New Blog...

Due to my recent transfer, I have created a new Blog to show my new adventious within the different stations here at the LFD. The new blog will be "Life in the Lynchburg Fire Dept." at http://lynchburgfire.blogspot.com Please stop by and check it out.

RIP Capt. Brown

On behalf of all of us here at the Lynchburg Fire Department, I would like to offer our deepest sympathies to our Brothers and Sisters in the Roanoke Fire and EMS Department. Even though I did not know Capt. Brown, he is my brother in this profession. Our thought and prayers are with the Brown family and his Roanoke Fire Dept family. Rest in Peace, Brother Brown.

NEVER Forget 9/11

I would like to pay tribute to the brave 343 that made the ultimate sacrifice on this scared day eight years ago. While we in the brotherhood will never forget, it seems that many have forgotten. I am reminded of a saying that those who forget our past are doomed to repeat it. Let's hope that this never happens, but if it should be certian that the Bravest and the Finest will be there and giving it all to help others in distress. NEVER FORGET 9/11/01

Some Sad News

I have some sad news to report. I have officially received my transfer papers which means I will no longer be assigned to The Park. Come Monday Sept 14th, my new home will be LFD Station 7, home to Engine 7, Medic 7, Truck 2 and Battalion 2 as well as the HazMat team. As far as the life of this blog, it is uncertain, hopefully one of my co-horts at the Park will take over. As for me, I'm not sure if I will create a Station 7 blog or just a general LFD B shift blog. I will keep everyone posted of my plans.

Our Return....

Sorry, I haven't updated this blog in quite awhile. Due to staffing levels, I have been on the road to different stations filling in where needed for the past month. I am happy to report that Engine 6 and Medic 6 have returned back to the Park. If you have bee keeping up you will no that we renovated our crew bathroom and replaced our front apparatus apron. I hope to get pictures of the new comforts soon. My first day back at the Park has been a busy one; Pre-Plans, Medical calls, Fire runs, the works. It's good to be back in the middle of everything. Hopefully things have settled down now so that I can keep this blog updated more regularly. Until the next shift, keep it safe.

Hot Summer Days

Today has been another hot summer day especially if you spend it outside all day. The members of the "Park" and the crew from the "Big House" Station 1 set up and ran an EVOC course for the entire B Shift. Spending the whole day out on the pavement has me looking as red as the fire engine. It was really good training and everyone had a good time and refreshed there driving skills. So far the Engine has run a few medicals and a fire alarm to a school. The Medic unit has been on it's usual busy schedule. Keep you updated if anything good happens.

We're Back...Sort of..

Sorry, it's been awhile since my last post. Now is the time of year of vacations and temporary station assignments. Much has changed since our last post, for those of you have followed us with our struggle with our 3% pay cut, well I'm pleased to say that City Council reassessed the latest financial figures and restored the 3% cut. I'd like to thank City Council for continuing to work diligently to restore the cuts. I'd like to especially thank our Brothers and Sisters from Roanoke Fire Dept for travelling down to help us out. You guys know we got your back and we're just a phone call away.
In other news, The Park is currently not at home right now. Due to renovations to our station, we are currently being housed at the Lynchburg Life Saving Crew. The accommodations are nice, but it's not the Park. It will be nice to get back home. As far as calls, we have been running a lot of car wreaks due to the massive road construction projects around our first due area. I plan to post pics of the progress of the new renovations and our temp home soon.

Storm Clouds Approaching..

As I write this post, I am looking out the window at the lightning in the distance approaching ever so closer. This of course means only one thing.....No Sleep. Today has been a fairly quiet day,but by no means a slow day. The guys on the Engine have been busy setting up pre-plans of new buildings in the first due and saving the city money by preforming maintenance on various equipment around the station. The Medic unit has been steady making it's hourly trip from the station to the hospital. Everyone has been concerned about the recent vote by our city council to cut all city employees pay by 3%. But the only bright side is that it could have been worse..people being layed-off. But we will continue to provide the highest quality of service to the fine citizens of Lynchburg regardless of the hardship we endure. We do ask thought that everyone please shop at our fine stores and dine at our restaurants and help boost the economy to help us all get out of this slump. And with that I hear the thunder boom and the rain pour, so it's time to go to work.

Another Monday...

Well, today feels like a Monday. After a nice weekend, we come to work on a cool and rainy day. We're still in reserve Engine 9 for a few more days as the war wagon is in Roanoke for warranty work. We have been steady today, both the Engine and medic have had there fair share of medical calls. The Engine received it's brand spanking new LifePak 12 today. Now most all of our medical gear is compatible with the Medic unit, hopefully it will make things easier. Well off to bed, we have a Local Union meeting in the morning. Will update you if anything major or exciting happens.

We're Back!!!

After a brief recess of slackness the Park blog is back. Not too much of excitement was missed during my absence. Just the usually alarm and medical calls. Today has brought much of the same, the Medic unit has been busy and the Engine has been right behind them for support. Tonight, much to delight of Medic unit, Medic 9 marked in service for the night. Medic 9 is the Life Saving Crew volunteer unit that takes much of the workload of the medic units but the Engine runs pick up providing ALS support for Medic 9 and we have already helped them out with a CPR. We will keep you updated if anything exciting happens later. In the spirit of Cinco de Mayo, Adios.

Pop a Box....

It seems that every day has it's own theme of which type of calls will come. Today must be ALS day. Just about every call the Medic unit has been on, the ALS provider has had to use some type of medication from the drug box. From chest pains to broken bones, it appears that the EMS gods have deemed it necessary to make sure that "The Park" ALS medics are ready. And of course, we laugh at these simple tests and pass with flying colors. Rest assured Citizens of Lynchburg, you have the highest trained and best equipped Paramedics there are available.

Busy, Busy...

You know it has been a busy day when it takes three times to write one blog entry. The Engine has been busy with EMS runs and running smoke scares and fire alarms. The Medic unit, those poor guys, have been gone pretty much all day, but they did get back just long enough to eat two hot meals. Things are lining up to be crazy for tonight, the normal shift people are not working, an Engine down for manpower reasons, and the weather is warm. I am sure my fellow blog brothers and sisters in Roanoke are experianceing the same mayhiem as we have today. Hopefully the madness has quieted down for the night, hopefully I didn't jinx myself. Oh well, We at "The Park" can handle any problem thrown at us. Until Monday or the big one, keep it to one alarm.

Tuesdays Gone...

Another cold, rainy day here at "The Park". We got to work and did the usual chores and routine maintenance to keep the extreme machines rolling. The day has been a trying day for the Medic unit. The Real Medic 6 was back from having major work done so they had to go swap everything off the reserve and get the ole' girl back into shape to burn up the roads with another double digit day. The Engine has had a few EMS runs and another smells and bells call. And of course the 6 Engine was first in to our 2nd due's territory, because that's how we roll here at "The Park". But other than that it's been a quiet day. Until you see us in the big red engine in your rear view mirror, Good night.

Slow Day, Busy Night.

The day started out to be a slow day. The Medic unit was steady but the Engine was not busy at all. Then the night fell and the Engine had to pay it's dues for the quiet day. Within a three hour span the Engine ran 2 appliance fires and a structure fire. Two of the calls were in Engine 3's territory due to the fact the were out of service for the shift. The Medic unit broke it's curse of the ride-along by running all day and into the night. They had two EMS students that got there fill of EMS training. Usually when we have ride-alongs, they typically don't get any calls, but not today. Well I got to go and type up all this fire runs and I think I just saw the Easter Bunny hop by the window or at least I hope that who it was. Until next day, Happy Easter!

Cycles

Another day at "The Park" and it is beginning to feel like Groundhog Day. Every once in awhile it seems that every dispatch is for the same call just a different address. Today is one of those days, it seems that it was Motor vehicle crash day. The Medic unit started the day out by running second due calls in another units territory, but that's nothing we can't handle and the Engine has been busy running MVCs and fire alarm calls. As night falls, I see that the full moon rises, that can't be a good sign given the recent history of craziness in Lynchburg. Hopefully tonight won't add to the mayhem. If we are busy, I'll keep you updated. Until then, keep it in the station.

Sunday, Sunday.

Well another week has past and another week is beginning for "The Park". We started the day in typical fashion, checking the trucks and cleaning the station. We had to do a little crew change as two of our crew were attending the second day of PICO training. After they returned filled with new knowledge, it was time to eat and enjoy the beautiful weather. But as usual, there is no down time for Medic 6 and it was back to business. The Engine has been mostly quiet so far, just an active fuel leak which was soon controlled. The warm weather also mean our brothers in blue are getting busy too. We had a front row seat as Lynchburg's Finest quickly dispersed a fight across the street. Hopefully tempers have cooled and won't heat up later tonight with gunfire as it has in the past few months. As I knock on wood, I bid you Good Night and Stay Safe.

April Showers

Well, I see April is once again living up to its motto. The morning brought us another rainy, dreary day. It also had seem to have brought us a wave of sick people. The Medic unit has been busy loading up the ER at Lynchburg General Hospital. Another double digit day for them, hopefully the rest of the night will bring some downtime. The Engine has been busy performing the daily duties of keeping the station in shape, cooking, cleaning and all the fix it items that needed tending. For a while this afternoon, the city got dumped as we had two possible structure fires come in about the same time, but the "The Park" was ready and they both turned out to be overheated appliances.
No Pictures for today as I didn't want to get my new camera wet. But Sunday promises to be Sunny (no pun intended) so hopefully I will get some exterior station shots, so that everyone can see the Historic Miller Park Fire Station. Until then we're just a 911 call away.

A case of the Mondays

You know it's going to be a busy shift when you get a call before the shift change bell rings. And with that the Medic unit was back on the streets earning it's keep. The Engine has been busy too, chasing fire alarms and the medic unit. We had a great class on the dangers of all the new hybrid vehicles that are now on the roads. We also got a look at all the fancy new thing we can do with our computers with the city's new GIS mapping systems. Isn't technology great. After a delicious dinner, we all got a chance to enjoy a Little League baseball right in our own front yard. Then the tones dropped for another medical and it was back to the streets. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the beautiful day and will stay in and sleep all night. Until Thursday, stay safe.

Above is a picture of Medic 6, its rare to see it in the station.

Friday in the Park

A foggy morning greeted the B Shift at another day at "The Park". We started out with roll call then performed the usual Friday checks. After that we washed the War Wagon and the Meat Wagon, shining them up to make the owners, ( the taxpayers ) proud. The Medic has been steady as always, keeping up it's pace as the Hill City's busiest. The Engine had a few runs a medical and an upgraded fire alarm but nothing photo-worthy. Oh well the shift is young, we shall see what the neighbors have planned for us tonight.