April 19th, 2012. Units from Station 5, Med 754, and Farley responded to the 10000 block of Botetourt Rd. for a reported MVC. Units arrived on scene to find a two vehicle collision with heavy damage noted. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained by any of the parties involved, so efforts were shifted to management of roadway hazards. Botetourt Rd. remained shut down while crews from VDOT contained fuel spills and cleared the roadway of all damaged vehicles.

Med. 754, EMS 7, and Truck 5 operating on scene.

The Hunt For Work Continues...

As of late, the members of the elite A-shift have been searching high and low for that elusive little creature we call fire. It seems as though we have been hit with a not so welcomed dry spell of interesting and exciting calls. In order to keep ourselves occupied(without the assistance of the ever looming medical locals) we have focused most of our efforts into training. Webb gave an outstanding class on aircraft emergencies and possible UFO incidents last cycle, that was more than entertaining. This week, I believe the Captain has tasked me with researching new and exciting forcible entry techniques to instruct the rest of the crews in the latest and greatest methods. Exciting, I know. For any of you who have ever taken any of the Traditions Training classes in this area, or any other facet of their educational scope, I would highly recommend them for your department's training regiment this year. They are hard to get and a little pricy, however, the knowledge they provide is worth the wait and funds needed. Check out their website if you have time. It's www.traditionstraining.com. On another note, Webb informed me the other day that he would the Iron Man competition next year with high hopes in taking home the gold. He has been training fearlessly every day to sculpt his body into a mean, lean, body building machine. Best of luck in your further endeavors Diesel!

For our members, please remember to pay your Union dues on time this month! That being said, keep an eye out for convention updates as the become available from myself or Newton. The annual MDA golf tournament will be held prior to the convention. I would like to see a good showing from our members at this event! Also, Webb and Florez have been tasked with the forming of a fundraising committee. They will be brainstorming new ideas for our fundraisers this year. If anyone has any comments of suggestions they would like to provide, forward them to the appropriate committee members. Thanks. Again that's Cecil "Diesel" Webb and Tyler "Florez" Flora.

March Is For Basketball...and Training!

March has proved to be an oh so nice break from the monotonous Winter months, filled with training and various "work'" to be done around the county. Recently, we were able to obtain a piece of property in Blue Ridge(Station 1) to utilize for training before it was to be torn down for a new residence. These types of opportunities do not come along very often and can always prove to be an excellent time to hone in our skills in RIT, ventilation, searching, and various other facets of our job. The particular house in question was a two story single family, more than likely built sometime in the 50's. It's ordinary construction and tin roof proved to be an excellent example of a majority of the residences in Botetourt County. With various shifts and stations to include, we spent around 1 week training in and around the structure.Yeah, I got pictures.

Frank and I practicing some vertical ventilation techniques on the tin roof.  Frank had a hair of a time taming the thick wooden boards that compiled the "super roof." However, according to the Farmer, we were up there "doin' it."

Wall breaching was a large portion of the training, as well as including this practice into your RIT operation.

Captain "Sweet Tea" Johnson was all smiles seeing his guys do such a great job. He's so proud of us.

Pictured here is Jeff "Bigg J" Elmore, after using his superb spray painting skills to illustrate where fire would be located within the residence. Take it from me, I've seen a lot of good graffiti, but I would put Bigg J up against any of your so called "artists." Not up in my house. 

More often than not, this is where the Farmer was posted during a majority of the training evolutions. Apparently, he had to "take care of some stuff" around 4 to 5 times during any given day we were at the house. Must be nice to be so important. 

Even Medic 14-9 from Bedford County Fire & Rescue, located just down the road, was able to attend some of the training! Killer boots Ohlinger. 

All together, it was a killer experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to give their guys some realistic and controlled training. Today, we spent a majority of the afternoon over at the Troutville(Station 2) training facility, located on the fire station grounds, to participate in some extensive RIT training with Roanoke City Fire & EMS. In typical A Shift fashion, we pretty much ran the show. In all actuality, Webb and I had a great time and learned some great tricks of the trade from their instructors. We ran multiple scenarios involving various RIT operations that, needless to say, put us through the paces. With the outside temperature reaching somewhere around 80+ degrees, I don't think I had much sweat left in my body. I believe Webb was paired with the guys from Engine 11, while I hooked up with the crew from Engine 5. We cleaned up. Special thanks to all those City instructors who came out to share their knowledge and experience with the rest of us! On a lighter note, during the training in Blue Ridge, we compiled a simple training video of our own. Any of you who are familiar with Instructor 5 Productions or have viewed any of their Youtube postings, they are Nashville based fire instruction company ran by members of the Nashville Fire Department that specialize in "outside the box" thinking and techniques not commonly used in the fire service. Their lead instructor, Trey Nelmes, from 3's Truck, is quite the character and provides us with quite a bit of comic relief during training hours in the station. This video is mimicking one of his productions. Please note the realistic training evolution and excellent techniques used by Jeff and I in this video. Trey would be so proud...

   Until next time!

Save Your Pension!

With all of the recent happenings around Botetourt County and the out-pour of media attention that the department has been receiving lately, it has been hard for one to find time to write about all that has transpired. Foremost, I invite you all to check out the link to www.Ironfiremen.com and read Willie's latest synopsis in it's entirety. It will surely enlighten you to the most up to date details and explain to everyone what the department's career staff have been thinking all along, but were unable to say. Enjoy. In other news, I sat the crew down this morning for an impromptu training session on the proposed revisions to the VRS system. For all of you who are following this closely, I urge you to contact your local representatives either via email or phone message and express your concerns to them directly. Every voice counts in situations like these and I believe that everyone would agree that this is an "all hands" situation. We all have a voice, and we damn sure all know how to use it. For information on the proposed changes, feel free to visit either the VRE website or check out the newly revamped VPFF site. They provide very user friendly information on the subject which I found quite useful today. Last night, I took place in a statewide conference call consisting of union leaders and their subordinates discussing the proposed changes and fostering questions from the general workforce as to how and what we are going to do to help these bills get defeated. I believe the general consensus among local's across the commonwealth is to create a unified voice amongst us all, which is why I sincerely urge all of you to contact your representatives directly. Naturally, you will not be able to speak to them in person, however, your messages and emails have an effect. Those of you who work for Botetourt County who are not aware as to who exactly your representatives are, I will gladly provide you with their names. Our state senator is Stephen Newman(R-23) and our house rep. is Lacey Putney(I-19). You can find their email addresses and contact info through the general assembly website or at Congress.org. Feel free to contact with with any questions. You've got the digits.  Until next time!

Friday Night Lights...

It's been quite a while since my last post. Unfortunately, nothing "blog worthy" has happened over the past handful of A Shift days. I believe B Shift caught a job sometime last week, but as to the details of such, I have not been able to obtain any. With no photographic evidence of any kind, it makes one wonder if they actually catch all this work they speak of at shift change. Hmm. Anyways, Webb and I just got back to the house from an MVC in north county. The result of a high speed pursuit that landed one in cuffs and one innocent bystander with a broken vehicle. Quite the show. Unfortunately, it never once crossed my mind to snap any photos of the accident while we were on scene. My bad. Perhaps tomorrow, C Shift will question whether or not we actually did anything today. As of now, the medic truck sits on three runs. I haven't heard our Lieutenant go out on any thus far. Must be nice. He's probably couped up in his office doing something related to his job. I've been spending a vast majority of the evening trying to recall if we actually had any type of significant run all last cycle and I can't seem to place anything right now. It's a weird feeling and I don't like it. The day shift crews throughout the county were held over today with various medical locals dropping at shift change so hopefully the call volume will continue throughout. Except during the hours of 12AM and 7AM. Please and thank you. I believe the hose wagon marked off on time(no surprise), and headed out for a delicious meal at Outback Steakhouse. Must be nice. Is Steakhouse two words? I'm not sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Well, enough with the rambling. Time to turn in here at the four house. Hopefully more to follow this week. I believe there is an Instructor 1 class being held here in the morning, so I'm sure we will be awakened fairly early to the sounds of curious minds and the sheer desire to learn. It rings loudly throughout this place. It's a big building, so there is an echo constantly. Until next time!

And Everything...

 Where oh where to begin. We on A-Shift are winding down the last night of our cycle here at the 4 house. As we speak, Farley is whipping up a delectable meal consisting of venison burritos and rice. The smells wafting in from the kitchen are spectacular. It just so happens that Webb is off today, so we have a transfer from Station 3(Buchanan), Kevin "Turtle" Martin on scene. Quite the character. He won't quit talking about how "swolt" he is going to get tonight in the gym here at The Palace. Best of luck Turtle. The engine company has just marked out of service for the night. I believe we logged one call today on the hose wagon, while the medic truck sits on four so far. Not too bad for a Friday. For the past few work days, there hasn't been the normal amount of runs that I would consider "blog worthy." Fortunately, we have been fairly busy around the station so I will attempt to catch you all up. Today being a holiday(Lee Jackson Day), we were lucky enough to have the afternoon off after a morning full of house work and training. As luck would have it, Jeff "Elmo" Elmore and I noticed that Logistics 7(Clay) happened to be out of town today, which left an entire apparatus bay open for activities! With Jake "Spit Shine" Newton and Lieu. Farley on the box, Jeff and I decided to make the most of our afternoon with an arts and crafts project. For a while now, the station officers have been researching a way to reduce the clutter on the table that contains all of the radio and pager chargers, as well as the Zoll and stretcher battery chargers. With a little ingenuity and some positive thinking, Jeff and I were able to come up with a solution to their quarrel. A 48' x 24' piece of plywood would be utilized to construct a custom made hanging board for the wall, capable of holding six radio straps and radios. An ingenious idea if you ask me. With a little paint and some sand paper the project was a go. Pictured below is Jeff and I putting in the man hours to study the science of what you need...

(Do not worry yourselves, no vehicles were harmed in the making of this board.)

The project literally took ALL afternoon. Not quite what I figured we were getting ourselves into, but it turned out well in the end. The board is painted in traditional BCES colors consisting of forest green, white, and gold. The logo and apparatus identifiers were custom hand painted and drawn by Jeff and I. The tapcons and washers were donated to us by the farmer and the drill used was county owned. 

 Not too shabby for not using a level!

To no ones surprise here at The Palace, the project would not be complete without a slight mistake by Jeff and I. Apparently, using a font that is less than recognizable is hazardous to potential projects and leaves the "do it yourselfers" wide open for typos. As you can see above, Jeff and I managed to spell MEDIC using an Old English C instead of an I. Wow. But have no fear! For we were able to correct our mistake by simply painting of the misused letter and replacing it with the correct one! Just prior to completing our afternoon project, Lieu. Farley appeared and began an impromptu training course of self defense for the first responder. Distracted from our work, we stepped aside and took an ever valuable lesson from the man himself. Here he can be seen demonstrating one of the moves taught to us today. 

I believe this is aptly called the "one legged whipper snapper."

Once back in the zone, Jeff and I were able to finish our "radio board" and hang it in the appropriate location above the radio table. 

Complete and ready for straps! And everything...A special thanks goes out to Lowes for supplying the board, Dupi-color paint products, Rustoleum primer, Sharpe markers, Microsoft Word for the font idea, Dewalt drills, and Logistics 7 for the use of his apparatus bay. We couldn't have done it without y'all! 

In other news, there are certain members of The Palace who recently took a weekend ski trip to Snowshoe in West Virginia. Without naming names(Elmo and Turtle), those members who were not lucky enough to be invited on such an awesome and fun adventure(the rest of the guys), were able to catch a small glimpse of the two tearing up the slopes. 

Sweet tunes guys! If you notice at 1:23 seconds, Turtle almost wipes out an innocent skier! Way to go. Until next time!

Working Job For B-Shift As Well As New Addition! A Must See...

As stated in my previous post, I believe I may have jinxed the boys of A-Shift yet again. Just after dinner time at the four house, the guys were hit out for a working fire on Albemarle Ave. in the town of Buchanan(Co.3), which is a considerable distance away from Station 4. I believe the run card went something like this: E3, E2, W7, M754, C3, C2, W3, K3, SQ2. Not necessarily in that order. With Wagon 7 as the second engine on scene, they found a single wide with heavy fire throughout. W7 and M754 assisted units OS with extinguishment procedures for over three hours until units were able to clear up. I believe one injury was reported on scene and M754 handled the transport of that patient to the hospital. All together a decent job for the guys. With Jake "Spit Shine" Newton and Jeff "Elmo" Elmore on the line, what would you expect? Fire cringes at the very sound of their names. Especially with the addition of Jake's brand spankin' new leather hat. Now if only we could find a new home for those rubber dingys he continues to sport proudly on a daily basis! I believe the farmer was manning the pump panel, but what else is new. That's no way to break in that new leather Lieu! Perhaps it is best seeing that Jeff put in so much time and effort into your custom painted shield. I failed to mention Cap. Rob "Sweet Tea" Johnson. I believe he rode the cab. Next time use the flash on the camera boys, that's what it's there for.

        Must be nice...(notice the hand crafted leather shield the farmer is sportin! Way to go Jeff!)

 Nice scotchlite. It's hard to see the Captains smiling face! Such a somber bunch...

On a lighter note, there will soon be a new addition to the parking lot of The Palace! As everyone who ever comes by or even drives down the road near The Palace knows, Ron goes through more used vehicles than a Buick dealership. To the extent that I have lost count of exactly how many cars, trucks, jeeps, and vans he has gone through in the past six months...wow. I literally tried to count them by memory, but I lost myself somewhere around the miata and the wrecked jeep. We on A-Shift noticed that the conversion van stayed parked at the station last night until the wee hours of the morning. Wondering what the situation might be, I inquired this morning as to the nature of Ron's vehicle placement. Jeff informed me that as of last night, Ron would be the proud new owner of a late model 4-door Honda Civic hatchback! Here he can been seen standing next to his new family addition. I cannot imagine how proud you must be Ronny. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

Ron advised me he chose this particular model for it's spacious interior and family friendly cabin design. This model boasts a 1.2 litre four cylinder power house and front wheel drive. It comes equipped with A/C, manual windows and locks, and power steering! As well as AM/FM stereo/cassette. Perfect for those weekend getaways to Busch Gardens or simply a trip to the Dollar General for some supplies! With Ron's solid taste in automobiles and excellent car buying sense, I have no doubts this purchase will last a lifetime. Or around 3 to 5 months, as predicted by the rest of the guys at The Palace. Until next time!