A-Shift 2/3

Middle day in NW city. It was crazy with Lt. Testing and Paramedic class beginning. Somehow we made it through. E9 ran 3 before lunch but nothing worth writing about.

Captain Weeks is back in the states! Per C-shift request, he bagged a pink flamingo down in Miami for FF Boone's new temporary living quarters. He had it stuffed and preserved then delivered to Boone Acres. I have posted a pic of home sweet home.

3 of 3 is on the way. Have a good shift Roanoke City....be safe out there.

A-Shift Day 1

Welcome to a Saturday at #9. This month Captain Weeks is traveling the world on his hunting expedition. The first stop was in Australia for the annual Koala Bear massacre. He called today to tell me how they bait them with Russian Vodka then club the hell out of them. Next they fix Koala Soup by boiling them and serving it with saltine crackers. If anyone has ever had his Fish Soup, you know you are in for a treat! He sent a couple of pictures and promised to tell us where he ends up next.


As for us, we ran a fire alarm and had some steaks thanks to our pal Alex on M101. He along with Lil' Dixon and our new city medic: Alex Mckinney, hung at 9 house for the day. I posted some pics of the grub and the unique cooking style of Chef Wheels. More will be posted if anything happens tonight. Have a good one and be safe out there.

A-shift 3 of 3 Working Fire

Just when you thought it was safe to go to bed.....Working Fire. E5, E9, Battalion Chief Troutt and Ladder 2 arrived at a residential alarm to find smoke showing and an audible alarm. Yep, we went from "just an alarm" to catching a job. Crews made a quick knock down and saved some property. I couldn't go on 4 day and not update the Blog, so here are some pics.....enjoy!

The Honor Guard needs members

Hey folks, we need your help. We need more Honor Guard personnel. I am looking for people who can make funerals with little notice. Usually we get 1-3 days notice. The Honor Guard has made a great impression on the community lately. We are requested at most retired firefighters funerals by the families. Our retirees deserve it. The families, especially the children see that their family member is a part of something special. They were a firefighter and gave many years of service in our department.
Anyone can join. We will work with you in flag folding, marching and posting as a guard at the viewings as well as graveside. You do not have to be prior military, it's not hard to learn. What we do need is dedication. We will need a commitment. Double breasted class A jackets will be issued to personnel. I am trying to make it where you will be issued a badge, white hat, etc. In the event where it is impossible to assist we would need you to get those items to us in advance of a ceremony so we can fill your spot with another person. The goal is to have a roster for a Honor Guard detail with contact numbers. We want enough members on different shifts to be able to use off duty personnel when on duty folks can not get away.
NO there is no pay. This is done voluntarily. We do it out of respect for our brothers. You will stand for along time. Sometimes it is in freezing rain, other times the KIWI is melting off of your shoes. Still we do it for their memory.
If you are interested or have any questions please e-mail Good O or Lipes through our city e-mail. Thank you for all of the support and be safe out there.

A-Shift 3 out of 3

Here we are....last day of the cycle. I am posting some pictures of E9 and L13 at Melrose Towers for the great extinguisher fight between residents. This happened first day. Plenty of dry chem for everyone that night.



Today was R.I.C. training and it was top notch. I can't give away what happens, but it really was great training. You get that Oh sh*t feeling and it makes it a little more realistic. Thanks to Lt. Gherman and 1Lt Plaza for the training. Check out Mike's site roanokefirefighters.com for pics of today. I have one pic of FF Noell showing us the plastic we used to block our view in the mask.

Lastly Dr. Dixon got farmed out to the deuce. He did get to come home for a couple of hours to fill in. Way to take one for the team John. We are out of here for 4 days in the morning, except Captain Weeks, he returns on November 1. Seems he is going Koala bear hunting in Australia or something...all I know is he is counting the hours all freaking day! He takes pleasure in knowing the pain and suffering that will be upon Lt. Good O. Happy hunting!

No more to post, so everyone be safe out there. Please keep FF/Paramedic Dave Palmer and his family in your thoughts. Get better soon.

Busy Middle Day for A Shift

It has been an interesting day at Station 9 today and we still have over 7 hours left. Lt Dan is riding the Medic Truck today so he can tutor Dr Noell on what it is like being a Paramedic since Duane will soon be one. They have been gone almost the entire day running EMS calls getting soaked due to all this well needed rain. The Engine has had our fair share of calls as well including multiple fire alarms and a small fire in the oven which Wheels was able to save the day and pull the fire right out of the oven before it got out of hand.

We shipped Senior Firefighter/Paramedic Dixon off to play with our friends at Station 2 today and hopefully he is playing nicely with others. Thanks to Captain Perry and the guys at Station 4 for saving us some barbecue for dinner tonight from the Officer Seminar yesterday.
Captain only has around 31 hours left till his month off and trust me the Captain has kept Lt Dan up to date on this number as it shortens and he will turn the adult leadership over to him. Well for now the rain has stopped, but the Medics are still going hard and looks like we all might be in for a long night so short post for tonight and hopefully we get a little rest. Tomorrow at Station 11 the guys invited everyone to stop by and have refreshments with Captain Peters between 12-4 to celebrate his retirement. On another note please keep Dave Palmer and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Last day of the Cycle for C-shift

TGIF and it's our last day. I spent most of it in training. The 2nd annual Fire Officer Seminar was held here in Roanoke today and will continue through tomorrow. This year the speakers came all the way from San Bernardino Ca. Mike Alder, a Battalion Chief, and Mat Fratus, Deputy Chief. Check out this link for their complete bios here. This years topic was a Dynamic Risk Assessment (a culture of safety). I don't have the numbers but today's attendance looked to be pretty good. Afterwards, everyone was invited to Roanoke City's Union Hall, L-1132 for food and beverage, also not sure of the attendance there because I'm on duty. The event today also had several free raffle items as well as a 50/50 drawing and a raffle for 2 UNBELIEVABLE custom fire helmets. I believe the helmets were provided by Blue Ridge Rescue and were painted by a brother from Danville, Va (hope that's the correct location) Billy Scearce. Here are some of the pics, Thanks to all of the sponsors for allowing the brothers and sisters of Southwest Va. this excellent opportunity to bring more quality training to our area.











Two were raffled today and the two remaining will go tomorrow... they looked even better in person. Other than that a pretty calm shift. See ya in 4, stay safe and in the house. Capt. Wines