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To the Rescue

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I’ve had several interesting conversations this week about the Fire Service and our members.

In a time of crisis, such as with the severe storms this past Friday; we are always front page. I don’t think most folks realize that we are on the job 24/7. Even the days when thousands of people don’t need us, there are still several hundred who do. We are always working … even on our days off.

One of the conversations I had was kind of centered around “helping our own”. Actually, the question “who helps us ( first responders ) ” was asked. Who comes to “our” rescue? My first though was “you’ve got to be kidding”. There are so many people out there working on our behalf … directly or indirectly. Really???  Like who?

I began to throw out names …. see how many you know and think of their contributions to the Fire Service before clicking on their name for a link to their bio.

Glenn Gaines

Harold Schaitberger

Dennis Compton

Ron Siarnicki

Tim Sendelbach

Bobby Halton

Dave Iannone

Billy Goldfeder

That’s a VERY impressive list …. each a huge contributor to the Fire Service and all advocates for our health and safety. These were just the names “off the top of my head”. I could have listed many more. How many did you recognize? Do you know the work they’ve done (and continue to do) on your (our) behalf? YOU SHOULD!

How about this one …. Shane Parkins.

Shane heads up the National Firefighters Endowment. Everyday, Shane is working to get firefighters the money and equipment we need to remain safe and effectively do our jobs.

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. “

Here’s the thing … Shane makes it EASY. Even now, he’s running a $5,000-$6,000 dollar equipment grant. All you have to do is submit a short video explaining your need and why your department deserves to be chosen.  Click HERE for full details.

Here’s another thing …. Shane thinks that WE are the heros. I hope he understands just how much his work means to us out on the streets. It’s not easy. We are good friends and talk often. I can attest to the fact that Shane often finds himself wondering how to fund “this” or “that”. I also know that many times, he often uses his own money to assure our Brothers and Sisters are well equipped.

You can help. You can help the National Firefighters Endowment help Brother and Sister firefighters all across the Country. It’s cheap, easy and full of reward.

Join the NFE Officer’s Club HERE

The National Firefighters Endowment Officer’s Club allows you to make a monthly donation as low as $10 per month. In return, you’ll receive 1 of 343 Challenge Coins and be entered into monthly giveaways. Hit the link above to learn more about the different ranks/levels within the Officer’s Club.

How about Bob Gard? Never heard of him either??? Bob is a Brother firefighter from South Dakota. More than that, he is the organizer of the South Dakota Firefighter’s Benefit to be held on September 15, 2012 in Sioux Falls.

It’s the first ever benefit of this kind to be held in South Dakota. Bob is bringing firefighters from all across the State together in an effort to help not themselves, but firefighters and their families from all across the Country!

“The SD Firefighter Benefit was created to bring firefighters from across the state together to raise money for organizations that are solely funded by donations, and work to better the fire service.  This year we have selected the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation find out more about this organization at www.firehero.org,  the second organization is the National Firefighter Endowment find out more herewww.thethinredline.org.”

Can’t make it out to Sioux Falls?? Don’t panic …. you can still help. A $10 donation will get you entered into a drawing where the Benefit is giving away a custom Phenix Leather Helmet and 2 cash prizes ( $300 and $100).

The Helmet is AWESOME and even comes with a custom front.

Every $10 donation gives you another entry in the drawing.

More DETAILS by clicking HERE

You can use the secure “DONATE” tab located at the bottom right hand side of the link above.

It will be the best $10 you’ve spent …. hit the link!

 

Zach Green of MN8-FoxFire

Need another one???? How about Zach Green.

Zach is an “illuminating Genius” and the owner / President of MN8-FoxFire.

No, MN8-FoxFire is NOT a non-profit business but I can tell you for certain that Zach’s main focus is firefighter safety.

Beyond that, Zach and the MN8-FoxFire team have come to the aid of our Brothers and Sisters MANY times.

Raising money for the FDNY Rescue 2 MayDay Fund, Supporting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, The National Firefighter’s Endowment and the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs. He has donated product to our Brothers and Sisters in Detroit and MANY, MANY more worthy causes.

Rhett and I do some work for Zach and MN8-FoxFire but more than that, we are good friends. I say that because I know where his heart is …. with his fellow Brothers and Sisters of the Fire Service.

Now, Zach and MN8-FoxFire is taking it to the next level. Recently, he traveled to Canada where he had the honor of meeting Wayne Jasper.  Wayne is the Director & LODD Chairman of the CFFF (Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation).

Their conversation turned to the National Fallen Firefighter Memorial…. both Canadian and American. He was shocked to learn of the poor showing from Americans at the Canadian event and vowed to make a difference.

A LODD (Line Of Duty Death) doesn’t stop at the border … they affect us all … the BROTHERHOOD.

Read Zach’s post from his visit to Canada HERE

The result of Zach’s trip and talk with Wayne is that we are now organizing a bus trip to  Ottawa, Ontario for the 2012 Canadian Firefighters Annual Memorial Ceremony and Dedication of the Canadian Firefighters Memorial!

The event will be held at 10am on September 9, 2012. Our bus will be pulling out of Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday September 7th. We will make another stop / pick up in Detroit and return home on the 9th, following the events.

This is going to be a GREAT trip!!  By chartering a bus, we are able to make it affordable but we need your help in filling the seats. Help us show our Canadian Brothers how strong the Brotherhood is here in the USA. Help us show them that Brotherhood extends well beyond any border.

We will be staying in the Main Stay Suites which are located within walking distance of the Memorial and anything else we may need. We priced the room at 2 people per room but each room is a “suite”. They have 2 bedrooms, plus a fold out (so we can obviously sleep more than 2 per room if you have a group that wishes to do so.

To go, you MUST have a valid passport and you can NOT have a criminal record. As it stands now, if we get a min. of 30 passengers, the cost will be $530 each. That’s 3 days and 2 nights, travel and hotel. If we get 40 passengers, the cost drops to $470 and if we fill the bus at 50, the cost will be $440. The cost will also drop per person if you elect to sleep more than 2 people per room.

We only have a few weeks to hold our reservations so let us know your thoughts …. good idea or not. I think it is and I also think that if you go, it will be a trip you’ll never forget. We have a lot of “surprises” in the plans already.

Purchase your ticket HERE or call Robyn at 540-461-0954 for more details

So there ya have it …. a pretty decent list of members helping members. Just a few of the folks who come to “our” Rescue. Again I’ll say that this list could be MUCH longer and I apologize to those whom I didn’t include. I’ll add a note of THANKS to all of those (mentioned or not) who give of their selves  for our fellow Brothers and Sisters. If you know someone who fits this bill, be sure to thank them as well.

I’m back on duty tomorrow as Acting Battalion. I’ll check in as soon as possible but until then, stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

 

Posted by on July 3, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Booth Babes, FDIC another 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb and more!

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We are back from FDIC 2012. We actually drove home through the night (last night) because  I’m sick… and NO … not like “hung over” sick…. “sick” sick.  Despite having to cut the trip short, we had a BLAST!

Rhett ( The Fire Critic ) and I try to “step it up” a little at each event we attend and FDIC 2012 was a HUGE SUCCESS for the Fire Critic and Ironfiremen.com.

Our main reason for the trip was to help Zach Green and the  MN8-FoxFire  Team in booth #3026. It was an easy job because the product is so good that it sells itself.

Rumor is that this year set a record for attendance and sales at FDIC and I would bet that we were one of the top 5 busiest booths. Several of the staff members from FDIC even came by and asked me what all the “hype” was about around our booth. As soon as I got them in the tent … they understood.

Jacob and Troy from the TV show  ”Swamp People” were in the Ferrara Fire Truck booth ( I don’t understand the connection ) but it was the MN8-FoxFire booth that was SWAMPED.
I guess Rhett and I were kinda like the FoxFire “booth babes”. I say that for several reasons. One of the reasons is because we were wearing kilts. Not dresses … kilts (it’s defined by what you ARE or are NOT  wearing under em …lol). Not just any kilt either. We were wearing our custom kilts from ALT KILT.

ALT KILT on Face Book HERE

They wear a HUGE SUCCESS and the “hype” began as soon as we arrived.

We got into town on Wednesday evening and headed straight to the Fire Rescue 1 Meet Up and the FOOLS Bash.

Everywhere we turned, we were meeting and greeting Brothers, Sisters, friends and followers (new and old alike). I have to be honest with you … we were not expecting that.

Now don’t get me wrong … we LOVED it! Everyone there wanted to meet, talk to and get a picture with us. We didn’t make it past 20 foot into the gates.

In the past, whenever folks would come up to us and say  ” I love your site and read it every day”, we would always reply “so you’re the one” …LOL. Well, it was very apparent at FDIC that we now have at least a few more than “one” loyal reader / follower and if we didn’t get the chance to tell ya at FDIC, THANKS!

We  passed out every Challenge Coin, patch and Brotherhood Chip we had with us and needed a few hundred more! If you missed us at FDIC or wasn’t there to get yours, don’t panic…. you can still get one. For our Challenge Coin, patch and custom badges ….

Visit NM Coin Here

 

 Also visit The Chip Site to find where our Brotherhood Chips were made 

It was a fun night! The next morning, we opened the booth and was again over run. Folks were showing up to meet and visit with us and to get a personal demo of the MN8 FoxFire Products. We knew then that this would be a show like no other that we have attended.

We apologize to any of you that we didn’t get to speak to personally and wish we could have spent more time with those  who we did. Several times, there were folks waiting for a picture while we were giving product demos etc.

We made every effort to step aside real quickly and hope we got to all of you. We put a bunch of pictures up on our Face Book pages. Be sure to take a look at em and tag yourself if we didn’t already. Also, if you have one of or with us that we don’t … please tag us as well.

Find, Like and Follow us on Face Book HERE

So, after the floor closed for day 1, we have several dinners to attend. Our first was with Fire Rescue Magazine / Firefighter Nation  where we actually received some pretty cool recognition. If you’re not a subscriber of Fire Rescue Magazine or a member of Firefighter Nation … YOU SHOULD BE  (hit that link above). Here’s what they had to say about the award we received …

Fire Service writers, bloggers receive awards. 

Afterwards, we had a team dinner with the MN8-FoxFire Team. Zach gave us a special gift of a framed quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson…

“Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”  

Very fitting for MN8-FoxFire, The Fire Critic and Ironfiremen.com. I can’t wait to see where we end up on this journey.

That said .. I have to stop this post here. As I mentioned above, I’m sick and attempting to write this post from bed. I’ll do my best to follow up with a “Part 2″ as soon as possible. Sorry to make ya wait … thanks for following and be sure to hit that Face Book link above for more great pictures from FDIC.

You can also read a “FDIC Wrap up Part 1” post from Rhett 

Until I get back, Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on April 22, 2012 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, news, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Too big for their britches

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I had to cancel my trip to the   Pa. Fire Expo   this weekend but that doesn’t mean that YOU can’t go.

I’ve been getting some pics and updates from the floor in Harrisburg and it looks like I’m missing a great show.

I had intended to spend some time in the  FoxFire  booth with Zach Green and his crew. They are setup with  The Fire Store  in the North Hall, booths  817-826. Speaking of  The Fire Store, be sure to check out their link above. They now have all the FoxFire products on the front page as well as many other great fire service products. You can find my recent “Product Review” of the FoxFire Products  HERE .

If you guys get the chance … stop by and take in this Expo. Be sure to swing by The Fire Store and FoxFire booths and meet Zach and the crew. Tell em Ironfiremen.com sent ya … oh yea .. it’s also Zach’s birthday today .. wish him a happy and successful one!

While you’re there, also take the time to pay a visit to some other good friends and family of Ironfiremen.com (all in the North Hall) ….

Fire Rescue Magazine  Booth N 726

Go Forward Media  Booth N 722-724

The just introduced  Go Forward Fire   Booth N 722-724

 

 a Brotherhood Instructors  Booth N727

Wall Shields  Booth N725

FD Live In  N 725

The big guy pictured on the far right is one of my two favorite “Nicks” from FDLiveIn.com.  He’s also the one that I won $50 from arm wrestling while in Indy for FDIC 2011. .. Yea .. he’s “THAT” big and I took $50 from him..LOL

Again, take the time to visit the Pa. Fire Expo this weekend in Harrisburg, Pa and be sure to visit all the folks I’ve just mentioned … trust me … you wont regret it!

The reason I’m not there is two fold. First, I couldn’t get today’s shift covered. The prettiest day we’ve had in months and I’m stuck here at the station …uggggg.  The second reason is that I simply have too much going on around the farm this week. The break in weather means the beginning of hay season etc.

We’ve also been having some Fire Department training on the farm….well HazMat training anyway. (see a previous post  HERE ). 

Roanoke City and Salem both have “local” HazMat teams for their respective jurisdictions and then combine to make a “Regional” team covering a much larger area of the State. This week, the “Regional Team” has been training on the farm.

Yesterday ended the 3 days of training with A-shift.

That’s where the title of today’s post comes from … “too big for their britches”.

You see, all of our guys are good. I explained that in an earlier post. They HAVE to be good. They mess with the stuff that kills ya before you even know you’re dead.

Some of them though .. just “some of them” mind ya are a little “too big for their britches”.

Well, too big for those HazMat britches anyway … LMAO

Those holes are NOT supposed to be there. You shouldn’t be seeing their uniform pants under the suits ….LOL

They literally ARE “too big for their britches”

They do make a happy couple though … just look at the two   little   fellas … two peas in a pod … or two bears in a sack! LMAO

Look at the “little” one on the left … notice the yellow stripes at his waist line?? Tape to hold the suit together … LOL

They thought they were going to get out of the “decon” detail by trying to explain that the suits didn’t fit. The IC thought they were just making excuses. Turns out, they were right but obviously, the IC held his ground as well …LOL

All kidding aside, I think the guys received some really good training over the past 3 days.

Training is always better when you’re out in a more realistic situation / conditions etc.

For the City guys, I’m sure it was also nice to get outside of the city limits and take in a little clean country air.

Thanks to Battalion Chief Teddy Adkins (Roanoke) and Kevin Tottin (Salem) for allowing us to be a part of this training by providing the location ( The Catawba Sustainability Center …aka.. The Tech Farm and myself)

And, while the guys were hard at it training, the Buckaroo and I were just as busy.

We had equipment to unload and hook up in preparation for our evening chores plus we had a load of square bales to deliver that morning.

Loading the hay turned out to be quite the experience. It seems as though a nest of snakes had taken up residence in our loft. Now, they were just black snakes but they were also mean and feisty. They thought that since they had moved in … they owned the place.

 Had they have went on about their business somewhere else, everything would have been fine. Oh no … they figured to say and fight for what they thought was theirs … little did they know that they were fightin the famous Buckaroo!

We had to shoot 4 total and this one was the baby of the lot. The biggest (and meanest) was near 6 foot long and  about 3 inches in diameter. One of the biggest I’ve seen. Somehow or another, the two largest of the 4 made their way onto the HazMat team’s ATV…. LOL …. I don’t know how they got there.

 I didn’t have my camera then but one of the brothers on the team (Mike Elliston from Salem) took some pics and will be sending em my way shortly … I’ll get em up when I get them.

We also had some garden work to do in the evening.

This was the first dry day we’ve had in about 2 weeks or more and if we don’t soon get a crop in the ground, planting season will have passed us by.

Despite, the dry day, the ground was still SOAKED. A muddy mess is what it was but good friend and partner Kevin Tottin had just the trick.

Kevin just bought a smaller “compact” tractor. At 30 hp she has plenty of “pepper” and she’s also light enough that we could get her into places where the bigger tractors are just too heavy.

Like most of em, it was a long hard day we survived. I’m not sure what good it done us because some are saying that 6pm tonight is the  ” End of Days”.  If it is …I’m ready to go and will be standing my post here at Lucky #13. That said, I also hope they’re wrong … I got too much stuff to do tomorrow!

I’ll check back with later on tonight …. until then, stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on May 21, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, hazmat, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 on May 19, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, hazmat, news, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ironfiremen.com says goodbye to Washington DC

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WOW …  What a trip !

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

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

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

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

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

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

They put me up in the Presidential Suite!

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

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

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

MORE ON PAUL ANDREWS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 I went to the table number listed on my ticket.

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

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

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

I was seated beside Jeff  of Elsevier Publishing.

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

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

 

Even Bill Carey made the event!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

The meal was as good as the company!   FANCY !

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LMAO … he thinks he move the whole pile !

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

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

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

PLEASE keep these brothers in you thoughts and prayers!

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

Captain Wines

 

 

 

 

Posted by 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Statter naked, tons of pics and More from FDIC ….

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Ok, let me clean up the last post a little or at least explain some of the pics. I don’t know how but I managed to loose more than 1/2 of it in the publishing process. I was pushed for time so instead of rewritting the whole thing, I just threw in several pics for ya.

I basicly ended with Rhett and me visiting the Black Diamond Booth. We got a great tour / demo from the owner himself Alan Lunder.

 We also spent some time with the Black Diamond Gals ….

Yea… that’s the pic I’ve been waiting all week to get!

Notice the girls and I are wearing the new X2 14″  pull on Fire Boot

I have some more exciting things planned with Black Diamond and will fill ya in as soon as I get all the details finalized.

Thanks again to Alan and Black Diamond Boots for all they do! Take the time to visit their web site and order your pair today …. tell em I sent ya.

We also spent some more time with Zach Green of FoxFire.

Rhett (Fire Critic)  began a 3 part “product review” for FoxFire just last week. I think I’ll be doing one for them as well.

You guys know me well enough by now to know that I tell it like it is. If I don’t like something (a product etc) … I’ll say it and I wont push or promote something that I don’t believe in or trust either.

That said, Zach’s product is unbelievable.

It’s not without flaw and there is room for improvement in every new product. Another good thing here is that Zach listens.  He is a firefighter himself so he knows how we are…..  he’s “one of us”

He has already gotten imput and suggestions and made the necessary adjustments.

I can’t wait for you guys to see this stuff in action … and you HAVE to. It’s just that difficult to explain adequately.

The other cool thing is that he not only has FoxFire Gals … he has something better…..

That’s Ayrie Uckotter who pulls everything together for Zach … her official title?? “Illuminating Goddess”

Look for more exciting news about FoxFire and their products in the future here at Ironfiremen or from the FireCritic.

So, after the floor closed Thursday, we headed out to an event called Stop, Drop and Rock and Roll.

The event was held to raise money for The National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation.

After dinner and drinks, they held an auction to raise funds for the foundation .. Chief Billy Goldfedder had the honor of being the auctioneer and did a fantastic job.

We never miss an oppurtunity to snap a pic and “compare staches” when we’re together and this trip was no exception. Chief Billy came up to say hello and we grabbed this shot…

Yea .. I know … he’s got me. Great Stache Chief!

Speaking of the auction … the top bid went to a leather helmet from PHENIX  . The helmet went for like $4,000. Yea… 4 GRAND and worth every penny if you ask me.

#1 … it was / is a GREAT cause.

#2 … The helmets are GREAT! Look, fit, functionality, customability etc … you gotta check out these folks and their line of products (hit the link above). Their price includes your choice of liner and the shield … AND THE SHIELD. Here’s a shot of a natural colored on with an awesome shield…

Again, look for more and exciting news about the National Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial in the future here on Ironfiremen.

We shortened our stay at the Stop Drop and Rock and Roll even to make yet another dinner with Elsevier, Go Forward Media and Firefighter Nation. It made for a long day but worth every minute.

Yesterday was just as busy. I spent the day back in the booth with John Mitchell and Firefighter Netcast. It’s a great “gig” for a man in my position.

I get to listen “first hand” to so many great speakers and interviews. A big part of our job here at FDIC was recording interviews for Fire Rescue Magazine.

Just like at FRI in Chicago, Editor in Chief; Tim Sendelbach conducted the interviews and once again he did a fabulious job!

Here, he’s pictured with 2 of his 4 guest. The “Bloke” in the middle is from Australia while the gentleman to the far left hales from Sweden.

It was a GREAT interview. I can’t give away too much here but I will say the discussion will change the way you think … and maybe even operate. The other guests had been involved in some live fire studies conducted in Chicago. The information they were able to collect and diseminate may change the way we work. More GREAT STUFF from Fire Rescue Magazine!

After a long day in the booth, we headed out for a cold beer before attending the “Meet Up”.

We ended up stopping in the “Wild Beaver” …. I LOVE THIS BAR!

LOL …. This is our waitress. I don’t know her name and it really doesn’t matter

We had met up with Mike Smith of Boron Extrication .

It was cool to once again “put a face to a name” here in Indy.

If you’re on the job or anywhere are extrication, Mike’s site is a MUST read.

This was his first time meeting me or Rhett and attending a Fire/EMS Blog Network function. I think he enjoyed himself and actually seemed pretty excited about the experience. It was great to finally meet ya Mike … keep up the good work!

So, the next stop was the “Meet Up”

The meetup was hosted by Fire Rescue Magazine, Firefighter Nation, and FireEMSBlogs.com and sponsored by ISI and Black Helmet Apparel.

This is where I caught Dave Statter Naked …

Get your minds out of the gutter! I can’t believe you guys read this far waiting and hoping for a shot of Dave in “the buff” … you’re all SICK ..LOL

What I mean is that this is the first time I’ve seen Dave where he WASN’T working. He ALWAYS has a mic or video camera in hand looking for that next big story.

Here, I caught him relaxed. No computer, no mic or camera … just enjoying the evening. The sad news is that it didn’t last long.

Our sponsors had TONS of “give aways” for the night and they chose Rhett to “do the honors”

Poor Dave… he was CRUSHED!

Once again the “Fire Boy“  from Roanoke managed to top Dave Statter

Right place at the the time ???  Who knows the story here is that it brought Statter to tears… yea … I got the pic!

That’s Dave wiping a tear ….. LOL

All kidding aside, the Meet Up was GREAT!  Thanks to ISI and Black Helmet Apparel for sponsoring the event.

We made it back to our hotel room and got up once again this morning to stand our post on the exhibit floor for the final hours of the show.

We ended the event  with an interview with  ”Doc” Multrup.

Tiger Schmittendorf (from the Firefighter Netcast show Story Tellers ) spent some great one on one time with the Chief Emeritius from Hyattsville, Md.

I love Tiger’s “platform” on FireFighter Netcast. He does just what the name says … he records our stories… our history.

That said, Doc Multrup had some great tales!

Again that was the part of this job that I enjoy so much …  hearing these interviews in person and first hand!

We finished our work week with a Firefighter Netcast business  lunch / meeting.  There, I got to meet Chief BillyHayes. Chief Hayes is the newest addition to the  Firefighter Netcast family. His show will focus on prevention and risk reduction in the fire service. I have meet Chief Hayes before and can assure you that this is yet another show on the netcast that you will not want to miss.

Another note here is that all the Pod Cast this week were sponsored by FD LiveIn and Wall Shields.

This pic is of Chief Ed Plauger.

He was being interviewed by Tim Sendelbach …

Chief Plauger was the Incident Commander at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 ….

Yea …. he was the man who handled ALL OF THAT.

Again… I heard Chief Plauger speak about Incident Command FIRST HAND!

WOW!

My point here was to hit FD Live In and Wall Shields for their support. Please take the time to hit their links above and see what these folks are all about!

I’m a huge fan of both and luckily, I got to spent a lot of time with the guys from FD Live In….. Nick and Nick (Big Nick..Little Nick)

Big Nick and I seemed to “connect”

He stuck to me like glue and was really cool and fun to hang with.

Knowing how I am… I had to screw with him a little … imagine that…

I got him on the “arm wrestling” deal. I always pick the biggest, meanest, youngest guy in the room. I do that because I’m the exact oppisite…LOL.

We were talking about “the job” ..my size … heart etc. so I challanged him. “I’ll arm wrestle ya for $20 bucks”.

He bit. We made it all the way to the table and even locked grips. Then I continued our conversation. Size makes no difference. Age neither. I had the advantage because I had a tool. Not just ANY tool … the best any of us can carry … OUR HEADS.

I had told him I’d “arm wrestle” for $20 … I NEVER said I’d beat him…… LOL. It was all in good fun and I think he even learned a lesson. Anyway, thanks to Nick and Nick as well as to Wall Shield for the  fun night!

Ok, so I hate to drag this post on and on but there has been so much here at FDIC to talk about. I guess in the end, its about all the people we met and the conversations we had.

People I’ve never met … old friends … leaders in the Fire Service etc… It was a good trip. Now, I have to pack up and prepare to head home in the morning to check in on the Buckaroo and catch up on all the farm work that has been neglected this week.

I’ll leave ya with some more pictures and maybe even a brief description … thanks for following … don’t forget to “friend” “share” and “Tweet”

I check back in as soon as I can .. You guys stay safe and in house…

Captain Wines

Posted by on March 26, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I almost cried … FDIC continued

6 comments

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 on March 25, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, training-development, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Georgia Shout out and FDIC bound!

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You folks may remember a recient post where I helped my dad (Pop) drive a bus down to Flordia and back… ( See Home Again )

The bus hauls the Bluegrass Band Nothin Fancy and has become kind of a regular gig for Pop in his retirement.

This weekend, the band was down in Thomasville, Ga. Apparently, the hot water heater on the bus went out and left the boys out in the cold.

What do you do when you’re hundreds of miles from home and need some help?? You stop by the local fire station of course!

Pop rolled em into the nearby Thomasville Station #1 where they were met by Derick Knight. Derick and the men of station #1 opened their house and welcomed the guys in.

While Pop was telling stories from his 30 yrs on the job, the band was able to grab  nice hot showers.

Pop said the guys from Station #1 were 1st class all the way. It was also really neat for the band to get to see 1st hand how the Brotherhood of the Fire Service reaches all across the Country.

I’m not sure how many pieces or men were assigned to Station #1 but Pop seemed drawn to their Tower Ladder. Learn more about Thomasville Fire / Rescue and a bit of their history  HERE .

Special Thanks from Ironfiremen.com to Derick Knight and the Brothers and Sisters of Thomasville Station #1.

It’s little actions such as this that keep the “Brotherhood” alive. .. Kinda like my recent post  Save The Shoes . If you guys are ever in the Roanoke, Va area … look me up and we’ll return the favor. Thanks again !

Ok, the rest of ya don’t have to be in Va. to look me up. The FireCritic and I are headed to Indy for FDIC!  WoooooHoooo … I can’t wait to get there!

Rhett will be teaching the class  “Social Media: The Fire Services next Big Innovation” in classroom 134-135 on Thursday, March 24th @ 1:30.

Our good friend and fellow Network Blogger Dave Statter will also be teaching on Thursday @ 1:30. Dave’s topic is  ”The PIO Reporter: Telling Your Story in a World Where “Spin” Doesn’t Work”.

I will be in the Fire Rescue Magizine Booth #4244. John Mitchel (Fire Daily) and I will be there recording and live Pod Casting for Firefighter Netcast. Make sure to drop by and visit.

I will also be over at the Black Diamond Boot Booth as well as many other locations throughout the week…. yea… me and the Black Diamond Gals !!! (This is gonna be a good trip)

You’ll also want to catch up with us and all the other Fire/EMS Blog NetworkBloggers at the “meet up” on Friday the 25th at O’Reilly’s Irish Bar & Restaurant. Take the time to RSVP on Face Book  HERE

Rhett has a pretty good run down of events you’ll want to attend  HERE  and we’ll post our schedule as soon as we arrive and finalize all details. Rhett’s cell is on his Face Book page … if ya can’t find us, give him a call and we’ll work something out.

SEE YA THERE!

Until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines

Posted by on March 21, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,