C Shift going on break

Slow day for Station 2.  SFF Huffman and his gang kept the city safe running the majority of Salem's calls while Station 2 continued our station renovations.  The expected blizzard conditions never materialized leaving us mostly rain instead of snow. 

The St Patrick's Day shirt has been sent to several printers to see who can offer us the best price.  I'll have the specific details next week.

 

Thanks again to Senior firefighter Huffman for his dedication to duty and hard work these last few days. 

 

-Barger

Return of B Shift

After a nice 5 day break, B Shift returns to the grind.  A few house chores, and a ride to Station 1 to start the day then it was time to help Lt Coe on the station improvement project.

The bed out of the old Lt's room was moved upstairs to it's new home (insert the theme to the Jefferson's here, if you are old enough to remember the show).  Other than a few item needed for the Lt's office/bedroom, that part of the project is complete.

A few days of priming, painting, and drop ceiling work will finish up the upstairs part of the project hopefully by the end of the week.


* Attention Attention

A belated congratulations goes out to Matt Rickman and his wife on the birth of their daughter Emma 6 lbs 15 oz.  19 inches long.  Mother, baby, and daddy are all doing well.


 **
A phone was received this morning at shift change to advise the blog writers that very important information was left out of Erin Barger's post about the fire on C Shift.  It seems that Johnathan Huffman's name was left out and he felt that he was not recognized for his effort on the attic fire.

Today Johnathan Huffman we the crews of 2 House recognize you.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Adventures with A Shift

Here we are, another hell week put to bed, but not without a lot of progress on construction. We had a lot of time to work today, only 1 EMS run for the Rescue Engine(so far anyway)  Nice job on your fire C shift and even better job with t-shirts.

The old office is no more ! Only tile as a reminder of what once existed. I would like to give Lieutenant J.C. Clifton props for his office and TV room that stood for 20 years. Thanks J.C. !

The computers and office are up and running. The drop ceiling in the exercise room will go up Friday with help from some of our brothers from # 1 and 3. Looks like a week of painting and sanding for B-shift. Until Friday. Stay safe,  don't become a statistic!

Smitty

C Shift Sunday!

We kept the bunk room projects in full swing today.  The floor is complete and most of the baseboard is down.  The Lieutenants should be sleeping in their new room any day now.  Station 1 had a fast knock down on a house fire this afternoon.  Good job fellas.  Rescue Engine 2 assisted the Medic and continued to work on the St. Patrick's Day shirt.  The final design will be worn with both pride and a humor. Thanks for all the positive feedback.  

The back image is shown here while the front will simply be the SFD letters on the left chest.  

Stay safe - Barger

Stay tuned for more 2 House station improvement action!

Friday January 21

2 House ran smooth under SFF Haynes's command.  A few medic assists kept us out of the house but we still managed to put down some fresh paint in the Lt's room. 
St Patty's day shirt should be complete by Monday.  My thanks goes out to the tireless dedication of SFF Faulkner and SFF Haynes in keeping me entertained throughout the design process.  I think it is going to be something everyone will be happy to wear. - Erin Barger

B shifts last day

Wednesday...Last day before 5 day break for B Shift.  Good progress was made on the station improvement project, with the help of Lt Tracy Coe and Sr FF Jeremy Hartman.  I have learned that drywall sanding is no fun, drywall dust tastes bad, it covers everything, and turns into a form of paste on ones freshly shaven head after a bit.  I looked like a big freakin' powdered gingerbread man!

The rugby players/fans that read the blog will understand the video.




The shift was not bad at all, the piggy bank was in and out during the day, the Rescue Engine had a gas leak run with Station 1 and a few EMS assist scattered here and there, vacation sign up and the usual house chores.
The piggy bank crew got up in the wee hours of the night for a run of interesting nature, and brought back the quote of  "ma'am...Me taking a look at that, is not going to help me or you.  Would you like to go to the hospital?"
Life on the East Side, expect anything...

Stay safe!  "Train like your life depends on it...because it does!"

The return of A Shift

A-Shift is back !

Another 5 day break has drawn to a close and it's back to work. Progress went slow today on station improvements with 5 EMS assist. Deputy Chief Prillaman stopped by today to say hi and show his appreciation for the work that we are putting into project.

 

By the way, I wanted to say to our neighboring brothers(Roanoake City) on B-shift "damn good stop on the Days Inn fire" Now, I know that doesn't sould like a whole lot coming from me, but it really sounded like you guys had to dig in and eat some grit on that one. It's nice to know that you guys have our back on automatic or mutual aid alarms. Until next time, lets keep it code 18.  - Smitty

 

 

Words from C Shift and some serious stuff

MLK Day


Started the day with our traditional eggs, bacon and apple butter toast. Just when we thought the morning couldn't get any better Lt. sprung for a travel pitcher of Starbucks coffee. I didn't even know they made travel pitchers of coffee. The bottomless coffee lead to a extensive training session on the Roanoke ladder. With a little more tweaking we look forward to introducing a few simplifications to Roanoke's technique. The medic unit covered most of the run volume while the Rescue Engine stayed in house brainstorming about our St Patrick's day shirt. I'm sure we will come up with something we will all be proud of.

- Erin Barger C Shift

A big thanks to Erin for the update.  TheSt Patrick's Day shirt is going to be top notch if it is anywhere close to the other work that Erin has produced.

 Now for a more serious topic.

Thoughts and prayers go out to a city.


This is not about a line of duty death or injury.



Today the City of Camden New Jersey will lay off one third of their fire department, and almost one half of their police department due to budget cuts.

Camden is ranked 2nd on a list of America's most dangerous cities, a city where several past mayors have been jailed on charges of corruption, and according to the FBI's "Crime in the United States 2009" the crime rate is 5 times higher than the national average.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the Brothers and Sisters of the Camden Fire Department, and the men and women of the Camden Police Department.

Good luck, stay safe.

  CMD FD Blog Facebook Page

Attention! Attention!

Thursday 13 January 2011

The crews of 2 House would like to congratulate our A Shift, Station 1 Brother,  Brian Hollins, and his wife Jessica on the birth of their daughter Emilee Kate (6 lbs 3.oz , 19 inches long).  Brian reports that mom and baby are doing fine.  We wish them the best.


Saturday 15 January 2011

 We would like to report that the Hollins family and made it home from the hospital, and momma, baby,  daddy, and big brother are all doing fine.  Best of luck to the Hollins family

Retired Roanoke City Battalion Chief Bobbie Slayton Passes Away

Retired Battalion Chief Bobbie Slayton passed away yesterday from complications from a massive stroke.

The crews of 2 House send their deepest sympathy and prayers to the Slayton family and the Brothers of the Roanoke City Fire - EMS Department.   Rest In Peace Chief Slayton.

Some great post were written by Captain Willie Wines Jr at Iron Firemen http://ironfiremen.com/

and also by Lt Rhett Fleitz at The Fire Critic
Retired Roanoke City Battalion Chief Bobbie Slayton Passes Away After 44 Years of Service

Rest In Peace Chief Slayton.

Arrangements:
Viewing: Tuesday at Oakey’s downtown Roanoke 2pm-4pm and 6pm-8pm
Funeral: Wednesday at 1st Baptist Church Downtown 2pm
Internment: Cedar Lawn Cemetery

 

A Shift Friday

 
 

Construction went slow today here on the East Side. Finishing off our fire rated wall and running calls. I would like to thank the folks at US Foods for setting up our pre plan tour today. Good information for hazmat members when dealing with ammonia. Remember you gotta hit that FDC to supply those yard hydrants. Don't rob the sprinkler system!

Engines 2, 3, Tower-1, M801 along With FC-1 and FM-1 were dispatched to a fire in the laundry room at the Salem Jail.

E-2 arrived to find nothing evident from the exterior then to find smoke at the entrance off of Clay St. An 1 3/4 " was put into service upon further investigation found the fire was contained to the dryer. It was a can handle for E-2 , T-1. 

Worked hard all day on the station, and now thanks to Clay Fitzgerald for feeding us. Spaghetti ! You the man Clay. See ya Sunday.

Day 1 of a new cycle plus a half

5 day break was good, and we started a new year.  So, back to the East Side for B Shift, the morning started off before shift change on a EMS run, then back for some station duties and some work on the set of this old firehouse.  Got in some more halligan time removing that 1970's paneling, and a door with frame.  Only on the first day back can you wedge a piece of paneling against the wall, behind a piece of electrical conduit 10 feet off the ground.

After a bit of work on the this old firehouse set, off to EMS training.  Once again we are certified in the CPRrraa.  A few more runs for the Rescue Engine and "piggy bank", and we make it to the end of the shift.


Thursday and the B Shift 2 House crew is scattered, Ben and Joey to Station 1 to ride the "piggy bank", and the Lt to Station 3 "South-side House of Leisure and Haz Mat".  After mentioning "piggy bank" several times in this post and in the last, I feel I should point out that "piggy bank" is a term of endearment for the Medic unit.
Not too bad of a day, a couple runs, some training and a visit to Station 1, where Schaffer's Barbershop was open.  CJ has mad barber skills and makes a mean 2lb cheeseburger for the 2lb burger challenge.(never again...never again...)

 So back to the "South-side House of Leisure and Haz Mat" for a dinner of Cuban roast pork, with black beans and rice.  OH YEAH!!!

Here a little something motivational from The Fire Service Warrior.  Check out the required reading list he has on his blog too.
Quit Telling Me to Change My Culture

"Train like your life depends on it...Because it does!"   Stay safe!

This Old Firehouse - The East Side version

The Brothers on A shift have been busy with the 2 House improvement project, and have sent some progress reports for the past couple shifts.

 

Saturday January 1st

Well Happy New Year from everyone here at this old "firehouse". Todays episode more framing and board hanging in the Lt. new office/bunkroom and workout room. It's gonna be nice. A sweet pad for the Lieutenant. Work has gone slow today though, a total of 9 calls for the Rescue Engine. Quitting early, Bama football on. ROLL TIDE!

Monday January 3rd

Let me tell ya. Trying to do fire rated construction around existing roof trusses is a pain in the a**! But it will be done and done right with Coe Construction outfitters. Slow progress made today, only one run for the Rescue Engine and several for the "piggy bank". We'll see what the night brings. Lets go eat some chicken, potatoes and asparagus. 3 day break coming up. A Shift is out.

A big thanks to Smitty for the updates, more to come in the near future as progress is made.  

Stay tuned for more episodes of This Old Firehouse on the East Side

Good reading material.

Here is a very informative post on ventilation, that has been posted on Backstep Firefighter, and a few other blogs, training sites, and now posted here.  There is also a link in the post to take the online training.  This is a very good opportunity to get in some education on ventilation.

Train like you life depends on it...Because it does!

http://backstepfirefighter.com/2010/12/18/ul-impact-of-fire-behavior-ventilation/

Stay safe!

Happy New Year!!

Speaking on the behalf of  2 House, we wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year.  

 This year we should all strive to master our jobs in the fire service, protect out Brothers and Sisters through training and education, and become an example to the public and our coworkers of what the fire service truly is.

If you can say to others that you "love this job", and you have a true passion for the job,  then the above statement needs no further explanation.

Happy New Year Brothers and Sisters!  Stay safe!