Monday, March 30, 2009

Car Vs. Garage in NW

On Saturday, the shift began w/ a DOA w/ E6 & M6. Later in the afternoon, E5,E9,M9,RS1 were sent to the 1600 Block of Orange AV NW for a car into a building. It was determined once units were on scene that no injuries were found, but that the small garage would need to be shored up so that the owners could remove a vehicle before it collapsed. Pictured below are some of the pictures taken by a set of free hands. The rest of the shift was fairly slow for the Engine, however the Medic unit was up most of the night.

Ladder 1 arriving

Upon arrival of E5, there crews placed the Rescue Jacks for temporary stabilization.

One of the questions raised was whether a raker shore would be needed on this wall that appeared to be displaced. It was later discovered that the greater need was on the other wall due to the wall being seperated from the foundation.


Two-Post vertical shore put in place by crews of the HTR team.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Slow in the East

We are well into our second day of the cycle and things have been slow for the Engine and steady for the Medic truck both days. Nothing really great or interesting to report,,,,wait, the city finally finished paving the drivway in the curve where back in the middle of September they tore up the old pavement and put concrete down. Budget cuts I guess is what took them so long.

If anything else happens that may be worthy of posting, I will be back on and post it.

Be safe and stay in da house!!!!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Abnormal Saturday in The East

Saturday began as a non-typical day here at #6. Everyone knows the routine in the fire service on the weekends around here (breakfast, washout, & down time after noon); not the case on Saturday. Due to our yearly entry requirments for confined space, breakfast was eaten @ Erny's. If you haven't eaten here, it's a fine establishment downtown next to Sams on the market. After that, we headed over to the training center to provide equipment for the yearly entries. Personnel from stations 1,2,5,6,7 took part in the training. After crews were done w/ the training everything was put back in to service. The rest of the evening was spent gathered around the radio listening to our fellow brothers in NW fighting what sounded like a good burner. Best of luck to our two brothers that sustained minor injuries, get well soon guys. The engine crew ran a few EMS runs & the medic unit paid for being out-of-service for the majority of the day. The medic unit totaled six runs w/ three of them being after midnight. Below are some shots caught @ the yearly entry training. So long till next time!

Capt. Swecker coming out of a tight squeeze


The good son on the comm. lines


Big Trav on the comm. lines w/ FF Peay & 1st Lt Alford going in the hole.

HTR 6 showin' her guts


The good son (FF Wray) assisting w/ getting everything ready for entry.




























Friday, March 20, 2009

OK, gonna try this blogging stuff for the first time seein as the overseer of our blog has given me the correct codes to enter data and pics.

Let me say that I am really glad that "HELL WEEK" is almost over and we all cannot wait for a 4-day break and one of us is gettin a 13-dayer. For those that do not know, Hell week is workin the job on a Monday, Wednesday & Friday. The first day started with a rip roaring school bus fire, them IMS training and the week just has not slowed down. Wednesday I spent time runnin around the city doin air pak stuff and working on the dieasel exhaust system on L-13. Thanks go out to FF Fleming for rewiring the transciever on L-13. We had an HTR drill (see the Misfits blog for pictures and info). Then came today, not only did we have the ussual morning chores and apparatus checks, but the Medic and Engine had to be checked over for state recert of our EMS license. Then we reported to # 1 to recieve a new 2 1/2 fixed gallonage nozzle to replace the one on the rear pre-connect.



Then it was off to the store for grub for the day, rush back to the station, fix lunch, eat, run a fire call that turned out to be mulch on fire then an EMS call. We then decided to try the new nozzle out and see what it was made of. This is a breakaway nozzle that has two turn offs on it, one on the body and the other on the nozzle. Be aware that we found that while crawling forward, the nozzle will rotate to the off position. I am sure there will be more info forth coming on the operation of this new nozzle.
This picture shows the Captain backing the rookie up so the nozzle does not keep pushing him backwards.

In ths picture the Captain is showing the rookie how to handle the nozzle properly. Notice the Captain needs no back up!!!
The Engine & Medic have been steady this evening but we are hoping for a slow night. The weather looks great for the weekend, come on 4-day.









Thursday, March 19, 2009

Bus Fire Monday the 17th

At 08:07 Engine 6 was toned out for a school bus on fire in the 600 block of Morrill AV SE. Capt. Mutter requested the Medic unit to respond with us. Just before turning onto Buena Vista we noticed a large column of black smoke. E-6 & M-6 arrived to find the bus fully involved. Attack was made initially with the 100 ft 1 ¾ trash line with an additional 1 ¾ cross lay pulled to assist in the attack. A hydrant supply was established due to the amount of fire and size of the bus. The guys made a quick knockdown of the job and within a few minutes the fire was under control. This bus is for transporting handicapped students. The lucky part is only 1 student was on the bus at the time of blaze, but just minutes before the driver had dropped off 16 children. I dare to say by the amount of fire we had upon arrival and the short time it took to get there, if there had been a lot of children on the bus, we could have had multiple injuries if not fatalities. Most of the hose on the ground was covered in some type of oily mess and had to be sent to the wash bay at the garage and man did they do a top notch job of cleaning it up, it almost looks new.
Story by Baron Gibson
Photos courtesy of Tiffany Bradbury






Thursday, March 12, 2009

A Slow Day in The East



Tuesday proved to be a slow day all around in Southeast. Both the Engine & Medic were slow before lunch, running only two runs for the medic unit before lunch & one EMS run for the engine. During the afternoon, both units were OOS for the suspended ceilings class put on by Rke County Retired BC Poff. This was a very informative class on the hidden risks of suspended ceilings that alot of us hadn't thought about. One of the main concerns during the practical part of the class was the discussion of what was the best tool to carry to cut the tracts, metal wires that suspended the ceiling, & anything that may entangle a fireman during a collapse. The two hand tools that performed the best, of course w/ a little muscle applied to it, was the tin snips & cable cutters. Both had downfalls & the brilliant mastermind FF Kincer came up w/ a hybrid tool that would be "the perfect tool" for freeing yourself from a suspended ceiling. Good luck Barry w/ the fabrication. After class was over, things went into low gear w/ the Engine running one EMS run at night, & the medic unit ran five more. Medic 1 was later dispatched to the church fire in Vinton for a firfighter injury, due to Medic 6 being on an ABD pain at the Mission. Set aside from the Service Truck going to the northside to provide air bottles after a small room & contents, both units slept all night. Until next time...

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Two-Banger for C-Shift

On 3/2 C-Shift managed to catch two working fires in the East. The first, just a small chimney fire that extended into the walls of the structure. The second on 18th St. around 2200 appeared to have a little more to it. The following write-ups & pics were courtesy of Lt. Gibson.

At 13:09 hrs E-6, E-11, L-1, M-6, BC-1 & RS-1 were dispatched to the 900 block of Moorehead Ave. for a Flu fire. E-6 arrived to find nothing showing from the outside but found the flu on fire on the first floor behind the wood stove. An 1 3/4 line was stretched but not charged and the manifold was placed in the street should water supply be needed. Crews worked to get the fire out quickly and to remove the contents of the stove. Fire did not spread and we all came home safe. E-6 also responded to Berkshire Nursing Home to back up Vinton FD for an automated alarm activation. Upon arrival E-6 took water supply and was cleared after about five minutes. M-6 has been steady most of the day.



The second fire was around 2200, here is the following from C-Shift: At 22:09 station 6 was notified of a structure fire in the 500 block of 18th st. SE. E-6, E-11, L-1, M-6, RS-1 & BC-1 were dispatched. M-6 was returning from the hospital and arrived on scene to find a two story structure with heavy smoke showing from Alpha side and advised dispatch of the working fire. Upon arrival E-6 took their water supply with them with the help of M-6 connecting the hydrant for us. E-6 gave a size up and began stretching an 1 3/4 line into the structure and made a fast and aggresive attack on the fire (it was the rookies first nozzle job and he did ok) that was located in an upstairs bedroom. A second 1 3/4 was stretched as back up but was never charged. Cause of fire appears to be electrical, but is still under investigation. It was very cold water began freezing quickly but we never experienced any problems with the cold temps. A cat was found under and behind a couch on the first floor after the fire much to the delight of the owners. No one else was hurt and we all came home from the working fire at apprx. 23:50hrs.