainly see from my shower pic (in the post before last) that I don’t have a grey hair on my body… LOL

I guess it’s just an aaccumulation of things that have me feeling like I’m “in a rut” here lately. It seems like you work your tail off but can’t see any progress. That’s one of the things I love about being on the job. Most of the time, you can see the rewards of your work. Speaking of that, I received several e-mails on the fire we had last day.

I need to get with my “tech guy” and change how my pics are uploaded. I’m sure there is a way that I can have them to where they will enlarge when you click on them… I just haven’t figured it out yet.

I received several questions as to the smoke condition from the attic / roof. Apparently, the picture wasn’t large enough for some to see so I’ll put it up again in a larger size … I’ll also highlight some smoke for ya …

To answer a few questions, NO we did NOT cut a hole in the roof (vertical ventilate). We DID however open both vents in the peaks (as in took out … sides Bravo and Delta). YES we used positive pressure ventilation but only AFTER our lines were in place (and YES that included one in the attic …. that’s where I was). The fire had run from the basement all the way to the attic but it had done so upon our arrival … we did NOT push it to the attic with PPV. And YES, there was a report of a male subject trapped in the rear bedroom and NO nobody was located inside the structure. All searches resulted in “all clear” ( with the exception of the cat “save” by “Alphabet” … that’s what we call Jason Anuszkiewicz because we can’t pronounce his name and plus he uses almost every letter in the alphabet to spell it..LOL).

The guys at “The Deuce” were going to go in a buy Alphabet an axe or some sort of trophy for his heroic efforts but apparently there wasn’t enough funds. You see, it was his day to cook and some how or another he must have went over budget at the store! Yea… $96.00 for some gourmet cluster smack smothered in cat hair … LMAO!

I also didn’t do our County Brothers justice in that post. Apparently, I was “picking on” them with the “roof” and “wagon” comment. NOT TRUE. … Ok … maybe true but I could have picked more. I didn’t even mention the fact that what they call a “Wagon” isn’t even the right color for either definition. I’ve already said that “Wagons” are on a farm … “Engines” are on fires .. what I didn’t say was that both of em are RED! Who ever heard of a “little yellow / green wagon” ? Huh? It’s RED … my “little RED Wagon” … the same as fire Engines … RED … LMAO

They know I’m just picking and like I said in the earlier post, Those guys do a great job and we were happy to have em on the scene. Not only did they lay us a line, they even hooked it into OUR rig! Imagine that!

Photo from Captain Johnny Lester ( Retired)

I guess I really shouldn’t pick on their yellow (green or whatever color that is) trucks because at one time, we had a few of em too. Actually, we’ve had at least 3 different colors here in the city. Some of our most talked about trucks were called “Grey Ghosts” because they were painted battleship grey. Mike Saunders posted a great article a little while back over on VaFireNews.com titled Going Back in Time Roanoke, Va He has some really good shots of the 1950′s Orens.

We also had some yellow rigs. I can remember visiting my dad at station #6 (old and new) when they were running a 1978 Seagrave(it was actually purchased for station #3 who didn’t like it and pawned it off on #6). Stations #3 and #2 then ended up with 1982 Grumans which were also painted yellow.

Some of the yellow paint remained even after I was hired ( but they were soon sold or painted red) Maxim Ladder trucks …When I came, we only had one left and it was a reserve piece but we DID use it. My Captain (Ronnie Renick) would give us candy to toss out on the days we had her because riding that piece was like driving in a parade LMAO.

Ok, it’s getting late and I’m rambling….. DON’T FORGET to make plans to attend EMS Today in Baltimore, Md. March 1st – 5th. While there, don’t forget to attend JEMS CONNECT (click for details) on March 3rd from 8-11pm.

Rhett Fleitz (Fire Critic) and I will both be in attendance as well as many other of your favorite bloggers … here’s an excerpt ..

“Connect with hundreds of EMS professionals at the Meetup, Thursday night during EMS Today

Pick up your invitation to the event at one of these booths in the exhibit hall on Thursday, March 3rd (5:00-7:30pm) “

Also start making plans to attend FDIC March 22-27th in Indianapolis, IN.

Rhett and I will be attending this event as well. We will be there along with John Mitchel and Firefighter Netcast. What’s even more exciting is the fact that Rhett will be teaching a class on Social Media ….

“Social Media: The Fire Service’s Next Big Innovation
Lieutenant Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke (VA) Fire-EMS Department
Learn the “in’s and out’s” of social media for the fire service. Many questions about these media (blogs, twitter, facebook, MySpace, YouTube, skype, podcasting, text messaging, and so on) will be answered. Learn to be proactive by developing a social media standard operating procedure. Become acquainted with some of the ways departments are using these media for recruitment, retention, informing journalists and citizens, and publishing news. The benefits and potential consequences for personal use of these media by employees are also discussed. ALL LEVELS”

Our good friend and fellow Network Blogger Dave Statter will also be presenting at FDIC this year …

“The PIO Reporter: Telling Your Story in a World Where “Spin” Doesn’t Work
Dave Statter, Statter911 Communications, LLC
What you do before an image problem occurs may be more important than what you do later. Building reputation equity in your community could be the key to your survival when things go bad. In this “post-media world,” where the public can access news immediately on the Internet, the fire department can easily lose control of the message. Learn how to communicate so that the public knows what you know, when you know it instead of waiting until all the details are in. Learn how to take control, put out the bad news, build trust with the community, and repair your department’s reputation.
INTERMEDIATE”

What could be better than that you ask??? How about if I round up the Black Diamond Boot Gals for ya???

NOW WE’RE TALKING!!! Wooooo Hoooooo! Register today boys …. the slots are filling fast!

ok…. one more thing… DON’T FORGET the Roanoke Firefighter’s Auxiliary “Sweetheart Dinner” tomorrow night at Corned Beef & Co. at 6:30pm. There is also a “comedy show” located in the same building beginning at 9:00pm ( The Star City Comedy Club ). Contact an Auxiliary board member to RSVP for the dinner. You may have to call ahead to reserve you own ticket for the Comedy show (the Auxiliary purchased only a limited amount and you are running out of time) … it’s sure to be a good time so make plans ASAP to attend.

Alright, we’re sitting on a bunch already and it’s Friday night in the “Noke” … I’m going to BED! I’ll check back in with ya over 4-day. Until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on February 11, 2011 • Filed under: ems-health-safety, ems-topics, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, news, technology-communications, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: attic fire, battleship grey, Black Diamond Boots, Black Diamond Fire Boot, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Comedy Club, Dave Statter, EMS Today, FDIC 2011, FDIC classes, FDNY, fire attack, FireCritic.com, firefighters auxiliary, Grey Ghost, historic Roanoke pics, house fire, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, Jems Connect, JEMS meet up, old firehouse pics, Oren, positive pressure ventilation, PPV, Rhett Fleitz, Roanoke County Fire / Rescue, Roanoke Firefighter's Auxiliary, Roanoke house fire, Social Media, Star City Comedy Club, Statter911, Sweetheart Dinner, The Oren, Va Fire News, Willie Wines Jr, Womens Auxiliary, yellow fire trucks

Important information from Ironfiremen.com

1 comment

I have a few ‘clean up” items I need to hit this morning …..

First off, I need to follow up and link to a very important post from Bill Carey over on Backstep Firefighter. Bill posted about NIOSH. They ( NIOSH… National Iinstitute for Occupational Safety and Health) wants to hear from us!! THEY WANT OUR IMPUT!! NIOSH conducts the in depth reports following firefighter injuries and deaths. They want to know how we feel about those reports. Is there anything you’d like added? Any information they didn’t cover that you’d like to see? Maybe they are hitting one area too much…. like to see that changed?? HERE’S YOUR CHANCE!

Follow this link and let NIOSH know how YOU feel… They call it a “STAKE HOLDER COMMENT” section. If we are not the “STAKE HOLDERS” … who is??

Also, I need to hit the upcoming event ” EMS TODAY The JEMS conference and exposition”

EMS Today will once again be held in Baltimore, Md. on March 1-5, 2011 and IRONFIREMEN.COM will be there!

This is not only a chance to participate in outstanding classes and lecture but you will also have the opportunity to “Meet Up” and “Connect” with hundreds of other EMS professionals. Here’s an excerpt …

“Connect with hundreds of EMS professionals at the Meetup, Thursday night during EMS Today

Just as Steven Pasquale (aka white Sean or Sean Garrity of Rescue Me) did in Chicago, you too will have the chance to meet live and in person the likes of Rhett Fleitz (Fire Critic) and Me… Willie Wines Jr of Ironfiremen.com.

You can find all the details to the “Meet Up” HERE …. make your plans NOW to attend or visit !!

I have some chores to finish up before football practice tonight but I’ll try to check back in later. Be sure to hit the NIOSH links and to make plans for EMS Today 2011 in Baltimore.

Stay safe and in house…

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on February 10, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, ems-health-safety, ems-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, technology-communications, technology-communications-ems-topics, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: Baltimore Md, Captain Willie Wines, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Chicago, EMS Today, Fire Critic, Fire Rescue International, FRI, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, JEMS, JEMS meet up, NIOSH, NIOSH Reports, Rescue me, Rhett Fleitz, Sean Garrity, Willie Wines, Willie Wines Jr

A helmet tip to our “Northern” brethern…

5 comments

Those of you who know me well know that I am a big FDNY buff. I made several trips up to ride earlier in my career. I usually went around March and planned the trip around St. Patty’s Day. I found a home at 39 / 16 and was honored to march in the parade several times along side those brothers. My last trip up was March 2002, following the September 11, 2001 attacks. I haven’t been back since but often recollect the memories made on those trips and pray a silent prayer for the health and healing of the Brothers of the FDNY.

I bring this up tonight for a few reasons. I missed an important date. Yesterday marked the 6th anniversary of what has now been labeled “Black Sunday” for the FDNY. On January 23, 2005, 6 members of the FDNY were faced with a horifing decision while operating on a fire in the Bronx…. to stay where they were and die or jump from the 4th floor and pray for the best.

THEY JUMPED.

Lt. Joe DiBrnardo, FF. Jeff Cool, FF. Eugene Stolowski, and FF. Brendan Cawley all suffered serious, life threatening, debilitating injuries. Saddly, Lt. Curtis Meyran and Lt. John Bellew, jumped to their deaths that day.

I missed the date but Jason Hoevelmann from A Firefighters Own Worst Enemy did not. Jason posted a great video of FF. Cool speaking of the events of that day. The video includes footage and audio from that day. You can hear the “MAYDAYS” being called. Heres the video …..

The “Black Sunday” fire resulted in extensive research, studies, testing and ultimately the procurment of Personal Escape Systems (bags) for FDNY members. Maybe a small positive out of such a great tragedy. If you’re off duty and able .. RAISE A GLASS in memory of Lieutenants Meyran and Bellew and in hopes that we never see another Black Sunday.

Like I said … I’m a huge FDNY “buff”. We all want to play on the “winning” team and the FDNY is arguably the best fire department in the United States. I haven’t called a lot of attention to the right side bar, here on the site; that contains my “favorites” or “links”. One of those links is to Michael Dick’s photography site FDNY’s Bravest

The site hosts some AWESOME shots that encapsulate and define the name of this site .. Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen. Here are a few of his pics (shown with his written permission)

Photo by M. Dick FDNYSBRAVEST

Photo by M. Dick FDNYSBRAVEST.com

Here in the “Noke”, we have our own taste of the FDNY .. or at least that “Northern flair”. We hold several members who “migrated” south to find a home here in the Va. mountains. One of my favorites is Firefighter Adam Fleming … aka “Snowbird”.

I met Adam back when I made Lieutenant. We were assigned together at Station #6 and went through several doors together. Adam is a good fireman and friend. I could tell a hundred stories of our escapades on off days but had better save them for another time….the Statute of Limitations may not have run out on some of em …LOL

Anyways, Snowbird has always been handy with tools etc and can build or rebuild ANYTHING. He always has a “fixer up” project going and his latest is UNBELIEVABLE. He’s building a bar out of a fire truck…. yea .. a BAR out of a real FIRE TRUCK and it’s going inside his house. AWESOME!

He wanted me to wait until the project is complete but I convinced him into allowing me to do a post now and then follow up when we pour our 1st beverage.

He bought the truck, a 1988 Pierce Arrow from salvage. It came from the Orange, NJ Fire Department. Here’s what she looked like..

He got her right and decided to cut off the front for use on the bar. He was also able to salvage several pieces from the rig to accent the bar and it’s trim. Cut the front off you ask? Yea … with a battery operated Saws All …

He took what he needed and parted the remainder out. He moved his work inside, began the cleaning process and progressed to fabrication and mock-up ….

Following the mock-up, the bar was dis-assembled for paint and hardware. When complete, she’ll boast a diamond plate top with a smooth, clear epoxy. The cabinet drawers have the handles from the Engine’s compartments and pump panel. The light bar will be mounted above. The sink will be a 2 1/2 discharge, the door opens for access behind the bar … so much cool stuff I can’t begin to list it all …. Heres the final paint …

If you’re from Orange FD …. sit down. This is what your rig looked like after Snowbird robbed her of all he needed …

I also found a video that I believe may show the truck in action. Apparently, there is an East, West and who knows how many more “Orange” New Jerseys…

I can’t wait for the first drink and update post on the bar … GREAT JOB Snowbird! I was able to talk to Adam about the bar today because we were at his station for TOG inspection (he’s assigned to Station #1-C aka The Big Show). While we were there, he and Lt. Decker mounted a new Thermal Imaging Camera in our rig…. well, new to us anyway. Heres a shot of Snowbird at work and the finished product …

I think that now, or within the next few days; every front line rig in the city will have a TIC. They are a great “tool” when used correctly and I’m glad to fianally get one.

I figured since we had TOG inspections, I may as well try to clean my borks up a bit ….I though I was going blind .. turns out all I needed to do was a little cleaning / waxing …

Its been another steady day here at Lucky 13 as far as work goes. the highlight of the day was a visit from the Buckaroo … Wave “Bye” to our readers Buckaroo …

Bye for now anyways….. I’ll be back a little later. Hopefully after I receive 100 vote in the Black Diamond 2010 Fire Blog of the Year Contest … then we can get some covering off those pictures …LOL.

Dont forget to VOTE …. click HERE to cast your ballot and don’t forget to tell all your friends. You can vote every 6 hours …

Until next time…stay safe and in House.

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on January 24, 2011 • Filed under: fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, major-incidents, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, vehicle-operations-apparatus, videos • Tagged: 343, Adam Fleming, bail out, Black Sunday, Bronx fires, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, custom bars, FDNY, FDNY 39 /16, FDNY Black Sunday, FDNY Double LODD, FDNY fire photos, FDNY LODD, FDNYsbravest.com, FF Brendan Cawley, FF Eugene Stolowski, FF Jeff Cool, fire photos, fire video, Ironfiremen, IronFiremen.com, LODD, Lt Joe DiBernardo, Lt John Bellew, Lt. Curtis Meyran, M. Dick FDNYs Bravest, M. Dick photography, NJ, Orange, Orange FD, Orange NJ Fire Department, Personal Escape System, Personal Escape system for firefighters, Pierce fire trucks, Thermal Imaging cameras, TIC, Turn out gear inspections

More on Roanoke’s Days Inn fire, NFPA 1584 and Staffing

1 comment

Photo by Kyle Green / Roanoke Times

For us, Roanoke had a busy day this past Monday. Two fires within 6 hours and the second being a multi-alarm incident. Multiple fires in a tour is nothing new to Roanoke’s bravest or to firefighters all across this country for that matter.

Dave Statter reported just Tuesday on a “Busy day in DC …” where they worked two heavily involved house fires in a tour.

Bill Carey over at Backstep Firefighter threw his hat in the ring to report Metro Working where he updated us on multiple working fires for P.G. County and DC (note the “just kidding Rhett, Willie“ at the bottom..LOL.)

Those of you who follow my site regularly know that Ironfiremen.com is by no means a “news” type site / blog. I can’t type or write, I don’t have the patience to research facts and I’m about as “politically correct” as George Carlin. That said, I’ll leave the reporting to the reporters .. Rhett, Statter and the like.

There were alternate reasons for my posting the Roanoke fires on Monday. Reason far beyond “breaking news”. You see, our “system” has changed dramatically over the past several years and, despite denial by some; it has drastically changed the way we “do business”

Our Department has approx. 220 members in suppression. We run 10 Engines, 4 Ladders, 8 Medics, 2 Battalions and an EMS Supervisor out of 11 stations. We typically operate with about 73 men on duty. A “bread and butter” type of fire will see a minimum of 4 Engines, possibly 2 Ladders, 2 Medic units, both Battalion Chiefs, a support vehicle and various members from the Chief’s office. These numbers could easily increase depending on the OIC and what is called for. Our investigators are also on duty suppression personnel so, when they are called in; it usually means another piece has to be marked out of service. Because of this, the units not assigned to the fire generally have to “move to cover”. We relocate to other stations in an effort to “fill the gaps” (of course, this just opens another “gap” or makes them larger).

Photo by Lt. Mike Overacker (Retired)

My point here is this … multiple fires in a single tour in our department, more often than not; has the same members battling both fires. Multiple fires in DC or PG County may not even see the same companies much less the same members. My concern or the point I’d like to make is of and for the health and safety of the firefighters.

Sure EMS runs “pay the bills” but all you need to do is look at sites on the Fire/EMS Blog Network to see that fires are up as well. Our brothers and sisters across the country are seeing plenty of work!

NFPA 1584 is the “Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises”. OSHA also has strict guidelines for rehab. I remember reading an article on rehab and NFPA 1584 years ago on Firefighter Nation. I found that article by Mike McEvoy HERE. Firerescue 1 also had a good “power point” type version by Hamilton Lempert, MD, FACEP which can be found HERE. You can also visit NFPA.org for the standard.

What is your Department doing to ensure proper rehab of it’s members. Back on December 7th, Statter posted of two 5 alarm fires in Baltimore in less than 12 hours. See that story HERE. I jumped on Dave’s coat tail and posted on the fires HERE and HERE. I asked in the post (or stated) that I hoped that Baltimore had thought ahead enough to relieve some of the Brothers and Sisters after the 1st fire so that they didn’t get caught on the 2nd. How effective would you have been on your 2nd 5th alarm fire of the tour?

Now the Days Inn fire wasn’t a 5th alarm (I’m really not sure how many “alarms” it made officially) but the Department did implement some measures to ensure the health and safety of our members. The 1st thing that occurred was by direction of the 1st in Officer (Captain Chris Trussler) and the Incident Commander (Battalion Chief Terry King). They quickly escalated the incident to a 2nd alarm bringing in more resources. You can NEVER have too many members.

Administration didn’t try to “clear companies” from the scene and leave a “bare boness” assignment on scene to operate. They called in overtime to staff reserve apparatus and man the stations leaving adequate personnel on scene to handle the fire.

They fed the members. I’m not sure where it came from but I know the Brothers and Sisters received a hot meal on scene.

They also thought ahead and sent the members to our turnout gear storage and allowed them to grab a set of dry gear. We are not assigned 2 sets but allowing the members to grab a dry one for the remainder of the shift was great thinking.

Again I’ll ask … what does your Department do to ensure adequate rehab? Maybe an extra 30 minutes out of service for showers and away from the scene “rest”? Maybe after “X” amount of hours on an emergency scene your tour is over?

It took me a while to get here but that’s the points I wanted to make. I think my Department did a good job in looking after the members this past week and I wanted to pass it along and get you folks to thinking along the same lines. If you hit the links above you’ll learn that good rehab is everyone’s responsibility … Fireman, Company Officer and Chief.

far to near .. Captain Chris Trussler, Willie Wines Sr. (Retired) and 1st Lt. Brent Berry

Ok, I mentioned Captain Chris “Lucky” Trussler above. He is the B-shift Captain at Station #2 “The Deuce”. Lucky was 1st in at the Days Inn Fire. I met him at a local “watering hole” the other night to discuss details of the incident. Wouldn’t you know it … I can’t hide anywhere. As we were sitting there talking .. in walks Pop (my dad .. Willie Wines Sr ) and Trussler’s 1st Lt. Brent Berry.

It made for a really good time. Some great old stories … a few lies and I even got some details on the Days Inn fire.

Upon arrival, they found smoke showing from a 3rd floor hotel room in about the center of the building (the hotel is “T” shaped). All indications were of a “room and content” type fire. Lucky gave his size up and had the boys stretch up to go to work.

They entered the 3rd floor room and knocked down some fire but Captain Trussler quickly recognized that something wasn’t right. They noticed a hole in the floor with fire coming from below but he also was getting high and increasing heat from above. The smoke condition was also beginning to change.

He knew then that he had fire both above and below him and pulled his crews out. The alarms escilated and the operation was pretty much defensive from that point (the hotel was vacant due to renovations).

This is NOTan easy thing to do! Pull out? Are you kidding me? Trussler??

I’m proud to say that we are an agressive Fire Department. More than that, we are aggressively smart. In a city full of multi-story balloon construction houses, we are on scene in under 4 minutes and contain our fires to room and content greater than 60% of the time!

Captain Trussler (and Battalion Chief King) showed true fire ground discipline in pulling the boys out. I know it was the last thing Trussler wanted to do and applaud him for being Officer enough to do it!

A good friend, Fire Service Leader and fellow Blogger Chris Naum has a regular show over on Firefighter Netcast. Chris’ show is called “Taking it to the Streets” The show is about “Advancing Firefighter Safety and Operational Integrity for the Fire Service through provocative insights and dynamic discussions dedicated to the Art and Science of Firefighting and the Traditions of the Fire Service.”

If you haven’t tuned in to one of Chris’ shows .. you need to. Chris has been talking for some time now on “redefining the fire ground”. Chris has had me on as a guest before and we have spoken several times (on and off air) on these type issues. In one show, he made a statement or posed a question …. any Officer can kick a door or order his crew to the seat of a fire but is that same Officer good enough to go defensive when necessary? Do you have “Tactical Patience”? Are you doing more than just giving a size up … are you doing a 360, conducting a ”Risk Assessment” and developing an “Action Plan” before committing members? If you’re not … you should be!

Naum’s site, Command Safety; should be a “must read” for you every morning. You’ll find all kind of articles, advise and tools to help you become a better Officer. He has a great “Interactive Dynamic Risk Assessment” download HERE . Check him out.

So again, I took the long way around but wanted to say “good job” and “well done” for the decisions Captain Trussler, Battalion Chief King and the other Officers on scene made at the Days Inn fire. The members made a trench cut, hand jacked 5″, placed a “Mercury Monitor” as well as other master streams and were able to cut off and suppress the fire without committing to unsafe interior operations (yes… it’s me typing this ..LOL). Again .. WELL DONE GUYS!

Ok, real quickly… we are back to duty today and it’s been a busy one. We started off by getting a brand new bed of 5″ supply line. Our Department recently committed near $70,000 to replace our old 180 psi (service pressure) 5″ supply line with 300 psi high pressure hose.

Today, it was our turn to get the new hose. Captain Graham at Station #4 is leading the project. We rolled in there this morning and his crew was on top of it! He took all of our old 5″ off, rolled it and moved it to a storage shed.

We then loaded the new hose onto the truck. It took about 40 minutes total and went a lot smoother than I had expected. Something that I haven’t seen before was that Capt. Graham used a “shop vac” to pull trapped air from the hose.

I’m not kidding here. He used a 5″ to 2 1/2″ reducer and taped the shop vac hose to it. He placed the cap on the section of hose that we were loading to extract the air.

It worked GREAT. The hose loaded nice and flat and looks good. Of course you know how my luck runs … now we’ll catch some work tonight and I’ll end up putting it all right back in the street ..LOL

Thanks to Captain Graham and his crew for a job well done this morning.

I’ll add one more shot of that clean and pretty green hose … while it still is anyway … and the crew finishing up the load.

The rest of the day has been just as steady. Normal / routine calls, picking up and bringing home the reserve ladder etc. We also had a “Cluster Meeting” with the Chiefs this evening.

I’ll post on the meeting next day but just so you don’t worry yourself … I’m NOT in trouble …LOL. This is a regular type meeting where the Chief comes out and briefs the men on current happening etc within the Department. In the end, the Chief opens it up for questions, comments etc. All in all, a good meeting

I’m gonna wind it down for now. I have a few reports to complete and then I’m gonna try to catch a few winks. My truck is still in the shop and the forecast is for snow … yea … that’s just my luck, so I don’t know what I’ll end up doing tomorrow. Whatever it ends up being, I can assure you it wont be easy or fun. Regardless, I’ll most likely live through it and be back in here on Saturday. I’ll catch up with ya then if not before.

As always, Thanks for reading and following along. I was nominated for the Black Diamond 2010 Blog of the Year and will hopefully make it to the ballots. Thats for the nominations and future votes ..

Don’t forget to “share”, “like” and “tweet” me … stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on January 20, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, major-incidents, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: 5 alarm Baltimore fire, 5" supply line, Backstep Firefighter, Baltimore City Fire Department, Baltimore FD, Battalion Chief Terry King, Bill Carey, Brent Berry, Captain Chris Trussler, Captain Scott Graham, Captain Willie Wines Jr, Captain Wines, Chris Naum, Chris Trussler, command safety, Dave Statter, Days Inn, DC fire, DC fires, elevated master streams, fire hose, Firefighter rehab, Firefighter safety, Firefighter safety and health, firefighternetcast, fireground rehad, LDH, master streams, mercury monitor, multiple alarm fire, multiple fires, NFPA, NFPA 1584, OSHA, PG COunty, rehab, risk assessment, Roanoke Fire / EMS, roof ventilation, Statter, Steven Pasquale, tactical patience, Taking it to the streets, Terry King, trench cut, truck company operations, Willie Wines Jr, Willie Wines Sr

Firefighter bites dog…

3 comments

I’m sure one has some where at some time or another, I’m just not aware of it. I only used that title because Dave Statter was explaining to Rhett how a title such as this will / can draw readers. That said, I’m not even sure why I want / need to draw readers because I really don’t have a lot to say this morning.

I just got off duty and started a long break. Beyond our typical 4-day break, I also have vacation next cycle so I get a pretty good stretch off. The tour yesterday wasn’t too bad but we were up several times after midnight. That’s nothing compared to the shift Joe Schmoe pulled the other night but I have to tell ya…. the older I get, the harder it is to get up and down throughout the night (some old Jakes told me I’d get this way but I never understood or believed em). I got home this morning to find the Buckaroo waiting for his “Paw-Paw”. THAT MAKES IT ALL WORTH WHILE. I felt like a little rest (while working on this post) would be in order so he climbed into bed with me. I stole borrowed a “tractor book” from the on coming Captain and fellow farmer Lynn Flora this morning and brought it home for the little fella. Other than Fire Rescue Magazine (and the occasional PlayBoy) Tractor House is his favorite. Here we are making this mornings post and reading one of his favorite mags….

See?? No fancy desk… no big office … This is where / how all the “magic” of this site happens LOL. The needing / wanting a little rest after a tour brings to mind a recient article over at Fire Geezer concerning all the BS going on over in London. Apparently Brian Coleman, Chairman of the London Fire Authority; wants the beds out of London’s firehouses. Here is an excerpt from the article…

The beds are being phased out as stations are modernised but the Evening Standard understands that senior fire authority figures are determined to use the shorter night shift to scrap them completely. One senior source said: “Do you know any other occupation where people are able to sleep on duty?”

Read the entire story HERE

Ok, back to yesterday’s tour. We did have one interesting run. A single vehicle accident with no injuries. This little gal needs to get hired at a sewing factory or something because she really can “thread the needle”.

The remainder of the tour was really uneventful. Tried to stay warm and dry. A few visitors, a station tour and business as usual. Last night, I took the time to tune in to Firefighter Netcast for Chris Naum’s Taking it to the Streets. Last night’s topic was “Redefining the Fire ground” and is worth a listen. I didn’t call in because I was on duty but I did participate in the Chat room.

I agree with what Chris put forward last night but would add a few thoughts (as I did in the chat). Without a doubt, today’s fires are NOT like our Father’s (or those before us) fires. Building construction, fire loads, furnishing material etc continue to change and bring more and more hazards to our profession. That said, we can NOT fight today’s fires as we / they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. They are two totally different animals. So, we need to change our thinking. Our strategies and tactics. We’re not talking reinventing the wheel here, just taking a new and different look at how we operate on these new and ever changing fire scenes.

That’s where Chris and I agree 100%. What I would add is that because of all the above, we now need to be more agressive than ever. SMART AND SAFELY AGRESSIVE. The tactical decision etc now MUST be made correctly and QUICKLY. We need to establish an action plan and put it into place as quickly as possible to stop these fires before they reach the point where we can do no good (or they kill firemen). The difference in today’s fires and one from 20 years ago is that today, we reach that point a lot quicker than before.

Make the right decisions (using the new tools now available) and put the plan into action as quickly as possible. Don’t give light weight construction, foam filled furniture etc the chance to grow and reach the fatal point for firefighters. It was also mentioned “what are we saving?” I know and understand “risk little to save a little, risk a lot to save a lot / life” but I would ask who puts the value on what we are saving. (This is me playing the Devil’s advocate” here). I have things (material things I know) that I place a high value on. Things handed down to me from my father. Memories of my children’s school years. Pictures of this or that. Things that could and can never be replaced. Are they worth a fireman’s life??? NO. But, I pay for fire service (through taxes.. not a pay for spray type of deal) and I expect a certain level of service in return. “To save lives and property”. Just because everyone is out of the house doesn’t mean your (our) job is done. Sometimes, the little bit of clothing etc we save is all that family has left… ALL. Think about public perception. How many videos are out here now with comintation from “john Q Public” saying the firemen are “doing nothing”? Our reply?? It’s dangerous. Material items are not worht the risk. Hummm. I wonder what they’ll think the next time we are asking for money for man power, equipment or God forbid a raise. Train… educate yourselves, make smart, safe and quick decisions and get in there and do your job.

I could (and maybe should) go on for hours on this topic to better explain my position but I think (or hope) you get my point. I’m not talking about being ”reckless” here. There’s a huge difference between aggressive and reckless but sometimes, that line is not so obvious. I’m advocating cautiously / educated aggressiveness.

Anyway, here’s a shot of my multi-puter setup for the show last night…

Notice all the “post-it” notes?? I think someone may be “fretting” just a little bit. To be honest, I’m a little shocked. Most people that have worked, with, for or around know that I can tolerate a lot of things but “fretting” is NOT one of em. LOL. You see, the on coming Captain this morning (Lynn Flora) likes to use these “post-its” to pass along information to the opposite Captain. He leaves a note in case he forgets to pass something along by mouth. It kinda “tickles” me.. so I errrrrr… someone made about 100 of em, detailing every little event of the day; and left (posted them) for Captain Flora this morning. LMAO! Don’t worry Capt. I’ll launch an investigation and we’ll find the little prankster!

Ok, rest time is up. The Buckaroo and I have to feed a few cows and haul a load or two of hay today. I hope you folks have an enjoyable day as well (or a safe one for those pulling a tour). I have a few topics in mind for up coming post. Some local in nature and others not so much. For you local readers, I need to mention and say a few things about a past member, Captain Marci Stone; getting the Chief’s job out in Bedford County. We also have a retirement coming up next week. Keith “Meat” Blankinship will be leaving next cycle November 12th.

Speaking of retirement.. we will be putting on a “RETIREE’S BREAKFAST” this coming Tuesday November 9th. We will begin serving at 9am but I will start the cooking around 5am. I NEED YOUR HELP. I need assistant cooks, dish washers, waiters, servers etc. If you’ve never been to one… you need to be there! Especially our younger members. It’s awe inspiring to sit and listen and watch our retirees tell the stories of their day. If you have ever wondered why we do something “this way or that” or why we call “this” by that name etc…. these are the men who know. They built the Department we work in. Check out Rhett’s coverage of past events here but more importantly, make plans to attend / help. Contact me in the comment section here, via e-mail or cell to sign up. Thanks in advance.

Thanks again for following. If you havent already, don’t forget to friend request me on “picture book” (Willie Wines Jr.) so you can keep up with all the latest postings etc. Until the next one, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by Iron Firemen on November 5, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, training-development, Uncategorized • Tagged: Buckaroo, Capt, Captain Wines, Chris Naum, Dave Statter, Fire Critic, Fire Geezer, fire ground, Firefighter safety, firefighternetcast, firefighting tactics, Ironfiremen, Lynn Flora, Retiree's breakfast, Rhett, Rhett Fleitz, Statter, Taking it to the streets, Willie Wines Jr

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