August 2008 Blog Posts (161)

Toronto firefighter past away this morning following a motorcycle accident.

STEVE VAN HEMME

FIRE FIGHTER, STATION 322 A SHIFT

Passed away this morning following a motorcycle accident.

Details to follow when they are available

Toronto firefighter killed in collision

Steve Van Hemme. (Toronto Fire Services handout)

A Toronto firefighter was killed in a motorcycle collision in Peterborough this morning.

Peterborough Police were called to Parkhill… Continue

Added by Brad Duncan on August 27, 2008 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Through the eyes of a firefighter....

Through the eyes of a firefighter....

Through these eyes I have seen the miracle of birth and also the tragedies of death.

Through these eyes I have seen the path of destruction that a fire leaves behind. And also the rebuilding of the damage it has caused.

Through these eyes I have seen the crumbled metal of a car accident and also the untouched body that sometimes comes walking out.

Through these eyes I have seen the sadness of loved ones that… Continue

Added by Alexandria on August 27, 2008 at 1:12am — No Comments

SPAC season almost over!

Hey All,

In case you don't know, from June to September every year I work up at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) located in upstate NY, as an Emergency Medical Technican. I'm sure if many of you have ever seen an outside concert in Upstate NY @ a outside venue-you've prolly have been to SPAC. It is the largest, nicest outdoors concert facility around. It has been around since the late 1950's I think. SPAC has brought many famous bands like: Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Dave… Continue

Added by Scott Runkel on August 26, 2008 at 5:10pm — 1 Comment

He passed his EMT!!!

I just want to say how amazing my friend is. He has had alot of ups and downs in the last couple of years, but tackled it all with his head high and really never complained. He just recently went through an EMT class and took the state exam. HE PASSED!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished over the last year and a half. Especially with his courage to take on starting his life over and continuing his dream, his passion of being a FF, starting a new job, and continuing his… Continue

Added by Chel on August 26, 2008 at 2:42pm — 3 Comments

Anticipating The Good; Anxiety About Change....

Anticipating The Good

Anxiety About Change

Allen. J. Tanner

MA.C; C.A.A.P

When we find ourselves going through any kind of change in our lives, our natural response may be to tense up on the physical, mental, or emotional level. We may not even notice that we have braced ourselves against a shift until we recognize the anxiety, mood swings, or general worried feeling toward the unknown that usually results. There are positive ways to move through change without… Continue

Added by Allen Tanner on August 26, 2008 at 2:10pm — No Comments

Being Healthy and Fit Can Save Your Life More Ways Then You Think!

When my husband was working on the squad, he would come home with a ton of stories about when he was in the midst of trouble when someone from a very bad part of Jersey City had called for help, complaining of chest pains. Doing what a good team is supposed to do, they responded as they should. Once they arrived everything seemed very quiet, almost eerily so. He and his partner got out of their rig and started up the 3 story walk up, when suddenly from around the bend entered a group of 5-6… Continue

Added by Ileane Frank on August 26, 2008 at 12:30pm — No Comments

What a RUSH! high angle rescue

I was on shift last night while we were watching the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" when all of the sudden we got toned out to a rescue situation at our new amusement park.

I was like doh... partial bunkered out and jumped into the engine to start rolling to the scene.

We arrived on the scene to find a set of coaster cars between 70 and 80 feet up on the tracks that had frozen in place. We called for mutual aid getting the ladder rolling and my Lt. tasked me with getting to the top of… Continue

Added by FF Schoen on August 25, 2008 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

PARAMEDIC PROGRAM

Well, here I go. I will be starting the Paramedic program in Sept. About to enter the most grueling year and half of my life.
It was time for a change, being just an EMT, wasn't enough for me. I wanted to take it futher, able to help that person who was in the need for help. I have decided to take that extra step-PARAMEDIC.

So, wish me luck, May 2010 is my expected graduation date.

Added by MrC_EMTest2005 on August 25, 2008 at 7:30pm — 2 Comments

Real Love Isn’t Perfect

Real love, like real life, is never perfect, and happily ever after only happens in fairy tales. Somehow real problems always find us...... Sometimes angry words are spoken. Sometimes we just get on each other's nerves. But the important thing to remember is that our love is always there, full of forgiveness and understanding waiting for more happy times to share. Real love is powerful stuff. It doesn't need to be perfect to survive and grow. In fact, our love probably wouldn't be as strong as… Continue

Added by Alexandria on August 25, 2008 at 2:58pm — 1 Comment

THE LITTLEST FIREFIGHTER

THE LITTLEST FIREFIGHTER

The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew… Continue

Added by Alexandria on August 25, 2008 at 2:57pm — 1 Comment

The Creation Of The Firefighter

The Creation Of The Firefighter

When the Lord was creating Firefighters, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "Your doing a lot of fiddling around on this one." And the Lord said "Have you read the specification on this person? Firefighters have to be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending to a person that the usual every day person would never touch, while putting in the back of their mind the circumstances. They have to be able to move at a… Continue

Added by Alexandria on August 25, 2008 at 2:55pm — No Comments

FireFighters Quilt

My name is Alexandria, and I have been a Voluneteer fire fighter 1 year now. I am trying to get a quilt going with as many departments nation wide represented. I am working on getting patches put on a square of cloth 12" X 12" signed by your department, so that we can start getting this quilt off the ground. Also we would like to honor all of those who have lost their lives doing what they loved. If you can get me that information, that will be the center part of the quilt. I will take care of… Continue

Added by Alexandria on August 25, 2008 at 2:53pm — No Comments

Tired of Being a Sheltered Little Girl

Ok, I'm just so fed up with everyone's opinion about me being a firefighter. My aunt actually said that a girl on the fire department was cute. CUTE?! Is cute standing in the middle of a CRP field on fire with flames 10 ft. high trying to keep it from spreading to a farmer's house or crop fields?? Is cute chomping at the bit to go on a call, dreaming of fighting fires and keeping myself and my brothers on the fire dept. safe??? Maybe it shouldn't anger me, but darn it it really does that… Continue

Added by Ashleigh on August 25, 2008 at 12:45am — 9 Comments

Probably Going to be Unpopular

So, over the past week, I've seen the changes to FirefighterNation. Overall, up until now I've been very pleased with everything on the site. I've enjoyed the pictures, blogging and interaction ~ but ever since the introduction of the points system, it feels as though FFN has lost something.

Although the points aren't meant to be competitive, I have received 5-10 comments per day, as well as numerous frined requests. I've seen more one word and poorly thought out responses to blogs,… Continue

Added by LadyChaplain on August 24, 2008 at 11:19pm — No Comments

Live Auction: Fire Art and Collectibles to Benefit Fire Chief

As part of a large fundraising effort for Evans Center Firefighter Dennis Allen, a benefit scheduled for September 6, 2008 will feature a live auction of firefighter art and memorabilia. The benefit will run from 2-8pm and the live auction will kick off at 5pm.

Former Chief Allen received a double lung transplant on July 2, 2008 after suffering from the deadly disease: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for more than two years. He is currently… Continue

Added by The Dennis Allen Project on August 24, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

this morning

my asst chiefs house caught on fire this morning, he lost his home and both of their vehicles. Now the fd is trying to think of ways to raise money for them. As far as I know they don;t have insurance, and both of the vehicles were liability, PLEASE put them in your prayers and thoughts, They have three kids starting school tomorrow, without anything anymore. Just a little update!

Sarah

Added by Sarah on August 24, 2008 at 7:48pm — 4 Comments

Tropical Storm Fay

Alright Im finally gettin some time to relax. For the past three days my county fire dept and local emergency management have worked nonstop to protect the resident of the county. Tropical Storm Fay dumped over 15 in of rain into the area. The low-lyin areas quickly filled up with the rising water fro the rivers & swamps. Saturday night we were ordered to evacuate the low lying areas due to a possible surge of water. For several hours we made our rounds evacuating everyone. Some depts had… Continue

Added by Trey Taylor on August 24, 2008 at 7:26pm — 3 Comments

Whooped Puppy

There are a few things that make you realize that you're not as young as you used to be. Running wide open for 48hrs is one of those things. I just don't recover as well as I did a few years ago. Although, I still think it's fun. It's just that I'm still young enough to get away with it, but old enough to know better. I had class during the day last shift. I know it sounds easy(and it was). GEMA school bus extrication. Power points and lectures. It… Continue

Added by Russell D. Henry on August 24, 2008 at 6:49pm — 2 Comments

my first web page

hey all i just made my first ever wabe page for my home town fire station its not done but check it out and let me know what you think. this is the link

www.freewebs.com/rpfdhose4/

Added by George t. Gerhold Jr on August 24, 2008 at 6:10pm — 3 Comments

Ring that bell Week!

Well I know that my last blog was complaining about having no action, I guess I spoke too soon. I mean it is never a good thing whenever we or any other fire company gets called, but this week has been eventful. An automatic alarm monday night, structure fire tuesday night, barn fire wednesday night, ems thursday, and an absolutley amazing experience last night.

Around 8 pm, we got toned for a fully involved barn fire on the out reaches of our district. Now I live exactly .6 miles from our… Continue

Added by Charley on August 24, 2008 at 10:42am — No Comments