Get your minds out of the gutter!
Atlanta was last week ! I’m NOT talking about the sofa bed episode.
Nor am I talking about Rhett and Jeff taking me to the gay restaraunt for dinner.
I’m talking about the fact that we ( C-shift ) returned to duty yesterday for the first time since FRI 2011. We had a busy day … a VERY busy day.
The title of the post refers to our con-ed training … trauma … “PENETRATING TRAUMA”.
Sorry I haven’t posted since my Atlanta “update” but I’ve been playing a little bit of “catch up”. Catching up here on the farm and while back on duty yesterday. I’ll start with the farm and things at home …
I have to tell ya … as much fun as I have traveling with Rhett, Jeff and Zach …. there is nothing that makes me as happy as seeing my wife, daughters and the Buckaroo waiting for me on the front porch when I get back to the house…. It’s good to be home!
The Buckaroo was wound tight! He had a weeks worth of stories to tell. What went right …. and what went wrong. He and his “Nana” did a little bush hogging while I was away. The result was a flat tire so that was the Buckaroo and my 1st chore of the day Monday morning! Here’s a short video for all of you Buckaroo fans …
The little fella is famous I guess. Once again I was honored and humbled to have several people approach me at FRI and introduce themselves as readers / fan of the site. Of all of the folks who came up to me like that, I’d say that 90% of them asked where the Buckaroo was and how he was doing. HOW COOL IS THAT.
Well, rest assured the little fella got along just fine without me.
Of course we’ve been making up for lost time since I’ve been home.
Mowing and making hay. Cleaning and repairing.
We even had the chance to load a few hundred ton of gravel.
If it’s got wheels, hooves or will move, the Buckaroo can ride or drive it!
So, like I said … we’ve been busy but ok.
It’s difficult to go back to work after 13 days off but I had to do it yesterday. The good news is that I think Randy missed me as much or more than the Buckaroo.
Our Brothers from B-shift took a beating the night before and we started the day off running as well. The first of the month is always busy in our line of work.
Our first one out the door was a MVC that required Ladder 5 for a “door pop”.
Ladder #5 runs as the extrication company for the North side of the city .. Ladder #1 covers the South.
Nothing big or spectacular and thankfully, only minor injuries.
It was almost like old times with me, Lt. Bugg ( Rob Reid) and Wheezy ( Travis Meador ) on scene. This time however, they were under the command of 1st Lt. Thomas “Sanchez” Mougin.
The fellas made quick work of the task at hand. I’m proud of the work the “Melrose Misfits” have done since our split. I wouldn’t expect less !
It was a good run for Randy as well.
After assuring the vehicle was stable, he was assigned to enter, make patient contact and take c-spine control.
Later, he assisted in applying the KED and removing the pt from the vehicle.
Being a non-critical incident, it made for a good learning situation …. OJT or experience. The more he gets, the better.
Randy’s coming along just fine …. he just may turn out to be a good fireman!
Afterwards, we took in another run or two before lunch and then headed out for Department scheduled training. EMS con-ed .. WooooHoooo! Trauma. Head and chest injuries.
As soon as class ended, the storms hit !
We need the rain around here but not that much that quick.
Thunder, lightning, dime sized hail and rain so hard you couldn’t see 50 foot ahead. Of course you know what that means … “wires down” calls!
We had one to beat all others.
I’m still too upset to write about it without getting myself in trouble but TRUST ME … I’ll tell ya about it soon enough.
We ran most of the night. Our shift started with a MVC and ended with another.
This time, it looked bad.
A 4 door on its top with debris everywhere. The incident happened in a short straight stretch, near a traffic light in what should have been a low speed area (obviously, this vehicle wasn’t traveling at a low speed).
Dispatch called back to advise possible occupant ejection was we arrived.
The lone occupant had been ejected but survived with only a scratch … and a minor scratch at that. He was walking, talking, awake and oriented. It looked like a fatality or at least a serious injury on arrival. I guess some folks are just “living right”.
I’m not sure which one it is but either Boots or Randy aint living right because we didn’t get much rest last night. It’s gotta be one of them because I’m living at the foot of the cross ..LOL All kidding aside, I hope we have a better Sunday.
That makes it obvious that we’re back tomorrow and Tuesday. I hope all you folks have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. I have a lot of exciting news to pass along over the next few days and posts. Ironfiremen.com, FoxFire and The Fire Critic.com have some exciting news coming up.
Keep yer britches on … I’ll tell ya all about it soon enough. Until then, you folks Stay Safe and in House!
Captain Wines