October 2008 Blog Posts (135)

Court cases against Volunteer Fire Departments this week in the news

In the past couple of days we have discussed a court case in KY where the fire department is being sued by a homeowner who states that the fire department was not prepared or negligent in fighting a fire on their property. They now want to hold the department responsible for the property damage. We have also read about another court case in Canada where a ff driving his POV, struck & killed a civilian at the scene of an MVA. The litigation says that the fire department should have used… Continue

Added by Jenny Holderby on October 31, 2008 at 4:50pm — 11 Comments

Anymore??

Is there anymore volunteer cadet firefighters out there or is it just me? I would like to meet as many cadets as I can because we could be friends...

Added by Erin Rockey on October 31, 2008 at 1:10pm — 1 Comment

Firefighter & EMS Injury Study

After nearly a year of researching, assessing, and discussing the importance of caring for the needs of emergency service workers who have been critically injured in the line of duty, the SHS board of directors is releasing a survey (link to survey is below) to collect more detailed and specific information on those needs. The survey will assist us in gathering resources and in developing SOGs for departments to use in the event a critical firefighter injury.

Link to survey:… Continue

Added by Wendy Norris on October 30, 2008 at 4:48pm — No Comments

Cell Phone need a charge? Do it in YOUR home!

Taken from KCMQ.com.

From the “nice try” department. A man in Arizona was burglarizing a house and was caught in the act by the homeowner. The suspect told the cops that he had broken into the home only because he needed to use a power outlet to charge his cell phone. Riiiiiiiiiiight!

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on October 30, 2008 at 3:43pm — 1 Comment

Whats up?

Well I don't know about everyone else, but right now my fire department is doing the haunted house scene. Its kinda cool we where invited to help out at a haunted house in our district and the people running the show are donating some of the proceeds to us. I thought was kinda cool. About two months ago the new bank (well only bank in town now) donated 5 dollars to us for every account that opened with them. Which hey every little bit helps. Well we finally got our new PPF on truck its nice! a… Continue

Added by Jonathan on October 30, 2008 at 11:19am — No Comments

Medic Shift

WOW What a Night, another one with no sleep, we only had four calls but they were laid out just right to keep us up all night. The good news is no life threateningg calls, just the typical injuries from falls type. Only 1 more shift on this medic(44) and then I get transferred to M43 on Nov 10th.

Added by John on October 30, 2008 at 9:24am — 2 Comments

Remembrance Day Preparations

Its been a while since my last post but I promise to post more often. We here in little Barbados are currently preparing for our annual Remembrance Day Parade.

The parade and ceremony will b held on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 7:00 a.m. in Heroes Square in the City of Bridgetown. Our next official parade will be our Independence Parade, this ceremony will be held for the first time at the new Kensington Oval on Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 8:30 p.m.

Please note that… Continue

Added by Glyne Alleyne on October 29, 2008 at 5:23pm — No Comments

The Accreditation of St. Andrew's.

Good Afternoon everyone.

I am currently in the process of writing a Project Outline Phase for the accreditation of St. Andrew's, which hypothetically I would like to see take place in the next three to four years. This report will be detailed down to the delegation of responsibilities of various members of our fire department, will state the project objectives, will provide a resource requirement chart of the things needed to ascertain this goal, and based on my work breakdown… Continue

Added by Sarah Turner on October 29, 2008 at 3:21pm — 3 Comments

7 classes to go

We are down to like 7 classes left for the quarter, I am starting to get a little worried although I have decent scores in class, I still get that way. Just gotta tell myself to stop, relax and breath, and it will be okay.

Added by John on October 29, 2008 at 3:15pm — No Comments

Volunteer Firefighters

Hello My name is Brett and I have been a volunteer firefighter for 7 years now. I need some help from you all. I am writing a paper about how volunteers are always talked down to in the community about how they are either too late in their eyes or don't have enough manpower. If you all will, could you give me a brief paragraph about how your community feels about the volunteers in your aria it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for takeing your time and helping me out on this one i greatly… Continue

Added by F.F Ritchie on October 29, 2008 at 2:58pm — 4 Comments

Powder Milk Plan Explosion

I saw this article and thought it was very interesting. We have all heard of the danger with grain elevators because of the dust exploding. Makes sends powdered mild would be the same. But, how many of us would have thought of it?

Original story here.

Dairy Processor Has Exploding Powdered Milk

Exploding Milk Started Fire, Officials Say

POSTED: 5:52 pm PDT October 28, 2008

UPDATED: 5:55 pm PDT… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on October 29, 2008 at 10:35am — No Comments

Robber Accidentally Calls 911 HIMSELF!

Taken from KCMQ.com.

Here’s a tip to would-be robbers - turn your phone OFF during the robbery. A Boonville, Indiana man named Jesse Jeffries foiled his own burglary when his cell phone accidentally called 911. A dispatcher answered the call and realized what was happening - that the caller didn’t know he had called and was robbing a place. The dispatcher sent cops to the scene, while giving them a play-by-play description of what was happening… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on October 29, 2008 at 9:55am — No Comments

Conshy Fire

Back in August of this year, there was a major fire in Conshehocken, Pennsylvania. It has displaced around 357 residents of the condo/apartment fire. At least it was during the day and not at night. It was started by a welder's torch that that the owner of the condo's hired to fix up the buildings. So the DA of Montgomery County, PA is filing a class action suit against the company. It burned 2 buildings and the third building is still still standing but it has some burn marks on it. It was on… Continue

Added by Stephen Bretz on October 28, 2008 at 9:42am — No Comments

Don't Play Chicken with a POLICE Car!

Taken from KCMQ.com.

It’s really dumb to play “chicken” with an unsuspecting car. It’s completely moronic to play “chicken” with a police car. Three men in Oklahoma City decided on a whim to play chicken with a random car…they drove their car at the oncoming car until it swerved out of the way to keep from getting hit. Turns out the unsuspecting car was a police car - being driven by a police captain. After being run of the road, the captain turned around and chased the car of idiots… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on October 28, 2008 at 9:06am — No Comments

Command Safety/Leadership

I have spent the last hour or so on FFN checking on the discussions I am interested in & looking through my groups for topics of interest. One of my favorite groups is Command Safety where Christopher J. Naum, SFPE posts some very good information & references. One of his topics of conversation was Leadership. There is a very well written piece with some "tips" on Leadership & how to become a better leader. Very good reading for anyone particularly those in officer positions. He… Continue

Added by Jenny Holderby on October 28, 2008 at 3:18am — 2 Comments

I need help finding a first responder course.

I have been searching for a first responder course for, who knows how long now, and I have yet to find one. If somebody could give me a list of first responder courses in Palm Beach County, or someone to contact, I would appreciate. Thank you.

Added by Alex on October 27, 2008 at 2:39pm — 3 Comments

Want to Play Drums? Buy your Own Set!

Taken from KCMQ.com

f you have an uncontrollable urge to play an instrument, I hope you can deal with it better than today’s dumbass. 47-year-old Michael Smith was driving by the Holy Ghost Deliverance Church earlier this week in Bridgeport when he spotted a drum set through the window. He just HAD to play them, so he broke into the church and started going to town, and was sill in the middle of a spirited solo when police arrived while the… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on October 27, 2008 at 2:15pm — No Comments

Arrested for Stealing? Don't Steal from the Police Station

Today's Daily Dumbass from KCMQ.com is really a winner.

In Vermont, a 25-year-old man was arrested for stealing items out of a car, and while he was being processed at the police department, was caught stealing a photo from the police bulletin board. He later told cops he stole the picture because he thought it was “cool.” The state’s attorney told the judge, “This is a defendant that’s just not getting it.”

Stay safe,

Bruce C… Continue

Added by Bruce C Ziebarth on October 27, 2008 at 9:18am — No Comments

A tradition still observed

Its the end of October & at my station that means its time to make applebutter. It is a tradition now but we still sell as much as we can make and it is one of our biggest fund raisers. Some things have changed but some things about making "butter" never will.

The making/sales of applebutter started back in the 60s when the dept was first formed as a way to make money. Of course back then there were orchards all over the township & the apples were grown locally & much of… Continue

Added by Jenny Holderby on October 27, 2008 at 1:30am — 3 Comments

our minds and the world

Waste not, want not, and may our memories live on... Because it's our minds that make us who we are, it's our minds that bind us to this world, and it's our minds that empower us to do great things... and our minds will tear us all apart if we don't have great moments to dull all the bad ones that this world can bring...

Added by linda on October 27, 2008 at 1:07am — No Comments