Catching up

As usual, it’s been pretty hectic around here. Not only have I been busy, I’ve also been sick.

I’m still not 100% but I am back at work. I figured I had better take a minute or two and catch ya up on whats been happening.

To begin with, I got to go on a field trip with the Buckaroo and his Pre-School class. We went to a pumpkin patch, complete with a corn maze and all sorts of activities for the kids.

They had a BLAST and I did as well.

I have a whole new respect for our school bus drivers (do you realize how many years it’s been since I’ve rode a school bus?? OMG)

In the picture, the Buckaroo has decided that the tractor driver needs some assistance so he’s headed toward the tractor to take over …LOL

Without preaching, I’ll offer this to all of you “on the job”. If you are not already … TAKE THE TIME to go on these types of trip with your kids. I never did with my girls and now regret it. Going with the Buckaroo has shown me just a small piece of what I missed due to the job. TRUST ME .. MAKE THE TIME.

The Buckaroo and I also made a stop by our Credit Union / Union Hall one morning.

While there, we bumped into these two characters.

Check out the shirts…. almost like little twins ..awww!

If you haven’t checked out The Chive.com yet, apparently; you’re in the minority. It’s full of cool photos and videos.

They even have a “Firefighter” section. Look under “The Brigade” tab and then under the “Branches” tab … or just click HERE .

Zach Green and our friends over at MN8 / FoxFire also have a similar shirt but theirs GLOWS IN THE DARK! Yea.. it’s a cool shirt that says “Keep calm and fight fire”. You can check them out and get yours by clicking HERE .

Totally off subject, I also need your help…. well my sister does anyhow.

First off …. YES…. that’s REALLY my sister. Second off … YES .. I know shes hot. Third off … yes I have 3 more and they are hot as well. Lastly …. NO !

Marci is trying to win a free make over or something…even though she doesn’t need it as much as she does a longer skirt.

You can help her win by “liking” her picture. Go to THIS LINK. She is in the 5th row down on the left.

 

Follow Ironfiremen.com on Face Book. Click HERE & “LIKE” the page

Speaking of “HOT” …. check out our little “Rookie Randy”

He is ROCKING that porn stache!

The C-Shift North Battalion is riddled with “stache envy” and for once, it’s not all about me…LOL

The Elvis collar, just the right crease in his hat, the shades and that stach … who else could pull it off? I think our little “Rookie Randy” just may be growing up!  LOL

All kidding aside, Randy is doing very well .. both on the job and off.

We are working on getting him cleared to drive the Engine.

Now to many (at least those not on the job) this may sound simple, but it’s NOT.

Our Department has set guidelines but George (Lt Perdue) and I hold even higher standards.

There’s a lot more to driving a fire truck than simply sitting behind the wheel. First, you have to know where you’re going and Randy has a big territory to memorize.

After you safely get to the scene, you need to know how to pump. Again, there’s more to pumping than simply charging a single line. I’ll post more on our process and Randy’s progress in the near future.

He did get another “first” this cycle as we tested hose on Saturday.

Once a year, our Department tests all of our hose.

For us, that means 1,000 ft of 5″ supply line, 1,200 ft of 2 1/2 ” hose and 700 ft of 1 3/4″ hose (not including our high rise packs or what we have in the station).

In the picture, Georgie (Lt. George Perdue) is using our hose tester. Our 1 3/4″ and 5″ have to be tested at 400 psi and obviously we can’t do that with the Engine.

Every piece of hose comes off the truck, is inspected, charged to the necessary pressure, then drained and reloaded onto the rig. Special THANKS to the crew from Station #5 (including Battalion Chief Teddy Adkins) who came out to help us load the 5″.

So today is our middle day of the cycle and it hasn’t been as busy as Saturday. It’s actually been quite nice.

We started the morning off by opening our house to some Brothers from Franklin Tennessee.

Beau Doss has been a long time friend and follower of both The Fire Critic and IronFiremen.com. He recently made the move up to Bladensburg, Md to test the waters of their “Live In” program at Station #9. While he remains a member, Beau decided to move back closer to home and they stopped by the station this morning on their way back to Murfreesboro, Tnn.

Click HERE to learn more about Fire Department “Live In” programs.

Rhett set everything up and we decided to fix the guys some breakfast before their long ride home to Tennessee.

Little Randy danced around the kitchen like a ballerina for more than an hour. The next thing you know, we had sausage gray, biscuits, fried potatoes, eggs and fried apples.

My dad, our Battalion and Support Driver (Donnie Foutz) even made it out.

Beau’s Dad, Greg; was along as well. He went up to help Beau make the trip home. Greg is on the job in Franklin Tennessee. Is is also their past Union President. Learn more about the Franklin FD HERE .

Actually, Greg and Beau are originally from right here in our area. Greg spent several years in nearby Vinton and has family that’s retired from our Department. They still have family here in the valley so I hope they’ll get back for another visit.

Rhett and I always enjoy getting to meet and spend time with our supporters. Dad knew a lot of Greg’s family (as did I) and Donnie remembered well their days in Vinton. Everyone really enjoyed the morning.

We had a small discussion about Brotherhood and how something as simple as cooking a meal is a huge gesture in maintaining and upholding it. Think about that the next time you have visitors to your station. How well do you treat them? How do you expect to be treated when visiting a firehouse? Of course I’m not saying you need to fix a meal for every visitor … this was a planned visit but, do you offer them a cup of coffee? A station tour along with a sit down and chat or just rush them in and out.?

Remember, you’re not just representing your Company or your Department … you’re representing us all … the Fire Service.

Stay SAFE and in House!

Captain Wines