Kazim Shriners

Hey all, I totally dropped the ball on this story below. I apologize to the guys involved that I left it off the site for so long. The truth is that I get around 50 emails a day (after the spam filter). So if I forget to go back and mark it as unread it just falls to the bottom. I usually catch this sort of thing and post it, but this one fell through the cracks. I will post the story unadulterated. The story was submitted by Captain Willie Wines Jr.

October 6, 2007

Rhett,

With so many negative things happening around the Department this week, I thought I’d share a more positive story with you. We had a visitor at station #9 last week by Roy Lane. Roy belongs to the Kazim Temple’s Fire Brigade here in Roanoke. He told us a story of the Lexington, Va. Fire Department donating an Engine to the Temple. He said the guys of the Brigade worked endlessly to refurbish the Engine and had it in great condition. He was really excited to tell of how Captain Brown’s men ( Roanoke Fire / EMS Station #1-C ) had donated some 2 ½ hose and even went as far to load it into the bed for them. He continued to detail their work and said all they really lacked was to find some axes for the holders already mounted on the Engine. Roy and I know each other pretty well, so he knows I have a pretty large collection of Fire equipment etc. and thought I may have an axe or know where to get one. He also knows me well enough to know that my dad was once a volunteer Firefighter for Lexington (before being hired here in 1971) and knew I may have an interest in participating. Well, in particular, he was looking for a flat head axe, feeling it would be safer for the kids that often climb on and play around their equipment. Well, as my luck runs, of all the axes in my collection, none are flat head. So, I contacted Vince Stover at Fire Administration to see if he could help. Vince was happy to help and even offered to donate a new axe from our supply closet. That’s the good news, the bad? We only have fiberglass-handled axes and we just didn’t think that would be a good fit for antique apparatus. So, more calls were made. We contacted Chief Adkins at RTC to see if he had any wooden handle flat heads and as unbelievable as it is, he didn’t. Not to be stonewalled, we kept searching and were finally able to locate 2 axes on Reserve Engines (904 @ #10, and 901 @ #14). The Officers at both stations had the axes sent to # 9 where my guys worked most of the day refinishing and painting them. Lt. Richard Alley led the work and despite my opinion being biased, they turned out GREAT. Well, the timing was perfect because the Brigade was heading to Lexington this morning in that Engine to lead in a Parade. They left a few minutes early to stop by our station and thank the guys for their work and allow us to present them with the refurbished axes. The ironic thing here is that they wanted to thank us, yet they are the ones deserving the thanks for all they do! My hat is off to them and all who helped in this project (Roanoke Fire / EMS Dept., Vince Stover, Chief Teddy Adkins, Captain R.T. Flora, Lt. Stacy Booth, and the men from stations #1, and #9 C-shift).

In closing, I would encourage everyone to stop by the Shriner’s building (located on Rorer Ave behind the old # 3) to look at the Antique Fire apparatus they have. They have a really neat Ladder Truck, complete with wooden ladders that even have American LaFrance carved into them. Better yet, sign on to help these guys out in a really deserving cause.

Fraternally,
W.W. Wines Jr.
Captain, # 9-C

Smokey Shelton

Read the letter below regarding Smokey Shelton -

The Shelton Family would appreciate anyone who might have a few minutes to spare to come to the Roanoke City Courthouse on December 13th at 2pm on the third floor to help us support Smokey Shelton in the sentencing hearing for the individual who attacked him in his home and stabbed him 6 times and cut his throat. The Court Representative advised us that the more people we can get in the Court Room the better chance he will receive a sentence that he deserves for the attack on my Dad (Smokey). We would again like to thank all the people for their support during a time we needed it the most. Again please help us get this man off our streets so no other family will have to go through the situation our family had to endure. Again thank you all.

Lt. K.W. Shelton

Promotions

I noticed that today was a lot busier traffic on the Roanoke Fire Blog than usual. I figure it is because you guys are looking for who got promoted maybe. I know that unofficial word is circulating the department. Maybe the memo listing the promotions is lost with the memo announcing the promotions (was I the only one to notice that there wasn't any notice?). Anyways, I don't want to hurt anyones feelings if I am wrong so I won't list the unofficial list of promotions.

The promotions are official:

Captains
Clayton Martin
Phil Dillon

1st Lt.
Ellen Bender
Clarence Turpin

Lt.
Robert Reid
Dan Goodwin
Greg McCoy
Brian Adkins

Congratulations to all.

Danville Fire Blog

Hey guys, the Danville Firefighters are having a blast with their new blog. Ken Jones, whom I have hung out with through VPFF and IAFF functions, recently bet another firefighter $20 to dance for 10 seconds. Through a little coercion, the firefighter finally takes the bet. Check it out here: http://www.danvillefirefighters.blogspot.com/. Also there is another hilarious video they link to from The Bravest Online.

Firefighters get together before the Brad Paisley Concert

This past weekend, several firefighters got together at Logan's Roadhouse to enjoy a meal before going to the Brad Paisley Concert. The firefighters received tickets to the concert for free. Roanoke Fire-EMS was given a bunch of tickets, which they distributed on a first call basis. I am not sure how many tickets there were available, but I do know that several firefighters were able to go. While I did not go to the concert, it seems as though everyone had a great time.

Left to right are: Back row: Matt Wheeling, guest of Travis Meador, Travis Meador, Willie Wines Jr., Scott Boone, Ben O'Baugh. Front Row: Wheelings Guest, Randi Wines, Reba Wines, Robin Wines, Boone's Wife, Rhett Fleitz. I apologize for not remember the guests/wives/girlfriends names.

Engine 9 A-shift makes a save on Milton Street

On November 3, 2007, at 17:53, Engine 9, Engine 5, Ladder 13, Medic 2, Medic 101, Battalion Chief 2, and RS1 received a call for a structure fire at 605 Milton Street Northwest. Engine 9 arrived at 17:56 hours to find heavy smoke showing from all sides of the dwelling.

Firefighter Jerry Franks started a primary search and found a victim in the hallway just outside the bedroom where the fire was located. This patient was found unconscious and barely breathing. Firefighter Franks with the assistance of Captain Kevin Weeks removed the patient from the heavily smoked structure to the front yard where the patients care was transferred to Firefighter Duane Noell. At this time, the appropriate care was rendered to the victim until the arrival of Medic 101. The patient suffered moderate smoke inhalation with burns to one leg. The patient is expected to make a full recovery.

After removal of the patient, crews from Engine 9 remade entry into the structure with members from Engine 5 to extinguish the fire. The fire was quickly knocked down and under control by the units on scene at 18:07 hours.

Quick actions and decisive decision making by the first arriving company not only prevented further injury to the patient, but was most certainly the decision that saved the patients life. On top of saving the patient, the crew also played a big role in stopping the damage that the fire would have caused if not attended to in such a timely manner.

A congratulations is in order to the members of Engine 9 for the roles that they played in the rescue and extinguishing of the fire.

The account above was written by Firefighter Duane Noell. The interpretation exemplifies how teamwork accomplished the save and further extinguished the fire. I commend all units on scene for the job they did. While I have been on numerous fires, I have not been a part of a viable rescue from a fire.

I apologize for not getting to this story earlier. However, the press release that was given did not talk about the rescue, and I only learned about this a couple of days ago. In the future, if you guys have a story/incident to share, be sure to let me know about it.

Good job guys/gals. Below is the press release from the fire.

On November 3, 2007, Roanoke Fire-EMS responded to a fire at 605 Milton St. The call came into the E-911 Center at approximately 5:53 p.m. The response of 3 engines, 1 ladder truck, 3 medic units, the EMS Captain, the Investigation Unit and a Battalion Chief for a total of 21 personnel responded to the scene. The fire was under control by 6:07 p.m.

When crews arrived they found heavy smoke coming from all sides of the building. One of the occupants stated someone was still inside. Crews gained entrance and assisted an occupant from the home. The fire was quickly extinguished.

There were 2 people in the house when the fire started. They were helped out of the house by Fire-EMS personnel and transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation. There were no injuries to Fire-EMS personnel.

The fire started in a bedroom and was contained to the house. The house sustained some heavy smoke damage. The cause of the fire was due to a match being accidentally dropped on the bed. Damage estimates are approximately $18,000.

Robert Guthrie celebrates his 80th Birthday

Retired Captain Robert Guthrie celebrated his 80th birthday today at Saint Timothy Lutheran Church. His family threw a small celebration to mark the milestone. His birthday is actually on November 13th, although they celebrated it today.

Captain Guthrie has been a source of a lot of historic information during my quest to learn as much as possible about the Department. Thanks to FF Barry Kincer for the pictures.

Boston's Fire Trail: A Walk through the City's Fire and Firefighting History

I received the news about this new book about Boston's Fire History. I have enjoyed reading about the rich history the City has to offer. I have read two other books by Stephanie Schorow related to Boston's Fire History.

I suggest you check it out.

Purchase it here and read the information on the book below.

The History Press Releases
Boston's Fire Trail: A Walk through the City's Fire and Firefighting History
By The Boston Fire Historical Society

BOSTON: From the Cocoanut Grove nightclub disaster to the Vendome Hotel tragedy, Boston has been singed by a string of unforgettable fires that have torched more than a thousand buildings and burned through the city center more than a dozen times. In the new book Boston's Fire Trail: A Walk through the City's Fire and Firefighting History, author Stephanie Schorow and members of the Boston Fire Historical Society trace the history of fire in the Hub, and create an intriguing retrospective of this compelling facet of the city's past. The book- and how it came to be published-would make for a timely and significant feature.

To mark the release of Boston's Fire Trail, a public reception will be held at the South Boston Branch Library, 646 East Broadway, Boston, on Wednesday, November 28 from 6-8 p.m. This event coincides with the 65th anniversary of the infamous Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire of November 28, 1942, in which nearly 500 people died.

Since the massive Great Boston Fire of 1872, which destroyed almost eight hundred buildings in the heart of downtown, fire has irrevocably altered the city's appearance, fortunes and psyche. The recent tragic deaths of two firefighters in West Roxbury have, once again, focused the city's attention on the risks faced by firefighters and controversial issues regarding public safety. Such controversy is, however, nothing new in the long, colorful and significant history of the Boston Fire Department, as Boston's Fire Trail makes clear.

Arson, accident and human courage-all are depicted, along with historic details of the circumstances, locations and impact of more than forty-five fires throughout Greater Boston. By following Boston's Fire Trail, readers will witness the greatest fires in Boston history firsthand, experience the perils each fire presented, and discover a Boston few now know existed.

To request a review copy, contact Katie Parry. Members of the Boston Fire Historical Society are also available to talk about the impact of fire in the city's history.

Additional book signings will be held at the Barnes & Noble, 800 Boylston St. (Prudential Center) in Boston on December 5 at 12 p.m. and at the Barnes & Noble, 96 Derby St., Hingham, Mass., on December 8 at 12 p.m.

The Boston Fire Historical Society (BFHS) was founded as a Massachusetts non-profit corporation in 2006. Currently it consists of a nine-person Board of Directors whose purpose is the preservation and interpretation of the history of the Boston Fire Department.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Paul A. Christian retired as Fire Commissioner/Chief of Department of the Boston Fire Department on February 15, 2006 following a 38-year career. Appointed to the Boston Fire Department in January 1968, Christian has held all ranks in the organization and achieved the rank of Deputy Fire Chief earlier in his career than any member in the department's history. He was awarded the department's Roll of Merit and Distinguished Service Award for rescues performed in 1971 and 1972.

Theodore Gerber is an independent insurance and investment broker living in Somerville. Born and raised in Boston, he developed at an early age an admiration for the skill and bravery of the Boston Fire Department and later, an appreciation of the department's history. He is a member of various fire service support organizations, a past chairman of the Boston Fire Museum, and founder and President of the Boston Fire Historical Society. He is also a former U.S. Army captain and combat veteran.

Michael W. Gerry, a Braintree resident, is treasurer of the Boston Fire Historical Society and dispatcher for the Massachusetts State Police Troop E. He is a fire historian and a past president of both the Boston Sparks Association and the Boston Fire Museum. He is a veteran of submarine service in the U.S. Navy and a grandson of a late Quincy, Mass., fire department lieutenant.

William T. Murray was born and raised in Boston and currently lives in the Hyde Park district. He is the retired Director of Fire Safety/Emergency Management for the Boston Public Schools, Chief Master Sergeant, Military Fire Chief, 102nd CES, Otis ANGB, of Cape Cod (retired) and has been affiliated with several organizations that support the Boston Fire Department.

Bill Noonan has been a firefighter with the Boston Fire Department since 1971, when he was appointed to Engine Company 3 in the South End. He eventually transferred to the Fire Prevention Division as a department photographer. He has authored four photo books: Flames & Faces: A Photographic Essay of the Boston Fire Department (2004) Wooden Sticks and Iron Men (2000), Jakes Under Fire (1997), and Smoke Showin' (1984). He is a U.S. Army veteran, who served one year in Saigon, South Vietnam.

Stephanie Schorow is a writer and reporter living in Medford. She is the author of Boston on Fire: A History of Firefighting in Boston and The Cocoanut Grove Fire. Her newest book, The Crime of the Century: How the Brink's Robbers Stole Millions and the Hearts of Boston will be published in February by Commonwealth Editions.

James Teed, a lifelong Boston area resident, was a member of the Boston Fire Department from 1970 to 1999. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1976. He has been interested in fire history his entire adult life.

A portion of this book's proceeds go to the Boston Fire Historical Society.

Roanoke Firefighters in the News

Local Heroes Receive Awards

WSLS NewsChannel 10
Nov 7, 2007

The Roanoke Kiwanis Club recognized four Roanoke Fire-EMS workers for their heroic deeds. David Lucas, Jeff Proulx, Alan Mitchell and Adam Fleming came to the rescue when an ambulance burst into flames at the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital last June.

Proulx said, "As soon as they pulled in, you could just hear a loud, bang, explosion. Turned around and the back doors were opening up, and you could just see smoke coming out."

Read the entire article

The news coverage of the awards was great. All four firefighters were interviewed at the old station 1 did a great job on camera.


Elsewhere,

Captain Willie Wines Jr. wrote an article that I think all of you should read. It is up on VAFireNews.com and the direct link is here.

This is an excerpt:

Today, despite all we’ve learned and all our advancements, we are still killing firemen due to temporal distortion, reluctance to relinquish control of ones situation, channeled attention, loss of situational awareness, fear of the unknown, fear of retribution, lack of procedural knowledge, attempting to fix the problem, pride or denial. What makes this problem even worse is the fact that situations constituting a MAYDAY have expanded as well (or these situations just haven’t been seen as MAYDAYs all along). My Department was very recently hit with the tragic loss of a young Captain....

Read the entire article

Lastly,

Engine 13 and 5, Medic 4, and RS-1 ran an overturned vehicle yesterday. Click the picture for the story.

Engine 5 takes a break...and I will probably end up broke

Check this out from E-5. Apparently, they took a few minutes to have some fun this evening. That is all I am going to say about it. Use your interpretation. Meanwhile, I will be hiding under a rock.

Heartache

A few very well written words about firefighters

Rarely Forgotten, Always Respected

Every fire department has it's legends. Chief among them is the firefighter who stood up for what was right despite the cost in personal stature or promotion. When talking about these people firefighters smile because these people are the bedrock on which any department is built.

Read the rest of the post on Firefighter Hourly here
Sorry, I put up a bad link, however I have corrected it.

Roanoke Recruit School Vent Class

Roanoke Recruit School Vent Class pictures thanks to Firefighter Dan Goodwin.

Click Image to see more.

Help at Bennington's House this weekend

Jeremy is looking for help this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I will be going out on Saturday to help. We are working on trim work inside and outside currently as well as hanging doors and numerous other things around the house. If you can help, call me at 540-537-8158 to make sure what time guys are working. There is a map below to Bennington's house.

VPFF and Local 1132 endorsements

I have been hanging around the house today fielding phone calls from politicians hoping to win in the November 6th elections. I just had some guys from the AFL-CIO come by the house to talk about a candidate. I will be posting the endorsed candidates from the VPFF and Local 1132 tomorrow hopefully. This will help you in deciding on November 6th.

Even if you do not vote for the endorsed/suggested candidate, I advise you to at least go and vote. It is up to you to vote to make a difference whichever what you see fit.

The link to the Local 1132 website is here.

Another Milestone for Local 1132

Did you know that IAFF Local 1132 (Roanoke Fire Fighters Association) runs a nearly complete listing of IAFF Locals call the IAFF Locals Listing (http://www.IAFFLocals.com). If you didn't, now you do.

I digress...I realized today that the IAFF Locals List has achieved excellent status on Google. That is right. If you search google for "IAFF", with or without the qoutation marks, that the website is #2 just behind the IAFF website (http://www.IAFF.org). Let me just say that it has taken about a year and a half to reach this status.

I just thought I would pass along the news. You can view the search here.

By the way, we get about 10 additions each week for the site and I update it about once a week.

Roanoke's Firefighters keep it REAL

Today, VentEnterSearch.com posted a story by Captain Willie Wines Jr. about a call that Engine 9 ran recently. Check it out here.

Also, Firefighter Travis Collins had another article published in Virginia Fire News Magazine. Tiffany Bradbury also had a story about Roanoke Fire-EMS Accredidation. Brad Creasy, a long time writer for the mag also had a couple of articles from over in town Bedford.

Keep up the good work.

Virginia Fire News Magazine does not have a website, although you can view the information on the mag and get a subscription here.

IAFF Pumpkin and Pumpkins at Station 9

Travis Collins created an IAFF Pumpkin and Station 9 created a Medic and Engine Pumpkin for their station.

Check them out here.

Artists video rendering of an FDNY Firefighter

This is a pretty cool video of an artist creating an awesome painting. Thanks to Scott Fritz for the heads up on this.

Blitz attack on Bennington's House

This Thursday and Friday, October 25th and 26th, Firefighters will be working at Bennington's house. If you would like to help, please show up or contact Captain Willie Wines Jr. at #9 tomorrow to work on Thursday, and Captain Todd Stone at #1 today or Wednesday to help on Friday.

It is reported that News Channel 10 will be there on one of the two days to do a story on how the Firefighters are helping Jeremy finish his house. It would be great to see a lot of firefighters out there. Somebody please take some pictures.

You do not have to be skilled in a trade to help. Some of the work that will be getting done is building the garage (remember it is a log home and log garage), hard wood flooring installed, trim work inside and outside, as well as numerous other odd jobs here and there.

Jeremy appreciates all of the help he has gotten to this point. I believe that if we have enough people on these two days, we will be able to complete the job by November 11th.

Todd Reighley wrote:
If you can figure it I will cover lunch and drinks for both days. Don’t know if the union would authorize use of a credit card and I can cut a reimbursement check or If you can find one central lunch provider, I can call in and cover it with my CC. I would come out and throw down, but the 6,800 miles is a bit of a commute. Plus I wouldn’t make it back in time for morning roll call. Let me know what you figure out, I would like to lend a hand and thank the guys for pitching in.

So you guys work it out and get back to Todd.
Meanwhile, I am on vacation, out of town. If you need me, email me.

Thanks

Staffing in Roanoke Part III

This post is just for a little clarification as well as some "case and point" examples for the nay-sayers and those who wanted examples.

First of all, Jay at Firefighter Hourly.com has talked about the two part (now three) post on staffing in Roanoke. Check out the post here and the podcast here. FireGeezer also covered the story here.

I believe that Jay understood me exactly, and in talking to many firefighters I believe that I got the point across. However, there are plenty of firefighters who still don't think it is a big deal to simply mark trucks out of service for long periods of time for any reason at all.

I did not realize that my point would be proven so quickly, but yesterday was a perfect example of what I meant. Yesterday, Engine 2, Engine 3, Quint 7, and Medic 7 were reported to be out of service from 0800 - 1700 hours (8am til 5pm). That meant that at station 2 we were left with ladder 2 and medic 2, at station 13 we were left with ladder 13, and at station 7 we were left with NOTHING.

The interesting thing is that the neighborhood groups around station 7 were told that their service would not be changed (to which there was a collective laugh by the firefighters). If indeed engine 7 was still in service, one of the trucks would have remained in service (I should hope).

I can't make this stuff up.

As for solutions. Well I have been working on solutions for all of this including the medic thingy. Sure, they are my ideas or that of the firefighters which I believe will work. Of course, all of it costs money. If it didn't cost money, we wouldn't be working the way we do.