Can't Beat a Saturday Shift

Hello everyone! Back on shift today, best thing about today is it is Saturday and beautiful outside, I'm running med calls today but the thing is since coming on shift we haven't heard a tone! I'm sure I just jinxed my crew but o well. Went through trucks, worked out and did house chores and it was free game all day after 1200. Capt Irv cooked Turkey Tacos with homemade guacamole, delicious!! We sat down to watch a movie after lunch and also I snuck in a safety nap, 4 of us then set up the basketball hoop out front and messed around till about 1500 we came in and Capt was wanting to watch another movie, the first one we watched was "In Time" after that "Rise of The Plants of The Apes" followed up by "End of Watch" now let me tell you watching a movie about cops in a firehouse with 7 firemen is rather entertaining especially when the part in the movie where the 2 Officers run into a structure fire comes up.. Today has be crazy slow! But was very nice to just get to relax almost all day! I'm going to hit the bunk I was DD last night for some of the guys from a different shift, so I'm only running on a few hrs sleep!

Not Sure On A Title Today

First day back from my 4 day! Ahh it feels good to be back on the Engine. Today during truck checks it was a tad bit chilly, about 15* and windy as sin! Like i said I'm on the Engine today so I'm not running med calls, I'm sitting in the jump seat today, which means I am the 2nd man in upon entry of a structure, Shane's rocking the pipe today. After we got done with all of that we hit the gym! Still busting out the P90X! We skipped house chores because we needed a bunch of extra air packs for academy tonight so we wen and robbed a bunch off the boats and a few reserve Tankers, we ran about 3 MVAs today which is kind of tricky because after seating assignments most of us put out Bunkers by the seat we are on in the Engine but since we run a "Jump Crew" ( when the same crew switches between the Engine and Squad Aka Heavy Rescue) so after we get back from a Rescue we set our stuff back up on the Engine everytime so it's a little bit of extra running but not horrible. Captain Irv fixed chicken thighs, with homemade coleslaw and spicy cornbread! Followed up with red velvet came and cream cheese icing (but Shane and I didn't partake in the desert because we are only eating healthy to cut some weight and get ready for the lake this summer haha). Had class from 6-10 and it was over PPE and SCBA. Rather dry stuff that a lot of us have went over a lot, but one of our friends Derek was teaching so it was a blast! Time to hit the bunks and most likely run all night long!

"Hitting The Pole"

I took this from a Facebook page I follow, it is so true I had to share. (The picture is of the pole in our bunk room, we have another in the day room"

There are a few pleasures in life that can compare to the first time you "hit the pole" for a structure fire call. For a few brief seconds, life measures up to the long held expectations and delivers the exact feeling you had fantasized about your whole life. Not many other experiences will or can do that, but hitting the pole for a fire does just that. It is where the dreams of a young boy and the realistic work of a man collide and let a superhero fly!

Marty Mayes~TFA Boss

DISCLAIMER?

I guess this should have been my first post, this is just for family members and good friends, it is not to be shared publicly, I thought this would be a good place for everyone to just check into what I have been doing, it is not grammatically correct and punctuation is hardly used spelling may be off but that's ok because this is just me typing away a few thoughts here and there to keep everyone updated!

"Fully Involved Structure"

THis morning after writing my last post at about 0205 the alarms started sounding "Mid County Station One, Southwest Fire is requesting a 2nd Due Company to respond for a fully involved structure fire" when I am on shift I sleep in my duty uniform (ems pants and a dept tee shirt) and I have picked the closes bed to the pole just for this reason I was up threw my duty boots on and hit the bay floor by the time most guy were throwing on their pants, once again I was sitting Backstep again, we rolled out in the Engine with a full crew and a chase truck with 3 firefighters, on our way to the scene we were waiting for a size up from southwest but in our minds we were all thinking the same thing "it's a mobile home those things to up fast!" I didn't pack up because most likely it was going to be a defensive attack (surround and drown) got on scene, flames blowing out of the front and back door and windows, the guys in the chase truck are some of the volenteers for mid county and are also Army firefighters, they expressed their dislike for me and the new guys when I first met em, mostly because we have enough guys on shift everyday they don't get to run many calls, from day one it has been a pissing contest with me and one of those guys, but when it come time to hit the flames it's all work, maybe a little more showmanship between us but that's just an ego thing, anyways back to the story, once we Capt Irv did his 360 he popped his head in the Engine and said " time to play boys" I climbed out of the engine, noted the smoke conditions and noticed it was already venting itself, Southwest already had the lines stretched to the doors so myself and another firefighter headed to the Charlie Side (back door) and the guys in the chase truck hit the Alpha Side (front door) Capt Irv also was with them, I made entry in the rear with Shane following me with the line, to the left he floor was already burnt out and so we went for the right knocked down as much as we could, by this time the other crew has made entry too, all of a sudden Shane falls through the floor luckily it's only a 2 foot drop next thing I know we don't have any water pressure... We have knocked the fire down a lot thank goodness, there was an issue with the draft line into Southwest's Engine after waiting what seemed like forever we had water again, good thing because our half of the house had kicked up again and we were getting rather warm, now I have gone through the floor, I get back up and get on some of the floor boards and start ripping out the roof for any hot spots, our low air alarm is now going off, we back out and hand the line off to the new crew and head over to rehab to get our vitals taken and a new bottle tossed on our back within minutes Shane and I are back in the shit this time just doing some overhaul, the trailer was a total loss but we still had a hell of a stop, got back to quarters, re racked the trucks, filled bottles and did a debriefing, by this time it is about 0625, I cooked everybody eggs and did shift change, crawled Ito the bunks and slept till about 1000 hit he gym, washed clothes, and I am trying to get on the Honor Guard or Pipes and Drums so I did a little ass kissing to the right people one that. Now I am just getting a couple training ideas together for next month and will be going to bed before long

Goodnight everyone!

60 Degrees Outside!

On shift today, weekend shifts are pretty laid back, first thing we did was check all the trucks, mostly all the bush rigs because B-shift ran mutual aid for Sunrise Beach Fire that was working on a natural cover fire last night. Also we took out the Tower Ladder and messed around with that for awhile, it was nothing compared to the Ladder back in Maryville, Mid County's lader is only 75 foot when Maryville's is 100 foot, After that we set up the basketball hoop out front since it was so nice out today and played 3 on 3 for most of the afternoon. We had a bunch of parents bringing kids buy for station tours during that time, which I was more than excited to show them around because the look on their faces when you lift them up in the seat and let them pull the horn is the same look I have everyday when I climb onto an Engine! Went back to playing ball and I received two mild black eyes due to a pop in the nose from a Firefighter we call Lefty haha. A few of the guys have never drafted water before so we did a few drills which turned into a huge race between guys on who could flow water the fastest! Finally at about 1600 we came inside and everyone crashed on the chairs to watch a movie! Good times!

Oh I forgot to mention what was on Capt. Irv's menu today, we have Smoked Salmon and dirty rice with green beans!! Workout at 0530 so I'm going to grab some winks, I will be back on Thursday after my 4 days off!!

Fire Behavior

  "It breathes, it eats, and it hates. The only way to beat it is to think like it. To know that this flame will spread this way across the door and up across the ceiling, not because of the physics of flammable liquids, but because it wants to. Some guys on this job, the fire owns them, makes 'em fight it on it's level, but the only way to truly kill it is to love it a little." -Backdraft 1991

On shift again, day started just like any other, but boy a lot of us were tired as hell today! Knocked out another day of P90X with the guys, everyone is doing rather well. For lunch Capt Irv cooked up baked chicken breast and wild rice and brussel spouts man it was good! After lunch I did some Engineer training in our frontline Engine "912", while we were out we put some of the guys who have never "caught a plug" ( driving up next to a fire hydrant and the firefighter sitting backwards behind the Engineer gets out grabs the hydrant bad and pulls the end of the rear mounted 5 inch hose and wraps it around the hydrant as I then I drive up to the fire) it was good practice for all of us and have me a chance to get familiar with our pump panels. After that we returned to quarters and I worked on a few new hose lays that we use here and not back in Maryville man the work very well, I intend on showing my old Capt from Maryville these in hopes they will use them because it really done make things a lot easier. About 1500 we headed to the study room to work on some homework for our academy class we had tonight! Ran a few med calls during that time, Class was very fun, a lot of it was repeat for me but it was nice to refresh a few things, the chapter tonight was over Fire Behavior such a cool subject, there is a lot more to fire than a lot of people think and a lot more to us "just putting water on fire"

Well I'm off shift tomorrow and we are getting up at 0530 for our work out and I'm on the medical crew tonight so I hope to get some winks before the morning!

Jeep Day

Off shift today, got up at 0500 to knock out another session of P90X with my shift, washed the trucks we used yesterday and did pass along to the on coming shift. After that Shane and I fixed a bunch of biscuits and gravy, sausage patties, bacon, and eggs for the guys! We finally got some dressers and places to hang our clothes while I waited until about 1100 for Bryan to get up to help me move them, rearrange the whole room and it works perfect! Relaxed most of the afternoon and waited for the Chief to leave and then we pulled the Jeep in and started wrenching on the ole boy just a little front end work and a few other things, took a lot longer then we wanted just finished up now, I am on shift tomorrow man it's going to be along day!

I need to get some shut eye!!

Looong Day

Back on shift from my 4 days off, started the day off like any other, I was once again selected to be Backstep! After seat assignments myself and Firefighter Perez took our Heavy Rescue Engine to the tire shop to get all new tires and an alignment done, drove to Station 3 and got one of our other tankers to take to the body shop for some minor damage. Finally after getting done with the truck shuffle it was time to workout, I have convinced my crew to do P90X so we cleared the day room and got after it, next came lunch (not the healthiest lunch to follow up a hard workout but what Captain cooks Firemen eat) Captain Irv made his famous meatloaf and creamed corn, holy bag was that good!! Did the normal house chores and busted out some studying for our a academy class we had tonight, class wasn't too bad did PT in full bunker gear and went over some of our practical skills, we got out of class 2 hours early so we were pretty pumped came back to relax and as soon as we got back in quarters tones dropped left and right for medicals! Luckily I am on the Engine today so I didn't have to run them, not that I wouldn't mind since the Engine hasn't left its bay all day other than for when I was doing my drivers training, they selected a few of us to go through our Engineer/Operator cert and myself and a few other guys who have driven trucks like this before got selected.

Time to hit the bunk and try and figure out who's duty boots smell like road kill, when I find them I may toss them down the pole!! And with that being said in the words of my new Marine buddy's "Pop Smoke, Im out!"

A little R&R

Sorry I have been gone a few days I have been on my 4 days off. Have t done too much, Saturday I had my academy class from 0800-1430 we went over the history of the fire service and a few other things. After getting out of class I went to meet up with Evan a buddy from Maryville who dispatched for my last fire dept, had a blast! He just got hired on KCPD so he will be starting the academy on the 22nd. Came back to the house on Sunday morning and worked on a little homework and tried to get some more of my personal stuff organized in my room. Today I slept in until about 1000 worked out and hit the books again, this time brushing up on reading smoke and victim survivability profiling. Also took a trip out to Ha Ha Tonka again and visited the Castle Ruins, very very cool but need to go back on a day when it is not so cold. We had a firefighter association meeting tonight where we talked about upcoming fundraisers after that we had training. This weeks training was "the Denver drill" it is a firefighter rescue drill, it comes from the Denver Fire Dept. they were on a working fire when a firefighter called a mayday and as the RIT went in after him he was at the foot of a window in a very narrow room where they had filing cabinets on either side unfortunately they were unable to save the firefighter resulting in a Line Of Duty Death, this drill is to teach you how to remove someone from a similar situation and to realize how hard it is to moved an unconscious person.

I am on shift in the morning so I should hit the bunks

"The Fighting Second"

On shift today, we are short 3 guys on A-Shift today since some went to Take their EMT test. To be honest almost the start of everyday on shift is the same, roll call, truck checks, breakfast, workout, house chores, training/drill, lunch, Captains briefing all that until 1700 and then it is relax time. But instead of training we did Fireboat checks, Mid County currently has 2 boats (one named the fighting second) that are used for shoreline water supply, boat fires, and our dive team. The boat are sooo cool. We were requested to move a crew and an Engine over to Lebanon's Station 1 since they were currently on a working fire and needed district covered. Today at 1730 the Fire Board had their meeting and myself and the other new guys got sworn in, after that it was on to our CPR recert that lasted 1800-2000, got back to the station and had a friend stop by the station for a tour and she brought the rest of the guys cookies, very smart but most of them were taking their "safety naps" as Capt. Boller calls them so I snuck some of them into my stash.

Very very slow and log day, crawling into the racks

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Off shift today so after shift change at 0630 I came back upstairs and climbed into bed till 0930 ran a few calls throughout the night so I needed to catch up a little. Got up and went right into the gym, today was upper body day, the best day haha, B-shift is on today and Captain Boller is really good about getting his shift to do some PT, their PT drill for the day was to wear a full air pack and start at one end of the truck bay and crawl under all the trucks in the first row (7) to simulate performing a primary search with overhead obstructions and when they got done under the truck the crawled up and down the flight of stairs leading up to the day room, did that until the "mask sucked I "(when you run out of air in your air pack your face piece will suck right to your face). Instead of running on the treadmill myself and Firefighter Shane Wilson went out to Ha Ha Tonka State Park and walked the long trails and steps, very very cool area I intend on going out there a lot. There is a spot where an old mill was back in the day and the water is bright blue and clear I will try to get some more pictures when I can but this one will have to do for now. After that we came back to the firehouse and relaxed. I kept myself busy by spending some time in our First Due Engine just going through the compartment and cleaning tools.

I'm on shift tomorrow so I better hit the racks

Backstep Firefighter

Today is shift day, started the day out by getting up at 0600 and going down to the bays for Roll Call and seat assignments, last time i was on shift i was on the Quick Response Truck today I'm riding Backwards!! I'm the Backstep Firefighter today, aka Nozzle Man, got the morning truck checks done fast and headed up for breakfast. After breakfast it was time for Captains Briefing basically went over what we are going to do today and if anyone had any complaints or concerns. We get and hour and a half for PT so a couple of us went in the gym and tossed some weights around the others pretended to do a little cardio and then just disappeared. After PT we did House chores, mopped all the floors, dusted, gathered trash and cleaned bathrooms. While mopping the front entry way I just finished up when I was tired of the mop bucket not rolling worth a crap and as I looked down I noticed a black pedal on the underside and me being the investigator that I am to "oh there's a brake" so I hit it with my foot and it didn't really register to me at first but that is to release the water when emptying it so all of the nasty mop water was all over my freshly mopped floor, back to square one.. Lunch was ready the thing i love about A-Shift is that Capt. Irv is an amazing cook, backed chicken breast mashed tators and esparugues (sp) We went into the training room and went over SOGs and a few other training slides shows. 1600 rolls around and it's time for us to head to Sunrise Beach Fire Dept for our Academy Class. That lasted until 2200. Got back to the house to find out the guys at the station who were filing in for us while we were at class got to run a structure fire, o well ha we are watching Ladder 49 and some guys are washing dishes

It is time to hit the bunk I'm beat

Off Shift

This post is supposed to be yesterdays since i forgot/was busy and didnt post one.


We made it all night without catching a call and got up at 0600 so we could wash trucks and do shift pass.  after that i changed out of my uniform and did a Walmart run and got a few things i have been putting off like getting sheets for my shift bunk and some food.  Myself and another A-Shifter tore up the gym for awhile and went for a run since it was very nice out.  About 1300 four of us went to a bar and grill called the Wobbly Boot for lunch and a few beers.  A few beers turned in to a good amount of beer and staying at the Wobbly till about 1900 when Captain Irv (Our Shift Captain and we were on shift the next day) and his wife walked in to have supper, he came up to talk to us up at the bar for a bit.  We closed our bar tabs shortly after and bought Capt. 2 rounds and paid for their meals (never hurts to kiss up to the Brass) we got a ride over to another bar called Bootleggers and spent the rest of the night there.  Got home at 0000 and hit the racks, not a very exciting day.

A-Shift

Today I am on shift from 0700 to 0700, got up at 0600 and get dressed and made it down for roll call around 0630. Today is Sunday so the bay floor needs to be washed, all the trucks and pulled out and the floor sprayed down, six firefighters all grab squeegees and follow each in a staggered line until the whole thing is spotless. Every morning the on coming shift checks over the front line rigs to make sure everything is in working order and stocked correctly. That kept us busy until about 1030. We then went and worked out till 1200 when Captain Irv had the chili and cornbread ready to go. Lunch lasted till 1330 and it was time to go drill, first we started with RIT ops via hot fills and buddy breathing, RIT stands for rapid intervention team and they are used to rescue down firefighters if a MAYDAY is called. We run the Scott 4.5 air pax for our SCBA, on the rear of the pack is a male connection point witch is called the hot fill port. During a mayday the RIT will bring in tools of all kinds to get to the firefighters in need and also a stretcher and RIT bottle ( it is just a air tank with a female port on the end of the hose). If you chose to use the hot fill you just connect the RIT bottle to the hot fill male port on the injured firefighter, if you are unable to get the RIT bottle to them or are with a firefighter who is about to run out of air you can connect his mask to yours and share your tank with him. We then moved onto a few EMS drills I.e. king air way and aed. Drill went on till 1700 and after that the day was free we all came I to the day room and grab some snacks and payed down to watch tv, not much longer after "operation relax" we were dispatched on a Medical call, easy call patient refusal to be transported. And I'm sure I am setting my self up to be woke up tonight but that is the only call we ran. Got a few good movies in tonight and some pool played.

Jumping in the bunk for the night

Lazy Saturday

Today I slept in until 1000, got up and worked out for about an hour. Today was a very lazy day, cleaned up my room and got some laundry done other than that I didn't do too much and the crew that was on shift today didn't get many calls.

I just laid down to start this post at about 2350 and the tones went out for a medical. About 20 mins later the alarm sounded again this time for a structure fire, everyone jumped up and headed for the poles, had enough for 2 working Engines and to roll the Tanker, Station 3 was also toned out for another tank to respond since our water supply in this area is horrible we run a lot of Water Shuttles. One guy was going to have to be left behind since Osage Beach Fire was dispatched to move up to Mid County Station 1. A guy who has no fire service experience was last to the truck, I was sitting in the nozzle seat and he looked very disappointed so I jumped out and told him to get in. Iv never seen that guy move so fast before and his eyes got wide ha! I have to be on shift at 0600 anyways and the call is about 20 miles from the house. The first due Engine went on scene and confirmed "working fire", shortly after OB Fire got to our house I opened up the bay door and they backed their Rescue Engine in. We sat and talked for awhile in the bays before heading up to the day room. Very nice guys and one even said he has been to "Marysville" most likely not the Maryville I'm from but to explain that to someone is a losing battle most of the time. If another run goes out for our district OB fire will cover the call and I will run with them, funny thing is my temporary bunker coat says "OB FIRE"!

Well going to hit the bunks and catch a few hours.

"NOT THE GROCERIES!!"

Shortly after posting my last entry last night I crawled into bed to get a few winks, not the case...  Tones dropped at about 0230 for a MVA tractor trailer rollover with entrapment down a steep embankment hauling "fresh groceries".  Firefighters started jumping out of bunks, sliding down poles (one yelling "OH NO THE GROCERIES") and running down the staircase when dispatch came over the air again and stated "Mid County Standby for Tones" everyone thought we were getting disregarded, but they dropped another call on us at the same time, this time for a medical.  Crews split up into a full working crew on the Rescue Engine en route to the MVA while 2 Firefighters went en route to the med call in the Quick Response Truck. The other Firefighters and myself who were not on shift got up and got things around just encase another run came in. The med call got canceled and that truck responded to the MVA also. After about an hour of staging in the bays Incident Command requested all available personnel to respond to the MVA scene as 2nd Due Engine.  The semi was fully loaded with produce that needed to be unloaded by hand and carried up the bank to an awaiting truck and trailer.  While unloading the trailer Osage Beach Fire was toned for a possible structure fire via an automatic alarm system.  With O.B. Fire away from quarters with 2 companies out on the call Mid County was requested to move up to their station to cover their district, Everyone was canceled before making it on scene.  After who knows how many pallets unloaded we finally cleared scene at about 0930.  When I got back to the station we cleaned up and myself and another firefighter went around the lake and ran a few errands and such.  B-shift is on duty today and they were in the bays washing one of the Command vehicles as I walked over to them, Captain Boller said they were going to go on a district familiarization drive so I hopped in (clearing needing to go to bed but it was only 1300 i had plenty of time for a nap). We drove to all of the satellite stations and checked them out while on this drive we got a run for a med call not far from where we were so we were first on scene and directed by dispatch to stage until Law Enforcement got there.  The call was quick and easy, cleared only after about 10 mins.  When we got back to the Firehouse I sat down to watch tv and ended up falling asleep in the day room for about 30 mins and i most likely wont do that again ha, lets just say it was a very surprising awakening.  Around 1800 a few of us ran and got some food and since then it has been pretty relaxed a few shannagins but nothing to grand everyone is pretty beat.  Its almost 2100 and we are watching Gold Rush (a nightly occurrence). All is well right now in Station 1 and hopefully it stays calm for the rest of the night, but a few of the guys said they can feel the fire bug so we may be running all night.

Until tomorrow i am out of here have a great night everyone!

Orientation Day

Made it through the night without the tones dropping.  Got up at about 0600, Firefighter/Inspector Holden cooked all of the guys french toast and bacon this morning at 0700 after shift change.  Promptly at 0800 we filed into the Training Room and introduced ourselves to everyone and started to go over all of the SOGs and SOPs, also we had our random drug test.  That went on FOREVER but is needed so we don't get canned from the Dept and also answered alot of questions most of us had.  At 1400 we finally finished up in the Training Room and all of the new guys and Fire Chief Frandsen along with B-Shift Captain Boller loaded up into the Command vehicles and headed over to Osage Beach Fire Dept to get fitted with our bunker gear since Mid County's new gear has yet to come in.  After that we had a few hours to kill, so we just played some pool and watched tv.  At 1715 we loaded up once again and went over to Sunrise Beach Fire Dept to get signed up for our Firefighter 1 class along with another orientation!  We will be going to class every Tuesday and Thursday night for I don't know how long.  Got back to quarters at about 2000 and got together and watched a movie while some of us worked out and since C-Shift is on duty for this 24 they ran a few Med calls, I am on A-shift for this month so I don't work until Sunday.

Not sure what i have planned for tomorrow, might try and get the rest of my stuff unpacked the best I can, everyone is asleep right now and im getting a bit tired, time to hit the bunks again, 2 of the 3 guys i room with are gone right now, one at his girlfriends house and the other one chose to work shift tonight so he is in the Duty Bunk Room tonight.

Moving Day

Well today was the day, I turned in all my gear and pager at Maryville Fire Dept and loaded up the Jeep and headed south. I am now with Mid County Fire Protection District in Camdenton MO. The station is amazing and the staff is top notch. I am currently bunking in a room with 3 other guys.. Not the best but it will work. We don't have any room for our stuff but they say that will change. Tomorrow at 0700 we all will get together to eat breakfast then into the training room at 0800 for orientation. After that I think we are heading to a neighboring Dept to get fitted with gear. Not sure what we will do after that but I know we will be going to our first Firefighter 1 class at around 1800. Very excited for that!

My nerves are killing me, I just quit my job moved 4 hrs away from anyone I know

Well time to hit the bunk while the snores and farts from the other guys whisk me to sleep.