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Roanoke’s Bravest face another heavily involved structure fire

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The Brothers and Sisters of B-shift had another busy night.

Lucky #13, led by Captain Phil “Triple D” Dillon was first in on a well involved 2 story residential structure fire.

It took firefighters about 40 minutes to get the fire “under control”. All searches were found to be “all clear” as the house was unoccupied and under renovation. The cause remains under investigation while damages are estimated at $80,000.00
Captain Dillon and his crew made a quick knock down and stretched inside while the 2nd due companies protected the exposure and performed other vital tasks.

You can tell by the photo above right that these Brothers and Sisters faced a pretty substantial amount of fire. The photo (above right) is actually a screen shot from video footage captured on the cell phone of a WDBJ 7 news reporter. The picture to the left is what they managed to save.

It’s obvious that the Brothers and Sisters of B-Shift, North Battalion put in some solid work. Nobody, civilian or firefighter; was injured in the blaze although Captain Dillon (#13-C … left in the photo right from 2007) said at shift break this morning that he hasn’t faced that much heat in quite a while.

Captain Dillon is an “aggressive” firefighter who has seen more than his fair share of work. When he says it was a “hot” one, what he means is that it would have melted the paint off the gates of hell …LOL.

When I say he’s “aggressive”, I should add that it’s a calculated aggression. An educated aggression …a cautious aggressiveness even though the two words contradict themselves (if that makes sense).  How do you define aggressive? My good friend and Brother Bill Carey has a great post on that exact topic over on Backstep Firefighter. Click the title below to view that post …

Defining Aggressive, Part I Tasks and Identity

 So anyway, I know that Captain Dillon follows my site and what I can’t figure out is why he didn’t deploy the newest firefighting technique recently discovered in Wytheville, Va by Chief Ronnie King. If you haven’t heard of this revolutionary technique, don’t worry. I covered it’s discovery right here in the pages of Ironfiremen.com.  Read that post by CLICKING HERE .

I don’t know what Captain Dillon was thinking when he decided to put WATER on the fire! Maybe if he had “thousands and thousands of hours of training” his strategies and tactics would have been different? Anyway, you can see the entire video from WDBJ7 (where the screen shot, top, right photo came from) in the link below. I’ll also add the video from WSLS and the story from the local paper.

MUST SEE VIDEO from WDBJ7. Well involved structure fire Roanoke, Va

 Story from Roanoke.com

Today has been just as busy around “Lucky #13″.

We even got to do a little work with our Brothers from Roanoke County.

We’re kind of “out on the border” here at #13. We are right at the line for Roanoke County on one side and the City of Salem on the other.

We have both mutual and automatic-aid agreements with both agencies and it goes both ways. We run into the County and City of Salem and they in turn respond into the City when needed.

Today, we caught a small fire contained in a very confined space above an entrance way.

The job took more overhaul than extinguishment but the members (City and County) did a good job of getting to it.

The location was actually a fairly large church.

Had this fire gone undetected, it could have resulted in a huge loss.

 

We were first in on this one.

Well, we were the first piece of fire “apparatus” on scene anyway.

Little Brandon Sheppard was actually first on scene and established command.

Yea … Brandon had command and ordered me to work! LOL

My long time followers may remember Brandon from back in our “Melrose Misfits” days. The “powers to be” worked it out where Brandon was allowed to spend a tour with us in the City. He was actually “assigned” to the City as a Roanoke County Firefighter. I’m not sure it had ever been done before.

It was actually an awesome idea and proved to be a great experience for Brandon. Take a moment and read my post (and the comments) from January 25, 2009

Roanoke County FF/Medic assigned to City Station for a day

I have a lot more to share with ya but I’ll stop here for now. Just for a teaser, I’ll tell that I received some AWESOME upgrades for my Phenix TL2 Leather Helmet. Tomorrow night is our Union’s Annual Banquet (IAFF Local-1132) so I should have some good pics for the next post. Saturday, we sign up for vacation and Father Sandy is scheduled for a visit. Lastly, I have some BIG news concerning our beloved “Rookie Randy” … you’re not going to want to miss it.

We’re also trying to boost my Face book presence. If you haven’t done so already, please visit and like my “Fan Page” Let’s see if I can get to 5,000 by Christmas … I promise to keep ya entertained.

“Like” Ironfiremen.com on Face Book. Click HERE

Until I get back, stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on December 6, 2012 • Filed under: command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, news, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to “shock” a porn star

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Apparently, all you need to do is give her an application to the Cave Spring Volunteer Fire Department.

You may remember back in June when we broke the story about, an ex-porn star volunteering at the Cave Spring Volunteer Rescue Squad. Read that post HERE .

It caused quite a stink in and around the Roanoke Valley and you heard it first right here on these pages. Although they failed to link to or even mention Ironfiremen.com, the Huffington Post even picked up on the story! Read their coverage HERE .

Well, as big as a “shock” as the Harmony Rose story was; now the Cave Spring Volunteer Fire Department has “one upped” the Rescue Squad and delivered an even bigger shock…. yea get ready for it ….  ”the shocker”

Since my days as a Melrose Misfit, the boys have been telling me about things such as “the Shocker”, “the Rocker” and even “the Show Stopper”.

With the help of a freaky fireman down at #5, they’ve even tried to educate me on terms such as the “The Bat Wing, “The Eyeball” “The  Goat” and many other terms.

I’m still not real sure what they were talking about but the one thing I do know is that there are several members of the Cave Spring Volunteer Fire Department that are VERY LUCKY to be alive.

On Thursday, September 6, 2012, the Cave Spring Volunteer Fire Department was conducting some training on Commonwealth Drive in South Roanoke County. The on duty crew utilized both a Wagon and Ladder Truck for their training evolution (equipment and members from the Cave Spring Rescue Squad were also in attendance).

It is still uncertain what the objective of the training evolution was but it is certainly clear that it didn’t end as planned.

The Wagon was apparently connected to a hydrant and supplying water to an elevated master stream from the Ladder truck. It remains unclear at this time whether or not the Ladder was flowing at the time of the incident.

At some point in the evolution, the ladder either came in contact with or became close enough to a high voltage power line to cause the equipment to become energized.  The result was devastating, yet amazing in that nobody was injured or killed . The incident could also become very costly to Roanoke County and their fleet of fire apparatus.

The damage was significant. It is believed that both pieces of equipment could be a total loss. That could add up to somewhere around $1.5 million dollars of damage. The Ladder was a 2000 Pierce while the Wagon was a brand new 2012 model ( Story and photos HERE ). It’s believed that the County’s insurance will access the damages later this week.

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It’s been reported that the jolt even blew out every tire on both trucks. That’s 16 tires in total! Rumors are of the electrical systems being blown out of their panels and the inability  to turn systems on and/or off following the charge. Members on scene (or having witnessed the aftermath) report an obvious path of current down the ladder and through the out-riggers.

Due to the hydrant flowing, there was water on the ground, reaching to and beyond the Wagon and surrounding area which could have easily allowed for the flow of current from one piece to the other.

At least one member was atop the turntable at the time of the incident but it remains unclear where the remaining members were located at the time of the incident (reports are of up to 12 members on scene). How they were not injured remains undetermined and under investigation. THEY WERE LUCKY!

At the least, this incident is a “Close Call” or “Near Miss”. Chief Goldfeder even ran it on Firefighter Close Calls (view that story / link HERE ). I have spoken with Officers of both the Cave Spring VFD and Roanoke County Fire / Rescue and they all say it’s a miracle that nobody was injured or killed.

There are some very basic lessons to be learned from this incident and quite honestly, I’m shocked that neither party has been eager to share them with the Fire Service as a whole. As embarrassing as it may be, at least; others can learn from whatever mistakes were made.

I’ve asked for pictures of the damage just so you all can see how serious this incident actually was. I’ve been told that they either don’t exist or that I can’t have them (depending on who I talk to). Our own local news reporters couldn’t even get a shot of the carnage.

Apparently, the trucks are now in a secure, remote location with no access from the public or press.

I wonder what they’re hiding?

Are the damages worse than previously reported?

I’ve talked to my contacts. I’ve told them … get out in front of the issues. Show what you have and tell what you can. ..”this” is what we know, “here’s ” what it looks like and the rest is being investigated…. we will share more as it becomes available. People are asking and we want and DESERVE an answer ( I am a Roanoke County tax payer).

Dave Statter will tell you that this is the correct way to handle such a situation. Rhett, Dave and I even offer classes on this exact subject but apparently, those closest to us are turning a deaf ear. That’s what upsets me the most. Both Roanoke County Fire/Rescue and the Cave Spring VFD are first class organizations. I expect so much more from both of them.

Again, I’ll say it’s like they’re hiding something. It’s just like  all the incidents happening in a nearby City.

Rumors are ABUNDANT! We are hearing of a member having  either resigned or haven been fired, a Captain on or off of administrative leave, inappropriate text messages, pornography,  a DUI, revoked licenses,  a picture of a moose with 2 assholes and even that there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus! WTF? I wish I could elaborate more but apparently, a “gag order” has been issued and nobody can tell me exactly what it is that I’m not supposed to talk about.

My point here is this. Without FACT … the “rumor mill” grows. Even IF an incident is under investigation and all details are not yet known, put out what you know, and where you’re going with it.  Keep your members, the public and press informed UP FRONT and it will save you a lot of work and explaining on the back side.

When the photos and “full story” of the Cave Spring incident are worthy of our attention, I will share them here on Ironfiremen.com. Until then, feel free to use the comment section to voice your opinion, concerns or point of view … I look forward to hearing them. Don’t forget to follow and “Like” us on Face Book by using the link above.

ALWAYS CHECK FOR OVERHEAD OBSTRUCTIONS …. stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

 

Posted by on September 10, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, news, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Porn Star or Felon …which do you want in your station??

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Back in Feb. 2012, I ran a series of posts related to convicted felons working (or volunteering) as Fire / EMS responders.

It started with some details from a local news story that just simply, “hit me wrong”. After I posted about a local Volunteer Fire Chief (Billy Joe Carter), the situation kind of grew.

I found out things that I never would have imagined happening right here in my back yard …. I was shocked.

The most shocking thing I learned was how many convicted felons are running on crews here in Virginia. I couldn’t believe it.

What was more shocking was how many readers didn’t see a big issue with it. Some even wanted to categorize different levels of a felon!

I’m still confused as to what’s an acceptable felon?  I never knew there was a good and bad one. All I know is that I don’t want  a convicted felon working beside me nor do I want one responding to and entering my home.

Catch up and read those previous posts by clicking HERE

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Well, Botetourt County hired an Emergency Service’s Coordinator (I’ll post more on Carr Boyd from Charlotte, NC soon) and things have somewhat settled down (although they still haven’t resolved the felon issue). Now, all the drama seems to be headed Roanoke County’s way….

One of the local Volunteer Rescue Squads has an ex-porn star as a member.

Apparently, 29 year old Harmony Rose has left the Adult movie industry,  is  now living in Va. and aspiring to become a nurse. She has also joined the Cave Spring Volunteer Rescue Squad and some folks aren’t too happy about it.

Personally, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.

She has done nothing illegal …. being an adult movie actress (porn star) does not make you a convicted felon…. but wait …. even if it did, it’s apparently ok the be a convicted felon AND a firefighter/EMT here in Va.

Just out of high school, Harmony went to work at a Hooters restaurant in Florida.  After a while, she began dancing (stripping) at a Gentleman’s Club and from there moved into the Adult film industry. She  also worked some in the real estate business as a “side job”. By all appearances, she has been very successful.

Now, apparently; she has decided to move toward a nursing career and has chosen to start by volunteering with a local Rescue Squad …. a smart move by any aspiring nursing student.

Was the path she chose to get to this point in her life the most reputable??? In some minds….  maybe not. It’s not the path I would have wanted my daughters to have taken but I also understand why so many young women do. Who are we to judge?

Again, I don’t see what all the “fuss” is about. She’s a good looking,apparently intelligent woman. She has done nothing illegal and is working towards a new career. To my knowledge she has met all qualifications for membership. There is nothing on the application about previous employment or sexual taste /preference. She was not a member of the CSVRS at the time she made all the movies nor were any of them filmed with her in their uniform or while on their property.

View the Cave Spring Vol. Rescue Squad application HERE

Again I’ll say … what’s all the fuss about? What has she done wrong? A lot of the “hype” I’m hearing is around what some are calling a “morals and ethics issue”. Morals and ethics??? Who’s do we go by? Are ours all the same?

I understand that public servants are held to a “higher standard” but whos?

What standard are we talking about here anyway … having sex? Apparently she’s had a lot of practice and is very good at it so I’d say she far exceeds the average standard as it applies to sex…LOL

All kidding aside, sex is a natural act. Most of us do it. My parents did … obviously yours did too. Hell, Rhett even has 2 children so the odds are good that  he has at least twice in his life.

The rumor is that someone on the squad recognized her and began asking questions. How did they recognize her??? They’ve seen one of her movies…that’s how! So I guess the standards for making vs. simply watching an adult movie are different?

I guess what they’re saying is that  it’s ok to do it as long as you don’t talk about it? Hypocritical if ya ask me.

I think the reaction I’m hearing from some people could be stemmed more from insecurity and/or  jealousy rather than rational thought. I’m sure some of the wives / girlfriends of the male volunteers are not happy and most likely  feel threatened in one way or another.  If so, I wonder why they don’t feel the same way about other female members?

Do they not trust their husbands / boyfriends? Is that Harmony’s fault? If they are so worried, maybe they should just volunteer alongside their husband or boyfriend …. I’m sure Cave Spring could use the extra help.

Maybe the uproar is because Harmony is a good looking woman? Maybe they could create an “appearance standard” on their application and only allow us ugly folk to volunteer. Maybe it’s that they don’t want their husbands / boyfriends to see how other women can perform in the bedroom? None of which are reason enough to be discriminant towards her.

I wonder if we’d be hearing all this fuss is it were a male porn star in question?

There’s another problem with this story. I don’t understand why the Cave Spring Volunteer Rescue Squad or Roanoke County hasn’t gotten out in front of the story…. if it’s a “story” at all  (they should have Dave Statter and Rhett give em a class on how to handle these types of issues). I know that the Officers are aware of the situation and that they have been working to decide a how to handle it. It may be too late because the cat is out of the bag.

The “talk” is everywhere … firehouses, rescue squads, the medic room at the ER etc. Before long, the story will hit the main stream press and here in “The Bible Belt”, it will spread like wildfire. At the very least, someone like FireCritic.com or Ironfiremen.com will hear about it and put the story out. Why not be in “front” of the story rather than behind it?

If they are going to “kick her off” the squad…. do it NOW and justify the reasons (and they had better be good ones). If they elect to allow her to participate as a volunteer (as they should), stop the rumors cold by coming out and saying she meets all the requirements and there IS NO ISSUE.

If she responds to your home and you recognize her, it’s most likely because you’ve seen her films too. I’m sure she’s thankful for your purchase and personal contribution to her nursing school fund.

So what do you think?? Should she be allowed to volunteer or not? Should a previous career as an adult film star keep an applicant from volunteering while convicted felons are allowed? What other previous professions would disqualify an applicant? Are they listed on the application of your Department? I’m curious what you folks think.

I’ll stand behind her any day … I say allow her to volunteer!

Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on June 27, 2012 • Filed under: ems-topics, fire-rescue-topics, funding-staffing, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Volunteer vs. Paid …Respect my AUTHORITAH !!!

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Another paid vs. volunteer battle and this one is in my back yard. It’s embarrassing!

I don’t speak out much on the paid vs volunteer issue here on the site but most of you who have met or know me, know where I stand. For me, it’s not paid vs. volunteer; it’s professional vs nonprofessional.

I know a lot of damn good firemen who are volunteers. I know just as many “paid guys” who aren’t worth a dime. Paid or vollie … it doesn’t matter to me as long as you do the job.

To expect less would be a disgrace to those who came before us.

That is why we are all here right? It do the job. To protect and serve our fellow man.

After reading our local paper this morning, I’m not so sure all of my area Departments / members share that same direction / goal. I work in the city (43 sq. miles). We are surrounded entirely by Roanoke County (251 sq miles) who has their own combination Department. Rhett and I tell everyone to think of Roanoke County as a doughnut with the City being the “hole” … lol… I know… in more ways than one!

Roanoke County is then obviously bordered by several other Counties.. Botetourt County is one of them. Botetourt is becoming a lot like Roanoke County in that it’s growing fast. It is is 541 sq. miles and is served by 7 fire departments ( census stats HERE ). Until recently, they were all volunteer.

Roanoke County started out all volunteer as well. Years ago, forward thinking volunteer Chiefs such as Woody Henderson(and others) realized that the County was rapidly outgrowing the resources of many of their volunteer  Departments. They simply couldn’t meet the demands of growth and I can understand that.  They asked the County for help.

Roanoke County’s response was to supplement the Volunteer’s with a variety of paid members. Ambulances were staffed at some stations while others received crews to staff fire apparatus. Not all stations were supported with paid members in the beginning. I believe that for the most part, the shifts were only 8 or maybe 12 hrs back then … they covered the daylight shift while most volunteers were working and unable to respond to calls.

With the leadership and support  of Chiefs Tommy Fuqua, Rick Burch and many of the Volunteer Chiefs (again like Chief Henderson) their Department now has approx 153 paid members supporting 250 volunteers in 12 stations.

Apparently, some of Botetourt’s Volunteer Chiefs are not as forward thinking. The County just recently hired it’s first few paid firefighters. I believe they run out of the Fincastle Station (#4).

Continuing with their plan, on January 24th; the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to  establish a Department of Emergency Services. It will combine  all existing fire and emergency medical services into a single Department, volunteers and paid staff, and would also create within it a new director position to oversee operations.

“The director will not have the authority to direct the volunteer organizations’ routine administrative functions. The job description calls for a team-oriented consensus builder — skills that surely will be important from Day One”

A couple volunteer Chiefs are calling foul ….apparently they don’t want the help.

Actually, it’s not the “help” they’re afraid of, it’s the possibility of someone taking over “their” emergency scene. YEA .. they don’t want the position filled because they are afraid of the authority the new position will carry.

If need be,  “when deemed necessary for the welfare of the public or responders “ the Director of Emergency Services COULD assume command of an incident…. “COULD” but it’s unlikely.

Read the article from this morning’s Roanoke Times HERE 

 Never mind the welfare of the citizens and visitors of the County they protect. Never mind the safety of the Fire and Rescue members (paid or volunteer) who respond to  incidents within the County. This is all about a Volunteer and his “AUTHORITY” ? Are you kidding me?

One of the Chiefs opposing the new position caught my attention ….Buchanan’s Chief Billy Joe Carter.

You may remember Chief Carter as well. I posted on him a couple of times back in January as he was injured in a “Firefighter Close Call”.

Carter arrived on scene of a well involved mobile home fire with reports of an occupant trapped. As the fire quickly progressed, the service drop burnt from the home and delivered an electrical shock to Chief Carter after hitting the ground. He said he didn’t get “out of the way” quick enough this time ( I guess he’s out ran electricity before). He radioed the information to dispatch stating “it’s pretty bad” then directed the arriving members attention to the fire and away from him. He was later transported to a local hospital and placed in ICU .

I cringed every time the local news played the interview with Chief Carter from his hospital bed. THIS is a Chief ? THIS is the image the Buchanan VFD wants to project? What “message” is this guy and his Department sending (to it’s members as well as the public) ?

As it turned out, the mobile home was unoccupied and I said it was “good news for the Chief”. I said that because had someone HAVE been inside that home, he would have had to listen to them die. Even if he had PPE and an SCBA with him, he would have never gotten a seal or been able to execute a rescue. This member was not “Battle Ready” and  SHOULD HAVE STAYED HOME.

Read my Previous post  HERE  and the one including his bedside interview  HERE 

 Chief Carter seems to be one of the leaders of the opposition to Botetourt’s new Director of Emergency Services. No way is he going to let some body else run one of his emergency scenes!

“He said Tuesday that if an emergency services director assumes control of a scene “there are going to be a lot of hurt feelings and busted noses.”

“Hurt feelings” ???? “Busted noses” ???  You’ve got to be kidding me?  Now THERE’S a professional Chief for ya!

Well I hope I don’t hurt his “feelings” but I wish someone more competent would have been there to take command back in January…. maybe then he wouldn’t have became another “Close Call” statistic and ended up in ICU.

This job is NOT ABOUT YOU or being in “CONTROL”. It’s not YOUR fire. It’s about the people we have sworn to serve and protect. There is no shame in asking for or accepting help. If supplemental paid positions will decrease response times and  increase the level of Public Safety in Botetourt County, then I’m all for it and any Chief in his right mind should be as well. Drop the egos and do the right thing guys. DO YOUR JOB … I have family who lives there and I’m depending on you!  ALL OF YOU !

Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on February 22, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, funding-staffing, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you Want to be a clown ….Remembering our fallen and another LODD in Massachusetts

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photo from Roanokefirefighters.com

Sadly, reports are in of another Line Of Duty Death (LODD)  in Massachusetts.

Brother James “Jim” Rice , an 11 year veteran of the Peabody Massachusetts Fire Department was killed today on the scene of a 3 alarm fire at 5 Hancock Street in Peabody.

Brother Rice leaves behind a wife and 3 children.

More details and video on Fire Critic (Click HERE) 

Rhett’s link (above) also contains some audio. Early reports were of 3 firefighter injuries with one being critical.

The incident occurred in a 3 story occupied apartment building that displaced 13 residents. This is the 2nd LODD this month in Massachusetts. Firefighter J. Davies, of Worcester MA; was killed December 8, 2011 while operating at a fire at 44 Arlington Street.

See related post HERE

Please keep the Rice family, the Peabody Fire Department as well as all of our Brothers and Sisters in Massachusetts in your thoughts and prayers. I will attempt to keep you updates as more information becomes available.

Here in Roanoke, we’ve been remembering two of our fallen as well.

Two years ago today, we lost our beloved Battalion Chief Billy Obenchain to his battle with Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma ( CTC ).

Chief Billy retired in 2006 after serving 33 years in the Fire Service. His last assignment was Battalion Chief, C-shift North. I was honored to have worked for him.

A portion of my title “If you want to be a clown..” is a quote from a poem he wrote. That poem now hangs in our Regional Training Center and is read to every class of new recruits.

READ THAT POEM HERE

If you’re “on the job” …. hit that link above … it’s worth the read! The frame that the poem is hanging in also has the dollar bill that Chief Billy used when reading the poem to new recruits.

See related posts on Chief Obenchain  HERE   HERE   HERE  and HERE 

This past October also marked the 2nd anniversary of the death of Captain Chris Brown.

Chris was a 2nd generation firefighter, hired in August of 1994. His Brother remains on the job here in Roanoke as a Lieutenant (currently assigned to Station #6 C ).

Chris worked his way through the ranks to Captain and served his last assignment as the leader of “The Big Show” … Station #1 C.

Photos from Captain Chris Brown’s funeral HERE

Related posts and more pictures of Captain Brown  HERE  HERE and HERE 

Both of these Brothers remain in our thoughts and will continue to be missed by many.

Lt. Rob “Bugg” Reid posted a pic tonight on Face Book of the Christmas tree at station #5. If you look on the wall, to the left of the tree; you’ll see a framed t-shirt.  That shirt is in remembrance of Chief Obenchain and Captain Brown.

Every time I think of Chief Billy, 2 people automatically come to mind. His son Zach, who is on the job here; assigned to Station #2C and his best friend, Roanoke County Fire / Rescue Battalion Chief Gary Houff.

Chief Huff is now  engaged with his own battle with cancer. These two men ( Chief Billy and Chief Houff) must have been from the same mold because Chief Houff is fighting just as hard and proving to be just as stubborn.

Chief  Houff was the Battalion here on C-shift as well and even though he works for the County, we got to see each other a lot. Not just work either …. Chief Huff stayed by Billy’s side everyday of his fight. It was a true testament to BROTHERHOOD.

Well, Chief Houff crew (County Station #1) had him and his family out for Christmas dinner tonight. I got the call and had “Acting Battalion” Captain Clayton Martin come pick me up. Clayton and I rode out to sit with Chief Houff and his men of Station #1 tonight.

We had a BLAST!

Captain Witt  and Chief Houff have a squared away crew and it was an honor to sit around the kitchen table with these Brothers tonight.

There were plenty of stories, laughing and even a swelled eye or two between me and the Chief.

Gary is doing and looking well … another one who encompasses the name of this blog… “Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen”.

THANKS for the invite and allowing us to share in the BROTHERHOOD experienced around that table tonight men!

Real quick, I’ll mention 1 of 2 visitors to our station tonight ( I’ll catch the 2nd tomorrow).

Our department Chaplin, Father Sandy Webb dropped in for a visit and to wish us a Merry Christmas.

I LOVE Father Webb. We met back on St. Patty’s Day and really “clicked” ( yea.. me and a Priest)

I’m not sure if or how he knew I had a lot on my mind and was carrying a heavy heart today but it was comforting to have him in our house.

Father Webb has been a great addition to our family and I am thankful for his work.

Ok, out of respect for the topics and men I’ve mentioned tonight, I’m not going to add a Sexy Santa’s Helper to this post. I’m sure you all understand.

We start our 4 day in the morning but I’ll check back in before midnight.

PLEASE …. PLEASE….Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on December 23, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Less than 12 hrs til 4 day

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We’re winding down a fairly busy cycle. It’s been a good week but I’m ready for our 4-day break!

I think Randy is looking forward to it as well.

This week’s training centered around “calling the MAYDAY”, “Search and Rescue” and “Vent Enter Search”.

Of course, we caught our normal run load and had some cleaning to do in between…

Well, LOTS of cleaning!

Like I said …. Randy’s moma would be so proud!

He’s scrubbed his little fingers to the bone and next week he will even get to COOK !

LOL … you shoulda seen the look on his face when we told him he would be cooking next cycle.

He went from scared to disappointed when we gave him the rules … 1.) No TV dinners   2.) No hamburger helper   3.) No instant potaotes   4.) MEAT and POTATOES are a “staple”   5.) No pre-made meals from Moma   6.) we eat at noon and 6pm.  (unless we caught a run)

LMAO … this is gonna be good.  Like all of us were, he’s nervious already. Cooking at the firehouse can be VERY stressful but it’s also somewhat of a life lesson. I’d dare say Randy hasn’t had to prepare many meals for himself at this point in his life, much less for himself and 3 fretting firemen.

If he tackles this challenge like he has every other to this point, he’ll do just fine.

So far, I’m happy with his performance. He must be happy as well because he is still walking around with an ear to ear grin.

He’s caught some decent runs over the past few weeks but has yet to catch anything really “bad” or serious.

He hasn’t caught his first fire yet and as we all know, that will be his first “TRUE” test. We did catch a small compactor fire today with our Brothers and Sisters from Stations #5 and #3.

Last cycle we caught a roll over MVA out on I-581 with our brothers from #3 and County Station #1.

The vehicle contained a lone female occupant who escaped with only minor injuries despite the high M.O.I ( Mechanism Of Injury ).

This is a very busy Interstate so the incident could have been a lot worse than it was.

The other good news is that there were several “lessons” for Randy…. He got to work with one of our Mutual Aid Departments. That means he was tested on his knowledge of his radio ( we were operating on a “County” tac channel ). He got to see first hand the importance of stabilizing a vehicle involved in an accident. He also got to see the dangers of working an incident along the Interstate.

The highlight of the incident was that he got to meet the County’s 2nd best pump operator…. Brandon Sheppard

I say he’s the “second best”  because Brandon just completed a DPO … “pump operator” class and the facts are facts.

Unlike his typical performance, Brandon did NOT finish at the top of the class.

I’m not sure of HER name but I know that at least one other firefighter finished ahead of Brandon.

LOL …. OK, OK … I’m doing a little “fretting” there.

Brandon is a great pump operator despite where he finished in the class or who finished ahead of him. A good fireman, great friend and top hand around the farm!

He also has on a cool helmet band … a FOX FIRE  illuminating helmet band!

Their whole company is wearing them (that’s Brandon’s Captain Brian Witt pictured left) !  Back when I first did a Product Review  of Fox Fire, we painted one of County 1′s axes.

I trust and value Captain Witt’s opinion and thought it was a great opportunity to spread the product around through some diverse companies / response areas.

Apparently, Captain Witt and his crew were so impressed with the illuminating epoxy that they decided to buy the helmet bands as well. LOOKING GOOD GUYS!

Oh yea …. here’s another lesson Randy has learned since being on the job here at “Lucky #13″

When it says “NO PARKING  ..FIRE LANE”  DONT PARK THERE !

PEOPLE …. these lanes are marked for a REASON and YES … the “no parking” part means YOU!

Of course, the owner of the grey vehicle was in a much bigger hurry than we were. Their business was also twice as important as the job we were called to do.

The sad thing is that our business had us on the upper floors of this building so we were away from our rigs for some time. We musta parked a little too close to the passenger vehicle making it impossible for the driver to manuver out of the prime parking spot. Hope we didn’t make em too late  :-)

OK, to wrap up tonight, Captain Jeffrey Bowen of the Asheville, NC Fire Department will be laid to rest tomorrow.

Coverage of this 2011 LODD can be found  HERE  HERE  HEREand HERE

Jeff Harkey, over at FireNews.net has all the details of the service as well as for the “Fallen Firefighter Fund” which has been established as an education fund for Captain Bowen’s children.

North Carolina is close to home and I really wanted to attend this service. I had even intended on taking Randy along with me. I think that attending a LODD funeral early in his career could make an impact on how he views firefighter safety as well as the reality and dangers of our job. Something good out of something so tragic maybe. Anyway, Ashville is 4 1/2 hrs away. The service begins at 11am and we’re on duty until 7am. There’s no way we would / could make it in time. At the least, I will be there in spirit. I will stop whatever Im doing tomorrow morning at 11am, hold a thought and say a few words for Captain Bowen, his and the Asheville NC Fire Department family. If you can’t make the service, I hope you’ll do the same.

Gonna wrap it up for tonight and start looking for 07:00 am. I’ll check back in as soon as I can …

Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on August 1, 2011 • Filed under: fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

End of the cycle …

3 comments

Today is Sunday and the last day of our cycle …. we start 4 day break tomorrow!

For us, it’s been a  relatively quiet cycle. Our Brothers out in the County haven’t been so lucky.

A local man was killed this weekend after going back into his burning home to retrieve some clothing. The fire happened in the Cave Spring area of the County on Friday. Members were able to locate and rescue the unconscious man but he later died at the hospital. Cave Spring has a strong volunteer membership but is also staffed with paid members 24hrs / day. I’m not sure of the total response but know that both volunteer and career members from Cave Spring, Back Creek and Vinton were on scene.

Local coverage of the fatal fire can be found  HERE  and  HERE   also visit the Cave Spring Volunteer Fire Department web site  HERE.

Va Fire News is also reporting the death of a Va. State Trooper in King George County.

Trooper Adam Bowen, 28 years old of Warsaw, Va was killed in a 2 vehicle accident while responding to assist another State Police agent.

The accident occurred this past Friday on Rt. 3 / King’s Highway.

Two occupants of the 2nd vehicle were injured and transported to the hospital.

Trooper  Bowen is survived by a fiance’ and his parents.

Visit Va Fire News.com  for the complete story and more photos.

I am unaware of any arrangements or details for the service at this time. I’m sure they can be found on Va Fire News when available (I’ll also try to post them here). My thought and prayers go out to our Brothers in Blue as well as to the friends and family of Trooper Bowen.

We’ve had way too many Line of Duty Funerals in Va. lately (or anywhere for that matter).  The Va Fallen Firefighter Memorial was just held in Richmond. We buried Brother Dave Palmer just a week or so ago and now we’ve lost a State Trooper In The Line of Duty. I can’t help but think of the honor and respect we owe these Brothers and Sisters who give / gave their live in the service of others. Rhett has a post up over on the Fire Critic that’s well worth the read … Go to the Funeral…You owe it to them .

Dave Statter has the opposite view from some a**hole in Canada over at Statter 911. The direct link to Chris Brennan’s article in The Expositor can be found  HERE . Take the time to hit the link … you wont believe what this jerk has to say.

So, like I said in the opening; today is our last day of the cycle and for a change, things haven’t been so hectic.

I’ve spent some time in front of the TV. This weekend is a Lonesome Dove weekend on AMC.

Those of you who know me know that I’m a HUGE Robert Duval and Lonesome Dove fan. I can quote most of the movie and watch it (or episodes of it anyway) at least once a week.

It’s kind of a neat coincidence that Lonesome Dove is on this weekend because I was planning to talk about the mini-series and Robert Duval in one of my post this week.

My daughter is a librian here in the city and she brought me a movie that I hadn’t even heard of yet.

The movie’s title is “Get Low” and is WELL WORTH THE WATCH!

It stars Robert Duval, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black and Bill Cobbs. It fictionalizes a true story from the 1930′s in Tennessee.

Duval’s character, Felix Bush; carries 40 years of guilt.  He lives as a hermit, alone and secluded with his guilt until he sences his death is near. He fears he’s too weak to tell his story and can’t find anyone to tell it for him.

The movie is full of irony and ironic twists as Felix Bush prepares to “Get Low”.

This is not a movie review site nor am I an avid movie goer but Trust me … you’ll enjoy this movie!

Here’s the trailer for ya …..

 

Another great thing about this movie is the sound track.

It features Alison Krauss and her song Lay My Burden Down. Ahhhh Alison Krauss! The voice of an angel. Here’s a video of her performing Lay My Burden Down …..

 

 

And just because I like her so much and this is MY site …. I’ll thorw in another Alison video … Paper Airplanes ..enjoy!

Ok, that’s all for tonight … I’ll check in over 4 day. Until then, Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on June 26, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, news, rescues, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ironfiremen.com is DC Bound!

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

I can’t wait to get there!

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

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

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

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

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

I just cant decide on the color….

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

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

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

Maybe one of those big fancy stretched jobs ….

How cool would that be?

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

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

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

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

Chauffeurs  I think they call em….

Wonder if mine will be good looking?

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

Naaa…. no way I’m that lucky.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rhett says this hotel even has a hot tub!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We cleaned and painted the heads and handles first.

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

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

The prep and priming was easy …

 

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

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

The pressure was on but we got it done.

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time … stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines

Posted by on April 6, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, funding-staffing, news, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fires, Fretting, more fire and Hazmat in “The Noke”

3 comments

WOW…. What a past couple of days!

I worked and extra shift yesterday (the 2nd half of it anyway) at Station #3. Rhett needed the day off so he could go to some kind of dance contest. Now, he put on like it was for his daughter but I know the truth.

He loves to listen to old disco music and almost passes out around a pair of spandex pants or mens tights.

A little “closet dancer” … LMAO.

Anyway, Devin Turner and I split his shift. Devin worked the day shift and apparently stayed fairly busy. I had a little work to do around the farm, finished up and came in for the 2nd half of the tour.

The evening was fairly quiet but then we were up at about 3am.

The dispatch sounded like we were going to work. Drew had the wheel so I was riding backwards. Its funny how your thought process changes from the front seat to the back.

I was thinking hydrants, house size and construction on that block, who is running with us etc. Then it hit me …. I’m riding backwards … we’re 2nd due so I better start thinking about catching a hydrant.

Turns out that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Engine 5 got in first and gave a size up including a fully involved couch in the front yard with a trailer leading into the front door, side “Alpha”. Yea… only in North West Noke do you get a fully involved couch in the front yard… LOL (you can see what’s left of the couch in front of the steps).

The brothers and sisters of A-shift #5 made a quick knock down on the couch and checked the structure. Apparently, the couch had been drug outside to keep the house from burning. Very little fire inside made for a signal of “can handle” for Engines 5, 3, Ladder 5 and Medic 5. Engine #3 really wasn’t needed at all.

So, that was the “fire” from the title .. now on to the “fretting”.

Yep… it’s Clayton again (Captain Martin from Station #3-C).  I don’t know why or how he gets involved in so much controversy but I’m glad he does …. we all need a good laugh every now and again.

So, Clayton was thinking along the right lines … he had good intentions.

He invited the Brothers from County Station #1 up for breakfast. Engine, Medic and Battalion #1.

Steak and eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, home fried potatoes, fried apples, home made biscuits, fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, hot tea, coffee and milk!

Rumor has it, Captain Martin even covered the cost from his own pocket!

ONLY ONE PROBLEM….. our Chief dropped by for a Sunday morning visit.  Guess who Clayton DIDN’T invite???  LMAO .. yep … the Chief was stunned!

Speechless at first. Embarrassed that he was now a “party crasher”. Embarrassment turned to anger and quickly to sadness. How could Clayton do such a thing?? His own Chief.  WHY?

Didn’t even save him a plate … not a crumb!

There sat Clayton, jelly on his chin and a silly little grin.

Coon had begged him to invite the Chief but Clayton wouldn’t hear of it … just like in Forrest Gump … it jumped up and bit him on the buttocks! LMAO

Ok, more fire. I posted earlier about the  Roanoke County fire last night on Two Ford Road.

The fire cost an estimated $500,000.00 in damages and displaced a family who was home when the fire started.

Another one of our C-shift Captains is a “two hatter” who happens to be the vollie Chief for the fire’s first due (Cave Spring Vol. Fire Department).

I spoke with Captain Robert Perdue this morning about the blaze. He said it was unbelievable.

The fire apparently had a good jump on the guys before anyone decided to call 911. Captain Perdue said that he has never seen a structure so fully involved upon arrival.

Initially, they thought their placement was good but then the high winds decided to change directions! He said the radiant heat was near unbearable. Embers were carried throughout the neighborhood sparking multiple fires. The embers also found resting places inside their hose beds which cost them approx. 500′ of hose. He sent me a few pics (taken by another Cave Spring member Ray Potvin). The last in the series was taken just as the members were opening up the ladder pipe …

That’s about how hot the Chief was this morning when he walked in on Clayton’s little breakfast… LMAO. The good news from the County fire is that there were no injuries.

Moving on … so I leave #3 this morning and report right back to duty here at Lucky #13. We had just gotten our breakfast down when the runs began.

It started with a faulty electrical socket in a nearby apartment complex and then escalated to a multiple alarm (and Regional) Haz-Mat incident.

A rail car from one of our local yards was leaking   Molten Sulphur . The Railroad had called in a private company to stop the leak and contain the spill. While attempting to do so, 3 workers were overcome. At least 2 of the workers were listed in critical condition.

the incident triggered a large response from Roanoke City, the City of Salem and our Regional Hazmat Team. Some local coverage  HERE

I arrived just in time to establish a “stagging area” and act as the Stagging Officer for the incident.

Our system works fairly well. All in coming companies responded to my location on a separate Tac Channel than the one assigned to the incident. There, I would collect accountability tags and record resources.

Command would then contact me on our Tac Channel and request the needed man power or resources. We shuffled a LOT of members through staging.

Roanoke’s Bravest did a GREAT job of identifying the product, evacuating the area, locating, packaging and removing 3 victims and then securing the leak / spill. Of course, the victims and responders had to be decontaminated on scene prior to transport to the hospital.

Ambulances, equipment etc .. EVERYTHING went through decon. At the hospital, they went through it all again. Our members returned home in “scrubs”

It’s incidents like this that make using the IMS (Incident Management System) on “everyday” calls even more important. By using IMS on EVERY incident, you become more accustomed to it’s procedures. It’s like every “little” incident is practice for the “big” ones.

I think the first in companies today were a little overwhelmed to begin with but after they got “settled in” things began to run more smoothly. No injuries were sustained to Fire/EMS Personnel and our thoughts and prayers remain with the 3 injured workers.

I’m gonna wrap it up for the night …. I still have a few reports to complete and I’m gonna try for a little shut eye. If you’re wondering, I think Rhett took 2nd place in his dance contest, the Chief is still mad and I’d bet my next pay check Clayton is pouting!

Yall stay safe and in house, we start 4 day in the morning and I’ll check back as soon as possible.

Captain Wines

Posted by on February 20, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, hazmat, news, rescues, Uncategorized, wildland • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

High winds fan fires across Va. (updated)

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Get out your Bush Gear boys ….

About 30 homes were evacuated in Campbell County due to a wild land fire. Other Counties across the Commonwealth are facing similar situations.

Wild Fire Forces Evacuation: Fox2127.com

Here’s video coverage from WDBJ 7 on a Blacksburg blaze ..

The high winds also had Cave Spring firefighters hard at work as they battled a house and brush fire.

Embers from the house fire ignited brush and mulch fire throughout the neighborhood.

Roanoke County Fire/Rescue Department spokeswoman Jennifer Conley Sexton said. “Additional crews were assigned to protect a neighboring house from the flames and were able to keep the damage to a minimum, she said”

See full coverage from the Roanoke Times  HERE

Roanoke City and Cave Spring units were also dispatched to a reported barn fire at the City / County line on Friday. First arriving units reported a 100 x 100 barn fully involved but I have been unable to find and news coverage.

Our County brothers and sisters see several brush (wild land or wild land interface) fires per year. Here in the City, we don’t and I’m GLAD. If I’m gonna go stomping around through the woods, I want a riffle or cold beer in my hand… LOL

The County actually received the Governor’s Award for their actions on the Greenridge Mountain Fire in 2009.

Anyway, conditions are to the point that the National Weather Service has issued a  RED FLAG WARNING for parts of Va. That’s a rare occasion in Va and the East Coast in general. Rhett has an article the Warning over @ Va Fire News  HERE.

Photo from Statter911.com

Dave Statter over at Statter911 has coverage of fires across Washington DC and Prince George’s County  HERE

UPDATE: From Statter911.. ” One of the busiest days in PGFD History …”

I’ll assume that these brothers don’t see a lot of wild land fires either because of the use of turnout gear ( I also spotted some in the Blacksburg video above). Again, I’m not a wild fire expert but I do hate to see members climbing up and down mountains and hillsides in bunker pants,coats and SCBAs.

If your Department doesn’t issue “brush gear” maybe you have “USAR gear”? Anything other than full turnouts. Station uniforms, steel toed boots, helmet (with face shield or eye protection) and gloves …I don’t know … just a thought … I’d hate to see a brother or sister hurt out there because they weren’t properly equipped.

Stay Safe and in house!

Captain Wines.

Posted by on February 20, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, news, Uncategorized, wildland • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Roanoke County Fire / Rescue endorses Rampage Football!

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Sorry I didn’t get a post up last night … I just wanted to keep that “support system” up for as long as possible..LOL

You guys know how it is in the firehouse …. RUMORS are rampant! There has been one circulating for over a year now and I am shocked and disappointed that it has taken me this long to get to the bottom.

That’s kinda why (or one reason why anyway) that I have the reputation as being the a##hole. If I hear it and want to know …. I’ll call up whoever and ask point blank. That’s just what I did this time.

The rumor surrounds  The Roanoke Rampage Football Team. I talk about it enough so you all know by now they we have a team here in the “valley” that plays for charity in the National Public Safety Football League. It’s a GREAT league playing for some GREAT causes!

This will be our 2nd year as a team in the league. Our members are from the following Departments … Roanoke Fire/EMS (Roanoke City), Roanoke City Police, Roanoke City Sheriffs, The Va. State Police, Roanoke County Police, Roanoke County Sheriff, Salem Fire/EMS, Bedford County Sheriff, Blacksburg Police, Radford Police and the Virginia Tech (VT) Police Department. 

If you work in a Public Safety Department close enough to make practice etc  and want to play … we WANT and NEED you!  The one big name missing on the list of Departments represented is   The Roanoke County Fire / Rescue Department.  The RUMOR has been that the County Chiefs told their members that, if they played and got injured; the County WOULD NOT support them nor COULD they hold or “protect” their job.  This rumor is simply  NOT TRUE!

I made a call and spoke directly to a County Chief. I expressed my concern and educated the Chief on the “rumors”.  Here are some points discussed…

All the other agencies listed above support the team / league.

 In only our 1st season, The Roanoke Rampage was the 3rd highest contributor to Charity. The League as a whole raised $116,000.00 for Charity last year. The Roanoke Rampage raised $42,000.00 , of that; $10,000.00 was donated to our Charity  Steps4Billy  (our operating expenses etc were higher being that this was our 1st season… buying equipment, uniforms etc).

Roanoke County has a great history of supporting softball and hockey teams / leagues in the name of Charity (MDA etc). A member can / could become injured just as quickly playing either of those sports as they could playing football.

Here locally, we have had several injuries per year due to motorcycle, farming, construction accidents etc. The departments haven’t “banned” motorcycles or farming on our days off.

L-R Roanoke County Chiefs Rick Burch, Steve Simon, Salem Chief Pat Counts and City Chief David Hoback

County Chiefs and members showed support by attending “Home” games (pictured above left).

The Chief understood and agreed with all of these facts. One thing pretty cool about the County Chief Officer staff is that I CAN call and talk to them. They are “firemen friendly” Chiefs because they have been there. They worked their way through the ranks!

If you don’t know the Chief of Department for Roanoke County Fire / Rescue, its Richard E. Burch Jr. (Rick).  Chief Burch has “been there and done that” and he got it honestly.

His dad is Captain Richard E. Burch Sr.(deceased) of the RichmondFire Department. “Grand dad” made history in not only the Richmond FD but in the entire state of Va. as well… ( the VPFF). Department wise, I think he is remembered most as a long serving Captain on their “Flying Squad”. State wise, he was instrumental in the passing and signing of Virginia’s “Heart / Lung” Bill. He is pictured at that signing on the County’s Local’s site   HERE

I remember back when I had just made Captain in 2000. I was assigned to old station #3. Grand dad was in town visiting Chief Burch and wanted to tour and visit some “City” houses. A call was made and we had them out for dinner. Nothing fancy … if you want to eat in my house… you eat what we eat everyday…. what we can afford on fireman pay.  That night, we had fried fish and chips. Cole slaw and I can’t remember what else. My Lt then (Richard Patterson… “Patty” ) could put ANY seafood restaurant out of business … “Patty” knows how to cook  fish.

Anyway .. it was a regular but good meal. The conversation was even better. Grand Dad told stories and interacted with ours. I think he appreciated the fact that he didn’t get “smoke and mirrors’ … he seen us as who we were.  At the end of the visit, he asked “how much we owe?”. Of course, our reply was “nothing … you’re our guest”. BULLSHIT! ” It cost you guys to buy it … we’ll pay our part”.

In a firehouse, just the offer to “chip in” is worth ten meals. We held fast .. stood our ground…. ‘we got it” … ”your money is no good here”.  In the end, after the hand shakes, thank yous and goodbyes, we found the cash on the counter! Sneaky old Jake! 

My point here is that Chief Burch didn’t just stumble into his position. We grew up in a fireman’s home. He seen Department softball teams, company sports etc. He understands how we are and what we do because he has lived it himself. That makes a good Chief!

Roanoke County Fire/Rescue Chief Dustin Campbell 2nd from left

Second in command is Chief Dustin Campbell.

Dustin and I go WAYYYY back.

 His Fire Service Career began as a Volunteer for the County. Dustin worked his way through the ranks there and soon got hired to the paid staff.

Back in his volunteer days, I worked part-time for the County. City wise, I was a Private at Station #5-A. I would get off duty for the City after having fought 1 or 3 fires that night and pull a 8 or 12 hour shift in the County.

Dustin either loved the smell of smoke that I’d bring into the County station or the stories I’d tell but either way, we became close friends. He even began to come out and do some “ride-a-longs” with us. LMAO … one night on Engine 5 showed him more than he’d seen in a years worth of “up scale” County runs.

It was Dustin who sat up the Dinner with Chief Burch, Grand Dad and himself at old Station #3.

Again, my point here is that Dustin (Chief Campbell) too has come through the ranks. Volunteer to Deputy Chief in one of Virginia’s most decorated Departments. He too understands how we feel and the benefits a little “football” can bring to his members, his Department and our Valley.

So, there you go Roanoke County Fire / Rescue Brothers and Sisters … RUMOR SQUASHED!  We need your help. We need PLAYERS .. it’s NOT too late.

 Contact Captain Todd Stone (Roanoke City Station #6-A) through our website  ( HERE  ) to sign up. We practice on Monday and Thursday nights … I’ll see ya on the field!

Until then, stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines.

Posted by on February 19, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

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) “

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 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Battalion Chief Bobbie Slayton laid to rest 1/12/2011

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Roanoke City Battalion Chief Bobbie Slayton was laid to rest yesterday. Bobbie passed away on Saturday, January 8, 2011 after suffering a stroke on December 26, 2010. Chief Slayton served the Department from December 6, 1965 until July 1, 2010 (more than 44 years). More on Chief Slayton can be seen  HERE    HERE and HERE  

His viewing and funeral service was attended by many despite windy conditions and single digit temperatures. IAFF Local 1132 and the Roanoke Fire / EMS Department carried the Chief to his final resting place with Fire Department Honors.

City Stations were staffed with off duty members along with members from surrounding Departments… Salem Fire / EMS Department and Roanoke County Fire / Rescue. I’m waiting on the completed roster of  the Brothers and Sisters working that detail and will have it posted here as soon as it becomes available. I personally want to express my THANKS and APPRECIATION to those members for their professionalism, the brotherhood, honor and respect shown for our fallen.

Several comments were made as to how “impressive” the funeral seemed to those not familiar with Fire Department funerals. Bobbie’s “send off” seemed only  fitting for the type of man and Chief he was. Here is the local news coverage…

 

Mike Overacker (Retired) also has some great photos over on his site Roanokefirefighters.com See those pics  HERE. (some pics in this post are also courtesy of Mike..other by Drew Able Station #3-A)

It was also fitting that the bell we use to signal a fallen’s “final Alarm” was a project of Chief Slayton. Bobbie played a huge roll in having the bell removed from the tower of Historic #1 as well as its refurbishment. The bell was then mounted on a trailer and has been used for member funerals since. Here is a photo of the Chief and his B-shift crew of Ladder #1 with the finished product.

L-R Bobbie Slayton, Riley Peters, Jimmy Jennings, Doug Rorer, Willie Wines Sr. and Brent Berry

 Here is the bell and Honor Guard at Chief Slayton’s funeral

Thanks also to all the uniformed personnel in attendance. As I mentioned, the weather conditions were near unbearable. Members lining the cemetery entrance were standing unshielded in the elements for almost 45 minutes. Another tribute to the life and memory of Chief Slayton.

Below is the list of Roanoke County and Salem members who filled our stations..

Roanoke County Fire / Rescue..

Captain Brian Witt,  FF/ Medic John Ferron, FF/EMT Barry Brown, Captain Troy Grey, FF/Medic Brandon Carroll, FF/EMT John Gillespie, Battalion Chief Bill Duff, FF/EMT John Morton, FF/EMT Adam Amburgey, Captain Barry Hurley, FF/EMT Scott Morgan, FF/EMT Tim Webster.

Salem Fire / EMS

Captain E. Hite, EMS Supervisor Lt. J. Poindexter, FF/Medic T. Rickman, FF/EMT L. Keffer, FF/EMT J. McAlexander, FF/EMT B. Haynes, FF/EMT J. Meredith, FF/EMT A. Lester, FF/EMT M. Cogen, FF/EMT S. Albert.

There were also several City Members who came in (uncompensated) and manned a rig / station so that B-shift members could attend the services. I do not have the complete list yet but will add their names as soon as it becomes available.

The Honor Gaurd …. WOW! Another outstanding  job by every member on the team. At the viewing, several retirees commented on how they thought the members posted by the casket were statues. At the funeral, Lt. Robet “Bugg” Reid and Lt. Darrel Songer once again had the task and honor of posting by the casket during the ceremony. That was a little over 1 hour at “Ceremonal Parade Rest” …. unbelievable job!

Well done folks. The members serving as Honor Guard were as follows….

Roanoke City

Battalion Chief Roger Manual, Lt. Dan Goodwin, FF/MEdic Richard Lipes, Captain Chris Trussler,  1st Lt. D. Songer, Lt. Robert Reid, Lt. T. Gherman, Travis Meador, Jeff East, J.D. Reynolds, Todd Riley, Josh Hull, Carlie Walshe, J. Anuszkiewicz, Rachel Winters, M. Jenkins and Jacob Palmer.

Salem Fire / EMS

Lt. Mike Elston, FF/Medic Chris Smith and FF/EMT D. Parr

Roanoke County Fire / Rescue

Toby Martin, Captain Jeff Lawson and Dean Perulous

 Please forgive and let me know if I have left anyone out. AGAIN, thanks to everyone involved for a job WELL DONE! 

REST IN PIECE CHIEF

Captain Wines

Posted by on January 13, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, firefighter-safety-health, news, Uncategorized, videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A “catch up” quickie…

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Another long day …. long … windy and COLD! OMG ! The Buckaroo and I have been hauling hay all day and most of tonight. My new trailer has already paid for itself

This one is longer than my old one so I can haul more bails per load …. that means saving money which means making more money. My current “farm hand” even works cheaper than the last 4 or 5 I’ve had. I do have to spend a little extra for “Bug Juice” and pampers though..

How many 2 yr olds do you know that can operate a 100 horsepower tractor and load over 8 tons of hay?

“Farm Hand” ??? Who am I trying to kid? The Buckaroo is at minimum the Farm Manager! I gotta say .. he really keeps me going. Ok, so moving on to Fire Department kinda stuff…

There is approx 25 hrs left for you to get your entry in for 1st ever Iron Firemen give away. Back on Nov. 28th, we asked to see your firefighter tattoos. We have had several entries thus far and the deadline is tomorrow night at midnight. See the original post and contest details HERE.

I mentioned a day or so ago that good friend and Brother Firefighter (Roanoke County) Brandon Sheppard and wife Terry was blessed with a healthy baby boy back on November 17th.  James Hunter Sheppard. Both mom and baby are doing fine. I think Brandon is ok too … LOL. I understand Hunter got his 1st tractor today … I sure, like with the Buckaroo; it will be his first of MANY. I don’t have a pic of the little fella yet but here’s his daddy…

Yes … that is County and City firefighters working (training) together. Brandon came out and rode a shift with the Melrose Misfits a few years back. Check out the post from that day HERE and be sure to read the comments .. you’ll laugh your butt off.

Since I’m on a “Roanoke County” theme .. I have been wanting and needing to do a “shout out” of sorts. Well, what ever you want to call it, “Boss Man” asked me to say hello and give a little “Blog Fame” to Roanoke County Brother Jarad Hall. Jarad is another “good ol boy” turned firefighter. He used to work in the hardwood flooring business so he was no stranger to hard labor before getting on the job. So, if any of you County guys still read or follow the site, let Jarad know I said “hello”.

Ok, I’m gonna wind it down for now. I’m cold and tired. One more day of hauling then it’s back to duty on Wednesday. Before that, the Brothers at #3-A are gonna have a little pre-Christmas “get together” tomorrow night at Buffalo Wild Wings Valley View. Every and anyone is invited…. the time is 7pm. Hope to see ya there.

And NO … I didn’t forget .. here’s day 12 of Santa’s Sexy Helper … enjoy

I’ve got some “big news” concerning “Opie” but need a little more time to do it justice… stay tuned for that and more. Thanks again for reading and hanging in here while me and the posts are spread a little thin. I’ll make it up to ya .. I promise. Until next time, Stay safe and in house ….

Captain Wines

Posted by on December 14, 2010 • Filed under: news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vinton home burns. 10 or more minutes to get an Engine on scene… 1st due is .22 miles away!

27 comments

Almost a week ago now (last Monday November 29th) City Engine 6 caught a fire. Now, that in itself is not news … those guys catch a lot of work. What is news is some of the circumstances surrounding the fire. I am not going to “point fingers” here but, I think there are some VERY serious issues that have arose and questions that need to be asked. I’ll throw out what I know and let you guys take it from there.

The fire was not in our City. Station #6 (Engine and Medic … 5 members) ran the call as “mutual aid”. The Incident occured in the “Town” of Vinton which is just across the line (6 Engine could / should have been there in 4 minutes or less). This will be confusing so hang in… Vintonis what I will call a combination Department.  I’m not sure the length of their shifts (I think they work 12hr shifts 6am-6pm) but during the daylight hours, their only station is staffed by paid personnel ( the Town of Vinton and Roanoke County Fire / Rescue personnel) . At the time of the incident, the paid staff was off duty and all incidents were to be handled by volunteers. See the Vinton Volunteer Fire Department web site HERE. It took them 10 minutes to get out on this one. Take a moment to read the local coverage   HERE .

I think the way their dispatch sequence goes is this … They received the initial (first)  call. Members respond POV to the Station where they then need a minimum of 3 to respond. After 4 minutes the incident is dispatched again as “second call” (2nd call for a response). Then, after another 3 minutes, it goes to “3rd call” for the initial companies and they begin adding the 3rd / 4th due and / or mutual aid etc. This is when Engine #6 got the call.

The distance is 1.3 miles and a 3 minute trip according to Mapquest (the City limits “line” is basically on the West border of Fallon Park).
.
In contrast, the Vinton station is .22 miles away with an estimated trip time of 1 minute…

Whats the big deal? Happens all the time in small Volunteer Departments right? This is where everything “goes to hell in a hand basket”. Engine 6 was dispatched to assist Vinton with a house “fully envolved”. The Captain attempted to contact Vinton to assure he knew where he was going (he doesn’t run into Vinton on a regular basis). After a couple attempts (on the County assigned Tac channel … separate radio systems, channels etc) Engine 6 was contacted by “Chief 2″. He advised to turn left on 3rd Street, just across the line and Clevland would be on his right at the top of the hill. He further advised that there was a hydrant at that intersection (not to “catch it… just that it was there).

Engine 6 quickly arrived to find nothing showing and the intersection blocked by either an ambulance or Police vehicle. The Captain was scratching his head … no fire trucks … nothing showing .. etc.  Where is everybody? What’s going on here? He notices someone standing in the front yard, just up the block; talking on a radio. No coat, no helmet etc but he looked as if he may be in charge. The Captain gets out and walks over to this person. “Hey buddy, what do ya got”? Then he seen it. Flames were visible from the 2nd floor. The Captain signals his men, stretches a line and prepares to make an attack.

He still has no idea what is going on yet. He doesn’t know that Vinton hasn’t gotten out. He could very easily be thinking that the Vinton crews will be right on his heels. He then notices a civilian going in and out of the front door of the house on fire. He grabs him and tells him to stay out andto get off the porch. The man attempts to go back in stating his “cats” were in there. The Captain looks to the man with the radio (Command??) andrequest that he “do something” with this guys. He also requests that he (the man with the radio) have someone  bring him the / a hydrant (he had 500 gal. on the truck).  He enters the structure.

Once he began his attack, he needed more pressure on the line. He attempts to contact command(assuming that’s who the person with the radio in the front yard is). No reply. He tries again .. no reply. He then tries to raise “control” (dispatch) then tries to reach his pump operator directly. Again, no reply from either. The Captain switches back to our City frequency and is able to get dispatch on his 1st attempt. He advises her that he is on a fire in Vinton, making an attack and can’t reach his Engine. He states that he is OK at the time but requests that she attempt to contact Engine 6 and have him increase pressure on the line. Now our dispatch is confused.

The Captain then requested that our City Battalion contact him. The Chief quickly answers up. The Captain explains the situation and request additional City resources. Our Battalion andLadder 1 respond.

The Captain now notices that he has fire below him (the house was divided into two apartments.. up and downstairs). He split his crew of 4 and instructed two of his men to exit and stretch a 2nd line to the first floor… he and their 4th member would remain and hold the 2nd floor. After a few minutes, he feels the 2nd floor will hold and advises his fireman that they will move down to assist on the 1st (where he now knows the fire is being hit). When he backs down the steps, he doesn’t see the 2nd line through the door. Hummm? The two members he had assigned the attack rejoined the Captain and explain.

Vinton has arrived. They caught the hydrant but kept it for themselves!  ( South Kentland or poor tactics?)   Then, they stretched a 2 1/2″ from their truck. They had it out back throwing water through a window. The additional City units have arrived. A few more issues arose as far as overhaul operations but I’ll stop here … you have a general idea.  Let’s look at the problems here….or some of em anyway…

POOR DISPATCH. The City Captain had NO IDEAwhat he was running in to. The County should have advised the City and then the City advised Engine 6 that no other units had responded or arrived yet. Engine 6 had no way of knowing that he may be 1st in and that it may be some time before he got a unit from Vinton or the County. At least then, he could have requested additional units from the City.

POOR PLACEMENT.  The intersection was blocked by and ambulance and/or Police vehicle. The Captain had to get out and walk up to the scene.

LACK OF COMMAND. Obviously, the person in the front yard was in “command” but Engine 6 didn’t know that. A command “post” was not established nor was the Incident Commander easily identifiable. He didn’t even have on a turnout coat or helmet.

POOR / NO COMMUNICATIONS.  See “Poor dispatch”. Chief 2 gave directions to the scene and the hydrant location but no assignment. When the Captain walked up to him, he never identified himself as the Chief or “IC”. He never explained that Vinton is not getting out and we have no companies en route . Apparently, no direction was given to Vinton once they did get en route and arrived.
Our City radios failed while using the County channels. The Captain could not “get out” on their digital system. Our Chiefs have pulled the tapes. They have multiple extended  ”key ups” from E6 but no voice.
No “division” or “group” assignments were made by the IC
Incoming companies were not aware of the assignments underway on scene.

POOR STRATEGY AND TACTICS.  More like the lack of. Why would the Vinton Engine lay in andNOT supply the City Engine who was pumping a line with members interior?
After they kept the supply line for themselves, why stretch a 2/12″ and throw water through a window..again with members operating interior?
No primary or secondary searches were made.
Overhaul operations were delayed due to City personnel being held outside (after changing their bottles, they were told that there were enough people inside…(there were 2). Meanwhile, they stood in the yard watching the smoke change indicating a working fire.

Ok, again; I could go on and on but I’ll stop here. I don’t want it to seems as though I’m pointing fingers or directing blame… but come on … seriously!

Should we even be providing Mutual or Automatic Aid? NOT in situations like this! Our City members were put at risk. If we are going to run into adjoining jurisdictions … we need to send a full compliment. Had that fire received 2 engines, a Ladder, medic, Battalion and Rescue supervisor from the City, I dare say it would have been handled in less than 1 hour. Now, had Vinton and the County been able to provided a full assignment (in a timely manner) I am sure that they too could have handled the situation quickly and easily. This is not a paid vs volunteer or City vs County Issue. It’s about being professional and doing our job.

Many will say that the City captain should have never entered the structure.  THEN DON’T SEND HIM! If they didn’t need him there .. if they didn’t need someone to put that fire out .. let it burn. Leave the City Engine where it belongs… IN THE CITY.

Our administrations like Auto and Mutual aid agreements because they look good on paper. They are good for ISO and Accreditation. BUT, what looks good on paper doesn’t always work on the street. These are just a few of the problems etc encountered that night. What do you think? How does your department handle mutual and Auto-aid?

 What about the City citizens in Station #6′s first due? What if there had been a fire or medical emergency in their 1st due while they were  in Vinton? Protocol says the 2nd, 3rd due Engines, Medics etc would handle but that would have increased  response times to “that” incident. Is that fair to the City residents? Is it “playing the numbers” .. “playing the odds”? If it is, I hope it’s not your number that comes up the next time they decide to play.

I want to add here that I know a lot of Brothers and Sisters from both the Town of Vinton and Roanoke County. Most of the time, the majority of those members do a good job (knowing there are “shit birds” in every Department .. including mine). Again, this is not and should not become a paid vs volunteer or City vs County issue. It should be seen as a sort of “near miss” incident. A SAFETY ISSUE. If the jurisdictions involved don’t find a solution to these problems, we are going to see some injured members.

Let me hear your thoughts and comments.  What do you think??
Thanks for reading… Stay safe and in house.
Captain Wines

Posted by on December 5, 2010 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, funding-staffing, news • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,