News from Governor Kaine on Price Gouging

Read below about the investigation of price gouging seen probably the worse in Roanoke several days ago. It seemed as though the outfall of media hype fed by rumors was the drastic increase in fuel prices. This increase was obviously gouging. Read what Gov. Kaine says below:

RICHMOND – In an effort to increase the supply of gasoline in the Commonwealth of Virginia following the disruption in the normal flow of petroleum products caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Governor Timothy M. Kaine waived certain specifications that prescribe volatility standards for gasoline. This action allows immediate distribution of gasoline blends that would normally not be allowed until October 1.

Governor Kaine also announced today that the State has put together an experienced team of 30 inspectors from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) who are working across the Commonwealth to respond as quickly as possible to the more than 2,000 calls about possible gas price gouging received by the VDACS Division of Consumer Protection since Virginians first felt Hurricane Ike’s impact. Staff at VDACS continue to monitor the Consumer Protection Hotline to take calls around the clock to ensure that every complaint about gas prices is evaluated.

"It is intolerable that anyone would take advantage of consumers in this situation, and we will aggressively pursue unscrupulous operators charging excessive prices,” Governor Kaine said. “Virginians can do their part to help by maintaining a normal routine for refueling their vehicles, conserving fuel whenever possible and reporting any instances of possible price gouging to the VDACS Division of Consumer Protection.”

Anyone who believes they have been the victim of price gouging is encouraged to report such by calling VDACS Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-552-9963 or 804-786-2476.

The state has taken additional measures in response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes. The Departments of Emergency Management, Transportation and Motor Vehicles have issued waivers to facilitate the uninterrupted transportation of gasoline from suppliers to retailers. The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy is closely monitoring the situation to ensure that adequate gasoline supplies remain available. As part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact that allows for the sharing of resources in response to disasters, Virginia has sent state personnel and resources to Texas and Louisiana to help in response and recovery.

Paramedic to RN Bridge Class in Roanoke

PARAMEDIC TO RN BRIDGE CLASS

I am looking for interested NREMT-P’s who would qualify for a paramedic to RN transition course that can be brought to the area. You must have the prerequisites prior to admission in the program. NO EXCEPTIONS! The course would possibly start in Jan 2010 and be finished in Dec. 2010(LESS THAN 1 YEAR). The classes would be a hybrid type with limited classroom time. There is a clinical component that must be completed as well. In order to secure a class in the area there has to be at least 8 people to be interested. LPN’s will be allowed as well so it should not be an issue. Please read the following requirements. If you already have these requirements or would be able to complete them by the admission process this would be a great opportunity for you.

Prerequisites (must be completed prior to application submission)

~ High school graduate or GED

~ High school or college algebra, biology, and chemistry with a grade of “C” or better

~ Any developmental courses identified as needed after placement tests

~ Preadmission nursing test with acceptable scores (NLN 45 or better in verbal and math;

NET 45 or better in reading and math; HESI 45 or better)

~ The following general education courses with a grade of “C” or better:

NAS 161 (BIO 141) – Human Anatomy & Physiology I 4 credits

ENG 111 – College Composition I 3 credits

PSY 230 – Developmental Psychology 3 credits

SDV 100 – College Success Skills 1 credit

ITE EEE – Information Technology Elective 3 credits

14 total credits

Kent McIlhany
540-537-9962
fnmedk@yahoo.com

Please contact me if you have questions or to express interest.

I will be forwarding the information on perspective students to the course director as soon as possible.

Back in Town Soon

Hey all, I will be back in town for a few days by Sunday evening. I appreciate the comments and discussions. I would like to address one comment though about how I handled the retirement of Mark Podlewski. I have in the past, posted a picture and as much information as I can find about or retirees. I try my best to honor their service which is just a small gesture that I am afforded due to my position in having this blog. That honor which is usually nonexistent from our department.That being said, let me offer you a couple of reasons why Mark's retirement post was not what you expected:

1. I was going out of town and very busy.
2. Mark did not even tell the guys he was working with he was retiring, his BC accidentally let the cat out of the bag.
3. I did not, and still do not have my external hard drive which has all of the Union's Photos on it including any of Mark.

This has little to do with Mark and more to do with the fact that I do what I can when I am able. I do not take offense to your viewpoints. As a matter of fact, I appreciate your concern and your attention to detail.

As for what I have been doing. I have put everything on the back burner for the past week and enjoyed myself down here in the Outer Banks. I actually shot some pics of a house fire and they were posted on FireNews.Net (NC's version of VAFireNews.com). Check them out here.

Other than hanging out with my family for the week, the highlight of my vacation was swimming with some sand tiger sharks and barracuda. I was able to do this while SCUBA diving on the wreck Dixie Arrow off the coast of Hatteras, NC.

7th Anniversary of September 11th

Today marks the 7th Anniversary of September 11th. Take the time to reflect on the events and the heroics of so many of our Brothers.

Most of all, discuss with and educate our Brothers and Sisters who were not in the department at the time.

Maybe discuss what you were doing when you found out, how long you watched the news to see the events unfold, or what your first thoughts were when you saw what was happening.

Open Post

Here is an open post while I am out of town, although I have a topic for you.

If you would like, please discuss the blog. For instance what you like or don't like. Maybe what you would like to see done, or what you would do if you ran things. I will be back in town Sunday.

Vote on Local 1132

Ok, I have corrected the glitch for all the newly registered members on the Local 1132 site. You should be able to click on online voting and the voting initiative will show. My apologies. If indeed you still cannot see the voting initiative, please contact me directly and I will update your profile.

One other note. If you have already registered, please do not register again. If you cannot find your registration information through the website, contact me and I will reset your password and send you the information via email. For this stuff please use my email: webmaster@local1132.org.

Thanks

Also thanks to all who helped with Fill the Boot today. If you would like to help out tomorrow (Sunday) please contact Steven McFaden at Station 2 and he will point you in the right direction. We are collecting at Towers Kroger from 10am - 3pm.

Fill the Boot for MDA

Today and Tomorrow (Sat. and Sun.) The Roanoke Fire Fighters Association is holding a Fill the Boot for MDA. Members of the Roanoke Firefighters Auxiliary and Salem's Local will also going to be on hand to help. The event will be held from 10am - 3pm at the Kroger's at Towers and Crossroads. Please plan on being there to help for any length of time. If you need to contact someone, give me a call at 537-8158 (Rhett).

Firefighter Mark Podlewski Retires

Mark Podlewski is retiring effective November 1, 2008. His last day on the job was Tuesday, September 2nd. Mark was hired by the Roanoke Fire Department on July 1, 1991, although he actually transferred from the Roanoke Police Department where I believe he was hired in 1984.

Mark's last assignment was at Station 13 on A-Shift with Captain Yearout. He will be missed. I always enjoyed getting him riled up in the mornings as he enjoyed getting under my skin too.

Good luck in your retirement Mark.

RFFA is looking for feedback on the 2008 Banquet

Attention all RFFA members, please take the time to complete a short one answer voting initiative on the Local 1132 website. If you would like to leave further comments on the banquet, feel free to leave feedback here or contact myself or Tim Parry.

Click here for LOCAL1132.org

Roanoke Fire-EMS Deploys Team to St. Bernard's Parrish, LA

From the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department:

Roanoke Fire-EMS has been called upon by EMAC once again to deploy a Hurricane Recovery Team to St. Bernard's Parrish, LA. This group of 8 Fire-EMS personnel will serve with the Incident Management Team in
Louisiana.

The team consists of: Deputy Chief Ralph Tartaglia, Battalion Chief Jeff Beckner, Battalion Chief Teddy Adkins, Captain Werner Van Damme, Captain Chuck Swecker, 1st Lt. Tim Cady, FF/EMT-I Becky Smith and FF/EMT Jeff Oliver.

The crew departed from the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Training Center at approximately 4:30 this afternoon. They will be traveling to Birmingham, AL tonight and will be staying at a Fire Station there. The team will be deployed for approximately 18 days - 4 days of travel and 14 days of working in Louisiana. They are to report to their post by 7am on Wednesday, September 3.

This is the fourth deployment that Roanoke Fire-EMS has been on since 2005. In 2005, three separate teams were deployed to assist Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by Hurricane Gustav. Roanoke Fire-EMS is ready to assist the citizens of St. Bernard's Parrish in any way that we can during this recovery period," says Chief David Hoback.

Open Post

The Roanoke Firefighters Auxiliary Bowling Night has been canceled for this Friday and will be rescheduled.

Otherwise...OPEN POST

Someone asked me about a shirt I was wearing once. The shirt was the Roanoke Fire Blog shirt. You can purchase them here: http://www.cafepress.com/roanokefire. There are two designs. The newest is the one with the "Roanoke Fire Blog" on the front. If you have a slogan you would like to see let me know.

Upcoming Events for Roanoke's Firefighters

There are several upcoming events:

Monday, August 25th is the RFFA Business Meeting

August 29th is the next Roanoke Firefighters Auxiliary Bowling night. Event details will be announced soon. The last bowling night was a lot of fun and well attended.

On September 6th and 7th, the RFFA will have a Fill the Boot event to benefit the MDA. The event details are TBA. Contact Becky Smith or Steve McFaden for more information.

On September 11th, around a dozen Danville IAFF Local 2532 Firefighters will be making a motorcycle ride to Roanoke. They did this similar trip last year to Salem. The Firefighters are looking for a station to come visit for lunch. The Firefighters will pay for lunch, as long as your station fixes it. If your station is interested in hosting the incoming firefighters let me know and I will get you all in contact with each other to work it out. The firefighters ride up, eat lunch, hang out for a while, and then head back to Danville. There might be interest in our Firefighters riding back with them and they said they would host whoever rides for dinner.

September 11th is right around the corner. Please do not forget the sacrifice of our 343 firefighters who died on that day and the others who have died since due to service that day.

October 3-4th is the 1st Annual Fire Officer Seminar held at the Roanoke Civic Center. More information here.

Words or Actions...which is cheaper

There was an interesting comment on the last post which read something like this:

Awesome to have some good news and posts on here for a change. Great Job

I find this interesting. I don't disagree the fact that the post it refers to is good news. What I do find interesting is that so much of what is on this blog is good news. It is easier to remember the negative over the positive aspects though. I understood this early on in this blog.

The ironic twist is that commonly I speak out against Administrations "actions" and occasionally their "words".

Take for instance, the recent budget cuts. I won't name names, but certain Chiefs came around to various stations to tell us they were not in support of the cuts. They SAID they weren't. But when it came down to it their ACTIONS spoke louder and showed that the cuts were no big deal to them.

Therefore, it would have been impossible to speak about this event without being either positive or negative. Either I would have to talk about their words or actions which contradicted each other.

Furthermore, how can anyone actually be in support of the current administration? It is darn near impossible. If you support what they say, you would be pissed by their actions. If you support their actions, you would be mislead by their words.

Think about it for a minute.

Salem Firefighters Honored for Rescue

When Salem’s Swift Water Rescue team was put to the test in February of 2003, its members responded with amazing courage and humility, saying afterwards, “We were just doing our jobs.”
On that February 22nd day, team members Mike Elston, Tim Graham and Shawn Stanley knew they were in trouble when the Roanoke Valley was hit with over two inches of rain in a 24 hour period. As the rivers and streams around the area began to rise, the trio began what would eventually be a 12 hour rescue marathon.
Read More on Roanoke.com

In case my brother/sister firefighters in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, or other area want something posted on here just let me know and send in the story.

Playing the Odds Mentality

You know that mentality that our City leaders have that we can play the odds when it comes to Public Safety. We remove a truck here and move a truck there. Decrease the police officers and firefighters. Consolidate this station and that station. Then we tell everyone nothing will change. This is playing the odds.

This mentality is a lot cheaper than "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Cheaper to taxpayers, cheaper to the City. Budget cuts are in effect across the Nation. September 11th has worn off. The days of Politicians and Local Leaders realization of the need for more firefighters and more police officers is gone. Now the fight has become local. Only in the face of tragedy do things change anymore. Look at Charleston. Firefighters complained for years seeking change in their outdated system. 9 Firefighters died and suddenly everyone is opening their eyes.

Unfortunately, this playing the odds mentality has seeped into the rank and file of our department. The ideals of needing more firefighters on the trucks and more firefighters on scene have been replaced with "Who Cares" and "We have tried but cannot make a difference". Very true, we have tried to get them to listen. So far they aren't hearing it. I will be damned if I am going to give my life up because the system failed me. Don't take that the wrong way, I am still willing to risk my life for the life of another, that is what we do. However, I am not going to give my life by accepting the odds and going along with Administration.

Through this whole ordeal of budget cuts and future changes, the single most significant moment was when Chief Hoback admitted that he had not seen the Fire-EMS Budget located in the Resource Allocation Plan. That same documentation that we were told he created, one of three as a matter of fact, and our City Manager picked that one. This happened, I was there. It was a moment of clarity.

We all know who is running the department. Call it what you will and use your own analogies, but it is not safe the way things are going. We need change. We need reform.

I took a class recently at the training center. The class was offered on duty and was taught by Retired Chief Poff from Roanoke County. The class was on the art of reading smoke. This class was great. Not only did I learn a lot, but I could tell that the other firefighters with me learned a lot. The case studies on the Keokuk Iowa fire that killed 3 firefighters and the Houston McDonald's that killed 2 firefighters was especially interesting. These case studies were interesting because I remember them. The lessons learned from the fires which took these firefighters could be life saving one day.

With our current and future cuts, consolidation, disbanding of companies we are in a downward spiral. The end is nowhere in sight. We have effectively created a quint concept in some of our stations and possibly more in the future. With 3 firefighters on our rigs, this is a recipe for disaster. The one saving grace is that while we do have fires in Roanoke, we do not have many fires with people trapped. This enables us to not risk quite as much while fighting fires. We still search and are capable of rescue, we just don't have to push the envelope too far regularly. Who can forecast the future? Apparently our City leaders can. Because they continue to cut and play the odds. Just don't let that mentality get a hold of you.

Policeman VS Fireman Part 9

Fireman Jake vs Policeman Perry Part 9



Thanks for the heads up by the anonymous commenter on the new video.

Roanoke Fire Blog hits the news

Over the years, I have formed friendships and acquaintances with many journalist and bloggers. There are several who check in daily to VAFireNews.com and the Roanoke Fire Blog. Several picked up the story about the blog being banned.

View some of the stories here:

STATter 911 - a reporter with WUSA9 in D.C.
Firefighter Hourly
FireGeezer
You may have to scroll down on the blogs, the stories ran yesterday.

Station Coins

Station 9's Coin and a message from Goodo. If you have a photo of #1's coin send it in. Correct me if I am wrong, but these are considered Challenge coins aren't they.

Here is the picture of our Station 9 coin. Its the building when it opened with the old doors and no office addition. Since they are shutting it down soon we thought we should get on it now. Hopefully the other stations will see this and we can get everyone doing it. The one side is already on 1 and 9's coins. Bradbury and I hoped everyone would use the same City logo side and put there station design on the back. I would love to get 1 from every station.

Our coins are solid brass, and the cost is quickly recovered. They can call me or Bradbury and we can get them more information, or hook them up with our contact.

Thanks for putting them out there, maybe we can have a little tradition of our own started.

-Good O

Roanoke Fire Blog Banned By Chief

I guess the most interesting thing about this blog being banned by the Chief is that it is being banned right now. I have covered very interesting topics in the past that have not had the same effect. Do not misunderstand me, a ban was not my intent.

I still maintain that this blog is positive and shows the unadulterated opinion of the Firefighters of the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department. An attempt to cover up this shows that certain people have blinders on.

Not every Firefighter embraces this blog or the thoughts on the site. However, those are the ones who read it the most to see what is said next.

If you remember back to the beginning of the blog, I brought news, fires, and history to the forefront. It was only when I finally realized that I could do more with the blog that I decided to add commentary and opinion. Unfortunately, some people did not like this.

I still contend that this department needs significant change. Blocking this blog from City Computers isn't going to change anything. Similarly, nothing is going to change in the department until certain people are realize it.

One ironic twist is that the person who banned this blog is also the person so many Firefighters saw as a catalyst for change. No dice. When the sword changed hands, even he continued to slash at the morale and backbone of this department.

One thing is for sure, either I work in a make believe department or he does. The stories, comments, thoughts, and ideas I hear from our Firefighters cannot be the same that he hears.

I could talk about the positive attributes of this site and the work that I have done, but I don't do it for myself and do not need to toot my own horn. I will note one thing though. When I wrote "Firefighting in Roanoke", the book was never publicly recognized by the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department. It was at that moment that I realized I was not embraced by our management. I am not going to change to make people like me.

I have maintained that this Department is where it is at because of its Firefighters. We have created and maintained one hell of a department. Through all of the despair, cuts, poor planning, bad decision making, lack of leadership, and mismanagement we continue to do our jobs. That in itself is a tremendous accomplishment. I have not met one firefighter in our department who has not complained about current management. Yet the Management continues to cut because of arrival times, fire under control times, etc. Times that are created because we are the best. We know the territory and get there quick. We know how to fight fires and put them out quick. We know how to mediate any emergency and do it quick.

All this in the shadow of:

the IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger and International Association of Fire Chiefs President Steve Westermann signed a joint agreement yesterday at the 49th Convention to provide a framework to improve labor relations between fire fighters and the nation’s fire chiefs. This occured last week at the IAFF Convention, just days prior to the IAFC Convention our Chiefs attended. (Read more about it here)

"The Labor Management Initiative also states that labor and management must improve communications and training, and promote a relationship based on respect, trust and understanding. The LMI also calls for labor and management to find ways to identify problems and resolve disputes.

Westermann urged fire fighters and fire chiefs to work together so they can do their jobs more efficiently and more safely."

Didn't the City send some of our Chiefs to this conference?

In case you are wondering, I will not be changing the domain. You all know how to get to this site, why should I change anything. Aren't there bigger issues to deal with?

Banned

Wait for it....wait for it...wait for it...

It will be positive, professional, and warranted.

For the other media outlets, THIS web site and RoanokeFirefighters.com have been banned on Roanoke City Computers in a fit of Censorship from the Roanoke Fire-EMS Chief.