Greetings everyone, I hope this email finds you exhausted
from a great day! Unbelievable turnout, pride, and honor for our fallen
firefighters. I have more thanks this week than information, so let’s
begin…
- Sea of Blue—unbelievable….I will not do it
justice writing about it in an email. You have to be there to feel the way
I do know. Next year will be bigger and better and we will be discussing
ways to make it better for the marchers…over 500 showed up which is
fantastic! We honored our fallen today and for heir sacrifices. For what
it’s worth, the JFRD today is better than it was yesterday for the
sacrifices of those 500 (and the ones at work) who showed up today. This
will go down as one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
- Capt. Ken Middleton and Eng. Tony (Tbone) Ragans—are
retiring their Honor Guard duties today. They both have 25 years each
serving as members of our Honor Guard. This means at nearly every funeral,
LODD, ceremony, and other events, they took time out to protect the honor
and integrity of our department and our nation’s flag. If you have attended
a funeral with their presence, you know this is no easy task. While others
are free to cry and share stories, they must stand guard and protect the
fallen and then keep all of us in order after the event.
Attached is a letter from
Tbone and in it he thanks us. On behalf of the whole department and the
families of the fallen, we thank you and Capt. Middleton as you both are a
truth class act and two of our best!
- New Rescues—will be here in November, all of
them. Attached is a small video clip of the lights flashing. A 24” light
bar will be mounted at TSF once they get here. We place the order for the
next ten next week.
SEE THE VIDEO
- New engines—4 will be delivered next week and
training will begin for all 8 companies ASAP. The other four will be ready
for final in November. The PO has been issued for the next 24 pumpers and
we will be placing the order on Monday. Look for delivery of those around
May, June, July (8 per month)
- New Ribbons—are very cool. What a great way to
recognize your career accomplishments, certifications, and degrees.
Attached is Lt. Todd Smith’s rack (no laughing)…I think my new nickname for
him is going to be the General!!! All joking aside, that really is an
amazing story to tell on your uniform. Thank you to Capt. Bilodeau E-55 for
suggesting it (the ribbons) to us!!!
![](2014_07_25/Ribbons2_small.jpg)
- Food for thought—How about an annual Fireman’s
Ball? Formal event, evening gowns for the ladies, Class A’s for the gents,
and a good time for all….somewhere nice, somewhere fun, just somewhere…
Now let’s see some of the runs you’ve gone on this week:
- FD28 TRAFFIC ACCIDENT MCI LEVEL ONE 6 PATIENTS.. BEACH
BLVD/GROVE PARK TGB1...MMJ
- FD2 CUT GAS LINE UNKNOWN SIZE..1525 N. LIBERTY ST.
TGB1
- Traffic Accident/Extrication/1 trapped/FD51/S Old
Kings Rd & Sunbeam Rd./TGB1/End
- FD36 CSX REPORTS LOCOMOTIVE FIRE WITH 3200 GALLONS OF
FUEL 3570 CLIFFORD LN.TGB1..MMJ
- FD31 W3 STRUCTURE FIRE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE
ABANDONED HOME 8442 NOROAD RD...TGB1
- Apt structure fire/W3/FD50/3601 S Kernan Blvd./The
District/TGB1/End
- W3 DETACHED GARAGE STRUCTURE FIRE FD23 2929 IROQUOIS
AVE...TGB1
- W3/ OAKWOOD VILLAGE APT 274/ 8201 KONA AVE/ TGB1/END/JLC
- FD21 ONE TRAPPED TRAFFIC ACCIDENT ST AUGUSTINE/
ALVARADO...TGB1
- FD11 ONE TRAPPED FROM TRAFFIC ACCIDENT E.8TH AND
HAINES...TGB1
- Structure Fire/Northside Generating Facility/FD48/4377
Heckscher Dr./W3/12 primary units on scene/TGB1
- Structure Fire/2nd alarm/FD48/4377 Heckscher Dr./ JEA
Northside Generating Facility/TGB1
- Structure Fire/3rd alarm/FD48/4377 Heckscher Dr./ JEA
Northside Generating Facility/TGB1
Time to give some thanks…
- To all of you that showed up today and to everyone who
purchased Class A uniforms. That was a class act!!!
- I know it seems easy, get on a bus and walk 1.4
miles but the amount of work behind the scenes was a monumental
undertaking. An incident management team has been meeting for three
months every other week and for the last month, once a week to iron out
the details. From liaising with businesses and public relations (John
Bracey, Tom Francis, and Cindy Davis) to lining up awesome food (thanks
to our Union!!!) and transportation along with other logistical items
(Capt. John Long) to Pam Ramsdell, Percy Golden and Chris McKeown lining
up the Honor Guard and Pipes & Drums, not just from our department but
from many others as well. Capt. Ray Lutzen and his push to get
everyone sized and orders placed for coats to Capt. Scott Jacobs who was
able to help get the word out. Putting an Incident Action Plan together
requires a great planner and we had one with Laura Black assigned to the
EOC. Communications plan was handled by Miller Norton. Our safety and
special event guru Capt. Jordan assisted with the site safety planning
for our marchers and the bike team. Last, but certainly not least, you
need an Incident Commander and an Operations Section Chief to be
accountable and get things done. They are Lt. Scott Kornegay and Asst.
Chief Les McCormick. Without that team, none of this would have
happened. Thank you to Chief Wyse and the Union for the great food and
fellowship and I know this event would not have successful without their
help and support. Thank you to Chief Senterfitt for allowing this to
happen. From one marcher to over 500…a huge thank you to everyone for
your time (especially to those who came off duty), professionalism, and
dedication to JFRD’s Sea of Blue. There was a lot of restless folks
last night worrying about this event….I had all the faith in the world
in our team…well done!
- To Chief Jack Griggs, Capt. Aguilar, Capt. Gary
Kuehner, Lt. Jessie Brown and Lt. Alan Mallard who have been teaching on
their day off (no pay) the 40-hour Rope Operations class to our new team
members. Funding dried up and with it, no way of putting on a class. They
stepped up and donated their time to the mission and our cause. I am
consistently humbled by the character of our department. Thank you again
for everything!!!
- To all the students of the same class. You too
came in on your days off to learn a new skill set and certification.
Attached is a pic of Lt. Crawford SQ-37-B going off the side of EverBank
Field….pretty cool. Thank you for stepping up and being part of the
Special Op’s Team.
![](2014_07_25/rapelling_small.jpg)
- To Chief Jack Griggs, Lt. Alan Mallard, and FF James
Hardwick who showed up off-duty to paint the Museum door and hydrants for
Fire Prevention Week. Pic attached…thank you so much!!!
![](2014_07_25/museum_door_small.jpg)
Now for the Quote of the WIR…
- “Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even
be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are
lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a
warrior, and he will bring the others back.” ― Heraclitus
- In our society, you are a true department of
warriors.
- “Peristalsis is a great motivator for visiting fire
stations you haven’t seen in 20 years.”—me
- Thanks to everyone at Station 43 for being
there!...lol
Well that’s it for this Week in Review. I hope everyone
has a great weekend and I hope you get to spend it with family and friends.
Please continue to have your thoughts and prayers with our folks as some are
truly having a tough time. As for me, I will be decompressing down in Welaka,
eating my weight in River Pub pizza and cruising on a pontoon. How about Ole
Miss last Saturday? And so much for benching Jeff Driskel…lol Enter FSU jokes
here__________. In all seriousness, I can’t thank you enough for the turnout
today and this is was truly the most memorable event of my career. I hope the
turnout is even better next year.
As always, we thank you for what you do (showing up when it
matters), why you do it (warrior attitude), and for always showing why you are
truly the Best Fire Rescue Department in the Country!
Very respectfully,
Kurtis R. Wilson
Chief of Operations
Jacksonville
Fire and Rescue Department