Rescue Me Season 3...
Rescue Me is probably one of my favorite shows on T.V. these days. Yes, I will admit that I only watched season 1 because it was a firefighter show... That was my original excuse. BUT! There is a but. I didn't know it would also be an awesome show as well!
I instantly fell in love with the show! There is so much drama, that comes with life... So much action that comes with the job (but they get a few more fires then most places... hmmmm). ;)
There are a lot of individual stories going on at the same time. This keeps every week VERY interesting, and keeps you coming back for more. All of the characters have something unfolding, that include at least one other person from the same firehouse. Pretty crazy you say? OH YEAH!
But anyway... I suggest you watch this show if you haven't found it yet!
- Justin
The Fire Store...
I wanted to share this website with all my fellow firefighter readers. If you don't already know...
Thefirestore.com is probably (
IMO) the best online web site for firefighter gear. They are constantly getting new items in and so far have had nothing but great experiences buying from them.
I have bought just about everything from my suspenders, to my trusty Pelican flashlight. The next thing you are probably wondering is, do the prices look good? And I will tell you, I search for the best deals all the time... And for superior deals, with the customer service and selection these guys have, you can beat em!
Check them out!
EMS Hydro...
EMS Hydro... We got a sample delivered to our distributing company about a month ago and the bosses are trying to decide if they want to carry it. They let just about everyone at my work try it, and for the most part everyone loved it! I think it tastes great and since there are so many benefits, not only to me but to the fire service from this product it seems like a winner.
Just thought I would throw this out there for you all to see... Check it out.
EMS HYDRO|ENERGY How Firefighters Do Hydration!
GOES BEYOND HYDRATION
TO ENERGIZE AND REVITALIZE
The Next Level of Energy and Performance
- Absorbs faster than sports drinks
- D-Ribose, taurine, caffeine, and other enhancements to provide ready energy
- Balanced and complete vitamin package
Four Techno Flavors
FRUITPUNCH, LEMONLIME, WILDBERRY and ORANGE.
Taken directly from the website
Firefighter Brand Products is committed to making better tasting, better-for-you products that are "Haz-Mat Free." They do not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, which has been tied to the obesity crisis in America. They do not contain Cholesterol, Trans-Fatty Acids or Hydrogenated Oil.
The company works closely with national firefighter organizations and local firefighters nationwide. The nation's 1.2 million firefighters and their families - who represent nearly five percent of the American population - will be active participants in the company's growth and success. In addition to donating a portion of profits, local fire departments and firehouses can directly support their own fundraising efforts by purchasing Firefighter Brand Products at cost to consume in their firehouses and to sell at community events throughout the year. Firefighter Brand Products will also employ firefighters in cities across the country for operational and marketing-related opportunities.
Taken directly from the website
EMS HYDRO
Hose drill night...
I just got home from probably one of the most boreing 'interacvite' night yet! I know, hose is EXTREMELY important, but I will also say that unloading and reloading it gets really old really quick! But, yes it is important to know in and out, and to know it like that you have to do it over and over again.
Anyway... It was fun to work together, and let all the people who have never done it before fumble around. I am also happy in a way, because it was a nice test to see if I could still remember how to do it from the Russian River... and I did! Yay for me!
Until next time...
- Justin
Terror Drill Response Lauded by NYC
Honestly I think this is awesome! NYC is doing exactly what all major cities should be doing. The threat of another attack on the US is growing everyday... And honestly I don't think anyone is ready.
After 9-11, everyone was on high alert, but since then the alert has dwindled... This fact worries me. But major props to NYC for being prepared! GO GET EM' BOYS!
Read the article here...
Terror Drill Response Lauded by NYC - Firehouse.com NewsWatch the video here...
Google news video- Justin
Hose lecture... and pancakes?
Well today was just another lecture day for the academy. We basically just talked about hose. Types of hose, fitting, nozzles, pressures, GPM's, lengths, locations, and just about everything you can think of as far as hose goes.
Next week is when we do all of the manipulative stuff with the hose.
But your not concerned about the hose, you are wondering about the huge pile of pancakes you see right there. Well that is what I did with another 2 hours of my day today.
No, I didn't eat them for 2 hours... We are going to be having our annual Mother's Day Pancake breakfast again, so me and the other volunteers and recruits got the awesome job of stuffing the envelopes with all the invitations for the entire district. Sound like fun... No. It was nice to sit and chat and all, but 8,0000 invitations kinda get old after a while, and you can very easily run out of things to sit and chat about.
Well that's about it for today... Until next time.
- Justin
Airline Passenger Who Made Threat Killed
I don't know if anyone has heard about this, but honestly who would have expected anything less. I mean... Has this person thought about what they were saying. I would almost be scared to get up on the plane let alone say the word 'bomb!' This is the perfect display of human stupidity if I have ever seen it.
Read it for yourself
here- Justin
Ringers Extrication Gloves...
Over the last week I have been telling you about the extrication training I have been involved in. I have talked a little about some of the experiences I have had and some of the actual extrication equipment itself. What I haven't talked about or mentioned, is on awesome purchase I made, which has made this entire experience even better.
Ringers Extrication Gloves. These things are awesome. I bought these when I was doing my internship last year, mainly because at the Russian River Fire dept. We were on 2 really dangerous roads in Sonoma County, Hwy. 116, and River Road. Both of these roads have a lot of accidents per year, and I just thought that it might be a good idea to get something a little more flexible then my normal fire gloves. Thus the
Ringers.
I totally think that these are a good investment for anyone who is in a location prone to getting vehicle accidents. I wont try to talk about the product itself, because there website does the job just fine (I would probably sound like an idiot).
Check them out!
- Justin
Man charged with Healdsburg arsons found mentally competent
Man charged with Healdsburg arsons found mentally competentWell I may have been wrong about this guy... He didn't get off so easy! I'm pretty happy about this mainly because I think that too many people in this world do stupid crap and get off the hitch for the whole 'mentally competent' thing.
I say good job on this verdict!
- Justin
Rescue 42 Strut System...
On Saturday as I wrote in my last post, we were doing auto extrication. It was pretty cool. What I forgot to mention until tonight when we watched a video on them were the
Rescue 42 Struts.
Basically what the struts do is take an unstable car, truck, or even small structural members, and make them more stable for us and the patient to work around, and in. I never really thought of how important making something more stable was a really huge concern, but it is. Its a huge risk to the entire operation to have things unstable.
So if you are just getting into the fire service, or you have been in for a while you should check out the the
Rescue 42 site to learn more about them. They are freakin awesome!
Go
HERE and they will send you a free DVD on how it all works! Awesome video...!
- Justin
Vehicle Extrication Training...
First off let me explain 'Extrication.'
Extricate:
- To release from an entanglement or difficulty; disengage.
- Archaic. To distinguish from something related.
Basically, we have to extricate someone from there cars after a major accident and the damage to the vehicle traps the occupant inside. Thus needing to be extricated. Ok... Now the story.
Today we did some awesome training. It started at 8am sharp. We headed to a local junkyard where there is an endless supply of cars to chop up. When we got to the junkyard, they had already prepared the cars for us to practice on.
We had 7 cars on all four wheels, and 2 on there side (just to give us another perspective). After going over the game plan for the practice sessions and we reviewed all of the rescue equipment (Holmatro tools) we got to work.
From about 9am until 2pm, we broke windows, cut roofs off, ripped doors off at the hinges, and basically mangled these cars into huge chunk's of metal. This by far has been on of the most fun training we have had. Even though I did this course already at the Russian River, you can never do it enough.
Awesome day I wont forget soon.
- Justin
P.S. A word of caution... When St. Patty's day is before a major training day... Take it easy, trust me. I learned the hard way today! haha
RIC Training night...
On Monday night at our academy training we were to be trained on act as RIC (Rapid Intervention Crew) members. Basically what a RIC crew does, is go interior and quickly but safely retrieve a downed firefighter, or at least replenish there air tank.
Over the course of the night we were put into a series of scenarios of darkness, heat, and obstacles. We were in full gear with our SCBA's on, to completely simulate a real situation as best we could. Everything was going great, until they decided to start throwing some curve balls at us.
During some of the scenarios they would gently reach out and turn off our air tank without us knowing. When this happens we are to notify our partner and hold our breath. Then he is supposed to pull an extra air line and connect it to me so I can breathe off of his bottle, then we evacuate. This is obviously to simulate me running out of air.
It works great, but when your partner isn't very fast (like mine) you cant hold your breath anymore... You gotta get air from some where but its just not there.
Well this is pretty much what happened to me on Monday. I guess what I'm tryin to make a point about is... You really don't know what its like until it happens. But it made me question how bad I wanted to be a firefighter... And decided... Regardless of the risk to my own life, I want it more then anything.
- Justin
Arson suspect to undergo evaluation - Judge halts proceedings, orders mental competency test for Healdsburg man
This is just another follow up article about the arson that was causing quite a scare over the last couple weeks. They caught him, and his reasoning behind the fires was basically to add a little excitement to a quiet town.
Now they caught him and he is in court. But, (no big suprise here) he's crazy. So after the test tells us that... he will just go free. But since he is crazy thats ok right? NO F'n WAY!
I hate the system.
Arson suspect to undergo evaluation - Judge halts proceedings, orders mental competency test for Healdsburg man
Sorry for the long pause...
I have been in a kind of transitional phase for the last couple weeks, so there really hasnt been aything extremely interesting going on.
In my Rincon Valley academy we have now moved (for the most part) out of the classroom and into more hands on stuff.
We just got into SCBA's (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus), so this next week should be fun.
Thats about it for now. haha
- Justin
