Another way to interact with me....

If for some insane reason you actually want to get more of me in between posts her, I do have a Facebook page for you to stalk, I mean harass, I mean connect with me!

https://www.facebook.com/ and search for me, Firecap5!

I will be available 24-7 for you, my loyal readers ( both of you) to allow you the opportunity to grovel at my feet in awestruck reverence!

Lets get real though! I will be happy if you just pop in to say hi once in a blue moon! If there is something you would like to get my opinion on, Lord knows I am not afraid to give my opinion! 

It may be why I have never risen above the rank of Captain in the last 22 years!

Old becomes new

There is a song by the Real McKenzies by that name, and the last verse of the song goes like this;

"And if you hang around long enough,

You'll experience really cool stuff,

You'll see that old becomes new,

Then new becomes old,

Til old becomes new again"

Like Bobby Halton said at FDIC this year, "we are in a time of great change". It seems like the changes are coming at us fast and furious in building construction, staffing, recruitment, and training requirements.

Has it all been done before? In some ways, yes it has! Think about how the upheaval of the old volunteer system sent shock waves throughout the fire service when cities said no more to the brawling insanity that was prevalent in the larger cities volunteer fire service of the day. Today we are seeing major upheaval as cities and towns across the country cut their fire service with a cleaver. How big of a change is it to go from four man engines to two, or worse? I know of a couple of departments near me that send the truck company with only an engineer!

Then there is the old and storied fight between smooth bore or fog nozzles! This is one arena where the two sides are constantly in that cycle of old becomes new as their respective advocates battle it out in the court of opinion around the kitchen table and across the inter webs!

Then there is building construction. Ah, yes, good old building construction! Aren't engineers great folks! The same people that brought you the engineered truss, and the I-stair in the past had brought us such fantastic firefighter killers as the bowstring truss and balloon construction! It is the same old battle with building construction. As soon as we seem to have something figured out, they come up with a new and inventive way to make things harder or more dangerous for us!

So the cycle of identifying the design feature, and molding strategy and tactics to combat it starts all over. Then, if you forget about one of their old tricks, it will come back to bite you!

We have to not only keep up with what they are doing now, but make sure we are ready for the engineering of the past when that old car dealership or bowling alley with the bowstring truss catches fire. As Instructors, our plate is more than full, it is overflowing.

Make sure you reach out to other instructors near you for help and give.....no, offer help to others. We have a responsibility to the entire fire service, not just our shift, or station, or department.

"If you hang around long enough,

You'll see that everything starts to rust,

Then shine it all up til it's tip top,

And old becomes new again!"

In Brotherhood,

Wayne

My two days at FDIC

I feel like I packed in a lot in my two short days at FDIC this year! I made the trip down with my better half and our two toddlers. They went to the hotel and then shopping, I went to the convention center and met up with some friends from around home.

Most of the first day was spent walking the floor and looking at the new, or not so new products and services. For the most part, I didn't see anything earth shattering. I then caught back up with Momma and the kids and we went out to dinner and then off to bed.

Friday I was up and moving early, with the mission of getting to see everything there was in the various booths that I missed the previous day. I ran across a few things that are must haves. The first was just about EVERYTHING at the MN8Foxfire booth! I am not a paid spokesman, I just REALLY believe in their products! For so many years, I have sprouted more than a few grey hairs trying to keep track of my crews in low light/no light conditions. Fox fires line of products makes that a lot easier.

Instead of hoping to catch a glimmer from your flashlight in the smoke of a bit of reflective striping, you can see the bobbing helmet bands, the tool wraps, SCBA ID tags and many other items glowing like a beacon! They were showing a piece of used tool wrap that came from Detroit. It was well used and had the familiar ground in filth of fires on it. All they did was wash it with soap and water. The stuff still glowed like crazy just from exposure to the lights in the convention center when it was taken inside their demo trailer. Hit it for a second with a flash light and it got even brighter! There is no good reason NOT to use this line of products as far as I am concerned.

There were some other products I will talk about in another post or two, but I am pressed for time right now.

In Brotherhood,

Firecap5

Happy birthday to me!

Before the flood of Facebook happy birthdays hit, I thought I may as well say it to myself!

Funny thing I have noticed, once someone types happy birthday on Facebook, if they see you in person later they don't verbalize it.......evidently Facebook is good enough?

Maybe I am just getting old (insert rim shot) but I think some things need to be done face to face instead of face booking it. I suppose in years to come, it will be strange to verbalize what we have already said to someone in social media.

Oh, and if anyone was wondering how old I am, it's none of your friggin business! Ok, I am 39 this year. I am all set for my midlife crisis next year. Little convertible car, hairpiece, and new hipper clothes are what I want next year for my birthday, so please make a note of it!

As always, I am thankful for all the blessings that have been poured out on me by God. I think I will go home and have a shot of Jameson's and sit on the porch in my chair and take a good nap! Have a good one today folks!

A fight over something we all agree on?

The other night was our business meeting. The Chief rolled out two new items, having gotten the approval of the BOD previously.

The first seemed to be fairly straight forward, a seat belt policy update. Well, the former Chief decided to get one of the members all riled up about it, because there are a couple of trucks that the seat belts don't fit around them allegedly.

So, it started by the member saying, " well are they going to do something about the trucks that the seat belts don't fit around me?" The Chief, who has been dealing with this type of us versus them mentality for mother old Chief and his two or three supporters got a bit bent.

"Who is they? There is no they, they is us, we, the fire department! If WE need to take care of a problem, then WE need to address it! There is no THEY!"

Well, WE agreed to figure out which trucks had the issue and then purchase seat belt extensions for them, so that everyone can be safely belted! WE all agreed.......I am not sure how THEY felt about it......we never did figure out who THEY were.....

So, the second item was our new photo policy. It is a pretty comprehensive one, basically stating that there is to be no on scene photography without the permission of the Chief or the incident commander, and that any and all media is the property of the fire department, spelling out the purposes for it, and blah blah blah........

If anyone wants a copy for your department to look at and maybe use, let me know and I will be more than happy to share.

ANYWAY, this get former chief and his buddy bent out of shape further, and they both refused to sign the training form that they were given a copy of the policy. So what was I to do? I marked on the form that they refused to sign the training form.

I am not sure where this will go, but everyone agreed that both policies were in the best interests of the department and its members except for former Chief and his buddy. Even at that, they agreed the policies were good things, but still refused to sign.............

I think it is a matter of it sounds good, but only if it doesn't apply to me, or only in theory. Once they are put into practice, then it becomes a sore point.

With the former chief, it feels like anything that is not his idea is crap. He is not in control, and he wants to have control so badly, that he just keeps trying to start arguments over any little thing he thinks will help him get that white hat back. Training, safety, apparatus and equipment, all are things he tries to twist around to criticize the current Chief and his officers. It is all about him, and what he wants.

I feel like the best thing he can do for the department might be to resign and or retire. Go sit on your porch and complain everytime we go by.

If he would only apply his energy to doing productive things, instead of destructive, he would be a real asset again, like he once was.

A job well done

To everyone in Boston, a hearty well done!

For Boston...........

My deepest sympathies to the families of those lost, and prayers for those wounded in this attack.

There will be plenty of time to analyze and comment on all aspects of this tragedy.

For now, I just pray for all involved.