Greetings everyone, I hope this email finds you well.  Today is Halloween, and you know what that means…another crazy night for JFRD and FL-GA is upon us.  Still out of the loop until Monday, so here’s what I know…

• Promotions—Last week I mentioned the two retirements but failed to acknowledge the five promotions, sorry about that…  Congratulations to everyone on your new assignment and the next chapter in your career!

• The annual JFRD Retirees Luncheon—was this week.  The union hall was packed with generations of retired firefighters.  Some I knew, some I didn’t, but it always warms my heart to see the brother and sister hood that still exists even in retirement.  Thank you to Wayne Doolittle for the invite as it was an honor to sit with my father-in-law and the other retirees and listen to war stories.  I would like to recognize all the efforts of the union for the cooking and hospitality.
  • This year, we’ve lost 13 retired firemen.  Thank you for everything you’ve done to make Jacksonville a safer place.

• USAR and Emergency Preparedness Division deployed—this past week, in Baker County, an autistic child went missing while playing in his front yard.  What started out as a normal day turned into the largest search and rescue effort in Baker County’s history, according to Sherriff Joey Dobson.  With over 350 individuals from all over the state looking, a strong Incident Command System was required.  Part of that search effort was Florida Task Force 5’s K-9 assets from JFRD.  Literally, they were 100 yards away heading in the direction of the child when the helicopter spotted the child.  The outcome on this event was a huge success for all involved.  Great job to everyone.

• FL Task Force 5—State evaluation was Thursday.  Basically, certain individuals come in and see if all the equipment purchased under grants is present and in operating condition.  Other areas of interest are mobilization plans, de-mob plans, training records, and inventory tracking system.  For the first time, a USAR team (FLTF-5) set up our entire inventory for the auditors to see rather them take them around to the different units and wait for them to ask to see certain information.  This, according to them, is the new standard statewide as it was truly impressive!!!  I’ve attached some pictures of our equipment but hidden in the compartments are millions of dollars in USAR equipment. The conceptual idea of USAR was a response to natural disasters and terrorist events.  In truth, our team is mobilized almost monthly for lost and missing persons, body searches and recoveries, extreme MVA extrications, and near building collapses.  The setup of all this equipment was tasked to and completed by the USAR Team, the Technical Rescue Team, and Training Academy staff.  Everyone got a piece of this one and it showed.
  • I would like to thank everyone involved as this was a monumental task and a new USAR state best practice! (their words, not mine)
     

• FL-GA Weekend—is upon us once again.  What once was billed as the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party, the JFRD knows it as our busiest Friday-Saturday special events weekend of the year.  Months of meetings, planning, and preparation will culminate starting tonight.  A huge thank you to all our JFRD staff involved in this process and to each of you that either signed up for OT or special events…it couldn’t be done without you.  I know this goes without saying…but please be on guard as 100,000 folks under the influence is a dangerous place for those of us not!  Each year, between the concerts, Jacksonville Landing parties, and game day events, your diligence and efforts make this a success.  Keep up the good work!

• MDA—is this weekend and this year we’re committed to reaching a mark we’ve yet to achieve…$100,000!  Anything you as the JFRD commits to can and will be done.  Special thanks to Jason Kerr and Chip George for making the rounds to get everyone involved.  For those who are new and didn’t know about the station 21 and 28 MDA rivalry for about 4 to 5 years running…it was truly an amazing weekend.  Although I can’t confirm, it was rumored Lt. Chip George had a credit card machine in his pocket to help with the collections.  Jason had another angle and one I probably can’t mention but it worked.  Not sure who owns the golden axe of the annual winner, but in the end, we all win when the Union presents a check to the MDA on behalf of the citizens of Jacksonville due to the hard work of the men and women of the JFRD!

• New Engines—have been delivered and are at TSF.  Training begins on Monday and we should have the first four in service by Friday of next week.  A huge thank you to the crews who have come by off-duty to help with their units and to TSF for all their hard work in getting everything installed right.
   

• New 4x4 Rescues—should be delivered today.  Hopefully we can get them out new week too!

• Bail-out kits—the last group have been shipped.  To date we’ve issued 843 units.  Thank you to all the instructors that are making this happen for us and you!

Let’s see some of the runs you all have gone on this week…(for the new folks, these are only the runs the senior staff gets paged on…yes we still have pagers…don’t laugh)

• ELECTROCUTION WITH LONG FALL 30FT/FD7/1864 KINGS RD/50YOM/R7 TO UF HLTH/TRAUMA ALERT GCS<12 WITH ELECT BURNS >18PCT/END
• W3 MOBILE HOME STRUCTURE FIRE/ FD 25/ 5470 TIMUQUANA RD/ ROYAL COURT MOBILE HOME PARK/ LOT 21/ TG B1/
• W3/SNGL FAM RES/FD09/W 22ND & PERRY/F7 IC ON B-1/END
• FD16 JIA Alert 2 MD88 WITH 83 SOULS ON BOARD...TGB1
• FD20 W3 STRUCTURE FIRE WITH 1 PATIENTS INSIDE..5451 LUELLA ST..TGB1
• Traffic Accident/FD11/Phoenix Ave & MLK//1 trapped/Extrication/TGB1/End
• MUTUAL AID W3 SNGL FAM RES/CLAY CTY/1102 MAPLE LN/OAKLEAF AREA/ON B-15/END
• MUTUAL AID W3 SNGL FAM RES/CLAY CTY/1102 MAPLE LN/OAKLEAF AREA/ON B-15/FULL ASSIGNMENT MUTUAL AID/END
• And a few thousand other calls this week!

Time to give some thanks…

• I would like to let you know about a run R21 and L21 went on. Yesterday (Tuesday Oct 28 B Shift) they were dispatched to chest pain not feeling well. Eng. Roni Bailey riding up as OIC. What started as a routine call quickly spiraled downward.  Eng. Bailey quickly assessed and started treatment along with her driver Shayne Johnson (from L21B) and the crew of L21B. Eng. Bailey directing patient care had the 12 Lead, O2, and IV established quickly. The patient was identified as a STEMI. The EKG was transmitted and report issued to Memorial. On arrival at Memorial but prior to patient unloading, the patient went in to cardiac arrest. Immediate CPR was performed by the crew while unloading the patient and delivery to the ED. Within minutes Memorial sent the patient to the cath lab where it was determined he had a 100% blockage of the LAD (called the widow maker). Based on the timeliness of the STEMI alert by Eng. Bailey, patient care, and rapid transport, the door to balloon time was an astounding 48 min. The patient made it through the cath and barring any post op complications should walk out of the hospital.  I could not be more proud of our crew who made a difference in this patient’s life.

Sincerely,

Chief Roland R103B

• Well done to all involved!  I know this happens frequently but I can only write about what folks send me.  Please, if you know of something great happening in your district, please let me know.  There’s so much good being done by you all daily few know about.  I like getting the word out…J

Now time for the Quote of the WIR…

• “What makes a good leader? In the 82nd Airborne Division—which had about 15 battalions, 600 or so people each—if you took the best battalion and the worst and you switched their commander and sergeant major, in 90 days the best would become the worst and the worst would become the best. A good leader has the ability to understand the culture of the organization and empathizes with the members. I don't mean sympathize, I mean empathize, meaning that leader understands what makes the organization's culture operate”.—General Stanley McChrystal—He served for nearly four decades in the U.S. Army, overseeing special operations in Iraq and commanding the NATO coalition in Afghanistan.
  • When I came on the job, my captain had over 40 years on the job and had been a captain longer than I had been alive (Chief Powell’s father).  This department was full of true veteran soldiers with decades of experience to become leaders.  We don’t have that anymore.  Today, due to pension reform uncertainty and fear, most leave after just 26 years of service.  This constant turnover rate is good for promotions but it also means we have to find a way to accelerate your ability to become a leader and I don’t mean just for the officers (the commanders he speaks of are our chiefs and officers, the sergeant major, our engineers).  Do you know what all famous generals and admirals from all the great wars had in common?  They all started at the bottom, just like you and me.  What separated the good from the great was they found a way to lead in spite of and understood the culture and organization and empathized with the troops.  We have to do the same.  Truth is….many of you are already there…  Mentor the ones that need your help.
• “Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”--George Carlin
  • So true….!

Well that’s it for this WIR. I hope everyone has a good weekend and I hope you get to spend it with family and friends.  Please continue to have your thoughts and prayers with our members as some are truly having a tough time. As for me, for the first time in four years, I will not be working the FL-GA game...yea!  A continued thank you to all the well-wishers and to everyone calling and checking on me…means more than you know.  I’ll be back at work on Monday and look forward to being back in the grind.  According to my surgeon, I’m officially 1/16” of an inch taller.  I hope that means I don’t have to get all my pants hemmed!

As always, we thank you for what you do (MDA, K-9 searches, saving lives and fighting fires), why you do it (because of your warrior spirit), and for showing why you are truly the Best Fire Rescue Department in the Country!

Very Respectfully,

Kurtis R. Wilson

Chief of Operations