St. Patrick's Day Parade comming soon!

St. Patty's day is just around the corner and Station 9 is already working on a shirt for the parade. Above is the logo we hope to use along with a few slogans... "Fir Na Tine" which translates to "men of fire" and "Braithreachas Thar Gach Ni" translating to "Brotherhood above all else". Now, so far, this is just C-shift's thoughts. All 3 shift will need to be consulted before the final version is sent to print but I think we have the makings of a pretty good shirt. We will be using Captain Mutters printing company to produce the shirts. Scott and Missy do a great job at an affordable price. Check out their site at http://www.acutedesignsetc.com/ Roanoke's parade is Saturday March the 14th. Capt. Wines will be driving the IAFF L-1132's 1938 fire engine which will hopefully be full of our firefighters children again this year. Station 9 is putting the challenge out this year to all the other stations to develop their own shirt and participate in the parade. It has even been mentioned that our Local (1132) will have an open house at the Union Hall after the parade with free food and beverages for the adults and children (this idea is just in the planning stage so please contact a Union official with advise / input / comments etc). If your station designs a shirt, send us the pic and we'll get it up on the site. Good luck and hope to see you all out on the parade route.
(comments can be e-mailed to the Capt at willie.winesjr@roanokeva.gov )

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

A-shift: Engine 9 holding on to another no hitter!

Engine 9 hasn't rolled out with her lights yet. Medic 9 has plenty of times, as usual. Spent the day cleaning the station and trucks thanks to the warmer weather. Also got out to tour a local hotel with the folks from station 3 and 2. Battalion 2 came out to join us as well. Great to see the finished structure. Becoming familiar with the upgrades to the alarm system and building layout changes made this trip very worthwhile.
Bit of irony today on the tour was how E3 pulled up behind E9, just like an actual call in the area. Well like they say, train like it's real. Good job guys.

Duane "voice thrower" Noell

Here is Duane doing his best interpretation of the moose from National Lampoons Vacation. Many are unaware of Duanes many hidden talents and one of them is impersonations of famous people. Anytime you see Duane out you can ask him to imitate any famous celebrity and he will be glad to assist you.

Mr December

Here is Lt Goodwin working out trying to get all buff for next years Firefighters Calendar. I will have to hand it to him he works out pretty hard. His hard work is paying off since he is unable to fit through most of our station doors unless he turns sideways. Next time you see the Lt out just ask him to show you his guns and he will be more than happy to show off his hard work.

Station 9 Challenge Coin - Sorry SOLD OUT

Some of the stations have made some challenge coins. Thanks to Broadway (Lt. Kevin Bradbury) for getting the ball rolling. Back when he was at #1 downtown he hooked us up with the folks at Coins For Anything. We made ours out of solid brass. The raised station image has unbelievable detail. Most people are selling them for $10 each. It covers the cost and helps with future orders. #9 will be closing next year, shooting for February 2010. Ours sold pretty well. 100 are out there. We are sold out for good now. We have gotten a lot of calls for them recently, sorry folks. #5 will also be closing with #9, they still have a few left. Contact Captain Swecker on A-shift if interested. Our coins are not worth much to the average Joe but, rumor is they'll get you a candy bar out of the training center snack machine.

In addition to 9 and 5, Station 1 has several versions out there. #6 just put theirs out last week. Word is New 3 and 2 are working on theirs. It would be great to see a coin for each station. Most of us carry them with us, just like the tradition in military units. If it catches on, don't get caught at the bar with your brothers and sisters and have someone smack their coin down. If you don't smack yours on the bar....YOUR BUYING!

Anyone need info on the process of design or orders get with Good O at 9 or Broadway at 3.

Which hat to wear??

Well, it's Super Bowl Sunday and C-shift is pulling the tour. The problem is, we can't decide as a company "which hat to wear" (to show who we're pulling for). Should we don the black and gold of Pittsburgh or the red and white of Arizona? I think the boys are split 50 / 50 and just hope the runs are slow enough tonight for us to be able to take in some of the game. Along the same lines as "which hat to wear" I thought our readers would enjoy some of the pictures below. We all know that most firemen have to work 2nd jobs on their days off, and have many different facets of the job within the Fire service all of which cause us to wear many different "hats". Below you'll see just a few of the "hats" associated with C-shift and or Station # 9 .... enjoy

Pictured at top: Capt. Wines is more often than not found under a cowboy hat on his days off. This picture is of him on Lt. Franklin's (B-shift) lap while attending Wheezy's wedding recption. Next is a past photo of Capt. Bedwells fire helmet (again from B-shift) following a little joking around from his days back at 1 Ladder. With Capt. Wines always preaching "Safety first", and Tyrone being accident prone, the 3rd pic shows the precautions taken when Tyrone has a long EMS report to write. Never forget the eye protection... it's all fun and games until someone gets an eye put out! The 4th pic is of the guys at # 5-C having a little fun with Captain Wines. Lt. Brown didn't want the Capt to feel isolated by having the only helmet with a new camera, light etc. Well, not to be out done, the Lt. made his own helmet so the Capt wouldnt be alone.. BEAUTIFUL!! And last but not least is Wheezy sporting the old " I've been in the kitchen too long today cabbage hat". A prime example of why our mothers always told us.. "don't play with your food" Again, please e-mail all comments on this post to the Capt. at willie.winesjr@roanokeva.gov