PPE Night 1...
Tonight we started in our series of
PPE(personal protective equipment) classes. These classes are mainly informative classes about the different part of our
PPE including, turnouts (pants and jacket), helmet,
SCBA, goggles, gloves, boots, etc. The picture to the right is the proper way to suit up to go into a fire or many other dangerous situations. (Yes that picture is me... ha ha)
We went over many of the
NFPA standards they are used for in terms of
PPE.
We will be learning about
SCBA's and actually using all of our
PPE on Thursday. I will update you all then.
Until next time.
Day at the airshow...
I was at the airshow that I was telling you about today. We were there for the sole purpose to rescue and put out the fire in the event that a plane went down.
That's it! No medical, nothing else... except one other thing.
I was one of the few people that got to stand near the old war planes when they started, since there age makes them prone to fires on
start up. So there I was in my full turnout gear with my
extinguisher at the ready. But nothing happened. Nothing all day happened. I just got to sit back and watch the show, and of course I took some pictures for all my loyal readers!
One of the coolest things I got to see what the new airport fire engine, or Jaguar as its named. This thing can go up to 80 mph VERY
QUICKLY! It uses a master stream
nozzle on the end of a elephant like trunk that it controlled by the F18 control stick in the cockpit! It was awesome... there are pics of that in there as well!
But other then that, there were a few cool planes and a cool Reach helicopter, but
that's about it.
Well... until next time!
World Trade Center Movie...
I just got home from seeing World Trade Center the movie. I thought I would give my 'review' no matter how lame it may be, since this movie has a lot to do with the job I seek today (not
necessarily the movie but the things that happened that day in reality).
From the start of the movie I had some major expectations on what I should feel and see. I wanted to feel sad, and angry. And I did... it brought back my feelings that I had on the day it actually happened. This is important in my opinion, mainly
because over the years since 911, I have been so dulled to the feelings and memories, and I felt it was good to feel it again. Not only for the purpose of memory, but the fact that one day I might be called to something like this and will remember what happened, and have it more clearly in my mind.
I
don't care what other reviews say. I
don't care what your friends or family think or say about this movie, all I know is, if you are a firefighter, cop, paramedic, or have anything to do with emergency services you owe it to yourself to see this movie.
In my opinion this was a great movie and all of the actors in it were awesome. The cinematography and everything was awesome. GO SEE IT!
Design guy...
I have been unofficially designated to create the logo for this years fire academy T-Shirts. I am in charge of making the graphic mainly because of my background in graphics design.
I'm not yet quite sure what I am going to do, but for sure I will be using the typical
Maltese cross design, but other then that we will see where art leads me. Hopefully I can come up with something pretty cool. I think it would be pretty fun to be remembered for creating something that memorable.
I will let you know how its going... kinda makes me nervous!
ha haUntil next time.
Academy Day 2...
Tonight at the academy was not too exciting. We really fined tuned our inspection line up and I think we have it down pretty well. We also had some new commands added in and learned a little more about what to expect in terms of being as perfect as possible.
We had our first quiz of the course, on the rules and regulations manual. Nothing to hard. We talked more about rules and regulations and watched a few video clips about becoming a team and the want and need to do the job.
Like I said nothing major but it was another night. This Saturday we
don't have class (amazing!) but we do have class Sunday, which is a PT (physical training) day, basically work out and talk about health all day.
But since we
don't have class on Saturday, I will be working a local air show on one of my departments rigs. It should be pretty cool working out there. We are primarily there for medical presence and fire
suppression in the event that a plane go down or anything else.
I will let you know how things go on Saturday.
Extrication training 8/16...
I just got home from the second part in the series of extrication classes my department just started. Tonight we did a lot of cutting and breaking of things! Always good! ha ha We were also introduced to a new item to our department.
As most of you have already seen, there is the normal
Holmatro tools (cutters, spreaders, ram, and combi, etc...) Tonight we received our new gear to all of our stations. Its called the
BCT 3120. This is one of the most interesting things I have seen yet. (Notice I said interesting... let me explain)
Its a great tool for first response to an extrication. Its small, very mobile, light, and semi powerful. After using it a bit I noticed that not only does the size of the blade/bite keep it from doing a great job, but it just doesn't have the power needed for most of today's cars. Don't get me wrong, its gets things done, but at a slower rate of speed.
I will have to work with it more to get a better idea of how it works, but this is something that will take me some time to like. I will keep you posted!
Until next time.
Academy Day 1...
Well the first day of the academy has come and gone. To say the least I am intimidated. The Instructors are going to be no BS a-holes for sure, but it's a good thing in the end. At least we will learn to respect and listen well.
We started off the night going over rules and regulations, then we moved on to learn how to line up for roll call and inspections. We learned the basic commands of a military run operation. "Parade rest" " Right/Left face!" and all the rest of them. We were also broken into squads, which we will work with for the rest of the course.
I was lucky enough to get put in my friends squad, and it seems to me so far that most of the people in my squad have had previous fire experience. So, I think its gonna be a long 6 months but a rewarding 6 months non the less.
I will keep you updated.
Let the games begin...
I am a little late on reporting this but I got my letter from Oakland fire and I didn't get the position. I guess I didn't do so well on the oral boards. But the good thing about it is, that I got some experience on the other side of the table. I got a suit for the next one, and I'm not losing any sleep over it.
On another note, the academy starts tomorrow. Yes,
TOMORROW! So for the next 6 months its going to be a lot of work and a lot of learning and growing on my part. I am excited, but at the same time, I'm kinda worried and a bit nervous, but its all for the best.
Wish me luck and keep an eye here for updates on things as they progress.
Until next time.
Ready for the academy....
This is going to be a 2 part update. First of all, I have officially paid for the academy, both for the clothes I needed and the boots, as well as the fees to the college.
The boots I got a pretty cool, they are the
Thorogood HellFire structure boots. These things are pretty nice and they are not that expensive as far as firefighter boots go, but they are perfect for the academy where they will most likely get pretty banged up anyway!
The other update is that today I had my academy orientation. From what I can tell already, this academy is going to be a long hard class. It is military style with the whole "Yes Sir! No Sir!" deal.
There will be drilling with flags in the morning as well. We don't start the academy just yet there is still about 1 week of summer left, but then we jump straight into it for the next 6 months. *sigh* At least when its over its over! haha
I will let you know as things progress.
Happy Camp Fire...
We sent a unit to meet with, and join a strike team headed for the
Happy Camp Fire, in northern California. This fire is currently at 2,200 acres and still burning. Its original start was due to lightening which started 11 fires but most of them are contained but a few are still burning. Click
here for more information about the
Happy Camp Fire.
And good luck to the men and women working this fire. From what I understand this is some pretty steep and dangerous terrain. Good luck and happy hunting!
