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A little “old school” Captain Wines catching up…

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I hope everyone enjoyed their St Patrick’s Day weekend … I know I did.

Our Parade was held on Saturday but I was working. I had pulled my tour on Friday and then covered for Rhett until about 1pm on Saturday. I think he had some kind of dance class or something.

Time lapse video and more on Roanoke’s St Paddy’s Day Parade. Click HERE

It looks like I missed a good parade but I did make it downtown to raise a pint or two later that evening. I had a BLAST.

Most every bar / pub was full of Brother and Sister Firefighters. Salem, Roanoke County, Botetourt, Bedford and more …. the Valley’s Fire Service was represented well. I seen some really cool shirts and even a few kilts. I had some GREAT conversations and was able to see some  Brothers I hadn’t in some time. It felt good to be “out” again.

A Brother from a nearby Department took the opportunity to ask for some of my thoughts concerning RIT / RIC (Rapid Intervention Teams / Crews). Apparently, this Brothers Department is putting together their first RIT “bag” and developing SOP’s / SOG’s concerning the formation and activation of RIC.

The hot topic quickly became how a RIC should be equipped…. what tools they should carry. More specifically, he wanted to know should the RIC  have a charged hose line? My reply … NO.

There is a Department very close to me who’s SOP’s say that RIC must have a charged line but I disagree with that philosophy.

I reminded this Brother that the “R” in RIC stands for “Rapid”. Advancing a charged line will only slow the crew down.

An additional line(s) should be put into place in an effort to protect the downed firefighter(s) and the RIC but not by the RIC themselves. In addition, if there’s active fire; containment / extinguishment efforts should continue until all downed members are removed from the structure.

I explained that the tools etc they choose to carry should be dictated by the construction and type of structure involved in the fire (as well as by the number and skill level of members assigned to RIC). Yea … “skill level”. I don’t want a bunch of “yard breathers” or screw ups assigned as RIC. Think about it…. if you “go down”, who would you want coming to get you?

Anyway, it was a good conversation and I told him I’d put it out here to hopefully generate some additional comments. Leave us your thoughts / comments …. what tools do your RIC carry? Do they take a charged line?

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Just in time for St Patrick’s Day, I received an AWESOME gift all the way from Ontario.

My good friend and Brother Mitchell Brown sent me this beer Stein!

Mitchell wrote me a little while back to ask if I drank beer …. LMAO ….yea! Next thing I know, I get a box in the mail.

You may know Mitchell or have seen some of his work on Face Book from over at “Smoke is Showing … Fire Ground Photography”. You can more of his photos on his web site by CLICKING HERE .

I also recently received the two framed pictures shown with the stein. Another good friend, Brother and GREAT photographer, Nate Camfiord sent them to me. Nate actually took the photo of me and Rhett (left) while Baron Mosley took the shot of me and Hunter of TEAM HUNTER. THANKS for thinking of me Brothers and for the AWESOME gifts!

I’ve actually been trying to get out of the house more and more each day.

A few weeks back, Rhett made the trek over the mountain and we paid a visit to my local VFD … Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Station #4

Firefighter (and Brother) Joe Francisco (2nd from right) has invited me out to the station on several occasions. For one reason or another, I haven’t been able to make it. I’m glad we made / took the time.

What a GREAT crew! These Brothers and Sisters meet at least once a week for some type of training and to eat together. Yea …. they cook and eat together on their training / duty night. BEAUTIFUL!

THANKS for the invite, the station tour and the Brotherhood shared that night. Thanks also for your dedication and service …. keep up the good work!

Speaking of Rhett, my little buddy / sidekick has apparently “caught feelings”. There’s actually a lot of that going around these days.

It seems as if a lone firefighter has messed up a “good thing” here in The Noke.

For some time now, Golds Gym has allowed our Firefighters to workout and use their facilities free of charge…. an AWESOME gesture that many of our members took full advantage of.

Indications are that a single member went overboard and abused Gold’s generosity. Rumor has it that this member was bringing multiple family members (or non-firefighter friends etc) to the gym under the free access. This lone member cost several others and Rhett is pissed!

“I only hope that I don’t find out who messed it up for us until after I cool off. Whoever it was just cost me about $400 a year. Not only that, but they gave me and my department a black mark.”

Read his entire post on the incident by clicking HERE.

For those of you who don’t know, Rhett has been on a strenuous workout and diet program for some time now. He’s bulking up for some kind of bikini contest or something that he entered with his wife (some details are in his post linked above).

It makes no sense to me. If I were him, instead of prancing around up on the stage in a speedo, flexing my muscles, I’d want to be out in the audience watching my wife.

I’d be sitting there with a beer when Becky comes out telling everyone “that’s my wife” and how I had to watch her try on 50 bikinis before she picked that one! LMAO

I also don’t understand all the fuss about Golds Gym. We have weights in the stations. Why can’t he just do like I do?

A few weeks on my routine and he could have a body like mine… yea … he could look this good too!  LMAO

All kidding aside, Rhett has shown a level of focus, dedication and discipline that we all should have. He has not faltered or strayed (not even a single beer!).

His members were bragging to me just last Saturday how despite not eating with his members (being “in the kitchen”) due to his diet, he still cooks and runs the kitchen for them. He just has to prepare two meals vs one…. twice the work. That Brothers and Sisters is a good Officer (taking care of his members despite his needs / desires) … it’s Brotherhood and his members recognize and appreciate it.

He knows I’m just busting his balls a little with the jokes. I hope he knows how proud I am of his accomplishments and the example he’s setting for the rest of us (no matter the outcome of his bikini contest..LOL) … keep up the STRONG WORK Brother!

So there’s an attempt at an “old school” type of Ironfiremen.com post. Many of you have been missing and looking for em. Hope you enjoyed it … I’ll give ya more soon.

Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on March 19, 2013 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A needed distraction …

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I’m gonna try getting out again for a little while. I’ll be heading North to attend the Long Island Fire, Rescue and EMS Mega Show on Feb 23rd and 24th. I think it will make for the perfect “distraction” from everything else going on in my life.

I’ll be up there with my MN8 FoxFire family working the booth. I’m not sure what our booth “number” is but we’re never hard to find. We’re the guys with the “glow in the dark” stuff and there’s usually a huge crowd gathered around …. look for us and stop by to say hello if you’re at the show.

I feel like it’s going to be a good trip…. I know it’s a much needed one for me.

As far as the show / booth goes, we’re bringing some new products with us…. our newest actually.

MN8 FoxFire has started making 1 x 3 inch helmet “bars” (as opposed to tetrahedrons) for those of you  not wearing a leather helmet (of course we’ll have plenty of our tetrahedrons available as well).

In true firefighter fashion, the bars have proven to be useful in other applications as well …. be sure to drop by and check em out…. I know you’ll love em!

We’ll have all of our other great products on hand as well …. Helmet Bands, Equipment bands, Grip Wrap, Epoxy, Tee-shirts, hats etc. and I’ll be on hand to give ya a personal demo. If you’re not familiar with our Products, visit our Web Site HERE or find and follow us on Face Book HERE .

We’re also going to have a special guest / visitor in the booth with us this weekend. My little sister, Marci; is gonna make the ride up with me !

EASY fellas…. EASY. Like I said … she’s my SISTER.

I’m not gonna call her a “booth babe” but she will be hanging out at the show with us. Be sure to to say hello and give her a  chance to tell ya how awesome she thinks our product and the entire MN8 FoxFire team is.

We’ll be leaving out first thing in the morning (Thursday) and arriving in Long Island sometime late evening.

Our travel route will take us straight up I-81 from Roanoke to I-78 to I95 and the Lincoln Tunnel (most likely). If you’re on the way and wouldn’t mind a visit, just let me know … we LOVE stopping by and visiting Firehouses when we travel (who knows, you may even make the pages of Ironfiremen.com). Marci and I both will be checking and updating Face Book as we travel so hit us up if you want us to drop by and / or meet up.

Follow Ironfiremen.com on Face Book HERE

We’ll be staying at the Sheraton on Motor Parkway in  Hauppauge, Long Island. We’ll be looking for something to “get into” so if you’re close by or have any good suggestions, let us know. I know we’ll head into the City on Friday sometime (or maybe just one evening) but we’re flexable.

I think this trip will be just what I need to get back in the swing of things.

It’s gonna feel good to be back in New York, in my kilt and working. I’m excited! Hell, just being able to wear my kilt will make the trip worth while (of course I’ll wear my kilt ANYWHERE).

Wearing it around the farm draws too much attention (it distracts the cows …LOL). I had the chance to slide back into it down in Florida for 2013 Fire / Rescue East but I really wasn’t “there” yet. This trip feels more “normal” … like it should be.

The only thing that will be missing on this trip will be my “little buddy” …. the “Buckaroo #2″ … aka Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic). Yea …. once again, Rhett will be unable to make the trip. He’s afraid the hotels gym wont meet his needs / specs.

I’ve nicknamed him “WTA” (While Tony Atlas).

You see, Rhett’s been on a STRICT diet and workout program lately …. he’s “bulking up”.

He’s been drinking all the “muscle juice” he can find. Eating egg whites laid by a hen with only 3 tail feathers who sits on her nest facing east.

For lunch, the leaf of lettuce in his salads was grown on a glacier at the base of Mount Everest.

For dinner, a single green bean, uncooked and grown in only the purest of soils. 

For desert, he can down a 12 pack of creamy, delicious probiotic Activia yogurt faster than the cookie monster can eat a sleeve of Chips Ahoy. Of course he can “snack” on protein bars and such as long as he just eats the cardboard wrapper they’re contained in.

You see, Rhett in preparing to enter his 1st bikini contest …. no kidding ! A BIKINI CONTEST!

His wife Becky has been training for over a year now to participate in her first fitness / figure / bikini contest. She doesn’t need the training … she’s already HOT (blind … but HOT ..LOL). Well, Rhett decided he’d support her by being be her side in her endeavor … as in RIGHT by her side.

He wrote about it in a post titled  ”THE CHANGE BEGINS – TRAINING AND DIETING FOR A GOAL“ 

In all seriousness, Rhett’s been VERY disciplined in sticking to his diet / workout.

He’s sticking to it and it’s paying off …. HE LOOKS GREAT (although still not as good as Becky).

What he doesn’t realize is that like everything else in his life, he STILL wont surpass Dave Statter!

As hard as Rhett is trying, Dave does double the effort by accident. It just come natural to him and once again, “Fire Boy” is left playing “catch up”.

LMAO …. all kidding aside, Rhett has some family obligations keeping him from making this trip. We have PLENTY more scheduled for 2013 so it wont be long before we’re back on the road, together again.

So, I’ll try to keep ya posted as much as possible throughout the weekend. Once again, if you’re on our route or will be attending the show, be sure to let me know so we can meet up. Until I get back to ya ….

Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

 

Posted by on February 20, 2013 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The naked truth.. 1/2 naked firefighters and the right thing to do

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Sorry folks… I’ve been idle for a bit. You guys already know I’m kinda busy and it takes me so long to type these posts out that I just decided to take a “mini-vacation”. Now,  I  have a lot of catching up to do. This morning, I have a little something for your eyes and something to warm your heart as well.

I’ll begin with my last post. Dave Statter said (in the comment section) that the picture of me and the Buckaroo shirtless in bed “ruined the magic by showing what is really behind Iron Firemen”. LMAO He went on to discuss “dress code” at the Statter Home Office / Head Quarters and likened the pic to a Firefighter advancing a line without proper PPE. Well, I wanted to assure Dave that the “attire” of that morning was not typical. Honestly, I’m kinda shocked that Dave didn’t investigate the story further before poking fun at my 100% natural body. Maybe we have “Casual Fridays” here at Iron Firemen. Did ya ever consider that Dave? We value our employees THAT MUCH! LOL. And, just to put your mind at ease… here we are working fully dressed..

Ok, I’m fully dressed (less my boots) but the Buckaroo is the true CEO of Iron Firemen and I can’t tell him what to wear. Now, speaking of 1/2 naked firefighters / bloggers etc… I have been found. I never knew I was lost but apparently I was. It seems as though Hydrant Girl didn’t know / realize I made the move over to the Fire/EMS Blog Network. She has been looking for post / updates over at the old address. Well, I’m glad she found me and will say that I never lost her. She is a regular read of mine and is even listed under “Captain’s Favorites” over on the right sidebar. She has been doing a “30 day Blog Challenge” thingy and one of em was to post I pic you like (or are proud of ) of yourself. Here’s the shot she picked….

WOW! Congratulations and way to go Hydrant Gal. She’s been working really hard to get her certifications and to get into better shape (she’s also a little farm / country gal so I don’t think she was too “shabby” to begin with) and it seems as though the hard work has paid off. Now, I too used to do the “gym setting” workout thing but quit in an effort to get raises for the brothers and sisters in my Department. You see, if I had continued and “bulked up” like Hydrant Gal, the City would have had to buy me all new uniforms. New shirts, pants and even PPE. I would much rather maintain my current size / shape and have the city put that money towards a raise for the men…

LMAO….. keep up the good work Hydrant Gal.. otherwise you’ll fall off to near nothing and look like this. Ok, moving on; I told you I had something for your eyes (Hydrant Gal) and something for your heart (or belly). Yesterday, my Local (IAFF L-1132) hosted a breakfast for our retired members.  Rhett Fleitz (Fire Critic) and I started doing this several years back and each event seems to get bigger. I’ll start with adding a Link that FireGeezer had up a week or so ago. I meant to add the link here and have you guys take a look and never got around to it. YOU NEED TO READ THIS! This is why we have the breakfast. To show the guys that they are NOT forgotten. They appreciate it.. I assure you. You can see it in their eyes. You can feel it in the grip when they shake your hand and say “Thank You”. There’s some irony huh??? They are thanking us?!

These are the men who built the Department that I wanted to work for. They are the reason I wanted on the job. This is a very simple and easy way to give a little something back. A chance to get together with old friends. To share stories / memories etc. and they did plenty of that. We had somewhere near 90 retirees attend the event! WOW! That’s the good news. The bad… we had very little help from our new/ young / current members. My dad (retired) was there at 6am to help me in the kitchen (a retiree cooking for the retiree’s breakfast). Rhett followed soon (after picking up a few last minute items). Our youngest member in attendance was Drew Able from Station #3-A. Drew helped cook, serve, clean and even acted as the official photographer (the pics I’m going to use here are mine but we will get Drew’s up soon). Our President Rodney Jordan also arrived to help in anyway possible. Retirees Wayne Hall and Chuck Wells also worked their tails off to assure everything went off without a hitch. THANKS GUYS!

That makes 7 men working for 90. Of the 7, only 4…… 4…… are currently on the job… That STINKS! I really thought that more of our members would have came out in service of the men who came before us. I know a lot of the newer guys don’t know most or any of the retirees but, that’s the point. Come out to events like this so you can meet and get to know these men!  Is 1/2 a day too much to ask? Some really big things happened Tuesday. Rhett brought his Firefighter Netcast equipment. We had the guys sit down one on one or in groups and tell a few stories. We recorded it! The stories you hear around the station from “back in the day” told by the men behind em!  WOW! What an awesome piece of history for / from our Department! At our last breakfast, we accidentally got Retired Captain Pete Price talking about driving one of the old “Grey Ghost”. He was famous for it. We got him telling the story on Tuesday at the breakfast and he passed away the following Saturday. Again… this stuff is important to those of us who care about the job. It’s important to those who have sacrificed and worked this job. Important to us, them and those to come. To the 7 who helped pull it off… THANKS AGAIN! To those who couldn’t find the time.. shame on you! Here are a few pics…

I’m gonna stop here for now. I’ll get back to regular postings this evening. I have a few topic I want to hit (as mentioned in a previous post). Marci Stone made Chief in Bedford and tomorrow is Keith “Meat” Blankinship’s last day on duty. Tune in later for all that and so much more. Thanks for hanging in, finding and following. Don’t forget to “friend” us on “Picture Book” and tell all your friends. Until next one, stay safe and in house.

Captain Wines

Posted by on November 11, 2010 • Filed under: news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,