C shift is not slacking ... we've been busy!

Day one of our cycle, we're about to eat dinner. Nothing really exciting yet. However last cycle we were pretty busy and unfortunately neglected our blog obligations. So let's use this as a refresher.

Middle day looked like it was going to be great. Beautiful weather, clean truck "it's gonna be a good day tater". Then after lunch we were going to meet with The Greenhouse Hippies, and Lucky 13 to flow a little water. First a quick call to assist an animal control officer, we stopped back by the station to clean the dishes from lunch and plans quickly changed......

the ol'girls alternator gave up! The fun part was getting the war wagon out of the station. Since the house is as old as it is, there's some clearance issues and to raise the cab, or if she needs to be towed, you gotta move her out. It was first decided to push to the front which is down hill. That went fine. Then changed to move her to the back pool in case a reserve was needed while repairs were being preformed. Well to get a war wagon to move up hill you've got to call in reinforcements..... also known as the "Cowboy Cadillac".

and out the door she went.

Now you may be thinking that no truck no training. Nay say we! Quick call to the Chief and Engine 13 arrives at our door. We loaded up and headed out to flow some High Quality H2O.
Company 3 was nice enough to let us pump off their truck. We quickly learned the benefits of high side doors that swing out as opposed to roll up.

After training a few quick back to back alarms while trying to get a reserve and a quite night followed.

On to last day....

The Engine was back in service and still clean as can be... so you guessed it off to flow more water.

Medic 101 came out with us and seemed to enjoy being out of the house without being on a call.

The training went well everyone got a little time on the pump panel. Just as we were taking up 3 Engine showed up to do some training of their own. As soon as we got everything put away... mulch fire near an A/C unit and gas meter. Now with Opie's thumb O.O.S. he was driving the Engine leaving Bugg to ride backwards, and he got to do work. Sure it was only a water can and a little water flowing from a cross lay, but he got to do work son! Look how tired he is.

After getting chased off a roof by squirrel (ask Wheezy to tell ya the story) the night slowed down and off to four day we went. Where a few of us became CHAMPIONS!

That's right practice makes perfect. Not only did 9 House bring home first, but with a little flower power from Winters at the Hippie Hotel. Second place was brought home as well!

That's it for now, if the night picks up we'll make another post. Until next day stay safe!

A-Shift's cycle ends

We are almost outta here. At 0750 we are heading on our 4 day break. Today was a decent day. For the engine anyway. The box had Dixon and Franks working a code this morning and several EMS runs. They swapped into a reserve, fixed M9 and swapped again back into Medic 9. Dixon had his physical and is now officially the oldest man alive. Everyone else his age is dead.

The Hippies fought a structure fire with 6, 2, 14 and 5 today. Way to be 1st in Broadway with Engine 3. Great job. Unlike the above picture of Engine 9 sitting on scene in your first due, alone without even the faintest sound of sirens coming in the distance. Yeah I know, you were training.....and Dixon is a young buck! Funny as hell getting the text message excuse when we cleared.

Another pic was the new apparatus driven by the infamous John Blank. The new Training 3, hauling props to Southern Manor for some training. Gotta love it. Fit right in here at #9. Stop by anytime.

Well, time to rest. Great job out there on the working fire guys. Thanks to retired Captain Watts for coming by for lunch with us. Everyone else be safe out there!

2 down, 1 to go

Middle day of our cycle is coming to a close. You know by now how the days start, chores, etc. FF Dixon was sent to Station 14 for 24 hours where rumor is he had a code save. Great job Dr. Death! E3 finally beat us into THEIR first due today. There are many factors that helped them, we won't get into. Lets just say they must have some Irish luck with all that green station stuff.

The Engine got to break into a house to help a resident with a broken door knob, no Franks didn't climb in the window, Lt Good O had to. Even though FF "I am in compliance" Franks was eager to assist the resident in distress, he knew the only window he could fit through would be the Bay Window, after it was taken out! Among a few EMS calls and a Fire Alarm, the Engine stayed pretty steady. Medic 9 ran what seemed non-stop all day. Due to a precision Chinese fire drill at dinner time, Big Wheels and FF Noell had a break and got some grub. Well deserved after their day which included a Gold Alert MVC. Got a few pics from that scene for yous guys.

In closing we added a picture or two of our friend who came by to say hello, all the way from Joe's apartment. As you see, he helped with the dishes this morning C-shift left in the sink. I hope they sleep well tonight knowing they are responsible for the following mishap. Seems Joe's little buddy accidentally fell into the disposal and met his demise. R.I.P. little buddy.

Keep it in the house folks, Dixon we miss you......and everyone be safe out there!

We have invaded the Hippie hotel!!!

Today is a glorious day. FF Noell has been sent to #3 to fill a spot for the second half of the shift. He is deep undercover gathering Intel from the fraudulent Hippies. Hopefully soon we can post more violations of the hippie code, by the green martians at #3.

Today was great, 85 and sun, sun, sun. Tonight however.....lets say we have started our assault calls in full stride. Both medic units were running their butts off as well as Engine 9. Gotta love and hate the great weather. All EMS calls so far. Last day of last cycle we had a decent basement fire. FF Noell was on the nozzle and made a quick knock down in a high heat basement fire. E9 arrived on scene backed up by the fellas on E5. L2, Batt 2 and 13 came to play as well.

Picture is of units on Melrose with P.D. working an assault call. First of the night.

That's all for tonight, more coming to yous next day. Be safe out there.

C Shift Back at the Grind

Well, not much to share today. It's sad to say, today was a true "Grind". The day started off with the norm, kinda. Truck checks and cleaning around the house. Wheezy was off getting his learn on, Coon got the day off, so that just left Capt., Opie, Tyrone, and Bugg. Here's where the "kinda" starts, we ran a four man engine for a couple hours, until Bugg had to transfer to 5 for a bit. The other "kinda" was with Opie's injury he gets to be wheel man, while Bugg gets to ride backwards for a change.

After lunch we had some EMS CE on documentation, which basically covered things to keep in mind when writing a narrative for both EMS PPCRs and NFIRS. (Click the Icon for a link)

Back to the house for some fantastic pork chops and gravy for dinner. Prepared in the true #9 way, by the "Ninja Cook".
After a movie was interrupted by a minor MVC, we got back just in time to watch Rescue Me.

We would like to pass on some information about the Second Annual Fire Officers Seminar. It will be September 25th and 26th at the Roanoke Civic Center. If you need more information and a registration form click HERE. The first seminar was very informative and we hope the turnout for this one will surpass the first.

While we don't have any new pics or videos for you tonight, I thought I would post some older stuff. Be Safe! Until next time........

Hippies in the wire!!!!!!

Seems the enemy has made it into our station. FF Winter grabbed some OT on the power truck today and joined our crew for the day. Yes, looking at her picture, the hippie is eating steak! I have published the styrofoam plate usage by her before. Today she ran around leaving all the lights and T.V.'s on, I may have to publish the one where she is bashing baby seals. Seems the Hippie Hotel - Peace lovers are anything but. Lt. Broadway had called to say hi today. We compared pics of the area around the stations. He described the smell of the hush-puppies cooking over at LJ Silvers and we told him of the smell of Blunts and stale urine from our sidewalks. Chin up buddy.

E9 ran a code today with the power unit, our Intermediate Twins did a little 3rd person time. FF Gardner stopped by on loan from #13. Still remember when we told him to grab a vest from the back......must have heard about our reputation.......he thought we meant bullet-proof vest. No buddy, just the orange one so you don't get run over.

FF/EMT-I Noell finished up his physical today as seen in the pic. This is a shot of a very complex hand/eye coordination exercise. He passed. Well it's Friday night, we'll let you know how bad it got next day. Shooting last day, so we are expecting more. No worries FF Wheels is back, for all those who sent cards, gifts and cash he thanks you. Until next time, be safe.

Another WILD one for C-shift

Typical day for the Melrose Misfits. It's been one of those weeks. We've had shootings the last 2 days in a row, Gold Alerts, Trauma Alerts with a bizilion other calls in between. This morning started fairly normal. We've been working on the ol War Wagon a little this week and decided to give her a little shine today. Lt. Bug bought (with his own money) a little shine in a bottle and so the work began.He's a slave driver but the ol girl sure looks good! An old Captain of mine use to say so eloquently.."a clean truck is a happy truck". We even got to mow the grass this morning being it was such a beautiful day. Now as you've most likely figured out by now, not only do we work hard, we play hard as well. here's Wheezy scaring the crap out of Tyrone while mowing. Wheezy is behind the building and screams at Tyrone as he passes. Pay attention to Tyrone's knees. Turn your volume up and you'll hear Tyrone scream like a ..... well he screamed. So scared he couldn't even let go of the mower long enough to run away...enjoy

After lunch, the tempo picked up a little. We rode over to one of our training locations to continue some training on VES (vent enter search) and OVE (outside vent entry) techniques. Station #13 called and invited us to a pump drill as well but we were already committed and turns out that things didn't work out as planned (you'll see later). Anyway, we wanted to say thanks to the boys at #13 for the invite! Our training division also sent out a great video link this week that relates to our training today. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking...an Engine Company doing "truck work" or ladder training? Well, in today's Fire Department, you never know what your assignment may be. It's not that uncommon to see an Engine doing truck work or a ladder company performing Engine duties. Bottom line is that any training we can get our hands on is a benefit and we'll take all we can get cause that's how we roll here at #9. Anyhow, here's the link...take the time to watch it here. And here's a few pics of our training.

Now, I mentioned that things didn't turn out as expected. I guess I should CMA and add a warning here. Content of this post past this point my be unpleasant for some viewers. If blood and guts make your little tummy feel funny do NOT read any further. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you but offer the following links for a more pleasurable reading experience. click here, here or here. So on to the gore. We had a little accident at the drill today. After taking the window with the ladder, Oppie positioned the ladder properly and ascended to finish cleaning it with his halogen before entering. This particular window had a metal center sash that needed a little "extra" force. Well, you guess it, Oppie was swinging for the fence and found some glass. Right through the glove and into his baby butt soft skin. Bled like a stuck pig! Funny how I never knew he doesn't like the sight of blood...well, not his anyway. The good news is that he stitched up well. 6 total and a future scar. I tried to pay the Doc to let me do the work but I don't think he fell for the story of me being a quilter, knitter and cross stitcher. I was also VERY disappointed that the staff allowed him NOT to put that little hospital gown on....that pic would have been priceless. So, here's the pics we did get... oh yea..here's an interesting note on the injury... Opie may now be the last patient ever transported out of Southern Manor! LMAO!

When I transmitted the injury to the Battalion over the radio, every company in the City was taking bets on who it was. You guessed it, Tyrone was the odds on favorite but for once was not involved. Tyrone did have the honors of treating Opie's wounds and as always, did one hell of a job. I often times depict Tyrone on the blog as the company "jokster" if you will and have not yet really shown or blogged on his other side. I'll just say briefly for now that both of our Medics (Tyrone and Coon) are top notch. I'll put ether's skills and work ethic against anyone. I was glad Tyrone was on scene today to care for Opie and wouldn't want anyone else had it have been me. I should also add that while at the ER with Opie, we missed a working fire. Medic 9 (Tyrone and Wheezy) was back in service and made it down to help our brothers at the 12th Street Express and, word is that the boys from #5 made quick work of the job. So, that said, we got Opie home and fixed him a nice T-bone steak to keep his mind off that throbbing thumb.

After dinner, we got our "work out" on. It's a tuff job and you have to be in top physical condition to survive. I usually don't join the boys because at 132lbs if I out lift em or something I know they'd feel bad and it would just add undue pressure on them to work harder. But today, I decided to take part. I went up stairs and changed into my work out uniform and when I came down to lift..... Well, I don't know what they thought was so funny but we couldn't work for laughing. I guess sometimes they forget that I have feelings. They also apparently don't understand the dangers of laughing at a man pressing 2..not 1 but 2 3lb dumbbells.

OK quit laughing!! that's enough for tonight. Everyone be safe and stay in the house. Capt. Wines

A Shift back at the wheel

First off, like to welcome back Matt Wheeling(Wheels) back from his light duty vacation and are glad to have him back. Captain is on vacation in some far off land getting some R & R probably fishing or playing golf. Don't worry Captain, Lt Daniel Goodwin(I am in charge cause the Captain is off and you will respect me) is taking good care of us and not letting any of us out of site for long. It has been a busy day right out of the gate with EMS inspections, physicals and EMS calls but with assistance from all three shifts here at 9 we passed the inspections with flying colors. We were visited briefly this afternoon by none other then Brad(soon to be Medic)Harris from B shift filling in for Wheels as he was in Medic class. Thanks Brad for your muscle during the MVA making sure nothing got out of hand. We almost got to lay down for some rest when E-9,M-9 and RS-1 got a GSW/Gold Alert to break the night up. So short post tonight with no pictures but maybe next day we will have a little more time to post but for now time for a nap before our relief gets here.

Middle day for C shift

Well, what can we say? Today has been another fun filled, typical NW day. Chocked full of wholesome goodness. We kicked off the day by seeing out our brothers on "B" shift at shift change. We got the scoop and have to admit we felt a little sorry for the medic truck again. They had 9 calls after 2100 hrs for a grand total of 13 for the day!!! OUCH, enjoy that 4 day break coming up guys. I suppose the citizens want to see off Josh in a proper way. They must want to thank him in person for his service he has provided over the years. Then it was off to the daily unit checks, station chores, and daily trip the grocery store aboard the "Grocery Getter". It's been a fairly quiet day so far for us with the engine running a few fire alarms, a gas leak, and couple ems runs assisting the medic units. The medic unit has had a couple ems runs with a GSW incident around 2330 hrs. topping the list.

Here is a picture that we were able to snap today so far. Note: nothing is copied from the internet, photoshopped, or prearranged. There are just some things you can not dream up. For your viewing pleasure.

Got IPOD?

We were able to get a quick glimpse of the new IPod that is out for testing here in NW. No release date has been set at this time.

On a final note we would like to thank our dispatchers. This is National Dispatcher Week for those of you who aren't aware. We appreciate everything that they do and the assistance they provide on a regular basis. So once again "Thanks for a job well done".

That is all for now. If there is anything news worthy later we will get it up on the blog.

Keep it safe!

Update: One incident with one subject transported for gun shot wound.

A-shift closes another cycle.

Thank you for checking us out again. Sorry we didn't post last day. Its been a busy cycle with a few stabbings last day, physicals, EMS training and some random EMS runs. Today with our M101 buddies covering so we could finish our physicals and training, it was a decent day. With the Friday night expected calls and bad weather rolling in we are waiting for the busy night to begin. FF Franks is shown in our video with our M101 pals having some after dinner fun, playing Corn Hole. Unfortunately you will see the rain moved in rather quickly and the game was called.
FF's Dixon and Wheeling are back next cycle. Way to go Wheels! The Captain will be taking a break and enjoying some vacation as well. Until next cycle, be safe out there.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS..BUSY BUSY BUT IT'S OUR LAST DAY OF THE CYCLE

10 more hours and we're headed for a 4 day break! I can't wait. In typical fashion for this cycle, it's been a hectic day. The morning once again started with physicals at the City's Nurse's Office. Oppie, Bugg and Wheezy all got a stamp (or finger) of approval from Occupational Health. Good thing there's no psychiatric exam. Anyway, Wheezy also got his EMT-I learn on this morning so we had a fill in from #13 (and past member of #9) Todd Reliegh. Thanks for the hard work and tolerating all the switching etc. Todd. Today also marked the first day that we ( C-shift) got to work / run with our new renters, Medic Unit 101. They report for duty @ 09:00 but pick their unit up from over at station #4 ( because we have nowhere to park it). Well, as soon as they picked up the unit, marked in service and on air, guess what... got their 1st run of the day and, THEY THE RUNS KEPT COMING! They didn't make it back to the station until after 14:00. I guess the day's of "gravy" part- time work down at "The Big Show" are over. We did our best to make them welcome and comfortable but they didn't get to stay long...back on the road in less than 10 minutes! Here's a shot of our 2 part timers and their 2 ride along students... that's 9 bodies in the house today.

From left to right is Mark Cromer, Steve Melone, Jessica Creasy and Jose Kaniday. Thanks for knocking a chunk out of Medic 9's run load and for all the hard work guys! The Engine has stayed just as busy with EMS runs as well.. a band-aid here, a band-aid there and always sticky side down...that's just how we roll. We even caught a run with our Hippie buddies from over at station #3 ( or the Hippie Hotel ). The sad thing is that we both had to run all the way over to Stradford Park (station #4's territory) to see one another.

And yes...we beat them in as usual. That's about the most excitement we've had for the day. We've been anxiously awaiting the stroke of the 10 o'clock hour in hopes of catching the season premiere of Rescue Me. Check out the shows Official site here. If you've never watched it, and are interested in the job...it's worth the hour. That said, it's a FULL MOON tonight and that never ends well for the Melrose Misfits. So, we are trying to find someone to TEVO it for us JUST IN CASE!
Everyone be safe tonight and remember... Talk is cheap, it takes money to ride the train! Peace out

The return of A-Shift

Well here we are again. Today started out with some firsts. We heard Medic 8 mark in service for the first time today. Shortly after, the power truck (Medic 101) marked up in service at it's new home....Station 9. We got them in out of the rain and slipped them into M9's bay for the day. From now on they will be parked in the rear parking lot while on duty here. At night it is stored at #4.

FF/EMT-I Franks and Noell got some of their 3rd person calls on M101 and M4 today. The guys were out being precepted. Noell got himself a code save earlier and Franks finished the day with a minor MVC as seen in the pics. E9 is up to 5 calls and still going. M9 is back in the bay awaiting the call for help.

That's it for now. We hope everyone has a quiet night. Be safe out there.

P.S. Hey hippies, I didn't recycle the plastic butter container today. That's right....straight to the trash can!!! Take that. Oh! A special thank you goes out to FF/EMT Gardner on loan from Lucky #13. Thanks for all of your help.

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.