Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Illinois Firefighter Dies After Responding - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty


Illinois Firefighter Dies After Responding - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty:

"Illinois firefighter POC Lt. Scott Mumm died Monday after responding to a fire call earlier that day. Mumm was 34 years old, and a 13 year veteran of the Mendota Fire Department. Mumm returned home around 8:15 p.m. from a fire call where his assignment was assisting with filling water tenders. He had gone to bed with intentions of reporting for work at his full-time job at midnight. When his wife tried to wake him, he did not respond. ALS efforts by members of the Mendota Fire Department and Mendota Community Hospital were unsuccessful."

Michigan Assistant Chief Collapses and Dies - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty


Michigan Assistant Chief Collapses and Dies - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty:

"The Charlevoix Township Fire Department in Charlevoix, Mich. is mourning the death of their assistant fire chief. Ralph Cross, 73, collapsed and died as he and other department members handed out fire prevention and education literature at a local K-Mart. It happened Saturday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. His is believed to have died of a heart attack."

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

A Look Back At Lavender Forest

Here are a few photos of Lavender Forest's Miniature Railroad operated by Doug and Betty Patterson. Betty sold the property this year. There were a lot of good memories for all of us.

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Monday, October 22, 2007

So this is what happens after the retiree stag when the Famous Simian has had a little bit too much beer.. Now you know why they never allowed tourists direct contact with the animals on the Serengeti Plain. I feel that Mongo should now only be allowed at social functions where alcohol is served if he has a chaperone.

The next thing we'll know, if this isn't corrected, is that Mongo will be imitating the "Party Boy" from "Jackass; The Movie"!




S

A Few Retiree Limericks


Ahhh...now let's all sit back and listen to a few limericks of our retirees by our resident Limerick Fairy (Don't even think about making a comment!)

There once was a retiree named Loma

Who was built like a light named Noma

The peanut butter was spread

Without the pleasure of any bread

Poor Bill almost went into a coma


Tom Lebert was a fine Liberal

He considered himself an electoral

As he sat down to vote

He voted on a municipal note

And considered himself quite mayoral

A fine fellow retiree named Dann

Was classified as a fine fire man

He jumped on the hose

Fell flat on his nose

Now poor Dann is considered a stunt man


A new retired fellow named Greg

Noticed one day he had a bowed leg

He said in a mutter

My heart’s in a flutter

Pass the pencils: I need to beg

A retiree by the name of Tim

Opted out of a trip to the gym

Consuming beans to lose extra pounds

And surprised by new vibrant sounds

Tim’s wind can now play a hymn


There once was a gal named Karen

Who loved the sound of the siren

She hailed from the Isle of P.I

Was an expert at the art of Private Eye

Now she is tracking a Heron

A retiree by the name of Martin

Gathered all of his stuff in a carton

Working fire prevention he said

Caused him so much darned dread

That on the floor he would be startin’


An old retiree named Al

Was sure he was everyone’s pal

He retired as Assistant Chief

But caused so much unnecessary grief

That poor Al was put out to corral

The retiree by the name of Ron

Would often take naps on his lawn

Decided to give his technique a whirl

He nicknamed it the Trofin Curl

Challenge was chairs and try to stay on


An old retiree named Stroud

Everyone knew he was rather proud

He watched so much TV

It was plain for everyone to see

That he resided in somewhat of a cloud

(Hey .. they're not always classics! You try and make up a limerick!!!)

There once was a retiree named Arpan

To Headquarters apparatus floor he ran

Trying to catch the descending door

His judgment was rather poor

Jim’s broken leg was never the plan


There once was a retiree named Vernes

Who over the years had a few burns

He’d itch and he’d scratch

Sat at the hall waiting for a dispatch

And discovered the law of diminishing returns

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Gary Heikkinen's New Television Show


When asked about his new career, Chef Heikkinen shrugs his shoulders and replied, "I don't know how this happened actually. I always knew that my cooking skills were destined for greatness and here I am on The Food Channel on cable television. Being from the Lapland area didn't hurt either. I have a whole repertoire of Scandinavian delights that I can share with my new audience. Folks have never actually had such tantalizing Lapland dishes such as Braised Elk Hocks or Sauteed Penguin Flipper Au Jus."

When asked about his newest recipe he gloats about his recent concoction Hot Sauce Supreme. "It's a family secret that even my own son, Mike, doesn't know the recipe's contents.", claimed the little furry chef.

When questioned about his cooking "career" Rudy said, "Well, when I used to cook in the fire halls at the turn of the century the guys used to rave about my finesse in the kitchen. They just couldn't handle all the wonderful flavors at once so they used to get up collectively from the dinner table and rush to the washroom and actually push each other out of the way to get in. They would return a few minutes later with a contented look on their faces and claimed that they were so full they couldn't eat another bite after I offered them a second helping of the meal. I'm still quite confused as to the large amounts of Pepto Bismal that were consumed while I was on duty. Very strange coincidence indeed."

When prompted further regarding his new television show Rudy answered, "Well, I have a sample of video that you can use to demonstrate a short section of my show. It's the episode about the Hot Sauce we were discussing earlier. I'm calling the show 'Recapturing The Flavor'", Rudy Reported.

At the conclusion of the interview Rudy declared, "I'm actually thinking of inviting guest cooks on my show in the future. My first guest I hope will be Willoughby Woods. He is an excellent chef and some think his skills were even far better than mine. He basically perfected his art here in Canada when he was on the lam from the U.S authorities during the Viet Nam war. That's how he got the moniker 'Draftdodger'", Rudy laughed. "As for myself, I was a member of the Navy and taught the other sailors how to march on the deck of the ship. We didn't go for long treks and I taught them how to walk in circles very quickly. As a result of that training I still find myself walking in circles even to this very day!"

When last seen the "Chef" was on the phone while rubbing his antlers against the wall in his new kitchen. As I left the room I heard Rudy say, "Hello, Santa?"

Below is the sample video of Rudy's television show.



Sunday, October 07, 2007

Another "Old Guy" Retires (Maybe)


Hey, who knows... Maybe even Bill "Grandmother" Ferguson will retire this year with the rest of the folks in the previous post. Hummm... What stories do I remember about Bill??? ...... let me think... Oh yessssssss.... any of you that work with Bill can ask him about the time he was "hiding" on the bed of the ladder at # 4 Station way back in the '70's.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

WFD Retirees of 2007


Happy Retirement go out to the following folks:

James "accident waiting" Arpan
Karen "PEI Rocks" Morrison
Tim "Help ME" Berthiaume
Al "Big Al" Reaume
Dan "WOMD" Dancey
Greg "I wanna be a DC" Reitzel
Dave "Norbert Nostalgia" Stroud
Tom "Ex Snorkel Driver" Lebert
Al "I hate Fire Prevention" Martin
Don "Whaaat?" Vernes
Bill "I love Peanut Butter" Loma
Ron "Been Trofed yet?" Trofin

You're about to discover the world's best kept secret .. enjoy yourselves and the best of luck to all of you. : )

Contest Details

OK... the winner of the contest from the previous post will have the chance to spend a glorious week at B.R's "Upscale Motel".
Just imagine the pampering you will receive... breakfast in bed, whirlpool jacuzzi.. (Kinda).. and lots of more amenities.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Top 10 Challenges of Vehicle Rescue


Event Registration (EVENT: 95655):

"The Top 10 Challenges of Vehicle Rescue Today Event Date: October 17,2007 02:00 PM EDT Ron Moore Ron Moore is a Battalion Chief with the McKinney, TX, Fire Department and is the author of “The University of Extrication,” published on Firehouse.com and in Firehouse Magazine. This webcast will list the challenges that crews need to consider and takes lessons from where we've been, where we are now and what challenges lie ahead. The program is packed with lots of tips for those who do rippin' and tearin'. "

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

The Blog Hits Over 20,000 - Let's Have a Contest!

Thanks to all of you .... The Blog has had over 20,000 hits since its inception in January 2006... To celebrate we're having a contest. The best suggestion on how we should celebrate wins!
Details in the next post.
Ok, kids... send in those suggestions right away.... contest closes midnight Oct. 31!

(Hey, that's the day that I retired : )

Firefighters hesitating to risk lives - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com

Firefighters hesitating to risk lives - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com:

"SALT LAKE CITY - Fueled by drought and development, wildfires in the West are getting bigger and more aggressive, creating conditions so dangerous that fire bosses are increasingly reluctant to risk lives saving houses — particularly if the owners have done nothing to protect their property. From Southern California to Montana, seven firefighters have died this year battling blazes that have destroyed more than 400 houses — a dramatic increase from last year."

Monday, October 01, 2007

Stuff in Space

Ok... how do I approach this one... : ) This has nothing to do with firefighting per se...but, hey.... couldn't we configure something like this for those long "all nighters"? Especially in the middle of a cold February night.... who knows.. Maybe # 5 station can work on this project when they're finished with their "car project" (see post below)

Thanks to Art Caza for this one : )


Fire Find

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