On my way to work on Saturday morning the 1996 Chevy Silverado that we have owned since 1999, bought used with 78K miles turned over the magic mark:
2 0 0 0 0 0 miles!
only 2 20 200 2,000 20,000 200K
This means the little dial that measures 10th's of a mile has gone around a staggering 2,000,000 times! Of course, if you tried to calculate the number of times the pistons have gone up and down while powering the vehicle.... I don't even know how to begin trying to figure that out! Nor could I calculate the number of times the tires have rolled.
What I do know is that this means my truck is O L D!!! In fact, both of my front line vehicles now have over 200K miles on them. Do you suppose this means it is time to start looking into getting something with a little less time on the dial? You bet! My only obstacle is money. I don't really want to get into a vehicle payment again but the choices may be so limited now that it could literally come upon us tomorrow!
I will keep you posted on what transpires! Until then - squeezing every mile I can!
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Oh the Weather outside is...
So, with this post there are two things I am proud of: the first is the beauty of this picture and the second is that this is the first picture I have figured out how to get into the blog!
Hoping for warm weather since that is truly our snow removal device on these back roads...
'til next time.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
A Full, Rich Day
Since in my last post I gave you a flavor of what a day at work was like I thought I would follow it up with what the second day of the cycle was like.
I came in early, on overtime, to cover for the Capt at the station who had taken 2 hours of vacation to leave early: he was taking a child to swimming practice and his wife did not like driving in snowy conditions. So it was up at 0430 to make sure I left plenty of time should I also hit snowy conditions. I arrived at the Station around 0540 and parked my vehicle in front of our 3rd bay to avoid making noise in the lot right next to where the bedrooms are.
I switched over at 0600 and did a little work on some personal projects. Around 0730 the other two members of the crew came in and around 0745 we had a call. It was snowing by now and that always makes driving a bit of an adventure. We transported to a local free-standing ER and then got back to quarters around 0900.
Shortly after getting the report completed I got a phone call from dispatch. He was reporting that dispatch had received a call from a woman who was complaining about a crew that had transported her son the previous night. He was giving me the name and phone number saying she wanted contact. I took the information and then had the crew gather because it was our crew that had transported. We suspected there may be further issues from that transport as the Mom had tried to direct the paramedic to administer certain drugs on her time frame and was angered when the paramedic refused to do so. So we made contact with our MSO (medical services officer) to let him know what was going on and he asked that we all write statements regarding our contact in this case.
All the while we were dealing with this pleasant little nugget I was watching it snow harder and harder. Not long into our little meeting I asked the engine driver to get the chains 'staged', that is ready to apply immediately. We weren't at the snow depth yet, but if it kept on dumping, we would be. Shortly after this task was completed we received our first call of the day, a residential fire alarm for E-13. So now, we have to decide if we put on the chains or respond. I decided to respond.
This call was about 6 blocks from the Station, right off the main street. We arrived and soon discovered that a child had tripped the alarm and there was no problem. So, since this was a cul-de-sac we had to turn around. We decided to just nose into another 'lobe' of the cul-de-sac and back around. So the driver just nosed in and when he put it in reverse to back out the rear tires just spun and polished the section on which they were sitting! Crap! So out came the shovels and we removed snow from behind the tires about 4 or 5 feet, then removed snow from in front of the tires so the truck could go just a bit forward and then back up. All the while, of course, I am hoping that we don't get another call! Just as hoped the engine eased a bit forward and then came back without trouble. We were able to get back to the station without further incident and immediately put on the chains!
We then decided we needed to go to the store as it was around noon. We had invited a neighboring station (from another district) over for dinner to celebrate their company officer's retirement at the end of January. So we needed to pick up a few things. This included a cake. In icing on the top of the cake we had this written: "Happy Retirement, about freaking time!"
Once back at the station we noticed that it had stopped snowing but not before dumping 7 - 8 inches! This isn't much for places that get snow all the time but it is a whole lot of snow for Western Washington! The main reason is that there aren't too many snow plows and so the snow on the roads gets compacted into about 2 inches of pure ice. Any more snow on this layer and ... you get the picture!
About 3 p.m. we got a call for a 16 YOA female with an asthma problem at the local high school. We surmised that there was a tournament there and that it was a player. We were right. She had run out of her medicine and so we gave her a breathing treatment. As we were clearing this call a late teens or early 20's male came up to us and said he had just lacerated his thumb pretty bad. We checked him out and found that he had lacerated himself down to the bone! So we used sterile dressings to replace the ragged t-shirt he was using to staunch the blood and then his buddy drove him to the local hospital for stitches.
Around 5 p.m. the visiting station arrived for dinner. We had a great time laughing about past incidents, telling great stories and just generally having a nice dinner together. We had Thai Coconut-Curry Chicken over rice with salad and, of course, the cake. Finally around 1920 hrs (subtract 12 to get normal time - we function on military time to avoid having to specify am or pm) they mounted up to leave. Our Battalion Chief had called in sick for the day and while he was covered on overtime during the day I was going to be moving up to Acting BC to cover the night. I had to wait for a firefighter to come from another station and so expected him around 2015 or so. But as one might expect we got a call at 1945 hrs for a power line down. After we got back from that (it wasn't a line down but was a line being impacted by a tree limb laden with snow) I packed up my stuff for the drive to Station 11.
It was slick everywhere but I made the drive in just a little longer than the usual time. I tied in with the overtime BC and then settled in to catch up on some reports, paperwork and e-mails. I called my wife around 2130 and noticed that I was getting pretty tired...(up at 0430 - I wonder why). So I finished up what needed to be done and hit the sack. No calls for me during the night! I was happy about that. Got up around 0700 and began to get ready for tie-in and shift change.
Another full, rich day at work.
I came in early, on overtime, to cover for the Capt at the station who had taken 2 hours of vacation to leave early: he was taking a child to swimming practice and his wife did not like driving in snowy conditions. So it was up at 0430 to make sure I left plenty of time should I also hit snowy conditions. I arrived at the Station around 0540 and parked my vehicle in front of our 3rd bay to avoid making noise in the lot right next to where the bedrooms are.
I switched over at 0600 and did a little work on some personal projects. Around 0730 the other two members of the crew came in and around 0745 we had a call. It was snowing by now and that always makes driving a bit of an adventure. We transported to a local free-standing ER and then got back to quarters around 0900.
Shortly after getting the report completed I got a phone call from dispatch. He was reporting that dispatch had received a call from a woman who was complaining about a crew that had transported her son the previous night. He was giving me the name and phone number saying she wanted contact. I took the information and then had the crew gather because it was our crew that had transported. We suspected there may be further issues from that transport as the Mom had tried to direct the paramedic to administer certain drugs on her time frame and was angered when the paramedic refused to do so. So we made contact with our MSO (medical services officer) to let him know what was going on and he asked that we all write statements regarding our contact in this case.
All the while we were dealing with this pleasant little nugget I was watching it snow harder and harder. Not long into our little meeting I asked the engine driver to get the chains 'staged', that is ready to apply immediately. We weren't at the snow depth yet, but if it kept on dumping, we would be. Shortly after this task was completed we received our first call of the day, a residential fire alarm for E-13. So now, we have to decide if we put on the chains or respond. I decided to respond.
This call was about 6 blocks from the Station, right off the main street. We arrived and soon discovered that a child had tripped the alarm and there was no problem. So, since this was a cul-de-sac we had to turn around. We decided to just nose into another 'lobe' of the cul-de-sac and back around. So the driver just nosed in and when he put it in reverse to back out the rear tires just spun and polished the section on which they were sitting! Crap! So out came the shovels and we removed snow from behind the tires about 4 or 5 feet, then removed snow from in front of the tires so the truck could go just a bit forward and then back up. All the while, of course, I am hoping that we don't get another call! Just as hoped the engine eased a bit forward and then came back without trouble. We were able to get back to the station without further incident and immediately put on the chains!
We then decided we needed to go to the store as it was around noon. We had invited a neighboring station (from another district) over for dinner to celebrate their company officer's retirement at the end of January. So we needed to pick up a few things. This included a cake. In icing on the top of the cake we had this written: "Happy Retirement, about freaking time!"
Once back at the station we noticed that it had stopped snowing but not before dumping 7 - 8 inches! This isn't much for places that get snow all the time but it is a whole lot of snow for Western Washington! The main reason is that there aren't too many snow plows and so the snow on the roads gets compacted into about 2 inches of pure ice. Any more snow on this layer and ... you get the picture!
About 3 p.m. we got a call for a 16 YOA female with an asthma problem at the local high school. We surmised that there was a tournament there and that it was a player. We were right. She had run out of her medicine and so we gave her a breathing treatment. As we were clearing this call a late teens or early 20's male came up to us and said he had just lacerated his thumb pretty bad. We checked him out and found that he had lacerated himself down to the bone! So we used sterile dressings to replace the ragged t-shirt he was using to staunch the blood and then his buddy drove him to the local hospital for stitches.
Around 5 p.m. the visiting station arrived for dinner. We had a great time laughing about past incidents, telling great stories and just generally having a nice dinner together. We had Thai Coconut-Curry Chicken over rice with salad and, of course, the cake. Finally around 1920 hrs (subtract 12 to get normal time - we function on military time to avoid having to specify am or pm) they mounted up to leave. Our Battalion Chief had called in sick for the day and while he was covered on overtime during the day I was going to be moving up to Acting BC to cover the night. I had to wait for a firefighter to come from another station and so expected him around 2015 or so. But as one might expect we got a call at 1945 hrs for a power line down. After we got back from that (it wasn't a line down but was a line being impacted by a tree limb laden with snow) I packed up my stuff for the drive to Station 11.
It was slick everywhere but I made the drive in just a little longer than the usual time. I tied in with the overtime BC and then settled in to catch up on some reports, paperwork and e-mails. I called my wife around 2130 and noticed that I was getting pretty tired...(up at 0430 - I wonder why). So I finished up what needed to be done and hit the sack. No calls for me during the night! I was happy about that. Got up around 0700 and began to get ready for tie-in and shift change.
Another full, rich day at work.
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Wasn't what I thought...
I will admit that when I began contemplating participating in the blogosphere I thought I would be writing a whole lot more than I actually have. Part of it is a revulsion to having to read about the mundane world that some people consider blogworthy. Part of it is realizing that if I only blog when something big and interesting occurs that there will be no reader(s?).
So as I look back I see that once to four times a month is about my speed. Perhaps that will pick up in the future... but I don't see anything changing to make me blog more.
I do enjoy the process of writing and putting thoughts in a written format. I actually look forward to reading older blogs after a while to see if I was able to communicate or if it was a jumble of confused thoughts and ideas. So all in all I am enjoying the process. I notice that my daughter and DIL have lots to write about what with surrounding themselves with small children and the burgeoning of a new career. I think I myself would die of boredom if I had to chronicle my day.... so I thought I would do that from my shift yesterday.
Stopped at the Safeway store, as usual, to purchase items for the day. I had come across an interesting recipe in the paper for "Roasted Red Pepper-Pumpkin Chili". So I bought the ingredients (one of which was ground bison at $8.99 a pound! Think I'll be using a substitute lean meat next time!) and then headed to the Station. The day begins with catching up on e-mail and a note from the off-going crew that the medic unit was going to be taken for its regular preventive maintenance so we were going to have to swap into a back-up unit. This means that any equipment that the back-up doesn't have gets taken off our regular unit, catalogued so it comes back, and then placed on the back-up. This happened around 9 am. I also had to deal with the report of an off-going crew member that bay 3 door wasn't going down. The crew operated the disconnect so we could get the door down because it was really cold outside... and then I notified the proper people about this issue. (Turned out that one of the components of the electric eye wasn't lined up and so the device thought the door was blocked. Once aligned everything was put right.)
Then, at 10 a.m. or so I began my workout routine. Our department alots 2 hours of time for working out. They don't specify what you must do just that you need to spend two hours doing it. My routine is to stretch on a big plastic ball for about 10 or so minutes. I am trying to maintain flexibility so I stretch hamstrings, back, legs, hips and shoulders. Then I do some dumbbell lifting (I am up to 35-40 lbs each arm, 15 reps) and then, because it is winter and cold outside, I have a route I walk in the station that equals a mile. Then I will stretch and lift some more depending on the time and what is going on.
We decided to go to the local Subway shop for lunch. When we walked in a woman with an 8 year old boy said hello and remarked that we had held her son's 4th birthday party in our station and that he still talked about it to this day. We exchanged pleasantries and then gave our order. When it came time to settle the bill we were informed by the staff that the woman we had been speaking to had paid for our food! That was quite a surprise and it left me wishing I could thank her more directly than just a general 'thank you' spoken to the air. While we were waiting for our third crew member to come out of the Safeway (she had gone to get items to compliment the chili) our Battalion Chief drove up and went into the Subway to get his lunch too.
So, back at the station we ate lunch with the Chief, chatted about various things going on in the department at the present time, informed him that we couldn't turn in our training records for 2011 because we had one more drill to complete and were, in fact, planning to complete it right after lunch. After he left we hauled out all of our water rescue items; life preservers, throw bag, and the kit we use to inflate a 100' section of 2 and 1/2 inch hose with a life ring lashed to it that could be scooted across the water to someone in need.
Just as we were finishing up this drill by re-loading the 2 1/2 inch hose the boys from a neighboring fire district stopped by: E77 and Aid 77. Their company officer is retiring at the end of the month and so is going round and saying his farewells. (We are having them for dinner next shift as our part of the farewell) They stayed for a little over an hour as we chatted, okay, war-storied for most of the time. If you know an old fireman he will have many war stories to tell. Believe it or not, just as they were leaving our medic unit was returned from it's preventative maintenance and so we switched back into our primary rig just reversing the process used earlier.
Then it was time to fix dinner. I had never made this dish before so it was kind of an adventure as I followed the recipe. The beanery smelled oh so good as the dish neared completion. Finally around 5:30 it was time to eat. Curious taste combination but actually quite good as we three all had second helpings. Just as we were finishing up the tones went off. M13, E11 for a 86 YOA female, breathing problem, diabetic history. The call was in Station 12's area so was a long run for us. Due to traffic we beat E11 to the scene. Turned out to be a transport to the hospital in North Everett, Providence/Everett.
Once we got back to quarters the crew focused on cleaning up dinner and I completed the necessary reports. Then it was time for whatever one wanted to do. The crew watched T.V. (back episodes of NCIS) and I worked on a personal project that I have been doing for years... stats!
Finally the crew headed for bed. I watched the 11 p.m. news and turned off the lights at 11:30 p.m. and went to sleep.
Tones went off at 0300 hrs: E12 M13 for 16 YOA male with seizure history, request transport to Children's. This too was in 12's area so we could hit the bathroom before responding ( a real need if we are going to be transporting!). Sure enough, off to Children's Hospital we go. It is in Seattle, down by the University of WA and so is quite a trip. We didn't get back to the station until 5 a.m. The crew headed for bed (although both reported quite a bout of tossing, turning and staring at the ceiling) but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. So I stayed up and worked on my stat project until around 0700. Then I made coffee, put dishes away and cleaned up in the kitchen a bit.
Finally on coming crew is in place and at 0800 I am free to go home.
Interesting... that wasn't what I thought either!
So as I look back I see that once to four times a month is about my speed. Perhaps that will pick up in the future... but I don't see anything changing to make me blog more.
I do enjoy the process of writing and putting thoughts in a written format. I actually look forward to reading older blogs after a while to see if I was able to communicate or if it was a jumble of confused thoughts and ideas. So all in all I am enjoying the process. I notice that my daughter and DIL have lots to write about what with surrounding themselves with small children and the burgeoning of a new career. I think I myself would die of boredom if I had to chronicle my day.... so I thought I would do that from my shift yesterday.
Stopped at the Safeway store, as usual, to purchase items for the day. I had come across an interesting recipe in the paper for "Roasted Red Pepper-Pumpkin Chili". So I bought the ingredients (one of which was ground bison at $8.99 a pound! Think I'll be using a substitute lean meat next time!) and then headed to the Station. The day begins with catching up on e-mail and a note from the off-going crew that the medic unit was going to be taken for its regular preventive maintenance so we were going to have to swap into a back-up unit. This means that any equipment that the back-up doesn't have gets taken off our regular unit, catalogued so it comes back, and then placed on the back-up. This happened around 9 am. I also had to deal with the report of an off-going crew member that bay 3 door wasn't going down. The crew operated the disconnect so we could get the door down because it was really cold outside... and then I notified the proper people about this issue. (Turned out that one of the components of the electric eye wasn't lined up and so the device thought the door was blocked. Once aligned everything was put right.)
Then, at 10 a.m. or so I began my workout routine. Our department alots 2 hours of time for working out. They don't specify what you must do just that you need to spend two hours doing it. My routine is to stretch on a big plastic ball for about 10 or so minutes. I am trying to maintain flexibility so I stretch hamstrings, back, legs, hips and shoulders. Then I do some dumbbell lifting (I am up to 35-40 lbs each arm, 15 reps) and then, because it is winter and cold outside, I have a route I walk in the station that equals a mile. Then I will stretch and lift some more depending on the time and what is going on.
We decided to go to the local Subway shop for lunch. When we walked in a woman with an 8 year old boy said hello and remarked that we had held her son's 4th birthday party in our station and that he still talked about it to this day. We exchanged pleasantries and then gave our order. When it came time to settle the bill we were informed by the staff that the woman we had been speaking to had paid for our food! That was quite a surprise and it left me wishing I could thank her more directly than just a general 'thank you' spoken to the air. While we were waiting for our third crew member to come out of the Safeway (she had gone to get items to compliment the chili) our Battalion Chief drove up and went into the Subway to get his lunch too.
So, back at the station we ate lunch with the Chief, chatted about various things going on in the department at the present time, informed him that we couldn't turn in our training records for 2011 because we had one more drill to complete and were, in fact, planning to complete it right after lunch. After he left we hauled out all of our water rescue items; life preservers, throw bag, and the kit we use to inflate a 100' section of 2 and 1/2 inch hose with a life ring lashed to it that could be scooted across the water to someone in need.
Just as we were finishing up this drill by re-loading the 2 1/2 inch hose the boys from a neighboring fire district stopped by: E77 and Aid 77. Their company officer is retiring at the end of the month and so is going round and saying his farewells. (We are having them for dinner next shift as our part of the farewell) They stayed for a little over an hour as we chatted, okay, war-storied for most of the time. If you know an old fireman he will have many war stories to tell. Believe it or not, just as they were leaving our medic unit was returned from it's preventative maintenance and so we switched back into our primary rig just reversing the process used earlier.
Then it was time to fix dinner. I had never made this dish before so it was kind of an adventure as I followed the recipe. The beanery smelled oh so good as the dish neared completion. Finally around 5:30 it was time to eat. Curious taste combination but actually quite good as we three all had second helpings. Just as we were finishing up the tones went off. M13, E11 for a 86 YOA female, breathing problem, diabetic history. The call was in Station 12's area so was a long run for us. Due to traffic we beat E11 to the scene. Turned out to be a transport to the hospital in North Everett, Providence/Everett.
Once we got back to quarters the crew focused on cleaning up dinner and I completed the necessary reports. Then it was time for whatever one wanted to do. The crew watched T.V. (back episodes of NCIS) and I worked on a personal project that I have been doing for years... stats!
Finally the crew headed for bed. I watched the 11 p.m. news and turned off the lights at 11:30 p.m. and went to sleep.
Tones went off at 0300 hrs: E12 M13 for 16 YOA male with seizure history, request transport to Children's. This too was in 12's area so we could hit the bathroom before responding ( a real need if we are going to be transporting!). Sure enough, off to Children's Hospital we go. It is in Seattle, down by the University of WA and so is quite a trip. We didn't get back to the station until 5 a.m. The crew headed for bed (although both reported quite a bout of tossing, turning and staring at the ceiling) but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. So I stayed up and worked on my stat project until around 0700. Then I made coffee, put dishes away and cleaned up in the kitchen a bit.
Finally on coming crew is in place and at 0800 I am free to go home.
Interesting... that wasn't what I thought either!
Saturday, 31 December 2011
I hate calling in sick...
So just a day or so after our family Christmas celebration I began to notice a catching in my throat, which proceeded to become a dry cough. I have visited this exhibit before! Sure enough by Monday night the 19th I was getting a full on attack of Bronchitis, the viral kind (and I have had it before!).
An interesting side note: my daughter had sent an e-mail that said that if you want to stop coughing at night while you sleep you rub Vick's VapoRub on the soles of your feet (wear socks to keep the stuff off your sheets). When I read this I scoffed! What would rubbing it on your feet accomplish when it is your chest and throat that are hurting? On Monday evening as I was entering the sickness freeway my wife decided I was going to try this. Already in bed (and hacking away) I wasn't going to argue. SURPRISE! I felt calmed almost immediately... in fact before my wife could remove the latex glove, wash in the bathroom and return to our room.... I was asleep! Didn't cough all night either and that was a blessed relief - though it didn't stop the bronchitis.
So I picked up the phone at 0700 hrs and called the on-duty BC to call in sick. When he answered I literally croaked "This is Dan... I won't be in to work today." His reply was to thank me for identifying myself since he would have never recognized my 'deeper than Darth Vader' impression. (Luke.... I am your father!) I have over 2,000 hours of sick leave on the books! I hate calling in sick! I had to use 48 hours of sick leave and it was my debit cycle to boot! My debit was scheduled for Christmas Eve. No way am I going to call in sick on Christmas Eve unless I am hocking up a lung or something. I hoped for a quiet day... no such luck.
Well.... it has been an interesting year. I have enjoyed this blogging experience even though I don't do it much more than once a week or so. Maybe my 'New Year's resolution' will be to blog more regularly and also figure out how to incorporate pictures into the ruddy thing! You might actually appreciate that - my reader (s?)
Have a great 2012.
An interesting side note: my daughter had sent an e-mail that said that if you want to stop coughing at night while you sleep you rub Vick's VapoRub on the soles of your feet (wear socks to keep the stuff off your sheets). When I read this I scoffed! What would rubbing it on your feet accomplish when it is your chest and throat that are hurting? On Monday evening as I was entering the sickness freeway my wife decided I was going to try this. Already in bed (and hacking away) I wasn't going to argue. SURPRISE! I felt calmed almost immediately... in fact before my wife could remove the latex glove, wash in the bathroom and return to our room.... I was asleep! Didn't cough all night either and that was a blessed relief - though it didn't stop the bronchitis.
So I picked up the phone at 0700 hrs and called the on-duty BC to call in sick. When he answered I literally croaked "This is Dan... I won't be in to work today." His reply was to thank me for identifying myself since he would have never recognized my 'deeper than Darth Vader' impression. (Luke.... I am your father!) I have over 2,000 hours of sick leave on the books! I hate calling in sick! I had to use 48 hours of sick leave and it was my debit cycle to boot! My debit was scheduled for Christmas Eve. No way am I going to call in sick on Christmas Eve unless I am hocking up a lung or something. I hoped for a quiet day... no such luck.
Well.... it has been an interesting year. I have enjoyed this blogging experience even though I don't do it much more than once a week or so. Maybe my 'New Year's resolution' will be to blog more regularly and also figure out how to incorporate pictures into the ruddy thing! You might actually appreciate that - my reader (s?)
Have a great 2012.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Christmas celebration for the fam...
My family celebrated Christmas early for a couple of reasons... my youngest son and his wife were able to be here this weekend but not over Christmas. I am also scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and so will not be able to with the family except on Christmas Day. Fortunately our family is used to these re-scheduled holidays.
So the traditional meal of Swedish meatballs, mashed potato, corn and raspberry jello with the trimmings of pickles, black and green olives was enjoyed by all. Then, after dishes were done, we retired to the living room to distribute and open presents. As an added touch, we Skyped our daughter Shawna and included her in the event. Our grandsons dominated at first but soon a TV show gathered there attention and our daughter was able to focus on the opening of presents.
It was a fine time of fun - savoring each gift and watching others as they opened theirs. Then we topped off the evening by watching the film - "Stupid, Crazy Love". It was fun.
So the traditional meal of Swedish meatballs, mashed potato, corn and raspberry jello with the trimmings of pickles, black and green olives was enjoyed by all. Then, after dishes were done, we retired to the living room to distribute and open presents. As an added touch, we Skyped our daughter Shawna and included her in the event. Our grandsons dominated at first but soon a TV show gathered there attention and our daughter was able to focus on the opening of presents.
It was a fine time of fun - savoring each gift and watching others as they opened theirs. Then we topped off the evening by watching the film - "Stupid, Crazy Love". It was fun.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Rekindle!!!
There is nothing that a firefighter hates more than a rekindle. It is embarassing. It is a royal pain. It is no fun. For those who are not of the firefighting persuasion I will define a rekindle. It is a fire in the same occupancy where you extinguished a fire earlier. Usually the same day but not always. What it means is that when you thought you had gotten every possible pocket of hidden fire... you didn't. Rekindles usually happen in occupancies where there is a lot of "stuff" strewn everywhere and also in places where there are lots of potential hidden pockets. There is only one thing that can make a rekindle marginally better...one where you were dispatched to assist BUT it was not your jurisdiction. I was on just such a fire last cycle.
The first dispatch was around 3 in the afternoon (1500 for you fire types) and it was to a neighboring jurisdiction. This is how it works for us. We have two dispatch agencies in our county. We received tones from the one we do not regularly use. The clue for us at our station is that the tones go off but we do not receive a CAD printout. For me that means a quick trip to our computer, a command to remotely access the other dispatch center to get the printout they are sending to the other agency. I do that because it lets me know more information... like who else is responding, any occupancy information they may have, and the type of emergency. I can do this before our dispatch agency can send the tones and a printout.
We were the 3rd engine to arrive with a Battalion Chief, aid car and ladder also arriving before us (this is normal when going to another agency because it isn't your first due area but you are close). The occupancy was an older home: a 50's vintage single wide mobile home that had at some point in time had an additional two or three rooms added to the side of it with at least two different roof systems. This may or may not have been done legally (meaning permits and inspections) and they can be a real problem. The fire appears to have started near the chimney and appeared to be in the roof between the different roof systems. My crew and I reported to command to await assignment. After 5 minutes or so we were assigned to assist with overhaul of some of the contents considered salvagable. We spent 10 - 15 minutes helping with that task and then the crews onscene 'cut us loose'. This too is standard in that 1) they want to handle their own fire problem and 2) since we are mutual aid it is common curtesy to get you back in service in your own area as fast as possible.
Then around 1930 hrs (7:30 p.m. to you normal folks) we get a tone for a structure fire with our neighboring department at the same address! No need to look this up! As we were responding the Battalion Chief was the first to arrive. You could hear the disgust in his voice as he reported "B... onscene. Fully involved. Establishing ________ command." This wasn't going to be much fun!
Again we arrived last and moved forward to report to command. This time command was nowhere to be found! So we moved forward to the fire (and it was ripping!) and finally found him. He didn't even want the accountablility tags I offered him (that means he was pissed off about the rekindle...) We got a nozzle and began knocking down fire from the outside (known as a 'surround and drown') and then worked our way inside. I was helping my crew by feeding line to them. As I always do I looked up to check what was going on over my head and saw the moon and stars through the smoke! No roof! Burned away!
So we spent a couple of hours this time helping dig out this fire from the rubble (this person had bookcases covering every wall full of paperback books!). Finally they cut us loose again so we could get back in our area. Even then we had to go to another station and fill our SCBA bottles.
Rekindles.... I hate 'em!
The first dispatch was around 3 in the afternoon (1500 for you fire types) and it was to a neighboring jurisdiction. This is how it works for us. We have two dispatch agencies in our county. We received tones from the one we do not regularly use. The clue for us at our station is that the tones go off but we do not receive a CAD printout. For me that means a quick trip to our computer, a command to remotely access the other dispatch center to get the printout they are sending to the other agency. I do that because it lets me know more information... like who else is responding, any occupancy information they may have, and the type of emergency. I can do this before our dispatch agency can send the tones and a printout.
We were the 3rd engine to arrive with a Battalion Chief, aid car and ladder also arriving before us (this is normal when going to another agency because it isn't your first due area but you are close). The occupancy was an older home: a 50's vintage single wide mobile home that had at some point in time had an additional two or three rooms added to the side of it with at least two different roof systems. This may or may not have been done legally (meaning permits and inspections) and they can be a real problem. The fire appears to have started near the chimney and appeared to be in the roof between the different roof systems. My crew and I reported to command to await assignment. After 5 minutes or so we were assigned to assist with overhaul of some of the contents considered salvagable. We spent 10 - 15 minutes helping with that task and then the crews onscene 'cut us loose'. This too is standard in that 1) they want to handle their own fire problem and 2) since we are mutual aid it is common curtesy to get you back in service in your own area as fast as possible.
Then around 1930 hrs (7:30 p.m. to you normal folks) we get a tone for a structure fire with our neighboring department at the same address! No need to look this up! As we were responding the Battalion Chief was the first to arrive. You could hear the disgust in his voice as he reported "B... onscene. Fully involved. Establishing ________ command." This wasn't going to be much fun!
Again we arrived last and moved forward to report to command. This time command was nowhere to be found! So we moved forward to the fire (and it was ripping!) and finally found him. He didn't even want the accountablility tags I offered him (that means he was pissed off about the rekindle...) We got a nozzle and began knocking down fire from the outside (known as a 'surround and drown') and then worked our way inside. I was helping my crew by feeding line to them. As I always do I looked up to check what was going on over my head and saw the moon and stars through the smoke! No roof! Burned away!
So we spent a couple of hours this time helping dig out this fire from the rubble (this person had bookcases covering every wall full of paperback books!). Finally they cut us loose again so we could get back in our area. Even then we had to go to another station and fill our SCBA bottles.
Rekindles.... I hate 'em!
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