Greetings from the 3^rd floor and I hope everyone is having a good week. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and before you know it, Christmas and New Year’s Eve will be upon us. Not a whole lot to go over this week so let’s hit the good stuff.

• USAR K-9 Re-Certs---this past weekend, Capt. Steve Riska and Capt. Roy Hall traveled to Dawsonville, GA for testing of Jade and Duke, two of our USAR K-9’s. In order to be certified for deployment, each USAR K-9 must be re-tested as a FEMA Type II canine every two years. I’m proud to say, of the three dogs that passed, Jade and Duke were 2! Congrats to Jade and her handler, Capt. Riska, and Duke with Capt. Hall. It’s a true testament to the skill, training, and love they share for our four-legged JFRD members.

• New Recruits---36 new recruits started this week and will begin their weekend riding time tomorrow and Sunday. They will report to Fire 1 and Fire 5 in the mornings and transfer out from there. Please have patience if they are a little late (close to 0800) as they will be leaving station 1 and 10 in the morning. (0715-0730)

• New Engine bids--are complete and Pierce won the contract. It is a one year contract with the option to renew for 3 years. Look for the next generation pumper to arrive in August / September. Congratulations to everyone on the Apparatus Committee as you all put together a great new pumper!

• New Rescue Specs—are working their way through Procurement and Legal now and should be out soon.

• Captain Position at TSF—Capt. Keith Powers, E24B, will be taking over the position being vacated by a retiring Capt. Norris. He will be TA’d in December to begin the transition. We all know the knowledge and experience Captain Powers will bring to this position we look forward to this valuable addition to Tact Support!

• Transfer Bulletin—will be out today…mostly all the engineers shuffling from the Rescue Lt. List. The next large round of openings will occur with the January DROP and new station 62 openings (the openings left by others). Look for the advertisements in about 6 weeks.

• Captains Suppression Test---congratulations to everyone who took the test on Monday. Cost of the test? Not shaving for 2 months--$10.00 in razors and looking like Willie Robertson (Duck Dynasty), Study material--$500.00, Returning to a normal life—Priceless. So true.

Time to remember one of our fallen firefighters: Asst. Fire Chief James R. Romedy

Dec. 29, 1963

Asst. Fire Chief James R. Romedy died of a heart attack while attempting to rescue trapped guests from the 10th and 11th floors during the Roosevelt Hotel fire. Twenty-one guests died in Jacksonville's deadliest fire, while 479 were rescued from the smoke-filled hotel.

• The Roosevelt Hotel Fire, on December 29, 1963, was the worst fire that Jacksonville, Florida, had seen since the Great Fire of 1901, and it contributed to the worst one-day death toll in our history: twenty-one people died, mostly from carbon-monoxide poisoning.

Time to give some thanks…

• Yesterday, JFRD HQ had its annual Pot-Luck Thanksgiving Day lunch. Everyone either chipped in or brought a dish to share. The food and the comradery were a nice change from the daily grind. I would like to give a thanks to everyone who cooked, and for those of us who can’t, thank you for the $. Special thanks to Angel Franklin, Diana Curlin and Mai Quan for setting up and breaking down all the stuff after.
• To the Training Academy Staff as this week marks a new class of 36. We all remember going through the Academy but few have actually been there behind the scenes making it work seamlessly. The fact they make it look easy, tells you there is a lot of work they are doing. Thank you…

Well that’s it for this short WIR. Please remember to keep an eye on our new folks this weekend as fire season is definitely here. Please keep your thoughts and prayers as we have some members going through some pretty tough times.

As always, we thank you for what you do (making Jacksonville better), why you do it (it’s a calling), and for always showing why you are the best Fire Department in the Country!

Very Respectfully,