Emergency Services Cruise In

This past weekend we attended an Emergency Services Cruise in where the Police and Fire Departments from the surrounding area all came to the farm of the local State Trooper to show off their stuff and do some demonstrations.

In an area as rural as this, folks have to work together to take care of each other and the Troopers, the Sheriff's Dept, local Police (in the larger communities), the Ambulance Service, the various Fire departments and even the operators of towing services all have a role to play in Emergency Services.

You know, most boys want to be Firemen when they grow up but then life happens and people get careers and that dream fades. But then sometimes you retire from your main career, you hit your AARP years and the dream re-ignites. Who doesn't like to see Fire trucks and related equipment or hear sirens and see the lights?   

Our host for the event was a State Trooper who lives down the road from us and as everyone knows, Police really want to be Firemen, so he is also a volunteer with our Fire Department and we had a lot of fun. He was issued this brand spanking new Hemi Dodge Charger and wanted to show it off so......

Its hard to mistake the signature Hemi heads on this thing and though its kind of a tradition in the rural Ozarks to run from the cops, I am thinking not too many will be successful with this rig.

The radio communication system is top of the line with various narrow band radios to conform to the new FEMA standard, GPS, direct data links etc. I would also point out that as tax payers we should all be pleased with how well these guys maintain their issued property, this pursuit rig was about 4 months old and still spotless and we live where dirt roads are more common than paved.

CPL Dudley from the Hartville PD was on hand to give a demonstration of the capabilities of his drug detection dog.

This old ladder truck was from 1948 I believe and still had the original tires. The wide running boards were so that you could ride on them while holding on to the ladder.....current regulations discourage that!

Our district is intersected by a two lane highway and a four lane limited access highway to the far south so some of the recovery/towing requirements are heavy lifts. These guys are every bit a part of the EMS team as any of us and we all work together.

We demonstrated the use of hydraulic extractors (Jaws of Life) and here I am using the hydraulic cutters to notch the floor pan so we can do a dash roll.

We train constantly and have used the extractors numerous times and the really are very important pieces of equipment...and very expensive (as in about 40K).

The Cruise In was successful on many fronts, it got us all together to share ideas and issues, we all conducted demonstrations and shared techniques, and the training was good.

We also did a bit of a snake round up. I am not sure about where you live but the snakes have been really numerous this year around here. We rounded up several during the Cruise In and relocated them away from the homestead because of the kids and chickens (these were harmless black snakes).

 

It was a good time, good training, and just part of life down on the farm.

One Way to Get Involved in a New Rural Community

We hear a lot of people complain that its hard to get accepted when you move to a small rural community and it can be, but one way to get involved and meet people is to join local organizations and groups and one of the best in my opinion is your local volunteer Fire Department. We hadn't been here two days and I got approached at the local diner about being a volunteer fire fighter...the conversation started something like this: "Say your those Alaskan folks who just bought the ***** place aren't you?"...."You need to be at a meeting at the Fire Department at 0900 on Saturday...see you there". And that is how I became a fire fighter and first responder.

Now Holly is on the board of directors and Judy participates as part of the Axillary and we all find its very rewarding. My various injuries are just worked around and though I could not physically do it full time I participate in all fire fighting activities and am also a medical first responder. After having spent my entire adult life (since my 17th birthday) as part of something, mostly in the military, I find the camaraderie, the distinct roles, and the adventure of belonging to the brotherhood of Fire Fighters very fulfilling and it sure went a long way into meeting people and being accepted by the community.

One of our desires when we retired was to devote more time to volunteer work and helping others so this was a natural venue for us and besides, when I was a kid I wanted to be a Marine (did it), a Soldier (did it), a Farmer/Cowboy (trying to do it), an astronaut (still looking!) and a Fireman. If I could find a slot on the space station I would be all set!

I have been a Fireman and First Responder now for over 3 years but had never had the formal schooling or state certification, mostly due to the distance to the training sites, but also partly because I just was avoiding challenging myself again like I was used to in the military. So when the Chief just added me to the training list I was a bit grumpy but it turned out to be a great course and I just needed that boot in the butt to do it. There were numerous departments represented, we all have differing uniforms and equipment and of course like most things like this we all tried to out do each other...it was a blast.

After two weeks of class room instruction and field training we culminated in the final smoke chamber exercise where they light a fire in a bunch of straw and wood inside a shipping container and you go in with your Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) on and feel the effects of thermal heat layers.

It was cold and sunny outside, not so cold inside the container and it actually blistered the numbers on the helmets but it did show the equipment works.

I have been in several burning buildings with my SCBA on since I joined the Fire Department and a lot of the training was mostly already known to me but I did learn things and if nothing else, it demonstrated that my department is doing things by the book.

Almost everyone in the class was a volunteer, they all have jobs and yet they volunteer their time to train, work on the apparatus and respond to almost daily calls for fire and EMS services. I was second oldest in the class and it was gratifying to see so many young guys give their time and efforts like this. You hear about the bad but there are also a lot of dedicated young people still around who give back.

Fire fighting is dangerous and each situation is different but its also enormously rewarding and if you thrive on adventure and like a challenge I cant think of anything more exciting you can do that's legal.

The course of instruction included everything from radio procedures, public relations, classes of fire, safety, rescue, forcible entry, hose work, maintenance, ladders, emergency vehicle driving procedures, ventilation, SCBAs, etc. I am now state certified at the basic level, I am going to pursue more advanced certifications, and I am already enrolled in formal EMS certification training. I am glad I did it and encourage anyone, male or female, to join your local volunteer Fire Department even if in an administrative support capacity.