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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Second day on the job
We had a slew of medical calls, nothing I can talk about of course. We also had a grass fire that turned out to be a false alarm. I'm not sure what I can talk about when we get a tone but I'll get that all sorted.
Back at the station we did some landscaping. Mowing, putting rock circles around the trees, clearing brush. Eventually we want to get some compost and cedar mulch to build around the trees. A few benches wouldn't hurt either as our tree clusters make for perfect shade areas. I brought up the idea of putting a park on the nine acres the FD has. The LT. very much liked that idea.
Best part of my day was the bon-fire! A crew full of fire fighters, 5 gallons of fuel, and two tries and they cannot get a fire going. Mind you we have had two solid weeks of rain and only a day and a half of sunshine. So to their credit the wood was still damp as well as the ground.
I walk up and boyscout a roaring bon-fire. All with a hand full of cedar bark, some twigs, and a lighter. Score one for the probie!
I also introduced Disc Golf to the guys. Bunch of grown men having a great time throwing the disc around. Score two!
Good day and the Lt. wants me on his shift. :)
Back at the station we did some landscaping. Mowing, putting rock circles around the trees, clearing brush. Eventually we want to get some compost and cedar mulch to build around the trees. A few benches wouldn't hurt either as our tree clusters make for perfect shade areas. I brought up the idea of putting a park on the nine acres the FD has. The LT. very much liked that idea.
Best part of my day was the bon-fire! A crew full of fire fighters, 5 gallons of fuel, and two tries and they cannot get a fire going. Mind you we have had two solid weeks of rain and only a day and a half of sunshine. So to their credit the wood was still damp as well as the ground.
I walk up and boyscout a roaring bon-fire. All with a hand full of cedar bark, some twigs, and a lighter. Score one for the probie!
I also introduced Disc Golf to the guys. Bunch of grown men having a great time throwing the disc around. Score two!
Good day and the Lt. wants me on his shift. :)
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Swine Flu
It's the latest thing ... mmmmmm-kaaay!
While the BBC is hitting the funnies over the zombies strains of the swine flu (Thanks for the link AD), you would be good to remember a nice variant of facts about the swine flu.
1) It's the flu, influenza, the same stuff you get every year after you flu shot and vow never to get the flue shot again but you do anyways because you cave into the hysteria of the press *deep breath* ... those run on sentences get me every time.
2) It's a respiratory transmitted virus. I might be wrong about this but the life span of the virus once it leaves its temperature range is 1 and 1/2 seconds. Meaning you pretty much have to be breathing the same air as the infected.
3) "The flu" or the flu season we all forget about until the press starts the hype machine kills *36,000 people on average a year ... which goes largely unreported. So far I think A person has died in the United States... thank you proper hygiene!
If you want some preventive care during this "outbreak". Try this: wash your hands, don't pick your nose, don't rub yours eyes without washing your hands first. And stop licking people...that has sh*t has GOT to stop. It's f'ing gross and I am tired of it. I swear if another person comes up and says "Hey, your the Hill Country Blogger" and licks me....I'm going to snap. I swear to g-d I am going to snap.
OH, one last thing. If you have 1) Ear and eye aches, Fever, Vomiting, Sore throat, and an uncontrollable desire to roll around in the mud then you have the swine flu.
"Questions and Answers Regarding Estimating Deaths from Influenza in the United States", CDC Website March 12th 2009, http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm
While the BBC is hitting the funnies over the zombies strains of the swine flu (Thanks for the link AD), you would be good to remember a nice variant of facts about the swine flu.
1) It's the flu, influenza, the same stuff you get every year after you flu shot and vow never to get the flue shot again but you do anyways because you cave into the hysteria of the press *deep breath* ... those run on sentences get me every time.
2) It's a respiratory transmitted virus. I might be wrong about this but the life span of the virus once it leaves its temperature range is 1 and 1/2 seconds. Meaning you pretty much have to be breathing the same air as the infected.
3) "The flu" or the flu season we all forget about until the press starts the hype machine kills *36,000 people on average a year ... which goes largely unreported. So far I think A person has died in the United States... thank you proper hygiene!
If you want some preventive care during this "outbreak". Try this: wash your hands, don't pick your nose, don't rub yours eyes without washing your hands first. And stop licking people...that has sh*t has GOT to stop. It's f'ing gross and I am tired of it. I swear if another person comes up and says "Hey, your the Hill Country Blogger" and licks me....I'm going to snap. I swear to g-d I am going to snap.
OH, one last thing. If you have 1) Ear and eye aches, Fever, Vomiting, Sore throat, and an uncontrollable desire to roll around in the mud then you have the swine flu.
"Questions and Answers Regarding Estimating Deaths from Influenza in the United States", CDC Website March 12th 2009, http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm
First semi-full shift on the job
Yesterday was my "first" day responding to calls as a Fire Fighter! The guys at the house are great! So far none of them have given me any crap for being the new guy and they spend a great amount of their time answering all of my questions, trying to find new questions for me, giving me repeated runs downs of the apparatus and much more.
Another cool thing was the Lt. had me perform repeated exercises in getting into my bunker gear, the fire fighter suits you see on T.V.. The average for an experienced Fire Fighter is just under one minute (Pants and boots, cowl, jacket, SCBA mask, SCBA tank, helmet, and gloves). There is a certain way it all goes on and this stuff is like putting on several thick quilts. Arm reach is significantly reduced! When I was done I had it down to a minute and 30 seconds and now I am much more confident in my ability to at least get going on the truck.
Another cool thing was the Lt. had me perform repeated exercises in getting into my bunker gear, the fire fighter suits you see on T.V.. The average for an experienced Fire Fighter is just under one minute (Pants and boots, cowl, jacket, SCBA mask, SCBA tank, helmet, and gloves). There is a certain way it all goes on and this stuff is like putting on several thick quilts. Arm reach is significantly reduced! When I was done I had it down to a minute and 30 seconds and now I am much more confident in my ability to at least get going on the truck.
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