Take a minute and read this article. Quit dumbing down the fire service. Create a culture and a tradition of firefighters who are adept in the risk analysis of emergency response. Thinking firefighters, saving our neighbors, and coming home--that is our tradition.…

Tioga Co. 911

Mark Northrup's best side.

I grabbed this list of odd 911 calls from Fire Engineering based on my county finally going to an enhanced 911 system. This will help solve the problems that I have previously addressed. You think we get no respect? What about these men and woman that are locked up in some out of the way place that we expect to peak efficiency from even when we are less…

OK, so you THINK that people know if they dial 911 we will come and make sense out of whatever screw up they have gotten themselves into...What if they can't figure out how to dial 9-1-1?

The other night we were dispatched to a home for a medical call with ALS. As they are doing their thing the guy in the home asks me if the city has 911. Of course I replied that's who sent us. "It doesn't…

After a lengthy spate of serious accidents we finally caught a fire. Three stations and two alarms later we stopped the fire in the garage next to the house. I had the third in engine and supplied the mop up crew. I haven't seen the guys from Station 10 in a while. They asked for a map to get home. Now it's back to medicals and…

NY Times story

On the left is a fire extinguisher cabinet in Japan. On the right a young boy is showing his new "hiding spot" book bag. Japanese culture is about avoiding conflict and this item, they hope, will allow the boy to hide and the bully to pass by and not continue to bother him.

The story goes on to say that it may not have much use in the USA...Ya Think???

Another "hiding" photo:…

ALF 700 series 1965 squirt

It's time to put this horse out to pasture. You have until the end of the month to get a bid in on the truck. It's a cream puff, only driven to parades and fires on Sunday. It's seen some weather on Main Street in Galeton, a "palace" in Tioga, a flower shop and restaurant in Blossburg, a Ben Franklin and insurance company in Mansfield, a personal care home in Morris Run, and more than a few barns…

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/us/06boston.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

This NY Times story indicates that Boston FD does not do random drug testing on their members. That made me nervous when I read it. Then I thought my department doesn't do testing either. Should the volunteers get with the program and random test their…

Deadwood Burn

This is the type of Photo that you can view/purchase from Michael Gates. He is a Fire Lookout 180 miles Northeast of San Francisco. These pictures are fantastic! His photographs can be seen at www.pygmyhippo.net. Well worth the click. His story is told in today's NY Times.…

Nice day for finishing up work around the house, too bad. We had an early accident a block from the firehouse, a car into a church with two injuries and a canyon call. The pics didn't come out too well so no blogs pics...sorry.

The car into the church was slowing down to make a turn and was rear-ended. It went almost straight up a side hill, across the parking lot and into the church wall. Asst chief said it moved the wall several feet.

About…

About 18 months ago we burned down a local restaurant and saved the two houses closest to it. Well last week the houses went too. Kind of suspicious. Sometimes you can't win.

We've had several automatic alarms and a mutual aid request for a house fire. Quiet, just the way us "old guys" like it.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/08/21/2007-08-21_fdny_radio_transmissions_from_deutsche_b-1.html

"I want a roll call!" demands FDNY command. "I don't give a s--t about the building. I give a s--t about the guys!"…

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-firerecruit,0,2761146.storygallery?coll=bal_tab01_layout

This report from the Baltimore Sun gives more detail on the deadly training exercise and the report that has been completed about it. We can all read and learn from this one.

As I was leaving this morning, why is that always the case?

MVA two cars one injury Shumway Hill Road.

Bad day for accidents. We responded to a boy hit by a car later in the afternoon. Flew him out.

Don't forget the EMS folks. With the nursing homes, elderly warehouses, and normal stupidity at an all time high, they have several times the calls that require an engine or truck.…

Another quiet night. One early call to land a medical helicopter. This is Guthrie Air out of Sayre, PA