0

Engineco913

Male

Bradford

United States

Profile Information:

Type of Organization: Fire/Rescue Department - Volunteer
Job Function: Firefighter, First Responder, Hazardous Materials Team Member, Driver / Engineer
Years in Fire/EMS:: 15
Primary Fire/EMS Department:: Hope Valley Wyoming Fire Department
Years With Department/Agency: 3
My Training:: Firefighter 1 and 2 certified Pro Board
RIT training
First Responder (just below EMT-B)
Emergency Vehicle Operations
Vehicle Rescue Technician
SCBA Instructor
Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal (NFPA Inspector for fire code compliance)
Haz Mat Operations,
Haz Mat Technician,
Cameo/Aloha/Marplot,
ICS 100, 200 700, 800(NIMS)
Wildland operations 1 and 2
Jouvenile firesetters awareness
Evidence collection (haz mat)
Advanced Forestry operations,
Pump Operations,
Propane emergency Trained x 3(with live burn)
Tanker Shuttle operations
VFIS Highway Safety Program
VFIS drivers training Program
and many more I have taken
About Me:: Been on the job (yes even volunteer its my job, and my life) since 1993, loving every minute of it. I have rescued 2 people from burning houses, and more animals than I care to remember. (mental note, iguana's have a whip for a tail, and ferrets bite when freaked out) I am the go to guy when things need to get done, and My only reward is knowing I am making my community a safer place to be for all the residents and visitors who grace us with their presence.
Day Job:: Construction
Relationship Status:: In a Relationship
Why I Joined Fire/EMS: I am a fourth generation firefighter. Growing up around the firehouse gave me the desire to become like my family had, a member of the brotherhood.
Why I Love Fire/EMS: Knowing that I am part of the firefighter family, and ensuring the life safety and property preservation of any and all whom live or visit the town. Firefighters that crave recognition are in the wrong business
Top Issues Facing Responders:: The top issue for the fire service is the declining support for the fire departments as a whole since 9-11. 9-11 brought on an immense if not overwhelming amount of support for all fire companies nationwide. It exposed America to the real job, and the reality that at any given moment we can be gone as firefighters. We are taken advantage of by cities, towns and the citizens. Always the first for budget cuts, and we make due each time. I think they need to create a grant that would provide money to fire departments with true need, for lack of budget funding, or community support. This grant should be easy to apply for and should limit ALL paid departments whom get funded through big tax dollars. Too often with funds match grants the smaller departments get left behind because they cant match the grant requirements but a city with millions of dollars can afford to throw money to match.
Firefighter Safety is something else which is growing more lax. There are many great officers and firefighters who are great at spreading the word safety, and not just spreading the word, but practicing what they preach as well. We have way too many damn injuries and deaths a year that are completely avoidable due to safety issues. Even basic things like not wearing a seatbelt will kill enough firefighters a year to show that there isn't enough being done to make ourselves safer

Comment Wall:

Load Previous Comments

Jim Brunelle Jr.

Great looking bunch of little ones, be safe.

Feb 28, 2008
LadyChaplain

Well it's not that I'm scared of the needle, it's just that when I'm nervous (heck, i think anybody going in for surgery is nervous), my veins tend to "sink" as the nurse put it so kindly.

Feb 28, 2008
Jim Brunelle Jr.

ok, thank you.

Mar 1, 2008
LadyChaplain

I already mentioned that... i was like "do I want my reputation tarnished any futher?" lol.

Mar 1, 2008
LadyChaplain

Not for me... I am doin' the retail and homework thing this weekend... blech!

Mar 1, 2008
LadyChaplain

oooh yeah let me tell you... first weekend of the month... people got their welfare checks... which means they'll be at the store spending them on babyphat and rocawear. i can't wait.

Mar 1, 2008
Deputy Chief Kevin D. Quinn

We (UFD) are hosting both, I'm not sure if there is any room. Give me another reminder next weekend. The first date is March 26th. C-5

Mar 1, 2008
troy mcclimans

hello nice page and be safe

Mar 2, 2008
LadyChaplain

...hmmm lol.

Mar 2, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

Mike,
those are the cutest kids! The one in the middle cracks me up...Miss Personality.

Mar 2, 2008
LadyChaplain

It's Monday... again... and once again... I'm panicked and in a stress mode like none other. IS IT SPRING BREAK YET?!!!??!!!!

Mar 3, 2008
LadyChaplain

Lol... here's the thing... private colleges don't exactly have spring break during the spring... last year I remember some kids in the local school districts had SNOW DAYS while I was on "spring break" lol.

Mar 3, 2008
LadyChaplain

Eh, they're going... just decided to change my thesis entirely today... we'll see how well that goes over with the professor haha. Had a midterm today and I think I got a B+... I'm not a fan of middle eastern history. Other than that, so far so good :-) 6 weeks 'til it's all over for the summer!

Mar 3, 2008
Deputy Chief Kevin D. Quinn

mike: I am not sure of the available openings in our course. I would suggest you let Capt. Dave Dumsar know you are interested. He would be the connection to fill any vacant "outside" slots. C-5

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

I think I'm only taking 1 class this summer, maybe two. I got a chance to look at the schedule, and since my company is backwards, they won't let me take EVOC until NEXT summer (wtf?) so I can't take Pump Ops... grrr.

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

Well sure, wouldn't it make sense that your NUMBER ONE responder be allowed to DRIVE?! I mean... that just makes sense, right? And in NYS, EVOC is a pre-req for Pumps... sooooo basically they're restricting me to hose humper because they won't give me interior tags either.... ugh. And the rationale behind not letting me take EVOC is that they changed the bylaws to state that nobody under 21 is allowed to drive any district vehicle, because in the 60 some years of the company's existence, the two "major" accidents involving 7-1 (first aid rig) have been when someone under 21 was driving.... so punish us all. Lovely.

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

I think it was like... 4 years ago maybe that the change took place, maybe even 3... but either way it was before I was around... and I think it's just because of the general lack of maturity that exists... he was part of a firefighter clique... and I think it was an attempt to keep them under control.

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

I won't shoot you because you're not the first person to say that to me. I was talking to an "experienced" firefighter last week while I was interning, and he asked me bluntly "how long have you been a firefighter?" and when i told him only a year and a half - and that I was only 20... he was completely dumbfounded. I guess those nuns beat something fierce into me in school lol.

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

I'm still a little kid at heart though - pigtails and everything lol.

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

Haha, I do get the "hardass" thing once in a while though... my senior superlative was "most likely to join the military"... go figure.

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

Funny you should mention that... I think it was senior year... and a girl at my lunchtable I wasn't a fan of had brought in a huge chicken finger sub. She was paranoid about people stealing her food, so she told me "Kenz, make sure nobody touches my sub," as she went to the bathroom. "Ooooh alllright, I'll watch your sub." As soon as she cleared the room, her sub made contact with the wall at a high speed and ended up on the floor... and I had no idea how it happened O:-)

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

Oh! And then the best part... the girl didn't even make the connection that it was me... and then she bought me lunch the next day :-D

Mar 4, 2008
LadyChaplain

Kind of evil? I resent that... I'm pure evil... :-) Chaplain and all... lol.

Mar 5, 2008
LadyChaplain

For all intent purposes I'm a good kid... 'cept when faced with dumb people, or hoochie girls (in which case the girl at the lunch table was)...

Mar 5, 2008
LadyChaplain

Well, the dumb people I have a problem with are those that are dumb, yet don't realize it. The "know it alls"

Mar 5, 2008
robert rivera

Thanks for the welcome, be safe

Mar 5, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

Thanks Mike--I don't care how or by whom the seatbelt message gets out there, as long as it gets out there.

Mar 6, 2008
Eric

Hey brothers thanks for the back up on the discussion board, Wasn't tryin to hurt anyone or anything, I was just wanting opinions, good ones. I try to post one of those every week to get good opinions, thanks again brother.

Mar 6, 2008
LadyChaplain

Well, it's just one of those things... I was caught in an inspirational moment :-)

Mar 6, 2008
LadyChaplain

I had submitted a really good thesis proposal last week and this morning I was scheduled to have my one on one with the professor to review my progress... and while I was doing research on my original topic I fell onto something a heck of a lot more interesting... so I just redid the entire proposal since I knew there would be ample opportunity to go over it with the prof in the one on one this morning. I'm on my way to an A!

Mar 6, 2008
LadyChaplain

You now have permission to refer to me as "insanely jealous" :-)

Mar 8, 2008
LadyChaplain

I have been to Boston (the REAL one, not the one where Crotty lives) before!!!!!

Mar 9, 2008
LadyChaplain

From what I remember, Boston was great.... Quincy Market, Copps Hill, Little Italy, JFK library and homestead, Boston College... I really do want to go back someday... only if I can fly... or take a train... lol.

Mar 9, 2008
LadyChaplain

I was supposed to go to Boston with some friends last November, but when they cut an entire day out of the trip, I just couldn't bring myself to go. 9 hours of driving... 10 hours of sight seeing... and 9 hours of driving over 2 days is just a little much. Maybe next year it'll work out better.....

I read in the paper that our bullpen isn't quite ready... I'm a little concerned.

Mar 9, 2008
LadyChaplain

Well and who knows what's goin' on with Beckett? Nagging back spasms? That's not something we can afford to lose, even if he is a meany pants.

Mar 9, 2008
LadyChaplain

Eh, it's still early. Hopefully this will all come to pass and we will have another championship on my birthday weekend :-) I had a very Boston Birthday weekend this past year... I got a Boston cap, Boston tshirt, a fleece... had boston creme pie yogurt for breakfast... boston creme pie instead of a bday cake... and they won the World Series.... all for my birthday :-D

Mar 9, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

and I would've.....I lurk softly and carry a BA stick.
:)

Mar 10, 2008
richard c debeni

I was there wacthing it they didn't have lot of poeple . I didn't have my gear with me .

Mar 10, 2008
LadyChaplain

Yep... last time my car encountered the hit and run it was against a winnebago

Mar 10, 2008
LadyChaplain

2 weeks... 2 weeks 'til the Japan opener... CAN'T WAIT

Mar 11, 2008
Jeremy Latham

Saw your post on a topic I have responded to a few times today....joined this site today as well. See you have many thoughts and discussions, and am glad there are guys like you in the brotherhood of firefighting.

Mar 12, 2008
LadyChaplain

You did bring a smile to my face with that one... which is truly an accomplishment because I've been a little on the depressed side since like... sunday. Meh, thanks for the smile though... definitely brightened up what's left of the day.

Mar 12, 2008
Jeremy Latham

Thank you brother. I agree with you on the spelling issue. The only time I am concerned is when I'm reading reports @ work...making sure they are ok. lol.
Appreciate the welcome

Mar 13, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

I'm not telling. Telling you would be like telling Radio Free Nation.
:)

Mar 13, 2008
Shannon H. Pennington

Hey 913 good job....keep punching in the ring and get this before the "front line people"...taking care of business...this applies to all emergency services responders....I have gone down the road riding the jump seat and done a couple of 360's to a rolling stop....yes a few grey hairs popped out on that one....the aerial was jamming the binders behind and missed us....sitting in the jump seat "Buckled IN" kept us safe and in our seats where we were able to "ride it out".....the learning curve was ingranied....and that set the tone for the next 26 years of my service career....on some 11 thousand 5oo runs....."the rig does not move until everyone gives a thumbs up and the driver does a 360" .... those extra "seconds" do only one thing...they add to the safety of getting there as a "team" ...... and able to respond once "on scene".....
Stay Safe
Shannon H. Pennington ptsd firefighterveteran
On the Web: firefightervetran.com/
Ex IAFF 26 Year career fire fighter "professional"

Mar 13, 2008
Shannon H. Pennington

hey same for you bro you be safe.....it is a jungle out there....please go to the web site naffvn and check out the stress stuff....it works....remember when the emotional back draft of the event flashes over and you get into the H.O.T. zone (hasardous overload of thoughts) you need to dry out from being wet (Wasted Emotional Thoughts)........do the thing ya need to do....and reach out bro reach out....firefighterveterans are there....we were there once ourselves and know what it takes to be up on the front lines....and we not only talk the talk we have walked the walk.....
warmly shannon

Mar 13, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

:)

So can I borrow your daughter for a week? I crack up every time I see her photo on here...her facial expression just kills me.

Mar 13, 2008
LadyChaplain

Hmmm guinness.... drool.

Mar 13, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

She's absolutely precious....that's the nice thing about not being a mom....when I've had enough I can say " here, all yours"

:)

Mar 13, 2008
Mary Ellen Shea

You're not fooling anyone.....you wouldn't have it any other way, gray hair and all.
:)

Mar 13, 2008