Another week of beautiful weather is behind us, not sure what’s up with all the rain…at least our fire danger level has been low. Not too much to go over this week so let’s get started.
· Ladder 134---Was placed into service this week. The “1” denotes a unique capability to the unit. In this case it means a ladder with a 1500 gpm pump, 500 gallons of water, and hose. I realize this is sacrilegious to some folks but according to apparatus manufacturers, 98% of all aerials sold in the US are quints.
· Suppression Captain promotion today---the effective date is 2-1 as it was a paperwork issue why he wasn’t promoted the first day. Congrats to Capt. Westberry!
· Graduation for our new recruits---R 213 will be having a graduation this Wednesday the 12th at 1900 hrs at FSCJ Downtown Auditorium. Then on Friday the 14th, R 114 will be graduating same place same time with their first assignments happening on Saturday. Please remember to look out for our new folks during their probation.
· FYI Thursday’s---beginning next week, I will be starting a For Your info Thursday which will be written by one of you each week. I would like to continue building off the recent near-misses such as the KFC backdraft that Chief Lewis wrote about and the Olive Garden Fire with Capt. Jolly. The idea is for our members to share current events, runs, or experiences for the betterment of the department as a whole. If you feel you have something to share, please email me and I will get out.
· RIT Training and FF Survival---Classes begin next Thursday for truck company officers. This is the next logical step in the program. Once the tests are complete, we will begin department wide training on RIT and current FF survival best practices.
· Command RIT Class—was just completed all district and battalion chiefs. Thank you to everyone who participated and to Chief McCormick for spear-heading this much needed project.
· Personal Escape Systems—on Monday, the first step in the legal process of moving $309,000 for purchasing the systems begins. The legislation gets filed on March 19th, then I have two weeks of committee meetings. If approved by Council, the project goes out to formal bid which takes about 60 days for the whole process…i.e. place the order. I’ll keep you in the loop as the project moves forward.
Tuesday was not a great day for me. That night when I got home, my wife and I watched a documentary called Murph: The Protector. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a documentary about the life of Lt. Michael Murphy, a US Navy Seal who gave his life in Afghanistan. It dawned on me when I compare my day to that of our folks serving in harm’s way, I really don’t have a lot to complain about. A book called Lone Survivor was about their ordeal and is a great read if you have some time. Thanks to Netflix for putting things back into perspective for me.
· http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLf9kQEwG9E
Time to give some thanks to our brave men and women on the JFRD.
· W3 FD 07 at 2052 W 17th. St…
· MCI FD 50 at 13740 Beach Bv.
· W3 FD 18 at 1965 Erline Dr.
· W3 FD 36 at 4413 Roth Dr.
· W3 FD 14 at 4526 Blackburn St
· W3 FD 21 at 7147 Old Kings Rd
· And to all the hundreds of other calls you responded to this week.
· To Lt. McGill who is hand-making bracing struts for our truck companies and heavy engines; pretty cool stuff. A savings of over 30K for our department!
· To everyone at TSF trying to keep up with the work….Currently we are down 3 mechanics.
· To everyone that comes to work and moves our mission forward; many a times it’s not a very easy task.
Also wanted to congratulate all of our new Prevention Lieutenants!!!! Job well done.
Well that’s it for this WIR. They say sunshine is coming this weekend, but I won’t hold my breath. I hope everyone gets to spend some time for yourself this weekend and you I hope you spend it with family and friends. May you never take up the task of remodeling your master bathroom….not really sure what I was thinking, but it sounded good at the time.
Please continue to have our members in your thoughts and prayers as a few are truly having a hard time.
Keep your head up and know what you do is noble as there is no higher calling than that of a firefighter.
As always, we thank you for what you do, why you do it, and for always showing why, you are the Best Fire Rescue Department in the Country!
Very respectfully, and very proud of you….
Kurtis R. Wilson
Chief of Operations