Every recruit class has to plan and participate in a community project. Typically, every fall recruit class participates in the American Heart Association Walk.
The AHA Walk is held in Washington DC on November 9, 2008. It is held on the National Mall, and will be a total of 2.9 miles.
Feel free to donate to help me meet my goals, and help the AHA in the fight against heart disease and stroke.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE & SPONSOR ME
We are currently competing against Battalion 2 to see who can raise the most money, in addition to "friendly competition" with other Fire Departments in the area.
**Donations are tax deductible**
Friday, August 29, 2008
Week 6: Day 5
Nothing too exciting!! We finished up the retesting of practicals and then moved into lecture for the remainder of the day.
We managed to keep our noses clean.....who knows what will happen next week.
There was one recruit who started to fall asleep during a lecture (from the Fire Chief) and then later during another instructor. Fortunately for him [and us], he was not caught....otherwise he would have been terminated and we would probably have suffered.
Total recruits remaining: 41
WEEK 6 COMPLETE.......19 WEEKS TO GO!!
We managed to keep our noses clean.....who knows what will happen next week.
There was one recruit who started to fall asleep during a lecture (from the Fire Chief) and then later during another instructor. Fortunately for him [and us], he was not caught....otherwise he would have been terminated and we would probably have suffered.
Total recruits remaining: 41
WEEK 6 COMPLETE.......19 WEEKS TO GO!!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Week 6: Day 2, 3, 4
Not a whole lot happened......
We had practicals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and midterm practicals and test on Thursday.
Overall, everything went well!! I had the second highest grade (96%) in the class. The highest was a trained Medic with a 97%
Due to academic ineligibility, 3 recruits were terminated today. A recruit also quit on Tuesday (from the other Battalion). He underestimated the requirements of the job, and continually made mistakes.
I was told by the "mean instructor" that I am doing a great job and to keep up the good work.
We had practicals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and midterm practicals and test on Thursday.
Overall, everything went well!! I had the second highest grade (96%) in the class. The highest was a trained Medic with a 97%
Due to academic ineligibility, 3 recruits were terminated today. A recruit also quit on Tuesday (from the other Battalion). He underestimated the requirements of the job, and continually made mistakes.
I was told by the "mean instructor" that I am doing a great job and to keep up the good work.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Week 6: Day 1
Not too much happened today....rather uneventful.
We have mid-terms on Thursday, and ride-alongs on Sept 9 & 10. I am really looking forward to ride-alongs. We will be out in the County, staffing an ambulance and answering actual calls. While our interaction will be limited, it will be a great experience.....I am personally hoping for some pretty gnarly accidents along I-95.
For the people that are not doing very well academically, they have until September 5th to reach an 80% overall in order to remain employed by the County. I am not in this category, fortunately. I have maintained a 94% in EMT.
We currently have 2 people below the "state requirement" of a 70%. There are another 3 people below the County requirement. The County has a higher requirement of an 80%.
We also have 3 people that are not meeting the physical requirements and will need to step it up a bit in order to stay employed. Of those 3 people, 2 of them are also not meeting the academic requirements. They [instructors] are predicting that we will lose another 5 recruits at the end of next week.
The remainder of the week will be practicals. We will demonstrate our skills we have learned and apply them in different scenarios:
CPR/AED
Airway Management
Rapid Trauma Assessment
Kendrick Extrication Device (KED) Application
Hare-Traction Splint Application
They will also through in signs in which we will have to state what the condition is and treat the condition (shock, gun shot wound, fracture, laceration, amputation, etc).
We have mid-terms on Thursday, and ride-alongs on Sept 9 & 10. I am really looking forward to ride-alongs. We will be out in the County, staffing an ambulance and answering actual calls. While our interaction will be limited, it will be a great experience.....I am personally hoping for some pretty gnarly accidents along I-95.
For the people that are not doing very well academically, they have until September 5th to reach an 80% overall in order to remain employed by the County. I am not in this category, fortunately. I have maintained a 94% in EMT.
We currently have 2 people below the "state requirement" of a 70%. There are another 3 people below the County requirement. The County has a higher requirement of an 80%.
We also have 3 people that are not meeting the physical requirements and will need to step it up a bit in order to stay employed. Of those 3 people, 2 of them are also not meeting the academic requirements. They [instructors] are predicting that we will lose another 5 recruits at the end of next week.
The remainder of the week will be practicals. We will demonstrate our skills we have learned and apply them in different scenarios:
CPR/AED
Airway Management
Rapid Trauma Assessment
Kendrick Extrication Device (KED) Application
Hare-Traction Splint Application
They will also through in signs in which we will have to state what the condition is and treat the condition (shock, gun shot wound, fracture, laceration, amputation, etc).
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Week 5: Day 5
Not much happened today aside from the usual, 0700 PT, then lecture from 0900-1500 (excluding lunch).
The old battalion leader (who I replaced because of his injury) informed today would be his last day with the recruit class. He is being moved over to the safety office while he undergoes surgery and rehab. He will then be recycled into the next recruit class in January 2009.
At this point, I am going to remain the battalion leader (which was initially a temporary thing) until I am removed or until we graduate. To make things more complicated....I was also moved from my squad and platoon, to replace him in his squad and platoon. Starting monday, I am going to be the Battalion leader, the Platoon leader, and Squad leader........sheesh!!!
Here is a breakdown so you understand what I mean:
Squad: a unit of 2-3 recruits
Platoon: a unit of 4-5 squads
Battalion: a unit made up of multiple platoons
We started with 50 recruits. To date, we have lost 4!!
WEEK 5 IS COMPLETED.....20 more weeks to go.
The old battalion leader (who I replaced because of his injury) informed today would be his last day with the recruit class. He is being moved over to the safety office while he undergoes surgery and rehab. He will then be recycled into the next recruit class in January 2009.
At this point, I am going to remain the battalion leader (which was initially a temporary thing) until I am removed or until we graduate. To make things more complicated....I was also moved from my squad and platoon, to replace him in his squad and platoon. Starting monday, I am going to be the Battalion leader, the Platoon leader, and Squad leader........sheesh!!!
Here is a breakdown so you understand what I mean:
Squad: a unit of 2-3 recruits
Platoon: a unit of 4-5 squads
Battalion: a unit made up of multiple platoons
We started with 50 recruits. To date, we have lost 4!!
WEEK 5 IS COMPLETED.....20 more weeks to go.
Week 5: Day 4
CELL PHONE GUY WAS FIRED!!!!
During the combat challenge, you have to carry a high-rise pack up 5 flights of stairs. It is an enclosed area, so no one is there watching you do it. When it was his turn to go through and carry the high-rise up, he stopped at the second story and turned around and came back down....it was a big deal, but even more so because an instructor was at the THIRD story waiting to make sure everyone went all the way up.
After everyone completed the combat challenge, everyone was lined up in formation and asked if they had completed everything they were supposed to. Everyone of course answered yes....including cell phone guy...who was obviously lying. The instructors had told us before, if they ask you a question about something...they already know the answer. Again, they asked if everyone had completed everything and they all answered yes...including him.
The instructor then proceeded to inform the Platoon what they had witnessed and that they knew cell phone guy was lying. They then proceeded to tear him apart. They stated he was an "F-ing liar, had no integrity, will never be a firefighter," etc. They then escorted him to the locker room and classroom so he could grab his belongings.
The overall attitude of the instructors picked up quite a bit......and things should be a little better off for us now.
During the combat challenge, you have to carry a high-rise pack up 5 flights of stairs. It is an enclosed area, so no one is there watching you do it. When it was his turn to go through and carry the high-rise up, he stopped at the second story and turned around and came back down....it was a big deal, but even more so because an instructor was at the THIRD story waiting to make sure everyone went all the way up.
After everyone completed the combat challenge, everyone was lined up in formation and asked if they had completed everything they were supposed to. Everyone of course answered yes....including cell phone guy...who was obviously lying. The instructors had told us before, if they ask you a question about something...they already know the answer. Again, they asked if everyone had completed everything and they all answered yes...including him.
The instructor then proceeded to inform the Platoon what they had witnessed and that they knew cell phone guy was lying. They then proceeded to tear him apart. They stated he was an "F-ing liar, had no integrity, will never be a firefighter," etc. They then escorted him to the locker room and classroom so he could grab his belongings.
The overall attitude of the instructors picked up quite a bit......and things should be a little better off for us now.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Week 5: Day 3
0700 PT....
After stretching, we formed 3 groups. 2 groups of 10 and 1 group of 4. The group of 4 was all female recruits that carried the big tractor tire over their head and on their shoulders. The other 2 groups each carried a TELEPHONE POLE. We spent time carrying it on our shoulders, then over our heads, then we would put it down for pushups, 6 inches, etc.
We then used it as part of our workout....we put our hands on it and feet on the ground for pushups, then switched and put our feet on it and hands on the ground for pushups, then we got into situp position and the instructors put it on our chests (with us cradling it) and we did situps with it.
On the way back down, we stopped at the sand pit for more pushups, 6 inches, and whatever else they felt we needed to do.
It was all definitely a workout.....my shoulders are sore.
After that, we spent the remainder of the day in lecture.
The previous leader has a torn meniscus and needs surgery. Another guy from the other battalion blew out his shoulder today and is probably going to have to get an MRI. Also, the cell phone guy was told that he needed a 95% on the quiz tomorrow in order to continue his training and employment with the County......WE SHALL SEE!! (I'm not holding my breath, since he hasn't passed a single quiz yet).
After stretching, we formed 3 groups. 2 groups of 10 and 1 group of 4. The group of 4 was all female recruits that carried the big tractor tire over their head and on their shoulders. The other 2 groups each carried a TELEPHONE POLE. We spent time carrying it on our shoulders, then over our heads, then we would put it down for pushups, 6 inches, etc.
We then used it as part of our workout....we put our hands on it and feet on the ground for pushups, then switched and put our feet on it and hands on the ground for pushups, then we got into situp position and the instructors put it on our chests (with us cradling it) and we did situps with it.
On the way back down, we stopped at the sand pit for more pushups, 6 inches, and whatever else they felt we needed to do.
It was all definitely a workout.....my shoulders are sore.
After that, we spent the remainder of the day in lecture.
The previous leader has a torn meniscus and needs surgery. Another guy from the other battalion blew out his shoulder today and is probably going to have to get an MRI. Also, the cell phone guy was told that he needed a 95% on the quiz tomorrow in order to continue his training and employment with the County......WE SHALL SEE!! (I'm not holding my breath, since he hasn't passed a single quiz yet).
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