I know it has been a while since I have last given you an update and great story. To be honest, not much has happened. It was been really slow (which is good for citizens, but bad for me).
Stay tuned...with summer upon us, it should hopefully get much busier.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
We'll Need to Land a Helicopter in Your Backyard!!
We had an exciting shift on the engine. We ran some pretty good calls that kept us busy for a good part of the day.
Our first call was to setup a landing zone for a fly-out. The call came in just as we were sitting down to enjoy lunch. We all managed to get a few bites in though!!
Landing zones are predetermined based on size, location, and hazards. We have a book with all of the necessary information for all landing zones in the area. We communicate certain map information to the flight crew and they are then able to find the information in their corresponding books.
We arrive on scene to a residential house with a big open field on the side and back, and a lake about 400 yards to the rear of the house. We lay out cones to mark out a 100' x 100' area for the helicopter to land. We go through and tell the people fishing at the shore of the lake that they unfortunately have to leave since we will be landing a helicopter in the area. Captain tells me to go to the house and let the homeowner know what we were doing. I walk up and knock on the door but there is no answer. As I am walking around back, a woman comes out on the deck and asks "What is going on here?" I informed her that we would need to use her backyard as a landing zone for a helicopter. Upon hearing this, the woman was extremely excited to be of service and tells us to do and use whatever land we need. We all moved to different areas of the landing zone in order to maintain scene safety and keep the forming groups of spectators at bay.
The patient was a mid-70s woman that had fallen and broke her ankle. While an ankle break isn't a fly-out, in her case, it was a compound break (the bone was no sticking out the side of her ankle) and her foot was turning blue from the lack of blood flow. If she didn't receive the necessary treatment quickly, she would surely lose her foot.
The medic unit arrived on scene, transfered care to the flight crew, and the patient was loaded up into the helicopter. We haven't heard anything else about the call, so we do not know what happened in the end....
We got back to the station and sat down to enjoy our lunch that was now getting cold. Just then, our second call came in. We were going to a call where a 2 year old had accidentally splashed gasoline in his eye. We got to the scene and learned all about what happened from the mother / wife.
Her had her husband had gotten into a fight earlier that day. The husband had been working on an old car (in the driveway), and didn't know what to do with the old gas. He put it inside of a bucket and left it on the top of the driveway. She had told him to do something with it because she didn't want the kids to get into it. At this point, the verbal fight broke out and he left. If only he would have listened....
The mother did the right thing prior to our arrival. She was using a hose to flush out the eye. I took a bottle of sterile water and used it to continue to flush out the child's eye. He was a very well-mannered 2 year old. He just sat there as we poured copious amounts of water into his eye. I was thoroughly impressed. The medics arrived and evaluated the patient and determined that there was no injury or need for further treatment.
A few hours later, we responded to an accident on I-66. A woman had been driving and was cut off by a pickup. Rather than get hit, she swerved to avoid and slammed into the guard rail. When we got on scene, a motorcyclist had stopped and was maintaining c-spine immobilization. I climbed into the back of the car (which was not a sauna) and took over c-spine. I was in full gear (which is what we wear at vehicle accidents), so the back of the car got even hotter as I sat there losing pounds by the minute. We immobilized the patient, who had been complaining of back and neck pain, and transported her to the hospital. This is one of those instances where you HOPE that they bought the rental insurance. It turns out that the car was a rental that she was returning tomorrow in Baltimore. She was catching a flight to Canada, and then at some point returning from Canada to her home in Ireland. And what makes it worse....the pickup truck that caused it all never even stopped!!
Our first call was to setup a landing zone for a fly-out. The call came in just as we were sitting down to enjoy lunch. We all managed to get a few bites in though!!
Landing zones are predetermined based on size, location, and hazards. We have a book with all of the necessary information for all landing zones in the area. We communicate certain map information to the flight crew and they are then able to find the information in their corresponding books.
We arrive on scene to a residential house with a big open field on the side and back, and a lake about 400 yards to the rear of the house. We lay out cones to mark out a 100' x 100' area for the helicopter to land. We go through and tell the people fishing at the shore of the lake that they unfortunately have to leave since we will be landing a helicopter in the area. Captain tells me to go to the house and let the homeowner know what we were doing. I walk up and knock on the door but there is no answer. As I am walking around back, a woman comes out on the deck and asks "What is going on here?" I informed her that we would need to use her backyard as a landing zone for a helicopter. Upon hearing this, the woman was extremely excited to be of service and tells us to do and use whatever land we need. We all moved to different areas of the landing zone in order to maintain scene safety and keep the forming groups of spectators at bay.
The patient was a mid-70s woman that had fallen and broke her ankle. While an ankle break isn't a fly-out, in her case, it was a compound break (the bone was no sticking out the side of her ankle) and her foot was turning blue from the lack of blood flow. If she didn't receive the necessary treatment quickly, she would surely lose her foot.
The medic unit arrived on scene, transfered care to the flight crew, and the patient was loaded up into the helicopter. We haven't heard anything else about the call, so we do not know what happened in the end....
We got back to the station and sat down to enjoy our lunch that was now getting cold. Just then, our second call came in. We were going to a call where a 2 year old had accidentally splashed gasoline in his eye. We got to the scene and learned all about what happened from the mother / wife.
Her had her husband had gotten into a fight earlier that day. The husband had been working on an old car (in the driveway), and didn't know what to do with the old gas. He put it inside of a bucket and left it on the top of the driveway. She had told him to do something with it because she didn't want the kids to get into it. At this point, the verbal fight broke out and he left. If only he would have listened....
The mother did the right thing prior to our arrival. She was using a hose to flush out the eye. I took a bottle of sterile water and used it to continue to flush out the child's eye. He was a very well-mannered 2 year old. He just sat there as we poured copious amounts of water into his eye. I was thoroughly impressed. The medics arrived and evaluated the patient and determined that there was no injury or need for further treatment.
A few hours later, we responded to an accident on I-66. A woman had been driving and was cut off by a pickup. Rather than get hit, she swerved to avoid and slammed into the guard rail. When we got on scene, a motorcyclist had stopped and was maintaining c-spine immobilization. I climbed into the back of the car (which was not a sauna) and took over c-spine. I was in full gear (which is what we wear at vehicle accidents), so the back of the car got even hotter as I sat there losing pounds by the minute. We immobilized the patient, who had been complaining of back and neck pain, and transported her to the hospital. This is one of those instances where you HOPE that they bought the rental insurance. It turns out that the car was a rental that she was returning tomorrow in Baltimore. She was catching a flight to Canada, and then at some point returning from Canada to her home in Ireland. And what makes it worse....the pickup truck that caused it all never even stopped!!
Let Your Imagination Run Wild....
A lot has happened at the station (well...sort of). One of the medics is no longer able to operate as a Paramedic. Without getting into many details, she didn't follow proper protocols during a call, and the medical director pulled her ability to operate under his license.
Due to her no longer being able to operate as a medic, she has to ride the engine. Rather than have 5 people on the engine, and 2 on the medic unit, Captain had me move over to the medic unit to drive. This will allow me to get a little more drive time and to get comfortable driving emergency calls. (I already have many hours logged of both emergency and non-emergency driving...so I am pretty comfortable at this point. In fact, you get almost a god complex with everyone moving out of your way while you speed down the road....IT'S GREAT!!).
We did the typical things around the station to kill time. We did house duties, cooked lunch, PT, paperwork, etc....just waiting for a call!! Our first call of the day FINALLY came as we were sitting down to enjoy a movie at 9:00 PM. We run up into the mountains for a chest pain call. Due to the distance, the other responding unit (an ambulance) was already on scene when we started to arrive. The ambulance had called for police assistance, but then failed to provide a reason why and also failed to respond when communications tried to raise them on the radio. We got a message on our mobile data computer (MDC) from the engine company back at the station (they had been listening to all of the radio traffic) and they said "Something doesn't seem right, be careful!!" Things just weren't adding up, and we assumed the worse (which is what you have to do when these things start to present themselves). Rather than provide more targets for whatever was going on, we decided we would stage down the block and wait for police to arrive.
Finally, the ambulance meets at our location and transfers the patient into our care. It turns out that another man at the location had threatened them and they decided to grab the patient and high-tail it out of there. They were too focussed on what was going on to contact communications with an update. It turns out that the patient was a mid-40s female that had quit drinking about 4 days prior. She was going through severe withdrawals.
Upon questioning the patient, we learned that the man at the location had threatened her also. He told her that he had killed his nurse and put her in the furnace, and that he was going to kill her. She stated that there was blood all over the house and that she was afraid for her life.
We brought the patient to the hospital, called for police to meet us there so they could question the woman, and finally made our way back to the station (about 2.5 hours later). When we finally got to the station, we had a brief run down of the call and looked at the dispatch notes (some of which had never been communicated to us). It turns out that the man that owns the house had just gotten out of jail a week prior for assaulting a police officer. There are also known to be weapons at that location (guns, knives, etc).....while we were safe since we never went to the scene, it would have been pretty helpful to find this information out.
I found out a few days later from a police officer that responded to the house later that night that the "blood" that was all over the house was in fact ketchup. The woman we had run was someone the man had met while in jail. She, along with another friend from jail, moved into the house upon their release from the detention center they were housed at. The police officer was telling us that they ran the house since our call. Neighbors were calling to complain about a man running around in the middle of the night naked. As she was telling us this story, her radio went off. She was to report to that same house again......the house on Marvin place.
Due to her no longer being able to operate as a medic, she has to ride the engine. Rather than have 5 people on the engine, and 2 on the medic unit, Captain had me move over to the medic unit to drive. This will allow me to get a little more drive time and to get comfortable driving emergency calls. (I already have many hours logged of both emergency and non-emergency driving...so I am pretty comfortable at this point. In fact, you get almost a god complex with everyone moving out of your way while you speed down the road....IT'S GREAT!!).
We did the typical things around the station to kill time. We did house duties, cooked lunch, PT, paperwork, etc....just waiting for a call!! Our first call of the day FINALLY came as we were sitting down to enjoy a movie at 9:00 PM. We run up into the mountains for a chest pain call. Due to the distance, the other responding unit (an ambulance) was already on scene when we started to arrive. The ambulance had called for police assistance, but then failed to provide a reason why and also failed to respond when communications tried to raise them on the radio. We got a message on our mobile data computer (MDC) from the engine company back at the station (they had been listening to all of the radio traffic) and they said "Something doesn't seem right, be careful!!" Things just weren't adding up, and we assumed the worse (which is what you have to do when these things start to present themselves). Rather than provide more targets for whatever was going on, we decided we would stage down the block and wait for police to arrive.
Finally, the ambulance meets at our location and transfers the patient into our care. It turns out that another man at the location had threatened them and they decided to grab the patient and high-tail it out of there. They were too focussed on what was going on to contact communications with an update. It turns out that the patient was a mid-40s female that had quit drinking about 4 days prior. She was going through severe withdrawals.
Upon questioning the patient, we learned that the man at the location had threatened her also. He told her that he had killed his nurse and put her in the furnace, and that he was going to kill her. She stated that there was blood all over the house and that she was afraid for her life.
We brought the patient to the hospital, called for police to meet us there so they could question the woman, and finally made our way back to the station (about 2.5 hours later). When we finally got to the station, we had a brief run down of the call and looked at the dispatch notes (some of which had never been communicated to us). It turns out that the man that owns the house had just gotten out of jail a week prior for assaulting a police officer. There are also known to be weapons at that location (guns, knives, etc).....while we were safe since we never went to the scene, it would have been pretty helpful to find this information out.
I found out a few days later from a police officer that responded to the house later that night that the "blood" that was all over the house was in fact ketchup. The woman we had run was someone the man had met while in jail. She, along with another friend from jail, moved into the house upon their release from the detention center they were housed at. The police officer was telling us that they ran the house since our call. Neighbors were calling to complain about a man running around in the middle of the night naked. As she was telling us this story, her radio went off. She was to report to that same house again......the house on Marvin place.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Time to Play Catch-Up!!
In the past month, I do not think anything unusual or exciting has occurred. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE going to work...but we haven't run exciting fires or saved anyone from the clutches of death.
With all of the rain we have had, the grass has really had a chance to grow. Unfortunately for us, there is no contract company (YET) that mows the lawn. The Captain brought in a weed-eater, lawnmower, and blower...and it was our task to "beautify" the station. I even take the time to smile and wave to the camera. (With the Captain around, ALL safety rules must be followed. I had to wear safety glasses while mowing).
The neighborhood that the station backs up to is known as Dominion Valley. Last year, a local church partnered up with the area school and decided to hold a big easter egg hunt. We were "lucky" enough to be on duty when the second annual easter egg hunt was held.
Let me paint the picture for you....
The grounds are opened to anyone and everyone to come and participate. The preregistration was at approximately 4500 participants. At 4:00PM, a helicopter was going to arrive and drop eggs from the main cabin down onto the field in a designated area. The organizers would then make an announcement to unleash the kids. Why it is called a "hunt," I do not know....as it is more of a mad dash to collect the eggs. In all, there were 30,000 eggs scattered on the field.
Fortunately, there were no medical emergencies. The extent of our services were putting a band-aid on the skinned knees of two small boys.
I was also forced to take a picture with the Easter Bunny.....the joys of being the new guy / "rookie."
We decided this would be a good opportunity for us to take a candid photo. There are some members of our shift missing though...
SPRING IS OFFICIALLY HERE....
Many stations mark the beginning of Spring with their first Motorcycle Accident. We had the "opportunity" to mark the beginning of spring with an accident just down the road from the station. It appeared to be pretty minor in injuries. The rider was cut off by a car and laid his motorcycle down. He was conscious and talking to us. He did not appear to have any injuries except a deformity to his upper left leg. He was complaining of leg pain, so we treated a possible broken leg and immobilized both the rider and the leg onto a backboard. He was transported to a local area hospital where tests revealed he had a ruptured femoral artery. He was internally bleeding out and without the proper treatment, he could die by the end of the day. He was flown to another hospital where he was treated accordingly and to my knowledge is now recovering.
April 16th, 2007.
A house fire on Marsh Overlook claimed the life of a young firefighter by the name of Kyle Wilson.
“I need water (inaudible) 512 bucket. I need water, I’m burning up in here, I need water fast!”
What are apparently the last words of Kyle Wilson. A radio transmission from the Prince William County, VA firefighter at approximately 6:19 AM on April 16, 2007. About four minutes earlier Technician Wilson had alerted his fellow firefighters that he was trapped, with these words: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Tower 512 bucket, I’m trapped inside, I don’t know where I am, I’m somewhere in the stairwell, I need someone to come get me out.” By the time firefighters were able to get to Kyle Wilson it was too late.
The death of Technician I Kyle Wilson was overshadowed by the terrible shootings at Virginia Tech. His death received very little time on the news. The parents of Kyle Wilson and the Department have pledged together to learn from his death and not let his death become a memory.
On April 18th, 2009, the second annual Kyle Wilson Memorial 10K Walk/Run for Fitness was held. The purpose of the walk is to promote fitness (which Kyle was a big advocate of) as well as to raise money for the Kyle Wilson Scholarship. It is a scholarship awarded to students at George Mason University pursuing a degree in Fitness Training / Athletics.
This year was a huge turnout of people donating time, money, and energy to continue the efforts. By the end of the day, over $15,000 was raised for the scholarship. Janice and I ran the entire 10K, finishing in approximately 1 hour (10 minutes/mile).
With the firefighter combat challenge upon us, training has officially begun. While there is a requirement to PT every day (while on duty), I decided to create a small challenge course at the station using some of the props and tools we have available to us. Here is a small snapshot of the course....
1. Advance a 50 ft hoseline while flowing water.
2. Back the hoseline up, back to the starting position.
3. Strike the tire with a sledge hammer 15 times (simulating a forced entry)
4. Shoulder a highrise pack and carry it to the top of the hose tower
5. Raise a 45 lb hose pack to the top of the hose tower and then lower it
6. Raise a 25 lb hose pack to the top of the hose tower and then lower it
7. Shoulder the highrise pack and carry it back down
With all of the rain we have had, the grass has really had a chance to grow. Unfortunately for us, there is no contract company (YET) that mows the lawn. The Captain brought in a weed-eater, lawnmower, and blower...and it was our task to "beautify" the station. I even take the time to smile and wave to the camera. (With the Captain around, ALL safety rules must be followed. I had to wear safety glasses while mowing).
The neighborhood that the station backs up to is known as Dominion Valley. Last year, a local church partnered up with the area school and decided to hold a big easter egg hunt. We were "lucky" enough to be on duty when the second annual easter egg hunt was held.
Let me paint the picture for you....
The grounds are opened to anyone and everyone to come and participate. The preregistration was at approximately 4500 participants. At 4:00PM, a helicopter was going to arrive and drop eggs from the main cabin down onto the field in a designated area. The organizers would then make an announcement to unleash the kids. Why it is called a "hunt," I do not know....as it is more of a mad dash to collect the eggs. In all, there were 30,000 eggs scattered on the field.
Fortunately, there were no medical emergencies. The extent of our services were putting a band-aid on the skinned knees of two small boys.
I was also forced to take a picture with the Easter Bunny.....the joys of being the new guy / "rookie."
We decided this would be a good opportunity for us to take a candid photo. There are some members of our shift missing though...
SPRING IS OFFICIALLY HERE....
Many stations mark the beginning of Spring with their first Motorcycle Accident. We had the "opportunity" to mark the beginning of spring with an accident just down the road from the station. It appeared to be pretty minor in injuries. The rider was cut off by a car and laid his motorcycle down. He was conscious and talking to us. He did not appear to have any injuries except a deformity to his upper left leg. He was complaining of leg pain, so we treated a possible broken leg and immobilized both the rider and the leg onto a backboard. He was transported to a local area hospital where tests revealed he had a ruptured femoral artery. He was internally bleeding out and without the proper treatment, he could die by the end of the day. He was flown to another hospital where he was treated accordingly and to my knowledge is now recovering.
April 16th, 2007.
A house fire on Marsh Overlook claimed the life of a young firefighter by the name of Kyle Wilson.
“I need water (inaudible) 512 bucket. I need water, I’m burning up in here, I need water fast!”
What are apparently the last words of Kyle Wilson. A radio transmission from the Prince William County, VA firefighter at approximately 6:19 AM on April 16, 2007. About four minutes earlier Technician Wilson had alerted his fellow firefighters that he was trapped, with these words: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Tower 512 bucket, I’m trapped inside, I don’t know where I am, I’m somewhere in the stairwell, I need someone to come get me out.” By the time firefighters were able to get to Kyle Wilson it was too late.
The death of Technician I Kyle Wilson was overshadowed by the terrible shootings at Virginia Tech. His death received very little time on the news. The parents of Kyle Wilson and the Department have pledged together to learn from his death and not let his death become a memory.
On April 18th, 2009, the second annual Kyle Wilson Memorial 10K Walk/Run for Fitness was held. The purpose of the walk is to promote fitness (which Kyle was a big advocate of) as well as to raise money for the Kyle Wilson Scholarship. It is a scholarship awarded to students at George Mason University pursuing a degree in Fitness Training / Athletics.
This year was a huge turnout of people donating time, money, and energy to continue the efforts. By the end of the day, over $15,000 was raised for the scholarship. Janice and I ran the entire 10K, finishing in approximately 1 hour (10 minutes/mile).
With the firefighter combat challenge upon us, training has officially begun. While there is a requirement to PT every day (while on duty), I decided to create a small challenge course at the station using some of the props and tools we have available to us. Here is a small snapshot of the course....
1. Advance a 50 ft hoseline while flowing water.
2. Back the hoseline up, back to the starting position.
3. Strike the tire with a sledge hammer 15 times (simulating a forced entry)
4. Shoulder a highrise pack and carry it to the top of the hose tower
5. Raise a 45 lb hose pack to the top of the hose tower and then lower it
6. Raise a 25 lb hose pack to the top of the hose tower and then lower it
7. Shoulder the highrise pack and carry it back down
Sunday, March 29, 2009
What Were They Thinking?!?
People do stupid things.......but honestly, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?!
The following are great ways to LOSE YOUR DREAM JOB as a firefighter.
Detroit firefighters caught on videotape stealing a storm door from a vacant house. The video was released straight to the media.....
Cincinnati Firefighters create "Real Men of Genius" Spoof. The problem is that they made them using their gear, their apparatus, their station (all while on the clock), making fun of women firefighters and the volunteer departments surrounding the city. Once the media got ahold of it, it spun out of control.....
The following are great ways to LOSE YOUR DREAM JOB as a firefighter.
Detroit firefighters caught on videotape stealing a storm door from a vacant house. The video was released straight to the media.....
Cincinnati Firefighters create "Real Men of Genius" Spoof. The problem is that they made them using their gear, their apparatus, their station (all while on the clock), making fun of women firefighters and the volunteer departments surrounding the city. Once the media got ahold of it, it spun out of control.....
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Firefighter Combat Challenge
A group of about 10 firefighters in the County have joined together (me being one of them) and we are going to start training to compete in the Firefighter Combat Challenge.
There are team competitions, where the course is run in a relay style, as well as individual competitions. For those of you unfamiliar with the Combat Challenge, it is similar to the physical test I went through back in March to test for the Fire Department. While it is similar to layout and types of events, it is MUCH DIFFERENT. This is a head to head competition, in full gear and on air, with various events (8 total) with Firefighters competing from around the country. There are several competitions held throughout the year, with 2 or 3 being relatively local to this area.
Here are some samples of the Firefighter Combat Challenge to give you a better idea....
(Competition begins at 0:37)
There are team competitions, where the course is run in a relay style, as well as individual competitions. For those of you unfamiliar with the Combat Challenge, it is similar to the physical test I went through back in March to test for the Fire Department. While it is similar to layout and types of events, it is MUCH DIFFERENT. This is a head to head competition, in full gear and on air, with various events (8 total) with Firefighters competing from around the country. There are several competitions held throughout the year, with 2 or 3 being relatively local to this area.
Here are some samples of the Firefighter Combat Challenge to give you a better idea....
(Competition begins at 0:37)
Benefits Of The Job
I have come to realize (and so have others) the benefits of my job.
I have so much time off, I can do practically anything that I want....including lay out by the pool during the summer, do odd jobs for people in the neighborhood, go meet someone for lunch, etc.
Right now, as I type this, I am enjoying a luxury that happens once every 6 months. It is known as a DOUBLE KELLY. I have explained earlier what a Kelly Day was. Well, a double kelly is just that...2 kelly days in a row. So here is my schedule....
15th: Work
16th: Off
17th: Off
18th: Kelly (Off with pay)
19th: Off
20th: Off
21st: Kelly (Off with pay)
22nd: Off
23rd: Off
24th: Work
That's right....as you are probably by now counting the number of days I have off, I have 8 days off in a row.
Another luxury that I have is the opportunity to join the IAFF, or International Association of Firefighters. It is a Union that represents the Firefighters through lobbying, legal counsel, sponsorship during events and competitions, etc. With membership, I am entitled to (and have now received) IAFF Professional Firefighter license plates. While these tell others that I am a IAFF member and a professional firefighter, my hope is that they tell local law enforcement to leave me alone or cut me some slack. Hopefully I do not have to test that theory.......
(I didn't actually post my license plate number, it has been changed)
I have so much time off, I can do practically anything that I want....including lay out by the pool during the summer, do odd jobs for people in the neighborhood, go meet someone for lunch, etc.
Right now, as I type this, I am enjoying a luxury that happens once every 6 months. It is known as a DOUBLE KELLY. I have explained earlier what a Kelly Day was. Well, a double kelly is just that...2 kelly days in a row. So here is my schedule....
15th: Work
16th: Off
17th: Off
18th: Kelly (Off with pay)
19th: Off
20th: Off
21st: Kelly (Off with pay)
22nd: Off
23rd: Off
24th: Work
That's right....as you are probably by now counting the number of days I have off, I have 8 days off in a row.
Another luxury that I have is the opportunity to join the IAFF, or International Association of Firefighters. It is a Union that represents the Firefighters through lobbying, legal counsel, sponsorship during events and competitions, etc. With membership, I am entitled to (and have now received) IAFF Professional Firefighter license plates. While these tell others that I am a IAFF member and a professional firefighter, my hope is that they tell local law enforcement to leave me alone or cut me some slack. Hopefully I do not have to test that theory.......
(I didn't actually post my license plate number, it has been changed)
Friday, March 13, 2009
When I Grow Up....
When we are not training, PTing, or running calls, we have other things to occupy our time. Sometimes that "thing" is called a "Pub Ed" (short for Public Education). We had the opportunity to show some children and their parents around the station today. This was prearranged through the station officers and we knew about it well in advance. The game plan was to show approximately 5 preschoolers around the station, letting them see and climb into the engine, and showing a firefighter in full gear (read "ME") so they can see what we look like and become comfortable with us. Let's face it, we have this mask on and sound like Darth Vader when we are on air. "Take my hand, I will show you the dark side Luke."
I never once heard some child look up to and say they aspired to be a baggage handler. It felt amazing (as corny as it sounds) to see these little kids (one especially) that were amazed to be in the presence of REAL FIREMEN!!
For lunch, we had burgers. These were not just any burgers....they are some of the Lieutenant's MONSTER BURGERS!! The sheer size of these things is ridiculous. Looking at them practically makes you sick....and eating the entire thing definitely makes you sick. It is probably 3/4 of a pound of meet, with cheese and grilled onions in the middle. (Take one large patty and top with cheese and grilled onions. Top with another patty and use MORE meat to press together and fill the gap between the two.) They are so big it takes TWO spatulas to flip them!!!
....and the prankster strikes again. This time placing something on the shoulder of an unknowing Chef. The Chef turns around to see what this heavy object is that is now suddenly resting there. As he turns his face, all he sees is a giant loin roast!!
I never once heard some child look up to and say they aspired to be a baggage handler. It felt amazing (as corny as it sounds) to see these little kids (one especially) that were amazed to be in the presence of REAL FIREMEN!!
For lunch, we had burgers. These were not just any burgers....they are some of the Lieutenant's MONSTER BURGERS!! The sheer size of these things is ridiculous. Looking at them practically makes you sick....and eating the entire thing definitely makes you sick. It is probably 3/4 of a pound of meet, with cheese and grilled onions in the middle. (Take one large patty and top with cheese and grilled onions. Top with another patty and use MORE meat to press together and fill the gap between the two.) They are so big it takes TWO spatulas to flip them!!!
....and the prankster strikes again. This time placing something on the shoulder of an unknowing Chef. The Chef turns around to see what this heavy object is that is now suddenly resting there. As he turns his face, all he sees is a giant loin roast!!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
FDTTF: The Fire Department Table Tennis Federation
Being a firefighter, you quickly learn there is the potential for a LOT of down time. With that, you find ways to occupy the time....or you become ever so bored and give the appearance that you are nothing more than a lazy sloth.
Some of our time is filled with running calls (obviously), house duties, training, PT, eating and sleeping...while that list is not all inclusive, it does leave plenty of "free time."
Practical Joke / Prank: a stunt or trick to purposely make someone feel foolish or victimized, usually for humor.
Pranks are somewhat of a past-time in the Fire Department. While most things are "fair game," there are two cardinal laws.
1. NEVER MESS WITH SOMEONE'S GEAR. This could obviously have dyer consequences if the person that is subject to the prank does not discover the prank and goes out on a call and has a gear failure.
2. NEVER MESS WITH SOMEONE'S FOOD. I do not really need to explain this.
Last night, the Medic Unit had a call just before bed time. Everyone was already changed over into sleep attire, so they had to put on jumpsuits and head out. The Lieutenant simply slipped off his sandals that he always wears to bed and put on his jumpsuit and boots...and they were off. While they were away, one of the technicians decided to play a prank. When the Lieutenant arrived back at the station nearly 60 minutes later, he couldn't find his sandals. After looking around and failing to produce the sandals, he simply wrote them off and went to bed. In the morning, I overheard him in the locker room talking with another one of the medics. "Kevin, have you seen my sandals? I haven't seen them since we left for that call last night!" Kevin new exactly where the sandals were. In fact, EVERYONE did....except for the Lieutenant. Kevin told him to "look in the bay near the medic unit."
We quickly ran out to the bay, making sure we did not follow too closely. After watching the Lt fail to find his sandals, he spotted us. Kevin simply pointed up.....
We now have another new way to occupy time at the station. Another one of the Lieutenants on our shift has donated a Ping Pong Table. Apparently he ordered a very expensive table and it arrived with a dent in the side rail. While this does not affect gameplay, it was unacceptable for a purchase. After speaking with the company, he convinced them to send out another full table (which he would pay for shipping), and he would donate the "damaged" table to a local Fire Station. With the arrival of the table, the FDTTF has been formed. Last night, we held our first tournament. While I was knocked out in the first round, I was not as bad as I thought I would have been.
You must always make an entrance........(not me, this is the prankster)
And to keep you wired throughout the long tournaments, we now have a station "vending machine." This was donated and filled by the Captain. You simply take what you want, and put the correct amount for each item into the collection bin. We work on honesty and trust.....so people not paying is not even a consideration.
*We actually did run some calls and do some training today...in fact, quite a bit!! But sometimes the ordinary is just that....while the other things are the highlight of the day.
Some of our time is filled with running calls (obviously), house duties, training, PT, eating and sleeping...while that list is not all inclusive, it does leave plenty of "free time."
Practical Joke / Prank: a stunt or trick to purposely make someone feel foolish or victimized, usually for humor.
Pranks are somewhat of a past-time in the Fire Department. While most things are "fair game," there are two cardinal laws.
1. NEVER MESS WITH SOMEONE'S GEAR. This could obviously have dyer consequences if the person that is subject to the prank does not discover the prank and goes out on a call and has a gear failure.
2. NEVER MESS WITH SOMEONE'S FOOD. I do not really need to explain this.
Last night, the Medic Unit had a call just before bed time. Everyone was already changed over into sleep attire, so they had to put on jumpsuits and head out. The Lieutenant simply slipped off his sandals that he always wears to bed and put on his jumpsuit and boots...and they were off. While they were away, one of the technicians decided to play a prank. When the Lieutenant arrived back at the station nearly 60 minutes later, he couldn't find his sandals. After looking around and failing to produce the sandals, he simply wrote them off and went to bed. In the morning, I overheard him in the locker room talking with another one of the medics. "Kevin, have you seen my sandals? I haven't seen them since we left for that call last night!" Kevin new exactly where the sandals were. In fact, EVERYONE did....except for the Lieutenant. Kevin told him to "look in the bay near the medic unit."
We quickly ran out to the bay, making sure we did not follow too closely. After watching the Lt fail to find his sandals, he spotted us. Kevin simply pointed up.....
We now have another new way to occupy time at the station. Another one of the Lieutenants on our shift has donated a Ping Pong Table. Apparently he ordered a very expensive table and it arrived with a dent in the side rail. While this does not affect gameplay, it was unacceptable for a purchase. After speaking with the company, he convinced them to send out another full table (which he would pay for shipping), and he would donate the "damaged" table to a local Fire Station. With the arrival of the table, the FDTTF has been formed. Last night, we held our first tournament. While I was knocked out in the first round, I was not as bad as I thought I would have been.
You must always make an entrance........(not me, this is the prankster)
And to keep you wired throughout the long tournaments, we now have a station "vending machine." This was donated and filled by the Captain. You simply take what you want, and put the correct amount for each item into the collection bin. We work on honesty and trust.....so people not paying is not even a consideration.
*We actually did run some calls and do some training today...in fact, quite a bit!! But sometimes the ordinary is just that....while the other things are the highlight of the day.
Unusual Calls We Deal With From Time To Time....
This story is from Southern Maryland. People come up with "bright ideas" that turn out to be the dumbest idea they could possibly have ever had. Just read on and see for yourself......you be the judge!!
Headline Reads:
Unusual Rescue: Power tool and sex toy are bad combination. Woman is flown to trauma center from Southern Maryland.
On Saturday they had one of those calls they are likely to remember and talk about for some time at the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department and the Lexington Park Rescue Squad. It is also one of those calls they are not likely to issue a press release about or post on their website.
At 1:30 Sunday morning crews responded to a 27-year-old woman who was bleeding. According to both BayNet.com and our wusa9.com, firefighters and EMS workers quickly determined the cause of the woman's distress.
The man who made the 911 call said he had placed a sex toy over a saber saw blade, and then used the power tool on his partner. The blade cut through the plastic and injured the woman.
The injuries were serious enough that the woman was flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to the trauma center at Prince George's Hospital Center.
St. Mary's County Sheriff's Department officials said they would likely follow up to make sure this was just an accident and involved consensual behavior.
It is unclear exactly what prompted the experimentation in Southern Maryland, but it appears there are commercial devices sold on the Internet that combine power tools with sex toys that don't present the problems experienced with this home made device.
Headline Reads:
Unusual Rescue: Power tool and sex toy are bad combination. Woman is flown to trauma center from Southern Maryland.
On Saturday they had one of those calls they are likely to remember and talk about for some time at the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department and the Lexington Park Rescue Squad. It is also one of those calls they are not likely to issue a press release about or post on their website.
At 1:30 Sunday morning crews responded to a 27-year-old woman who was bleeding. According to both BayNet.com and our wusa9.com, firefighters and EMS workers quickly determined the cause of the woman's distress.
The man who made the 911 call said he had placed a sex toy over a saber saw blade, and then used the power tool on his partner. The blade cut through the plastic and injured the woman.
The injuries were serious enough that the woman was flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to the trauma center at Prince George's Hospital Center.
St. Mary's County Sheriff's Department officials said they would likely follow up to make sure this was just an accident and involved consensual behavior.
It is unclear exactly what prompted the experimentation in Southern Maryland, but it appears there are commercial devices sold on the Internet that combine power tools with sex toys that don't present the problems experienced with this home made device.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Someone once said "Women do not know how to drive!!!"
For the next 2 shifts, I am assigned to the medic unit. The Captain wants me to get as much drive time as possible (both non-emergency and emergency) in order to be turned over as a driver. Essentially, I would get off the engine on a call and get onto the medic unit and drive to the hospital, while the two medics were performing patient care.
Today was a GREAT day to be on the medic unit. We only ran two calls, but they were both accidents. The first call went out as an accident, with the patient no longer on scene. Apparently the accident happened around the corner from her home and some passerby assisted her in getting home (leaving the car off the very narrow road where it came to rest). We quickly left the station and went up into the mountains to assist. Upon arriving at the residence, we had to squeeze through the cluttered hallway in order to get to the patient. She was an elderly woman with some obvious "loose screws," but otherwise she was okay. She refused treatment as she thought she didn't need any assistance and after some paperwork, we were on our way. While in the house and doing a visual search (it is recommended to size-up houses while doing medical calls as it gives us access to areas while there is no fire or emergency). She had a little dog that was running around and jumping up and down....I thought (and verbally said to another FF) that we should "Go for the three." It was one of those dogs that would fly perfectly through the uprights.
On the way back down the mountains, we passed by the vehicle and I managed to snap a few pictures while police and the engine company waited for the wrecker. Fortunately for the woman, the tree stopped her from going down the side of the mountain.
After fueling up and heading back to the station, we quickly tried to eat lunch. We were already about an hour and a half late for lunch and the engine company had already eaten. Two of us managed to scarf down a meatball sandwich while the third medic had to complete a respirator fit test. We were then dispatched out to another accident.
This accident went out as a rollover with possible entrapment. When we arrived on scene, we found a vehicle laying on its side. The driver was trapped in the vehicle, and the vehicle was pinned against the guard rail. While waiting for the patient to be extricated, I managed to snap a few pictures. After securing and stabilizing the vehicle, the rescue squad cut the roof off of the vehicle and peeled it down (similar to how the door opens on Noah's Ark). During this process, another firefighter was kneeling down by the patient speaking with her and keeping her calm. Other firefighters were climbing in and out of the vehicle to get access to various pillars that would need to be cut in order to remove the roof. We then managed to slide a backboard in and remove the patient. During the removal process, it was determined that she fit the parameters for a flyout. We quickly called for a helicopter and setup a landing zone nearby. Upon questioning her, we found out that she had been drinking (mind you this is at 1:45PM). We quickly put her into the medic and transported to the landing zone where we met with the flight medics and attempted to transfer patient care.
After the patient refused transport via helicopter, some words were exchanged between the intoxicated patient and one of the flight medics. In the end, we put the patient back into the medic unit and transported her nearly 20 miles to the hospital specializing in her type of injury.
Today was a GREAT day to be on the medic unit. We only ran two calls, but they were both accidents. The first call went out as an accident, with the patient no longer on scene. Apparently the accident happened around the corner from her home and some passerby assisted her in getting home (leaving the car off the very narrow road where it came to rest). We quickly left the station and went up into the mountains to assist. Upon arriving at the residence, we had to squeeze through the cluttered hallway in order to get to the patient. She was an elderly woman with some obvious "loose screws," but otherwise she was okay. She refused treatment as she thought she didn't need any assistance and after some paperwork, we were on our way. While in the house and doing a visual search (it is recommended to size-up houses while doing medical calls as it gives us access to areas while there is no fire or emergency). She had a little dog that was running around and jumping up and down....I thought (and verbally said to another FF) that we should "Go for the three." It was one of those dogs that would fly perfectly through the uprights.
On the way back down the mountains, we passed by the vehicle and I managed to snap a few pictures while police and the engine company waited for the wrecker. Fortunately for the woman, the tree stopped her from going down the side of the mountain.
After fueling up and heading back to the station, we quickly tried to eat lunch. We were already about an hour and a half late for lunch and the engine company had already eaten. Two of us managed to scarf down a meatball sandwich while the third medic had to complete a respirator fit test. We were then dispatched out to another accident.
This accident went out as a rollover with possible entrapment. When we arrived on scene, we found a vehicle laying on its side. The driver was trapped in the vehicle, and the vehicle was pinned against the guard rail. While waiting for the patient to be extricated, I managed to snap a few pictures. After securing and stabilizing the vehicle, the rescue squad cut the roof off of the vehicle and peeled it down (similar to how the door opens on Noah's Ark). During this process, another firefighter was kneeling down by the patient speaking with her and keeping her calm. Other firefighters were climbing in and out of the vehicle to get access to various pillars that would need to be cut in order to remove the roof. We then managed to slide a backboard in and remove the patient. During the removal process, it was determined that she fit the parameters for a flyout. We quickly called for a helicopter and setup a landing zone nearby. Upon questioning her, we found out that she had been drinking (mind you this is at 1:45PM). We quickly put her into the medic and transported to the landing zone where we met with the flight medics and attempted to transfer patient care.
After the patient refused transport via helicopter, some words were exchanged between the intoxicated patient and one of the flight medics. In the end, we put the patient back into the medic unit and transported her nearly 20 miles to the hospital specializing in her type of injury.
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