IT'S ALL IN THE NUMBERS & "MEET OUR MEMBERS" PART 5

Ok, I know my post are always long and tonight will be no different. There are a lot of things I want / need to cover so hang with me here. First, Retired C-shift Battalion Chief Billy Obenchain has been admitted to Duke. Several things surrounding this issue. First, please keep Karen (wife), Zach (son, on the job @ the Deuce #2-C) and the entire Obenchain family in your thoughts and prayers. Second, the hat is being passed around the stations here on C-shift to help the Obenchain's with travel and accommodation expense while going back and forth to Duke. You can contact me here (station #9 540-853-2765) or Richard Lipes at the Deuce 540-853-2766. Lipes is also organizing a road trip to visit Chief Obenchain following shift change Monday morning (12-14-09). If you'd like to catch a ride down, again contact Richard or myself at the numbers listed above.
A brief update on Local 1132 President Rodney and #4-A Lieutenant Steve Jordan's dad is that he's out of UVA but not quite home. He is currently at Pheasant Ridge going through some re-hab. Please keep Steve, Rodney and the entire Jordan family in your thoughts and prayers as well.
Local 1132 Banquet is just a week away. Guys voiced concerns and wanted cheaper prices and the date move back to Christmas. Well, you asked and here it is. $40 per head and moved to the Hotel Roanoke. The best hotel in the City. The Banquet is Friday December 18th. One week from tonight! Contact Sec / Treasurer Tim Perry @ station #4-A or you shift VP for tickets.
Today is C-Shift, North Battalion Chief Dale Barker's last day on shift with us. This week we are seeing the begining of a big personnel shuffle within our Department and not even the Battalions were spared. Dale will take over as the Training Battalion on Monday. He will be missed here on C-North. We wish him the best of luck in his new position. Chief Slayton will take Barker's spot in the next few days. Here's a shot of Chief Barker(left) and the South Side Battalion Jeff Beckner (right) who will move to B-Shift South Battalion.

Alright, the title..."It's all in the numbers" ... the misfits caught a job this morning and in what is an unusual situation for Roanoke City any more, we had 4 on the rig. I gotta tell ya, I'm always proud of the job my boys do but this morning, they really stood out in my mind (as did everyone on scene, and I'll get to that in a min.). It's amazing the difference 1 man makes when stretching line, advancing on and attacking a fire. FDNY Chief V. Dunn once did a study on man power and even today, the numbers still hit home. Now I know this site is not for our opinions or political views but I really wanted to share this bit of info with you...check it out

Opie and Wheezy made a perfect stretch this morning (as they do 95% of the time). Due to the building construction and volume of fire, we entered charged instead of dry. Opie pushed the fire back to the room of origin, made the jamb and attacked the room and seat. A smooth, quick, text book advance and knock down because we had an extra set of hands from the start. Ok, Im not going to stay on my soap box here, you've heard it 1000 times already but,in my mind; it's the number crunchers...I know they can hear us, I just don't think they're listening. Anyway, here are some pics from the fire..





Now, as I said, it wasn't just the Misfits who did a bang up job this morning. We had multiple other companies on scene to back us up. L7, E1, L1, E8, E2, M2, L2, B2, B1, RS1, ST1 and maybe even more. Companies checked above and below for extension, ventilated, salvage and over hauled etc. No injuries to civilian or firefighters. Lt. Jooe Hodgin established command from E1 and maintained it throughout the incident. Here are a few more shots for ya...




Special thanks to Big Show off duty member "Chappy" for taking the photos for us this morning. Ok, on to the 5th installment of "Meet Our Members". Tonight we bring you a little closer to Lieutenant Robert "Bugg" Reid.

Bugg was hired 1-14-2002. Following his recruit class, he was assigned to Station #2-A where they almost ruined him (LOL just kidding guys). He was promoted to Lieutenant and sent to the land of Misfits in November 2007. He is married to wife BJ and has one daughter Cora. Here's a shot of the little cutie with her DaDa

Comming from 2-A, he's a Jeep nut but we're slowly beating that out of him :-) You'll notice on our blog that we really don't have a lot of pictures of Bugg and there's a reason for that. You, see, here in the City, our Lieutenants carry a tremendous work load...(no kidding). They are assigned as our drivers (engineers, chauffeur, driver / operators whatever you call em). They are Company Officers who bump up and run the company in the Captain (or 1st Lieutenant's) absence. It is their responsibility to conduct Company level training as well as many other functions. Bugg pretty much catches everything that I don't want or like to fool with. He keeps me straight on paper work, filing, computer work etc. Much like a Sgt. in the military, our Lt's are often the unseen member who runs the company. As a newly promoted Lt, Bugg has done a great job. On fires, when we're 1st in; he has to stay with and pump the truck. Thats one reason you don't see him in a lot of our pics. Another reason is because more often than not, he's the one taking the shots. Now, when 2nd in or when I'm off and he's in "the seat", he sometimes gets to do a little work


Now he does good on the line and can get in there a "do it" with any of em but, where he really shines is at the pump panel





Ok.maybe he shines a little in the "grab" department as well. He now has 2 confirmed grabs since becoming a misfit. Check em out here and here Our very own little "Cat Whisperer" LMAO! He's a decent cook and an excellent fretter (most of the time he's the one hiding in Tyrone's locker and is the man behind the mask)...






Regretably, I did not give him his nick name, that honor goes to Chief Beckner. Why Bugg?? Well, the sun glasses he wore at the time didn't help his appearance much...made him look like a........ BUGG. So there he is. I've been informed that yours truely is next up and last for C-shift's "Meet Our Members". The boys are gonna put it together next day (Sunday). Ugggggg! I can only imagine. Any who, that's enough for tonight. Sitting on 5, no EMS and a worker. It's clear and COLD on a Friday night in da hood. Gonna run some kool-aid through the Bunn (oh yea, Kool-aid in a coffee maker what do you think of that Fire Geezer) cause that's how we roll here at #9... WORD!
Captain Wines

Busy day for the Southies and "Meet Our Members" part 3

Another cold day here in "the Noke" and the forecast is for the temp to continue dropping with a chance of snow tomorrow. Guess it's time to double up on the long johns and break out the ol snow shoes burrrrrrr. Anyhow, our brothers and sisters over on the South side have had a busy day, 2 working fires already. I don't think Chief King actually marked the 1st incident a "working fire" but a malfunctioning furnace had smoke banked to the floors. The Southies did a great job of figuring it out, finding / stopping the source and ventilating. I snapped a pic thinking it would be documentation of newly promoted Battalion Chief King's first job as Battalion.

Again, he never really marked this one a worker but did catch one later in the day that I didn't respond to therefor, I have no pictures of that incident. Regardless, today is the day he caught his 1st as Battalion. The address was 4706 Grandin Road. A-shift posted about our 2 latest promotions here as did the Hippie Hotel here. One of the neat things about both Chiefs is their ties to Station #9. When I was hired (and assigned here) Chief King was the Lt. of E9. Terry spent many years here and maintained the reputation of being one of the best pump operators in the department. Chief Firebaugh also spent several years here as the Captain on B-shift until they opened the Hippie Hotel and moved him out there. Again, we want to extend our congratulations to both Chiefs.
Ok, the day has been fairly busy here on the North Battalion as well. A HTR (Heavy Tactical Rescue)drill at a local steel mill, the normal runs and some EVOC training thrown in to boot. Our Department's promotional testing resumes next week and part of the practical testing for Lt. includes driving through the EVOC course. I'm not 100% sure but I believe a lot of cones are gonna die. WOW! A tight course this year. Good luck to all candidates (as with Chief Kings 1st working fire, we'll have the promotion list up before little Hedi Fleitz gets his paws on it). So here's a pic of practicing the "offset alley".

I also got another good pic today. Demolition of a favorite old nursing home here in the City is underway and darn near complete. Southern Manor has been reduced to a pile of rubble. When in operation, it was a regular stop for both medical events and fire alarms. After being shut down / closed the owner graciously allowed us to use it for training. The last regional Recruit School put in many hours and received some fantastic training at this site. After graduation, I would often take the boys back over for company level training. Check out some older posts for a few examples here and here. It was also a place where the Melrose Misfits made history. Opie has the distinct honor of being the last person transported out of Southern Manor due to a training incident we first told you about here. So here she is.. GONE

Ok, on to part 3 of "Meet our Members". Meet Travis Meador....aka "Wheezy".

Wheezy was hired 01-06-2003. His first assignment was to Station 2 on C-shift with the likes of Oscar Smith, Lewy Kennette, John Debose and Chief Obenchain. Wonder where he learned to fret?? He became a Misfit in Feb. of 2007 and earned his nickname the very first day. You see, he reported for duty to tell me he had a Dr. appointment. During his annual physical, our new City Nurse (at the time) had administered his breathing test despite the fact that he had a terrible head and chest cold. After failing (Duh) sent sent him to a specialist thinking he may have had a "touch" of the asthma. So he returned from his appointment just in time to go training with us up at Melrose Towers. Humped 9 flights in full PPE and carrying our high rise packs. That day, I was at the front of the crew but never had to turn around to assure Travis was with us.... I could hear him breathing by the time we hit the 2nd floor landing. Yep..you guessed it, he was wheezing LMAO thus..WHEEZY. Wheezy lives in Salem and is married to Misty who has to have a great sense of humor. Aint she purdy?


I say she has to have a great sense of humor because Wheezy is such a practical joker and fretter..





LMAO are those saddle pics gay or what? Like all the Misfits, Wheezy too is all business when the tones go out. The "bull" of the company, I can always count on Wheezy to get the job done. Here he is "doing it".



He is currently waiting to test for his ALS certification (EMT-I) which when successfully done will result in him getting to shave my mustache ... he has a little mustache envy you know(don't worry, we'll post the shaving party here and may even sell tickets for the event..no big deal, it'll grow back in a day lol). He's also one half of our Championship Corn Hole Team here on C-shift. But, like everyone, he has good and bad days. Here's a few more pics to finish up




So there you have it....WHEEZY. Next up is Coon. I'm on the Battalion again tonight so I may be able to grab a few pics. We'll update if possible / needed. Were back on Sunday, have a great weekend. Until then stay safe and in the house, not "beat it geeks"! Capt. Wines

Monday Monday 1st day back for C-shift Misfits

I don't know why but it seems as though when you take a few days off and then return 9 days later, tasks which before seemed simple and routine now have become much more difficult. I usually arrive for duty first ohhh anytime between 06:30 and 06:40. My first chore is to put on a hot pot of coffee. Today... NOPE. We have a new combo lock on our food locker and guess who didn't get the memo. Result... no coffee. Next, I get my gear in shape and on the truck, do the computer work, check department e-mail then my favorite sites. As the boys arrive, they too get their gear on the trucks and begin to complete their morning checks while one of them prepares our morning egg sandwiches. This morning, 08:30 before the sandwiches were up. OK, one slow / late meal ain't so bad but we do try to maintain a schedule here..it is a firehouse you know. Lunch is at 11:30 so we catch the Price is Right showdown and the noon time local news. Dinner is at 17:30 so we don't miss Andy and then get to catch the evening news. Well tonight, as 17:30 rolled around, I was waiting for a pregnant lady to walk in. Why a pregnant lady you ask... cause this is what Wheezy had on the stove...

Enough water boiling to birth triplets but NOTHING to eat...GEEESH! I thought for a minute or two there that Wheezy has been taking lessons from the 'ol "Ninja Cook" Opie. Guess I was just a little impatient cause after throwing a weee weee weee tiny fit, tossing a few pots and pan etc. Wheezy produced a master piece... and well worth waiting for. Yard bird, stuffing with gravy, mac and cheese and a side of CROW for the Capt....lol

And, my little "I'm gonna starve" tantrum wasn't the only obstacle for Wheezy this evening. I guess the clock and my showing had him picking up the pace a little. Ok maybe turning up the heat instead of picking up the pace. The result of that... smoke. It got kinda bad at one point... so bad in fact that Coon had to take protective measures...

And again, seeing how fabtabulus the meal turned out, I guess we should have paid a little more attention to the sticker atop the Captains desk

(NO WHINING...and also note my Fire Geezer mug, I'm not sure how it manages to sneak its way into so many of our pics). So, Wheezy's cooking and riding backwards. Tyrone has been off to hunt camp since Friday and with no cell service, all we can do is pray that he has and is taking his medication. If he's not...well Highland County will never be the same. Opie is riding the box with our own little poop magnet Coon. Opie actually attended hunt camp with Tyrone Friday through Sunday. He slayed the big one from his mobile recliner, slept ON a wood stove (placed inside a tent by multiple firemen), showered outside in 30 degree weather and used a 5 gallon bucket for a toilet. Guess he had all the fun he could stand so he came on back home. A rainy / cool day here in the "NOKE", sitting on 8 runs total. Nothing too exciting, some local lumberjacks fell a tree across a service drop and didn't think enough of it to slow them from continuing their work. Downed line and all, they finished cutting the tree, loaded the wood and cleaned up debris before anyone called it in... and oh yea, the line was hot


Other news includes a HUGE date that we totally missed. Our house..station #9 located at 514 24th Street NW Roanoke, Va turned 80 years old last month. The station was completed October 2, 1929 so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY old gal. Like a fine wine, she gets better with age. Warm in the summer, cold in winter and, the roof only leaks when it rains. No, she's a good house and we'll miss her. Here's a pic of how she looks now. I'll also add the new station. Scheduled to open in March 2010, her replacement is well under way and we managed to snap a shot from across the street today. This pic is from the front or the Orange Ave side..check it out, a "measure of progress".


I also wanted to remind everyone that our Public Safety Football team will have it's 1st official practice a week from today. I CAN'T WAIT.... PUT ME IN COACH! Check out the Roanoke Rampage site here. Thanks to Captain Todd Stone and Assistant Fire Marshall Chris Price for all their hard work and effort.
I'll close with a very special announcement. Most of you have figured it out by now but today, we (ok..more like Rhett than "we") officially completed our "RSS" feed. What that means is that whenever we post here (to this blog) we automatically feed to "Networked Blogs" which takes the post to our newly built and under construction Face Book Fan and profile pages and then on to our Twitter page. WoooHoo, now all you "picture bookers" and "Churp Churps" can follow the Melrose Misfits as well. I hope you all enjoy the ride. That's it for tonight, We've got the Monday, Wednesday, Friday tours so we'll see ya again Wednesday night. Until then, stay safe and in the house. Captain Wines