A Night at The Grove

 

It is always a good time to go to The Grove and get some Mochas with the guys.  It is usually a warm summer night and The Grove is crowded with shoppers.  This is a good time to do some public relations or just relax and have some coffee.

This night we met some travelers from England.  They wanted their picture taken with us.  Sometimes I think that we are one of the most photographed fire companies in the world.  People traveling from all over the world come to The Grove and there we are, having mochas.  I want to make it clear that we don’t get mochas everyday, this is something we do once in a while, for a special occasion.  Today, was Robles’ last shift, so he wanted to buy mochas for the guys.

FIRST DAY AT THE NEW FIRE STATION

 

First day, wow, we got a new firefighter!  The old guy, by old I mean that he had 10 years on the job, left and went to a slower station.  That was a good move for him.  Back to the new firefighter, I think we traded up, because the new guy is 5’ 6” and the old guy was 5”5”, I think.  They are both small. 

We took the new guy out and did a ladder pipe operation to see how he would do.  He did alright, but I think he is going to need some work.  We called him to the front office and sat him down and told him what we expected and that he had to have a good attitude.  Attitude is 90 percent of the job.  With a good attitude you can be taught and will want to learn.  We told him what we wanted from him and we will see if it happens.

Oh yea, it was my birthday yesterday, so I bought dinner for all the guys.  Crutchfield cooked it, but I bought it.

TRADITIONS

There are many types of traditions on the fire department.   Some traditions are meant to teach each other the things that our mothers couldn’t.  Like putting away your clothes.  One way to teach someone to not leave their shirts or other items laying around is to put them in the freezer when we find them.  The other side of the story is that if you can’t find something, look in the freezer, it is probably there.  Sometimes the firefighters like to take it a step further and not only put your shirt in the freezer, but put it in some water so by the time you find it, it is frozen.  This firefighter in the picture is just happy he found is shirt and badge.

LAST SHIFT

If someone wants to become a paramedic, one of the things you need to do for training is to do a 20-shift ride-a-long as a third member on a rescue ambulance. Well, our ride-a-long finished his last shift and the LAFD tradition is that any time it is your last shift at a fire station you have to cook. He volunteered so it didn’t take much coaching.

He cooked yard bird, or you civilians might say – chicken. It wasn’t bad, but when you eat at eight at night, anything will taste good. There is a saying on the fire department, “If it is not that good, then serve it when they are really hungry.” Also, “It doesn’t have to be that good, just make sure there is plenty of it.”

Anyway, there is another tradition at Fire Station 61. On your last shift you must buy mochas. We load up and go over to The Grove and have mochas. It is also a little PR for the families that see us at The Grove and it builds camaraderie And sometimes we just need that.

The Firefighter Family

We are brothers at heart 

 

We are a family.  We go to war together, live together, eat together, sleep together, play together, and fight together.  Today there was a fight.  It was a little uncomfortable, but it happens.  The A/O started in on one of the firefighters and then the firefighter started calling the A/O a baby.  Then it escalated but never went physical.  Sometimes it happens, just like in a real family there are arguments.  When it is all said and done, we love each other – or just stay away from each other.

Firefighting at its best

 

Is this what modern firefighting has become?

Firefighter fatalities

 

I am writing a report for a class I am taking.  The report is on firefighter fatalities.  There is a lot of information on the subject from different sources like FEMA, NIOSH, and the U.S. Fire Administration.  The number one cause of firefighter fatalities is heart attack.  That is why it is so important for firefighters to stay in shape.  Sometimes we get criticized for working out at work, but as you can see, working out is one of the most important things we can do to keep ourselves safe.

The number two cause of firefighter fatalities is trauma.  That is another story for another time.

ANOTHER POOL DAY

Here I am at FS105’s again. This time I have my A/O Lou with me, so it is a little more like home. Nothing much happened today. Lets see, we killed a rattle snake by chopping off its head. Did you know that a rattle snake can bite you up to two hours after chopping its head off? We buried its head on the side of a hill. Oh, the snake was only about 18” long. But the little old lady was trapped in her house and could not leave.

We also rescued a baby from a car. Like many times before, mom got out of her car and let her two-year-old son play with the keys. You can guess what happened, the child pressed the door lock and we were called to save the day. All in a day's work.

I took off last shift and good thing I did. Lou was working and while responding to a structure fire, the tillerman tillered into a parked car. You have to call the Chief and PD out for a full investigation. Not to mention the paperwork that is involved. Oh well, good thing I was not there.

POOL DAY

The City is trying to save money in every way possible. First they stop hiring, then they shut down companies - I think they are trying to balance the budget on the backs of the Fire Department. Now, you can’t just close a company, because it would be politically bad, so, they brown out companies. This gives the illusion that the companies are open because the apparatus is still in quarters and one company is still responding. This is my segment to be in the pool. That means I go where the vacancy is. Today, it is in the west end of the Valley, FS105.

Let me tell you about our first and only run so far. It was an elevator call. Someone was stuck in a elevator at the Medical Center. The only thing is I am thinking it is an Automatic Alarm. Yah, I should have read the printout, and I did, but I got Automatic Alarm on my brain. So, the guys go in and I am sitting on the rig waiting for a size-up. I hear nothing. I am waiting and wondering why nobody is saying anything to me about what they find. I finally looked down at the printout and see that it says elevator. I felt like an idiot.

I got off the rig fast and caught up with the guys and acted like I knew exactly what I was doing. I guess next time I should pay more attention to the printout. It never fails that I screw up when I am pooled out to another fire station. That’s why I don’t like being pooled.

Grandpa

Hey everyone, I am a grandpa again. This time I had the privilege to be in the delivery room and assist by counting to ten to let Natalia know how long to push. It is amazing to watch a child come into the world; what a miracle from God.

It seems to be better being a grandpa. You know what to expect and most important you know what is important and what is not. I am more at ease when things go bad and not so upset when he screws up. I know he is a good boy and it will all be O.K. But, of course, he will need parents that will be strict and teach the discipline. I feel good that is not my job.

Raising a child takes a balance between love and discipline. You can’t do either one too much or you will have trouble. You can’t spank when you are mad. I do believe in spanking, but done properly and with the idea to improve and to teach. Raising a child takes time and discipline on the parents' part. As a parent you must study your child and know what makes him tick.

There is not any such method that is perfect. That is why you must know your child and study him or her to know just how to raise them. No one else can do it.