I got some catching up to do!

Well, I am very sorry that I have not posted in a while, I need to stay on top of it better than I do. As all of you know, 9/11 was a few weeks ago and for me, I spent the day in personal reflection of that day and did my own honoring of those that were lost. There were several good Blog posts out there and my favorite one was Captain Wines' post on his blog. So I will give a shout out to him, You do a great job on that blog Capt and I always enjoy reading it. If you have not checked out his blog then checked it out here: http://http://woodenladdersandironfiremen.blogspot.com/. I did ride-out on the 18th. I rode with Ladder 3 and the day started as usual with the truck and equipment check offs. We did our station chores and then ate a big breakfast. It was a real slow day, with no calls. So we spent all day watching College Football and eating game day food. The FF/Medic on shift and myself went outside and threw the football around and kicked a kickball. The day ended, it was a boring day since we had no calls but that is part of it. I am gonna end it here and go eat dinner, I promise that the next post will be more exciting than this one.

Beau Doss

Ride out on Ladder 3 Saturday

Last week I had an Explorer class and we went over Ladders, It was a very good refresher and I also learned a few new things. The following Saturday, I rode on Ladder 3, this shift was very fun to me and was also very meaningful. It was very meaningful because for the first time, I went into work by myself. I usually ride with my dad and my mom picks me up because I don't have my own vehicle; but today my dad was off and I woke up early and drove into work. Doing this, made me fill like an actual firefighter going into work, it was an awesome feeling and I hope I get to feel the real thing one day!! The day started off with the regular truck/equipment check offs. I put my gear on the truck and then went on and looked through all the compartments(like I always do) just to make sure nothing is missing/anything that might have been added. Then I checked the radios and the Thermal Imaging Camera; then FF Dodd, who was driving for my dad, pulled the Ladder out and we set her up and tested the pump. After all that we had a quick breakfast and then proceeded to wash the trucks. We then did the daily station cleaning. Around that time Station 6 was dispatched to a Fire Alarm and Rescue 3 responded and we moved up for staging. The companies arrived on scene and declared an accidental activation. We stopped for fuel and got a quick lunch to go at Krystal. Later on that day, Station 3 was dispatched to a Fire Alarm at Grace Lutheran Church right down the street from the firehouse; Dispatched advised that the activation was coming from the sanctuary. We arrived on scene to find nothing showing and the Lt and other crew members went inside to find them about to have a concert in there and artificial smoke set off the alarm. Command was terminated and all units went back into service. Units responding we R3,L3,T6. Later on we went to the store and got stuff to make breakfast burritos and they were good. After dinner when the kitchen was clean FF Dodd and I went out and trained over the Hydrant Assist Valve and the High Rise Packs on Ladder 3 and what we would have to grab in a fire in a high rise. It was very good and informative training. That concluded my shift and I packed up and went home. Sorry no pictures this time!

Stay safe,
Beau Doss

MDA Fill The Boot!

I do apologize for not posting in a while, as I am now behind on it. I had a ride out a few weeks ago and it was probably my last ride out before school started officially. Like always, I was on Ladder 3. The day started off like normal with truck and equipment check offs; followed by breakfast and then regular station cleaning. We didn't run any calls during my time on the truck so it will be a short post. The day was pretty boring up until we went to do Fill The Boot. Fill The Boot is for MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association), to help Jerry's kids. Fire Departments across the nation participate in it. We worked the 1 to 5 shift at the local Walmart. IT WAS HOT!!

LOL! It was a lot of fun and was a very good public relations event. We ended up raising a lot of money. Afterwards the rest of my time at the 3 House was spent relaxing in the air conditioning and eating dinner. I did not take any pictures of the event but I still have some from last year. Also included is a picture of Ladder 3 sitting ready to go in the bay.

-Beau Doss

Oh how I love the old stories!!!

Sitting around the dinner table tonight with my dad and grandparents. The 2 generations of firefighters and me, hopefully the third generation! Well us three got to talking about Fire Service stuff and they were talking about different guys they remember. My grandfather then got to telling his old stories from when he was a TRUE smoke eater in Roanoke,VA during the late '60s-early '70s, I think. I love these stories because they are filled with humor and seriousness. I also just love hearing about how they used to do stuff with Alarm Boxes, Dispatch, Engine and Ladder Companies, Poles, and etc. It is always very interesting and you never want it to end. Every time I hear those stories, it makes me want to be a Fireman more and more and to keep on holding out the family tradition! I thought I would share this with all of you while it was on my mind.

COMING SOON: I am going to post along post on my dreams and plans of becoming a Fireman and about one thing that is holding me back from getting what I have always dreamed about!!

You go, We go.
Beau Doss

2 more LODDs.. :(

I apologize that this is late and I should have posted it sooner. I will not always post on line of duty deaths but this one defiantly hit at home a lot in a way. 2 Volunteers died while responding to a Structure Fire the other day in Rocky Mount, VA. Their engine swerved to miss a vehicle and hit an SUV and flipped a few times. One of the guys died on scene and the other DOA at the hospital. I'm not gonna mention names on this one. Neither one was wearing seat belts. This one really hit at home with me because Rocky Mount is close to where my dad grew up and we are always going up there and still have a lot of family up there. Remember to always were your seat belt! Seat belts save lives!!!!!

Signal 5-5-5-5 has been transmitted.

2 Bridgeport,CT Firefighters died in the line of duty yesterday

Final Alarm Bell sounded for Lt.Steven Velazquez and FF Micheal Baik yesterday. They were found on the top story of a 3 story frame structure by a R.I.T team after they sent out many mayday calls. Velazquez and Baik were the furthest into the house, performing search and rescue and ventilating. When a Bridgeport Chief got on scene, he reported heavy smoke coming from the 2nd and 3rd stories. The men were pronounced dead at the hospital. They did the jobs well and both loved the job and now they have been called home. Say a prayer for these men, their families and the Bridgeport Fire Dept. today.

Signal 5-5-5-5 has been transmitted.

Beau Doss

Hey Everyone!!!!

Well, my latest ride out was on the 29th of June 2010, I rode with Ladder 3 A-shift (as usual) :). It was a fun and exciting shift so it's gonna be a long post so just sit back and enjoy the read. The shift started out at 0600 hours with the daily truck and equipentment check offs. With everyone having their gear on their truck, Rescue and Ladder 3 were ready to roll for the day! Station 6 had a civilian walk in their station and report an MVA not to far away, Rescue 3 responded along with Engine 6. Turns out they got themselves a nice door pop and freed the patient and got her sent off to the hospital for futher evaluation and treatment. While the Rescue was on that run, us Ladder guys began the daily Station chores and cleaning, we then proceeded to washing/cleaning all the windows in the station and then we began to wash the bay door windows. While in the middle of washing the bay door windows, Station 3 was dispatched to a Medical Call for a patient being nausea. Ladder 3 responded since Rescue 3 was still clearing up that MVC. We arrived to find a woman in her office complaining of being dizzy and the room spinning; FF Naylor and Engineer Doss then began to access her and take her vitals and ask her the basic accessment questions. R3 then arrived and the information that was already contained was passed over to FF/Medic Schatz. The Medic Unit arrived and the woman was packeged up and taken to the hospital for futher evaluation. The crewsof the 3 House then returned to quarters and we finished the window washing and ate breakfast and then washed both rigs. Shortly after, we were dispatched to a Fire Alarm but were canceled before leaving quarters. The Ladder guys wnet to the store to pick up what was needed for the day's meals. Later on, we watched amovie but I fell asleep and slept through the whole thing. Lmao. After my nap, Lt.Smith and I had an intense and long workout. I was on the aliptical machine when we were dispatched to a Structure Fire with Brentwoood Fire Dept. at Backyard Burgers on Galleria Blvd. and Moores Lane. Ladder 3 and Rescue 3 arrived to find smoke showing from the bravo side of the structure with smoke coming out from underneath the building. FF/Medic Schatz proceeded to cut a hole in the side of the structure with the K-12 to gain access to the fire from where the smoke was coming out. Ladder 3's crew went interior with other companies and gained access to the fire that was behind the grill by pulling instulation and drywall t find the fire. A line was pulled off L3 and the fire was knocked down. Equipment was put packed and hose was drained and repacked and companies went back into service. Units responding were R3,L3,E6,T6,R4,BC-1,Safety Officer, BFD E3 and BFD BC. We appriciate Brentwood's response and assist to when we need it and we are always willing to return the favor to them when they need us. Below is pictures of the fire and a video of our response. I aplogize for the video being really shaky. On our way back from thefire, we were dipatched to a MVC with Injuries. Rescue 3 beat us to the scene and advised that it was only one patient with back and neck pain and that they could handle it along with EMS. Below is a video of that response. We then returned and had a delicious meal like always and my shift was over shortly after that. It another great shift and an outstanding job of the crews of the 3 House, the FFD and Brentwood Fire Dept. I will be back on Ladder 3 on Thursday and have an Explorer Class Thursday night, I will post again as soon as possible!

KMG 365,
Beau Doss

Sorry about not posting in a long while!!

I am very sorry that I have not made a post in a long while. I have just been really busy and I was also out of town for almost 2 weeks. I will make another post right after this one on the latest shift I worked at the 3 house. At the beginning of June, like the first week, I took a 16 hour Intro to Fire and Emergency Services class. The class was very informative and I learned alot!! Thanks to the Instructors of that class!!! Well I am very sorry about not posting but I will get you up to speed now!!

Beau Doss

Another day at Ladder 3!!!!

Yep, You guessed it! We were an Engine Company today! The Ladder was in the shop for Aeriel

Maintenance. We do miss our baby but I really like this truck! We had reserve Engine 10, It has everything I like on a fire truck. All backwards jump seats, Q siren, Deck gun and Air Horn Chains instead of the pedals. I like truck work more than engine work but I don't mind having this truck for a while.Here is a picture of the Deck Gun:

Yeah, now that I have a deck gun, I'm ready for the big one! The day started off with the normal truck and equipment check offs. I got all my turnout gear and extra equipment by my seat ready. I then proceeded to go through every cabinet on the Engine to familiarize myself with the equipment on the truck and where everything is located. I take pride in getting my spot ready on the truck and to make sure everything on the truck is ready because you have to be ready for anything. You never know what is going to happen in the Fire Service. After check offs, we went to our daily housework and some people fixing themselves breakfast. We decided to clean out and re-organize the Fridge and our shifts pantry. I was going through all these different sauces, asking the Lt. if I should toss various items. When I came across a hot sauce, labeled "Hottest Sauce In The World"; I opened it and took a smell of it and it smelt sweet. The Lt. told me to try some and said it wasn't that hot. I, (being the idiot), believed him. I put some on finger and licked it. OH MY GOSH! That was so HOT! I started sweating and my mouth began to numb up, and I was just going nuts! DO NOT EVER TRY THIS! Here is a pic of the bottle: After a little while, we played some Corn Hole, I sucked. Lol. We were about to head to Station 6 for EMS training when we were dispatched to a Commercial Fire Alarm with Water Flow, around 1145 hrs. We arrived on scene shortly and gained access to the Sprinkler room. There turned out to be no water flow and I think the alarm was reset by the alarm company. All units were then put back in service. Units responding were E-10, E-6, T-6, T-2, R-3 and B-1. We then proceeded to Station 6 for our EMS training at 1200 hrs. The training was going over the EMS Unit and getting familiar with where their equipment is located so in case we have to grab something for them then we know where it is at. The training was very helpful and informative. Here is a shot if the rig at training:Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at Jersey Mikes Subs, that was very good. After lunch the rescue went to the store to pick up some stuff for dinner. Later on we played more Corn Hole with competitions against the Truck guys and Rescue guys, the Truck lost both games. I hit the coach and fell asleep reading a book on Truck Company Fire Ground Operations and slept till about 15oo hrs. A little bit later, We were dispatched to a Lift Assist/Welfare Check, we responded non-emergency to an address with the numerical 1556 and it took us forever to find it because of all the confusing townhouse streets and the way they are set up. We arrived at the address that was given to us and the residents at that location said that they didn't call 911 and nobody had fallen. Well then we went back down to look for it in another part, when we passed the Locksmith, that had been dispatched there, to let us in. They had 1553, so, we proceeded back up to that address and shortly after looking in the back door to find the woman on the floor and heard her dog barking because she had asked the 911 operator if we heard a dog. The locksmith let us in and we went in trying to avoid the angry little dausand. We helped her up, checked to see if she was hurt and asked her some questions and talked to her. The Lt. requested an EMS unit at our location and when they arrived we handed it over to them and went back into service. When we were pulling back up to the station, we noticed that our baby, Ladder 3, was back!! Here she is with a fresh coat of wax, shining in the sun!

Ain't she a beaut?! We then took of all the equipment off the Engine and put it back on the Ladder to get her put back into service. After we finished, Steve, Richey, and I played some football out back and got some good exercise in. As we were playing ball, we were dispatched to a MVC with injuries, we ran down the bay, with me screaming "First Call back on Ladder 3!!!!", we responded and the Rescue arrived in scene before us and said we could go back into service because we were not needed. We came back to the station and cooked dinner and cleaned up the kitchen and dishes and my shift ended shortly after that. I do apologize for the really long post tonight. There was alot to cover, as it was a busy day and a fun day. I hope you enjoyed this post and hope you continue to read my blog as I write (I mean type) ha ha.

Beau Doss

Ride-out with Ladder 3 yesterday!!

One of the many great benefits to being a Fire Explorer, Is being able to do ride outs on companys for a shift. The ride out period is usually 0800 hours to 1000 hours but I go into work with my Dad and ride from 0600 hours to 2000 hours, which is a 14 hour shift. You can also shorten that however you need to. I have been doing the Explorer program since 2006 so I have alot of experience. Yesterday, I was on Ladder 3, which for is where I primarily ride at. My Dad is the engineer on this company and I have know the rest of the guys of the crew for a majority of my life. The day started off with the regular truck and equipment check offs, then we went to the store to get stuff for breakfast and dinner. When we returned, breakfast was started and Lt., Kyle, Ryan, and myself played some Beatles Rockband. Breakfast was then served, Sausage gravy and biscuits, bacon, sausage patties, eggs, and hashbrowns. Good eatin! Ladder 3 was rolling 5 deep yesterday and it got a little packed in the back. My favorite place to ride is the seat riding backwards. Here is my gear sitting ready to go on the truck:

I like riding backwards because of the traditon, all of the older Engines and Ladders, etc., had backwards seats. I also like it because there is more room and it is faster to get out too. Anyways, back to the shift, the majority of the day was slow and boring. Rain and storms were starting to make our way but the were smaller than predicted. We were dispatched to an MVA near the entrence of the mall, shortly after we arrived on scene, we discovered that it was only a little fender bender, with one patient complaining of back pain; the Ladder placed themselves back in service while the Rescue stayed behind to assist EMS with patient care. Then we went back to being bored. I managed to finish my book, oh how I love just sitting on the apparatus floor and read a book! We played some more Rockband and later got dinner cooked. For dinner we had Mexican food, Yum! After dinner we just hung around. Oh I forgot, before dinner, we watched the movie "Brotherhood, Life in the FDNY", Good movie, I highly recommend it. So after dinner, I went over the equipment of the Ladder and Rescue. Got to love haligan tools!! That is my favorite tool. That pic is of one off the Ladder and two off the Rescue, the Rescue actually has three of them. Then, We were dispatched to a lift assist at a local assisted living home, went and help an old fella up and then went back in service. Shortly after that, Station 6 was dispatched to an MVA on the interstate and then dispatch changed it to Station 2, we rolled on it. One thing that sucks about being an explorer is that you have to stay in the truck, but oh well. Engine and Rescue 2 arrived right before us and canceled us. Then they got on the radio and said that it was a medical call. Sucks for them. After returning to the 3 house, my shift was over and I headed home. Sorry about the long post, I guess I get that from reading Capt. Wines' blog! Thanks for reading, so long till next time!

KMG 365,

Beau Doss

New to Blogging!

Hey,

I am a Fire Explorer with the Franklin Fire Dept and also a Junior Firefighter with the Lascassas Volunteer Fire Dept; both are in Tennessee. I love the job of firefighting and can't picture myself doing anything else as a career; I grew up around a firefighting family so it is in the blood. I am new to blogging and I wanted to start this blog to share my experiences in this job from an Explorers point of view and also to discuss topics relating to the job. I will also do reviews on products, books,movies,collectibles, etc. of the fire service. I was inspired by Captain Wines of the Roanoke City FD who runs the blog "Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen", awesome blog. If you have never read his blog than you can visit it at http://http//woodenladdersandironfiremen.blogspot.com/. I give his blog a two thumbs up, I never miss a post! I was also inspired by the crews of RFD Station 9 for their blog at http://http//enginecompany9.blogspot.com/. Again, another, tremendous blog! Good Job boys! I'm gonna go ahead and admit (if you haven't already figured out), I'm a squirrel. :D hahahahaha Lmao!! Anyways, I love the job with all my heart and I don't mind being a squirrel. The name of this blog "The Fire Explorer" is because that's what I am but the second half of it: "Chasing the Dream" came from my dream to be a professional firefighter since like I was very very little. I will sit and day dream about becoming a firefighter, if I were to become a firefighter, my life, would be totally complete. So enough about that, I am hoping this blog will continue to grow. I will post as much as possible, I will defiantly post on days I work shifts in Franklin (which I have one Saturday) and when I run calls or have training with my volley dept. Well, that's it for tonight, got to hit the sack, got school tomorrow.
KMG 365,
Beau Doss