5-9 combo: Want fries with that? We are moving....some day....maybe...who knows?

Eventually we are gonna move. The trouble is, this is a big project and stuff happens. So we are in limbo and waiting for the word. The table is almost complete and Ladder 5 is here. We spent our Sunday getting to know her a little better.




It was great weather for it. If Dixon was still here, he would have commented on the crisp mountains and clear fresh air along with admiring the majestic rainbow made by the mist of the ladder.
We all caught some rays and enjoyed the training....some more than others.

Afterwards we hit the Northside to see where L5 can and can't go. It did very well and we are pleased. It's a hell of a truck and they have done a good job for us.
All worn out with our sun burn and pizza filled guts we hit the beds only to catch a working fire. Our first since Z-man came aboard back in January. E4,E5,E9,L13,Batt2,RS1,ST1,M4 and M9 were on this lil' fire and had a quick knock down. Most importantly no one was injured and minimal damage done to the property.

I apologize for the crappy picture, my Droid camera/phone was tired.
That's it for the middle day....we'll be back Tuesday. Be safe.

A-Shift back again

Hello peeps, we have returned. First off a great big congrats to FF Wheels on the new addition. He became a Daddy this week and will be off for a few cycles figuring out how to change a diaper and find time to sleep. Good luck! A little tip from one Dad to another...when they are screaming and won't stop....a little push on the soft spot quiets them right up. I call it Natures Snooze Button. Your welcome.
The rest of us dragged ourselves in to work today. Z-man got some education in I-class this morning, also Captain Weeks and Good O headed downtown for a training committee meeting.....we stopped at Tudors on the way in and hurried so we didn't miss anything. No worries, they waited for us, see.....

While we got some training ideas going, Bevo and Franks stayed back in NW providing nothing short of excellent Advanced Life Support care.
Afterwards we knocked out the usual back at the house, we whipped up some gourmet burgers for lunch(went to Burger King)and headed out to the new station to check on the progress. They are still sticking to the 24th/25th move in date.

I am not so sure. There was a bit of wiring that if I was assigned the task, it would delay the opening by 10 months. I hope they labeled that stuff!


It is looking good. They have power and they are running wires everywhere you look. C-shift is putting the 2 brass poles in this week and it's getting close. It's gonna be a close finish though. Here is a shot of one of the bunk room/cubical things.

Oh yeah....I had to post this, read the note.

Back at Old No.9....The table is almost complete. Guys from all of the shifts came in to pour the last coat of clear crap on the table. It's in isolation at this time awaiting some parts for the legs, then as the date approaches we hope to get her into the new kitchen.



That's all for tonight folks. We leave you with a picture of Z-mans fashion statement for the day.

Have a good night and be safe out there.

A-Shift 2/3

Middle day in Northwest. It's been a busy one today. Bevo and Franks at class all morning, Wheels shipped to #3 Hippie Hotel, Gossip Queen Zimmerman off on vacation. That left Good O and Captain to take care of things. After the usual chores were done, we headed down to the City Garage and borrowed their pressure washer. If you need it, just give them a days notice and they'll hook you up. We got the beast all cleaned up inside and out, top to bottom.

We hear that this used to happen to our trucks bi-annually. It really made a difference. We are going to be getting quite a few things done to her soon in preperation for the new station. We went by today and saw that the new pool has been poured and it's looking good. The countdown timer has been adjusted to the new ESTIMATED day of occupancy: May 24, 2010. We'll see. Here are a few shots of the new house.


The boys at 5 took up the slack running around 9 by lunch, 3 calls of ours since we were OOS for the education of our super medics. Last count they were up to 15+ calls today. This will most likely be the normal routine when we shut down....hang on folks, it's gonna be a fun ride.
Engine 5 also got to run a car vs. ped turned into a structural collapse call where I assume they got to play Jenga with HTR6, BC2 and also E3. I am not sure who the medic truck was. Anyway that opened up the North side and guess what? Yep, we got us a fire! Franks was back from class and on E9 with us. He got a little nozzle time out there in the parking lot of VV Mall.

He was on it and showed no fear. Me on the other hand....plenty of fear. I was scared to death that the Captain was gonna tell him to use the water can. I begged him to use the line so I could put her in pump gear. Let's say the hose wasn't the only water flowing, hidden by the pump panel I was flowing tears of joy that I got to pull a discharge handle.
Afterwards we got to stop in at IRON SPORTS. Retired Chief Ricky Troutt owns the place and Captain Flora from 9-C was there working as well. We had a quick visit and got back on the road. Here is a shot of Chief Troutt with his new wing all healed up.

That's all folks. We are up to call number 4 now. FF Miller is joining our slumber party from station 7 and will be on E9 tonight. The wonder twins: Bevo and Franks are out there saving lives on Medic 9. If you see them, give em' a hug. It's time to grab some sleep before the bars let out....be safe out there, goodnight.

A-Shift 1/3

We ran 2 so far today. Mostly we were busy working on the engine. Straightening up some compartments and organizing a few things kept us busy for the day. Somehow we got the lawn cut and then took the time to visit our sub-station on Melrose. Here is a picture of the engine in front of our second home.

I am not going to act like anything else we did today was exciting. So tune in next day to see what happens. Goodnight, be safe out there.

A-Shift 4 day break ends today.

Last cycle was pretty busy. We had the Captain off for 2/3 of it, Ladder 5 training and some walk throughs of buildings in our soon to be territory. When we get to the new 5, we will be running the Roanoke Civic Center. We went along with E5, E2, L2, M2 and BC2 for a tour of the building. Here are a few pics, including the view from over the floor on the catwalk.





The Civic Center is a huge structure and it was beneficial to all of us to become familiar with it. One particular place of interest was, where all of the balloons go to die. When the little ones let go of a balloon, we found the place that they end up.


That's all for last cycle. We are back tomorrow. Be safe.

2nd day for A-Shift

We had everyone in some type of class on the first day...so the blog got put on the back burner. The closet thing our shift has had to a fire was a trash bag check on the sidewalk! A resident needed us to check her trash to be sure the cigarette ashes she dumped were out. You can't make this stuff up.
Today we spent all day training on our new ladder. When we get to the new station we will also have a ladder truck. It will run a big chunk of NW as a Ladder and all of NW City as an extrication truck. That's the truck that basically cuts people out of cars, you know the "Jaws of Life" stuff.
Anyway....it's one nice truck. We got to play around with it and see what she could do. The Pierce rep was on scene to show us what we could do...very impressive.







What was most impressive was the weight you could have at the tip.....I wasn't sure if the rep hit his head or what, when he asked both Franks and Bevo to get on the tip. Then he added the Captain on and we now know...this truck can do anything!

That's all for tonight. Thanks to Captain Rorer for the training today and to Lt. Roger Guilliomenesto down at #1 for making lunch for us. We'll be back Friday....be safe out there.

Last day of the cycle A-Shift

Today was a busy day. We walked into the house this morning to the smell of "structure fire". B-Shift had caught a pretty good one early in the morning and the smell was in the air, the engine, and on the gear. We heard all about it from self-proclaimed hero of the day FF Brad "put me in Coach" Harris. The stories he told had us on the edge of our seats. This guy was there and he was doing it! For a small fee he allowed us to get a picture with him and even signed an autograph or two.

Chores, run to the store for the daily meals and then off to the new 5 for gear locker installation with the boys on E5 and Batt 2.


While we were down at New 5, I snapped a few pics of the new kitchen. The cabinets are in, but we still have no idea of when we'll be in.


After we knocked that out, we came back to finish another step on the #@$! table. It's starting to become known as the largest fly paper in the world. There is always one.....

It's almost there. The stickers are on and were sealed up today. Another few coats and it will be done. Here are a few pics....



That's it for tonight. Everyone be safe. We'll be back Monday.