Denise Imperiale's Blog (178)

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...October 26, 2009

I work in Chatham, NJ, only two miles from St. Pat's Church where Father Ed Hines was murdered by the janitor of the Church. I work across the street from the Chatham FD, where Father Hines was a chaplain. The flag is half staff and the flag is outside, showing a death in the fire department.

Added by Denise Imperiale on October 26, 2009 at 12:22pm — 2 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...October 22, 2009

Almost every day I have an egg sandwich at this tiny diner across the street from my office. While I was walking to the diner today, the fire alarm went off in Chatham. I passed a little girl walking with her Mom and the child was holding her hands over her ears. She yelled, "Mom, what's that noise?" The mom mumbled something about the sound being the railroad, which happens to run behind the Chatham firehouse. It wasn't my place to… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on October 22, 2009 at 3:35pm — 1 Comment

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...October 21, 2009

SCBA 2 Drill - Not for Rookies

Last night I finally felt like I was past Rookiedom.

We did SCBA Part 2 in the smokehouse. Last year I wasn't SCBA certified yet so I did the drill but didn't go through the mazes or hatches. I did it last night though.

For all you guys and girls that are experienced, young, and fit, stop reading because you will think I am quite lame. For those of you brave enough to… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on October 21, 2009 at 9:30am — 4 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...October 18, 2009

Today we had a great drill. My husband told me I should rename this blog, "Running to a Drill," since that's what I always seem to be doing. It was a vehicle extrication drill and taught by one of my officers. I learned things I hadn't learned at school and maybe I wasn't ready to learn at that time anyway (perhaps FF 2). For example, the direction to put the fire out if it's in the hood, and the proper way to set the scene with the… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on October 18, 2009 at 8:10pm — 1 Comment

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...October 15, 2009

It's funny...I realized the reason I have been writing on this blog less is because I write all day long for a living.

I went to see a therapist the other day to learn how to cope with mentally ill and drug addicted children I have in my life. On the initial intake, the therapist asked me what I do in my free time. My answer was hang out with the old timers at my firehouse and listen to stories.

That didn't… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on October 15, 2009 at 1:30pm — 4 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...September 30, 2009

I did a little detective work because a friend of mine couldn't get to the convention in Wildwood a few weeks ago and he wanted a golf shirt. Because of my work I have learned how to investigate and research using the internet and I found a way to get merchandise from the convention. I won't bore you with the details of how I found the link, but I will share it with you:…

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Added by Denise Imperiale on September 30, 2009 at 8:47am — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...September 28, 2009

Hi everyone! I had a great day yesterday at a CERT training seminar in Warren, NJ. I belong to the Office of Emergency Management and sometimes this organization and the fire department conflict. However, I had a free Saturday and thought I could benefit from any type of training offered.

I took a Disaster Triage class, a Communications… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on September 27, 2009 at 8:40pm — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...September 1, 2009

I can't tell you how sad I am now packing up my daughter's room. I have gone through the countless papers and stories she has written. They are all about drugs and how wonderful they are. I thought I was going to vomit. Right next to the drug stories were her Barbies and Betty Spaghettis. She is 18 and what is called MICA. That stands for mentally ill chemically addicted. She has recently started heroin.

We are doing all… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on September 1, 2009 at 9:50pm — 1 Comment

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...September 1, 2009

I can't believe a week has gone by since this happened.

I was eating pizza at an outside table at Arminio's in Chatham, NJ where I work and a truck made a tight turn around the corner very close to my table. A cylinder (probably propane) popped off the truck and started hissing with flames shooting out. I went inside and told the owner to call 911 and then went back outside to make sure people didn't walk near the… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on September 1, 2009 at 9:46pm — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...August 26, 2009

I forgot to tell you about Sunday. I had a GREAT time at an exempt picnic at one of our firehouses.

In our township, you are exempt if you are with the fire department for seven years. I am not exempt, but the picnic is opened up to all the firefighters in the township.

Last year I attended the same picnic but this year I knew more people, and I knew some people a little better than I did last year. I even caught… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on August 26, 2009 at 6:35am — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...August 22, 2009

Tomorrow is an important day. It's a bone marrow drive in Staten Island for a retired Staten Island firefighter named Roy Chelsen. Roy was a hero during 9/11, and according to some accounts, was responsible for getting his crew out of the WTC that day.

If you are in the NY, NJ, Connecticut area, please consider attending the bone marrow drive for Roy, or joining the bone marrow donor registry.

Here's the Facebook… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on August 22, 2009 at 4:50pm — 1 Comment

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

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Notes from a Rookie… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on August 21, 2009 at 8:12pm — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...August 16, 2009

I have wanted to write a post for weeks, but don't know what to say. I'd like to say something witty, like I'm going to the beach each weekend, or I'm sitting by a pool with a beer in my hand, but I cannot tell a lie.

While the rest of the world seems to be enjoying a great summer, or in NJ at least, I am struggling with real life issues that would have crushed another person. Yes, crushed. The fact that I know I can reach… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on August 16, 2009 at 9:30pm — 4 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...August 11, 2009

Last night we had our part 2 of a Decon drill. It was way interesting.

While working I stumbled upon this interesting press release and new guide on combustible dusts from OSHA:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=16137

Denise Broesler
NJ Rookie Firefighter

Added by Denise Imperiale on August 11, 2009 at 11:34am — 1 Comment

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...August 10, 2009

Hola from New Jersey!

Did you ever sit with a group of people that were totally knowledgeable about so many topics and wonder how they got there? It seems whenever I am at the firehouse, I get all the answers.

What do I do about the green spots on my house? What do I do about my sump pump not making any noise? How can I make my daughter understand that a 450 degree flat iron on a wood floor can start a fire? How… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on August 10, 2009 at 6:30am — 2 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...June 17, 2009

Well, I am happy to report I got a 76 on the Fire Officer test. I didn't take the course but just researched a bit. And that gets me a free ice cream from my friend Jim Q.

Funny thing is I got a better grade than when I took FF1

Go figure!

Denise Broesler, Rookie Firefighter

Added by Denise Imperiale on June 17, 2009 at 5:58am — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...June 14, 2009

I can't tell you how much better I feel knowing I can freely blog here.

Today was quiet, went to Mass, saw some of our firefighters as ushers. What a great thing for the community to see! And one of my favorite guys got a bench dedicated to him at our local park. Wish I could have seen it, but was working.

Talk to you all tomorrow!

And the answer was LAW to my question.

I will let you guys… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on June 14, 2009 at 7:07pm — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...June 13, 2009

I can't tell you how I feel when I turn on my laptop in the morning and see a friend's request, or someone sent me a message, through firefighternation.com.

Today is Saturday and I was supposed to back to where I used to live on Eastern Long Island to visit some old friends. Important since I don't have any local friends who I can go to the mall with, or take a walk with, etc. You know - the kind of friends you've had since… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on June 13, 2009 at 9:13am — 2 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...June 12, 2009

As I write this, I hear my 15 year old son's alarm to get up for school.

Just last week, he made the decision to go back to school for the last two weeks to return his life to some sort of normalcy, and go to therapy after school for 4 hours. This is a kid who knows what he wants.

I never told you too much about R. He wants to be a police officer. We adopted him at one day old from a tiny town near Ohio. I remember… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on June 12, 2009 at 6:36am — No Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...June 10, 2009

Boy they say that time goes fast, and that is all too true.

I have been scrambling to keep up with my new job, letting go of real estate without the whole world knowing, especially my old clients, and dealing with two children that have totally different mental issues. Time will tell on the third child, but I am hoping by the time he is older I will have a wealth of information that I can pull from.

Unfortunately… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on June 10, 2009 at 7:30pm — 4 Comments