Cold, busy, bring it on

Yeah, were still here. Yesterday, with the truck company down for the count, the Big Show braced for a busy day in the Hill City's Downtown. With both of the Captains riding up front, Neil and I handled backstep responsibilities. We got off to a good start, running a sheared sprinkler in the Genworth parking deck. With the truck OOS, Rescue 1 was added to the run and assisted with shutting off the riser. All I gotta say about that is thank goodness the squad gods (Ben and Miles) brought Thor (Travis). Apparently the smallest shutoff was just too much for us engine guys. We put work in on a few more EMS runs, downtown MVC and fire alarm bringing the days total to 6. The medic unit, however, ran all day, saw them briefly for a dinner break then they were back to it. On a side note, I lost about half of my eyelashes and forearm arm hair lighting the grill. This week is going to be busy, we've got ITLS next work day, then on Friday, 4 of us (Van, Pebble, Mike and myself) will be headed to Sanford, NC for a Big Rig Rescue Class held at the Coastal Carolina Comm. College. I'll be sure to take a few and put 'em up.

Pride and Ownership

This weekend Lynchburg's Local 1146 in conjuction with the Lynchburg Fire Department hosted retired Chief Rick Lasky's Pride and Ownership seminar held at CVCC. What an incredible presentation by Chief Lasky! If you haven't read his book (you should) the seminar basically covered what he writes about in his book, "Pride and Ownership". The guys from Station 1-C made a good showing on Friday, and I gotta say, if you get an opportunity to hear him speak, either at FDIC or anywhere else...GO TO IT! If you have ever lost sight of why you are in the fire service, no doubt hearing his guy will amp you up! The room was packed with foks from all over VA and a few from W.VA, and NC. This was a great time to see old friends and make new ones and hear about how and why WE ARE in the best profession in the world.

In other news, I've been on a stretch of riding the medic unit due to vacations and go-aways, so theres not too much to report on the station front. We've got a couple weeks of Tech Rescue Training ahead of us, going away to some special classes and doing some in-station stuff, so I'll be sure to post all of that as it comes.

Cya next time!

C-Shift catches late morning job

It seems that the rest of the shifts are handing over the reigns of firefighting to C-shift, which in my opinion, is probably the best thing (no offense). Battalion 1 C-shifters were punched out for a working for a fire in a multiple occupany. The run card looked something like this: E2, E1, E6, R1, T1 (reserve)(we'll discuss the joy of riding in this beast shortly), M6, B1, B2, EMS-2, and Safety 1. E2 arrived first with a report of nothing showing on arrival. Shortly after, they noticed brown and black smoke issuing from the 2nd floor hallway. During investigation, they forced a 2nd floor door and found a unit well off. E2 and E6 put a knock on the fire while E1 provided RIT. T1 and R1 searched all units and ventilated. Extensive overhaul was performed and units were able to clear. Thanks to the Admin staff below St. 1 for turning off our oven and saving 4.5 lbs of bacon, which was later able to be used for delicious BLT's. This may or may not have been my responsibility...

As I mentioned earlier, T1 is out for yearly PM getting some work done and we're currently using T3 which is a reserve Simon- Duplex LTI. Judging by how fast she went to that fire I would guestimate she was made sometime in and around the early 1920's, which would explain why the speedometer never passed 25mph. Then again, this is the "Hill City". All in all, it gets the job done. In other news, St. 1-C would like to welcome Charlie Shealy and Jeremy Pillow to the roster. Shealy is probably the saltiest firefighter I have ever met, and Pillow is probably the most hyper (highly intelligent as well). All kidding aside, both of these guys bring a high level of expertise that will be well utilized here downtown.

If you don't know, Lynchburg just started EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatching) and I will say (not bragging) but I did run the first call under the new dispatching while covering for a guy on M7. Hopefully, this new dispatching will prioritize medical calls better and deliver the appropriate responses. T1 finished the night with an elevator entrapment at a local nursing home and vehicle entrapment in 3's territory.

C-Shift Catches Afternoon Job

Battalion 1 and 2 C-shift members caught a working fire late this afternoon off Lakeside Dr. The run card punched out E3, E6, E1, T1, R1, BC1, BC2, and M6 for a structure fire in an apartment complex. EMS-2 and M3 added themselves and responded with the initial assignment. E2 ended up being added due to the size and involvement of the complex. M6 arrived first and confirmed that it would be a working fire with flames and smoke coming out of an exterior basement apartment window. Because E3 was clearing from a medical, they arrived as first suppression unit and put good fast knock on the fire and kept it contained to room of origin. Also the fire really didn't a stand a chance with Capt. K. Turner and T. Guthrie on the line...Gods among men.



We (T1) cleared from that and went on to a CO call in Rivermont then headed home to a delicious dinner of Country style BBQ Ribs, mixed greens, and Pebble's mac 'n' cheese. As it stands now, the Eng. Co sits on 5 runs, and the Truck Co. on 4. I lost track of the Medic, b/c we haven't seen them but one time today...roll call. Kitchen is cleaned, beds made, Top Gun is on, enough said. Until next time...

A "C" Shift Christmas...at the Big House

 Merry Christmas from C-shift! Now I realize that it is, A- not Christmas anymore and B- its been a little over a month since the last post...Not to say nothing interesting has happened in that time frame, (although it has been extremely dry on C-shift) no one seems to take pictures, aka B-shift who literally is running workers every shift. Christmas Eve, B-shift put some work in Engine 2's first due off Campbell Ave. The run card looked something like this (in order of appearance): E6, E2, E1, T1, R1, BC1, BC2, EMS-2, M6, M1. Just in case anyone from the Roanoke Fire Department is reading this and confused as to what the "R" stands for it means RESCUE, aka Rescue 1. (Editors note: In typical fashion, C-shift snapped the below picture because apparently there was alot to do at that fire and the good folks on B shift were busy...oh ok)

It seems that certain unnamed shifts are adding a collection of personal halligans to Truck 1 in various shapes and sizes. Due to it being Christmas and the C-shift not wanting to be left out of the personal halligan bandwagon, our good Captain bought his men personalized mini-halligans that we could take with us everywhere. Measuring at about 4 inches tall, these little guys will definitly be an asset if we need to force the door on a birdcage...or pop open a coffee container. Thanks Capt! We'll take the next day to customize them with welded carry straps, and wire and tape to make them more grippy.

Anyway, back to the Christmas stuff. It turned out to be a great day for the Engine and Truck Co., not so much for the Medic which just happened to be my assignment for the day. We basically ran intermittently all day, missed every meal, then ate it cold...oh well, tis the season, right? All the guys pitched in and made a helluva dinner, thick ribeyes, twice baked baked potatoes, and...salad, except the salad never made it because a certain rookie called in sick on Christmas...even though he was puking his guts out the night before at St. 7, its not like we don't have IV fluids and an unlimited supply of Zofran to handle these situations. I'm sorry, I know better to talk like a medic on a FIRE blog...my bad. Kidding aside, we made do, by not eating a vegetable and instead adding a portion of Toby's homemade cheesecake in it's place, win-win I guess.

Pebble and Neil, probably doing something important...and probably related to their job

We also took the time to place our new found custom personal halligans in the tool compartment on the Truck Co.

 

..........until next time.........

 

 

 

A "B" Shift Thanksgiving...at the Big House

Well, sorry for the lack of activity on here lately, I got back from a 2 week trip to Costa Rica the day before Thanksgiving, and the although the guys from B-shift had explicit instructions to update...they didn't. Anyway, as it turned out I owed some time to one of the B shifters, and Thanksgiving Day was the day for that to be repaid, so I worked Turkey Day this year...on the medic unit. We did a deep fried turkey this year so here's a little photo op of Toby (head chef) and Lumpy (head taster/eater) manning the deep fryer.



Organized chaos could accurately describe the days activites. We started off right making a good Toby breakfast special, scrambled eggs, custom-to-order pancakes, and sausage links (which I made to perfection). Breakfast was soon cleaned up and a couple hours of prep-work were put in to prepare for the turkey feast. In between the massive amounts of cooking, the medic unit went out for a few runs here and there. However as soon as the deep friend turkey was being pulled out of the fryer, tones dropped for the medic to roll for the ever popular "sick person" call.

After it was all said and done we sat down to a great Thanksgiving Meal, some of the guys invited their families and we basically ate until we felt sick. The medic unit put in a few more runs for the night while the Engine and Truck were allowed to sleep plenty and let their full bellies digest.



Following working Thanksgiving Day on B shift, I worked my regular shift on C shift, riding the lineman seat on the Engine. We stayed busy throughout the day, mostly on fire alarms and medical calls. A little bit after dinner the Engine and Medic caught a downtown MVC vs. pedestrian. It looks a little worse than it was, P/t was taken with non-life threatening injuries to the General.

After clearing from that, Engine and Truck settled in for a quiet fall night, allowing the Medic unit to hit double digits before 9pm. Until next time...

Ridin' the box...

That's right, every now and then you gotta put a little time in the medic unit. In my case, alot. Being the rookie ALS provider I get the "privilege" of ridin' the box quite often, but I'm not complaining (in case the captains are reading this). We have 5 24/7 medic units throughout the city, in addition to a medic unit that is staffed Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for ten hours each day aka (the Powershift). Needless to say were on our 15,000 EMS call, so we stay fairly busy, between 10-16 runs a shift here at #1. Obviously, there are days when we run not nearly that many, and as you may know, the shift that comes on after that lull gets royally screwed.

However, we do have 100% leather compliance on Medic 1 tonight...