The Chief stopped by today!

KaBoom!

Morale.

BULL!

WOW! What a pile of manure.

Look at that guy spreading all that manure.



Yea, our new Battalion stopped by for a BRIEF visit today an gave me the official word that we've been hearing for the past few days anyway. We've mentioned in recent post that some moves may be coming. Well they came! B-shift got their news yesterday and we got ours today. I assume A-shift will get theirs tomorrow. Big shake ups across the Department and especially here at #9 and #5. I wont use the names of the brothers or sisters involved, but I will tell ya that a lot of the moves leave you wondering. As for here, they've split the C-shift Misfits in half. Coon, Opie and myself will be packing our bags Monday and reporting to the Hippie Hotel on the 16th. My birthday of all days! Yea....I'm ECSTATIC! I really don't know what to say just yet. I know what I want to say but don't want to tarnish or take away from the purpose of this blog. Our intent here has been to stay away from the political and personal opinions and show a glimpse of life inside our firehouse. That said, the firehouse IS OUR LIFE. This is not a 9 to 5 job. We're here 24hrs at a time. This station is our home and the men here are family. This profession forms a special bond between its members unlike any other... our lives depend on it. Our profession was built on Honor, Pride and Tradition and it's difficult to see some of that fading. The moves hurt. We've built a great company here at 9C (and I know we're not the only one in the city). We've worked hard and sacrificed to get to this point. The boys especially. OUTSTANDING work from each of em! To have that all taken away for no given reason....Grrrrrrrrr OK, OK, I'd better stop here. I know I'm not the only disgruntled member tonight and I also know that some are happy (a select few WAY more happier than others) but I also know that each of us will report to duty our next day and do the job we love to do. Me, I'm going into the construction business. I'm gonna build a FIREHOUSE over on Williamson Road!
OK, off the rant.... we had another visitor today. This one was MUCH cooler than the first. A brother from the Conway SC Fire Department stopped by. Jason Perzan says he has been following the blog for some time now. He has family here in Roanoke and is down for a visit. He said he wanted to drop by and meet the guys to see if we were really like portrayed on the blog or if it was all a rouse. LMAO he had to pick a C-shift day...He knew each member by name right away...well all except for Tyrone and he didn't recognize him without his swim suit on. He knew past stories and mentioned several pics and videos. A very nice visit. He got the tour and a t-shirt. I hope he enjoyed it as much as he seemed to. Thanks again for stopping in Jason, come on back anytime. Here's a shot of me and Jason

And hey, it's no wonder he found us...we're leading the polls for the 2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year over on Firecritic. If you haven't yet, take the time to check it out. All of the candidates are GREAT reads. Oh yea...while your there VOTE.
We got an update from our newest dad Richard "lips" Lipes. Here it is in his own words.." Thank you for the well wishes, the baby was a bit early, he weighs 2lbs 9oz and is doing well in the NICU. Mom is doing well also. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. R. Lipes"
We also want to pass along the passing of Captain Loren Thompson's father. Loren is assigned to station #2C. The viewing was tonight from 19:00-20:30. The brothers / sisters from the Deuce were able to make the trip. The funeral is tomorrow @ 14:00 at Arritt Funeral Home in Covington, Va. Keep Loren and the Thomson family in your thoughts and prayers.
Enough...Captain Wines