EARLY POST FOR C-SHIFT

It's days like today that you don't want to be at work. Clear, warm sunny skies ! One of the nicest days we've had in weeks. Oh well, the "Melrose Misfits" always make the best out of what we have. It's been plenty busy this morning and that has at least helped the day pass. Extensive EMS equipment check offs this morning in preparation for upcoming state inspections. We mowed the grass because it was high. We washed trucks because they were dirty. We went to the store because we need to eat. Speaking of which, we had a visitor for breakfast. One of Roanoke's finest, our good friend Officer Combs stopped in to break bread.

I didn't update after our Friday post, but our ride along photographer got to see plenty of action on Friday's tour. It seemed as though he really enjoyed the ride and said he believes he got everything he was hoping to capture. What is 2nd nature and everyday occurrences to us caught him as somewhat comical. Several little things throughout the tour such as an accident victim not willing to leave the scene for transport to the local ER without taking the fresh box of donuts she had just stopped to purchase. What was even funnier was that Coon ended up driving the Medic to the hospital ... he's attempting that "eat more healthy" close to a "diet" thing and KK Donuts are his WEAKNESS. But, being the professional he is, he did NOT eat the lady's donuts. As bad as she wanted to take them and as bad as he loves to eat em, I just knew it would be a struggle in the ambulance. He said he didn't even lick one and flip it over in the box so she wouldn't notice! What disipline! Makes a Captain proud. Seth also got to see Bug take on an attack chiwawa ... poodle or some kind of mut. Short story, our "cat whisperer" won. Later in the shift, Seth was able to read some of or local signage. This was a sign posted next to the front door of a house that we responded to for an assault. Apparently someone didn't read the sign, and when confronted, she answered with a Louisville slugger. I wonder if he'll take the sign down when he gets out of the hospital?

We are excited to see how Seth's article turns out. We'll have a link posted as soon as it's published. Well, to move along, breakfast wouldn't be the last visit for Officer Combs today. Another "Northwest Sickle" was applied following the fight and then a whole bunch of pepper spray to end it. Well, Combs has done this song and dance enough to know where to go. Again, the "bad guy" was crying too hard to read Comb's "No Whining" sticker so he brought him by for a wash down. Read the original post and see the sticker here. I have to find out just how much peper spray he goes through a week (LOL).

Yep, that's Tyrone saving another one. So, things have quieted down some what. The boys put a Boston Butt on the smoker (in honor of our friend up at the Hippie Hotel...she likes the Sox). We're looking forward to dinner, an evening drill (training) and hopefully a game of cornhole. We even splurged today and have a movie for tonight. I just hope it works out like we have it planned. Oh yea, speaking of our friends up at #3, their Medic had to pass through our territory this afternoon on their way to the ER. Always looking out for our brothers and sisters, we gave them an escort through Northwest so nobody would pick on em...LOL

We may update later tonight...depends on how it all goes. If not, we're back on Tuesday.

SUPRISE!

***WARNING*** THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS IMAGES OF ALCOHOL, VIDEO OF VIOLENCE AND CAKE NUDITY. IT'S CONTENTS MAY BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE BY SOME. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE EXPOSED TO HOW FIREMEN ACT ON THEIR DAYS OFF, CLICK here or here FOR A MORE PLEASANT EXPERIENCE


Opie has a big day coming up ... he's hitting the BIG 30 on Wednesday March 4th. With his actual birthday being mid-week, his wife decided to throw a surprise birthday party for him last night. Well, if you put the Melrose Misfits together off duty, then turn them loose on a Friday night, lets just say...it's a gamble. Any combination of the boys from C-shift could result in good or bad conditions. Last night ended ....??? Well, you decide.

The first red flag was that their was alcohol involved.

Trying to use good judgement, we DIDN'T go across the street from the station (to the "Quicky Mart") and buy up a bunch of 40's or 22 oz Magnums. Instead, we high jacked a truckload of Old Milwaukee ... and NO, not Best or Lite. Captain says Old Mil has been voted the #1 beer in America by national brew masters for 4 years running. They don't tell us how to fight fire, we won't tell them how to judge beer. Too much of anything can be bad and as quickly as you can drink a case or 3, a fight broke out.

You can guess what happened next. Drinking and fighting equals only one thing..the PoPo. It's hard to watch one of your own be "cuffed and stuffed" but life ain't easy. I'm just glad Tyrone didn't resist, or attempt to "Judy chop" or do his little "finger of death" to the adam's apple move.

With drinking, fighting and the PoPo, the Melrose Misfits only lacked one other element to make the night a complete success. HALF NAKED WOMEN! You guessed it, WE HAD EM!

Belly button ring and all! All kidding aside, Kristie opened her home for the boys of C-shift and a few good friends of Opie. Great food and a good time (a VERY civil gathering considering our reputation). Anyone drinking switched to soft drinks in ample time before leaving or had a designated driver. No animals were harmed in the making of the video or pictures but I am sad to report that the cake was molested and then eaten. HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPIE!

CANT TOP THE "SAW" MASK

There's noway we can top A-shifts last post so we're not even going to try! LMAO that was BEAUTIFUL! The purpose of our blog was to show everyone a little bit of firehouse life from the inside perspective and, they nailed it! (see what happens when the Captain takes a day off?) There are tons of "shenanigans" in every house. Some days more so than others but everyday, finding some sort of comedy or something to laugh at helps to ease the stress level and makes the day go by. So, C-shift is back on duty and it's been wide open since our first run @ 07:26. Our first stop was a visit to #2 station to donate a couple gallons of blood to the city nurses. Then it was back to the house for a little "spring cleaning" and a meeting with a local lawyer concerning a past incident. (we are often called to testify following shootings, stabbings vehicle accidents etc). A quick run to the store and back for lunch. The top picture shows Jimbo" Jimmy Jennings (retired and rehired as one of our 2 messenger truck drivers) breaking bread with the boys of C-shift. Jimmy and my dad worked together for several years before they both retired in October of 2004. It's always good to see Jimbo and hear some of his tales. Soon after lunch, the Engine was up against it. Here in the city, we don't see a lot of brush fires but today...well lets just say it was bad. Pictured above, you'll see Coon flaking line while Wheezy "flanked" the inferno then moved into position to cut it off at the head. If you look closely at the tree stump just off center, you'll notice she was about to crown! The good news?? All of our wildland firefighting training paid off, 2 helicopter drops, a few chain saws, a Radford (or is it Pulaski) tool and the boys were able to cut a line and snuff her out before she got out of control. Another nail bitter. Look out Roanoke County, we have our sights set on the 2010 Governor's Award. At 14:00 our guest Seth Gitner from the Roanoke Times showed up for the photo shoot. Now his equipment and skill level is not as fancy as the dig. camera we carry on E9 but he probably got some good shots regardless. LOL.. all kidding aside, Seth went to the new "green" Station 3 and then came here to take some 360 degree photos. The shoot will compare living in an old firehouse vs a new state of the art station. He has some really cool plans and we are excited to see how they turn out. We'll get a link up as soon as it's out. "Nukie" stopped in for a new badge, helmet and coloring book. The local kids love to stop in when the front doors are up. Warm days bring out more than just the kids though. Darkness is fast approaching and so it has begun. The video shows the last of about 10 Police vehicles enroute to an assault just up the street. YEP, we were the next to hit the pavement, Engine 9 and Medic 2 were dispatched to clean up the mess. Later, our Battalion dropped in for a late night visit and had us all rolling with his "Ernist T Bass" impressions.... Chief Dale Barker of C-shift..if you see him, get him to do the impressions..pay if you must, it's worth every cent. I almost forgot Tyrone's new helmet. BRAND NEW and shinny..guess we wont sleep tonight. It took some time to convince him, but after seeing how good he looked in it, he didn't want to take it off. As mentioned in an earlier post, when working under "by the book Wines" and whenever Tyrone is involved it's ALWAYS SAFETY FIRST! Taking that to heart, pictured below is Tyrone throwing together the morning's egg sandwiches.

Rhett Fleitz from #13 C has completely redone his site and put it back on line. We'll add the link to the top left of our site or check out his new look here http://www.roanokefire.com/ It's getting late and today's just the first of our cycle. C-shift will return on Saturday...B-shift in the morning. Thanks for all the hits, keep checking in.

E9 makes a "grab" during a gut busting funny tour!

Talk about a weird tour, they just dispatched Engine 4 to "deer blood" in the street! Things have been about the same around station 9 today as well. Most of our non-fire related calls usually involve RCPD for one reason or another. That said, we have made some pretty good relationships with our local officers. They have always been there when we need them and we have never hesitated to jump in when they need a little assistance. Cops and firemen working together...imagine that! Anyways, one of the officers I really enjoy working with is Officer Combs. He takes such good care of us, that instead of calling us out, he brings the patients to us. Today, after an attempt to run (elude the Po Po) the accused was placed in the "Northwest Sickle" (better known as the head lock) where then, a couple hundred gallons of pepper spray was applied. Needless to say, the accused got a much needed wash down at the rear of our station. While treating this pt. I happened to notice the sticker placed on the plexiglass barrier between the front and rear seats of the Police car. NO WHINING!!! BEAUTIFUL !!! I just wish this guy could have stopped crying enough to read it. Anyway, the 3rd pic from the top is Officer Combs and his cruiser. The last pic is a close up of the sticker. He even gave us one for the Medic unit. Now we'll just have to decide whether to put it in the front or back of the unit (ha ha). And not to have the day take a turn towards the normal, E9 made a "grab" this evening. Ok Ok... it was a cat. Yes, a cat. The owner was very upset due to the fact that her cat has been up a tree for 3 + days and all her attempts (including food etc) would not bring poor Rambo down. She went on to tell how the animal control officers (the other cops) had been out and could not get the job done for what ever reason. Well, we all know Capt. Wines HATES cats but could never pass up the opportunity to get one up on the cops (or animal control in this case). Long story short, the ladder was set and our very own "cat whisperer" Lt. Bug Reid climbed to the tip. A few moments later, down he came with the feline in hand. I had told him that after he caught it, to just drop it to the ground instead of the possible fighting and scratching that often times come with such a rescue ( not to mention him being 28' off the ground on the tip of a ladder shaking violently from the two men footing it laughing so hard). As fate would have it, the traffic was too heavy and the image of their beloved pet being thrown from a tree and then hit by a car would not have sat well with the owner or her son. So, Bug not only caught the crafty puss but was able to bring it down the ladder and return it safely to its home. Another job " WELL DONE" by the boys of # 9-C.

Comments on this and all C-shift post can be e-mailed to capt. Wines at willie.winesjr@roanokeva.gov