Iron Firemen Wooden Ladders & Iron Firemen
It’s not been a good time to linger around or visit Ironfiremen.com’s World Headquarters.
For obvious reasons (at least obvious to the ones of you who follow the site), the past month or so has been a difficult time for me and I continue to struggle emotionally.
To top it all off, we’ve all been sick! Me, Donna, the girls, the Buckaroo and even little Wyatt. Nasty sick …. the Buckaroo has had it the hardest. He hasn’t made school a single day this week.
We’ve ended up with some type of virus and thankfully tested negative for the flu. Seems like we’re passing it from one to the other. If it keeps up like this, I’m gonna have to build an extra bathroom onto the house or at least put in an indoor “decon” room where I can hose us all down…LOL
For me, it couldn’t have hit at a worse time. It’s time for me and Rhett to hit the road and kick off 2014! It’s going to be an exciting but very busy year for The Fire Critic and Ironfiremen.com and we can’t wait!
We’re starting off with a couple solo trips. I hit the road this weekend and will head South into North Carolina once again.
I’ve been asked to speak at the County Line Volunteer Fire Department’s Annual Awards Dinner just outside of Statesville, Nc..
We are not strangers to the great State of North Carolina. I have family in the Charlotte area and Rhett and I have visited several Departments / functions throughout the state over the past couple of years.
The one thing we’ve always found is Brotherhood. North Carolina is full of Brothers and Sisters who “get it” and I’m excited to be going back. I most recently spoke in NC back in early December 2013 at the Lake Norman Volunteer Fire Department’s Awards Dinner. You can read that post by clicking the link below ….
Click to read “Money can’t buy what I found at the Trump National Golf Course”
Click HERE to have us speak at your event!
I’ll be heading down sometime Saturday. The event doesn’t start until 6 pm so if you’re in the area (or along my route.. I-81 to 77 South to 40E) give me a shout and we’ll arrange to meet up.
Rhett and I always enjoy visiting Departments and meeting Brothers and Sisters from across the Country. If you used the link to my Lake Norman post (above) then you seen where I stopped to visit the Pleasant Hill VFD and met Chief Andy Chatman (and other members).
Obviously, I’ll do a follow up post at let ya know all about County Line VFD and my trip. If you’d like to learn more about them beforehand, check out the links below. It seems as if they’re pretty squared away. The pic to the right is of their fitness center!
Click HERE for County Line Fire Department Web Site
Find County Line Fire Department on Face Book HERE
I wont get much of a break after NC as I’ll be heading up to Chicago Tue-Thurs.
I’m heading up to show my support and to attend a Ceremony recognizing MN8 FoxFire (link) for their involvement in the 2013 “Great Chicago Fire Hydrant Event”.
The event, supported the “100 Club of Chicago” (link) . From their web site “The 100 Club of Chicago is the civilian organization that provides for the families of police officers, firefighters and paramedics who have lost their lives in the line-of-duty. The Club helps families ease the financial burden associated with the tragic event, including immediate financial assistance and the ongoing cost of higher education. All federal, state, county and local police officers, firefighters and paramedics stationed in Cook County are included” .
The Fire Hydrant Event placed approx. 100 over sized, fiberglass, custom painted hydrants throughout the City. The hydrants were sponsored by various organizations / groups and drew attention to Chicago’s Bravest. The Hydrants were then auctioned off (in December 2013) and MN8 Fox Fire purchased the one created by Chicago Firefighter Charles “Tattoo Chuck” Iglinski. You can view his creation HERE .
Zach then turned around and donated the Hydrant to the Chicago Fire Department! A Dedication Ceremony will be held Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 at 10 am. and the hydrant permanently displayed at the Chicago Fire Department’s Robert J. Quinn Fire Academy.
If you’re in the area, we’d LOVE to see you there! We’re even having a “meet up” afterwards. Contact Zach for more details (ie: exact location, times, etc) @513-235-6383
Learn More about the Great Chicago Fire Hydrant Event HERE
Find the Great Chicago Fire Hydrant Event on Face Book HERE
Great Chicago Fire Hydrant Event Gallery HERE
At the end of the month, Rhett and I will take to the skies as we head up to Kalamazoo Michigan! We’ll be speaking at an event for the KZOO FOOLS on January 24-25th.
More on that event by clicking HERE
Find the KZOO FOOLS on Face Book HERE
I’M VERY EXCITED about this trip but KZOO in January??? I’m not sure what Rhett was thinking when he scheduled this one but I’m pushing for us to hire a travel / booking agent. We need to be somewhere like Hawaii in January …. LMAO!
We leave KZOO and head straight over to Detroit.
We will be there in support of the Detroit Mutual Aid Project.
Thanks to all of you, we (along with many members from the National Firefighters Endowment Officer’s Club) will deliver several thousands of dollars worth of much needed equipment to the Detroit Fire Department!
Learn more about Detroit Mutual Aid HERE
Visit the National Firefighters Endowment HERE
I’ll keep ya posted along the way. Be sure to keep checking in here or be sure to “like” and “follow” us on Face Book ….
Follow Ironfiremen.com on Face Book click HERE
Stay Safe and in House!
Captain Wines