Station 16 was the site of a first class lobster feed Saturday. Our lovely benefactor, Tammy Smith (aka the Captain’s Wench), provided eight 1 1/2 pound lobsters, two pounds of mussels, and two pounds of clams. Station personnel supplemented the fare with steaks, homemade cheddar biscuits, and wild rice. The event took on a carnival-like atmosphere with lobster rides for the kids, clam races, and a “dress like your favorite fish” contest.
(click on the pictures for a better look)
The little beauties came packed in seaweed, in a styrofoam cooler, fresh from Maine. Also included were 8 servings of special “Maine made” deserts, cooking instructions, eating utensils, a map showing where they were caught, and DVD showing the fishing process and a little bit about the company Catch a Piece of Maine.
Here, Ms. Smith demonstrates the proper technique to dispatch a lobster. Brice Romero brought in the pot he uses to deep fry turkeys. It worked perfectly!
Of course, once the process started, no one could resist taking a closer look. It’s just not something any of us had a lot of experience with.
Most of us with any time on the job, just knew that the meal couldn’t come off without a fire or some other call coming in the middle of the prep or the actual meal itself. But to everyone’s surprise, we prepared and ate in peace.
It seemed a shame that with all of this fine food. No one seemed to be enjoying themselves at all.
It’s a shame really!
Thanks Tammy!
This is some video of AP-16 in route to an unknown fire. Engine 16 is already up ahead. It tuned out to be someone burning leaves and brush, behind their house. Not too exciting, but I had my Blackberry on and wanted to try the video again. Notice how the nice West Side drivers get out of the way. If this had been on the east side of town, I don’t think things would have gone as well.
Someone very special, asked me recently about Mondays being slower than weekends, at the Fire Station. I told her that it never makes any sense. Sometimes a Tuesday will be busy, and a Saturday will be quiet, with no alarms. You can never tell.
Well, today was one of those busy Mondays. The Engine was at a funeral until almost 1400 hours, leaving the AP to cover alarms in the area.
We started with the day with a call to assist the Police with a home made pop bottle bomb. Acid (Muratic or drain cleaner) plus aluminum foil, sealed in a one liter bottle. One had been left on a woman’s porch last night and found by her son this morning. There was no damage. Just a little mess on the porch. After that, a couple of medical alarms rounded out the morning.
This week happens to be the time when the Sewer Department is smoke testing the sewers in the area. So, naturally, the afternoon was spent, responding to alarms called in by people who had not read the warning in their water bills, and thought their houses were on fire.
In our spare time we fit in a little car wreck. This gentleman suffers from a medical condition, and passed out while driving over the Big Ditch. No injuries were reported in the car, just numerous sprained necks from people driving by.
Today was such a nice day we had some Aerial Platform training. It’s been awhile since we’ve had it out and messed with it, it was nice to see the old girl stretched out and flowing water.
The only flaw in our plan was the south wind. When we opened the nozzle up, much of the water was carried to the neighboring business’s parking lot. We’ll see if we get any complaints. It was decided that future sessions will have to take place where no innocent cars will be involved.
On a lighter note, the two rookies that were in the basket, learned about remote control nozzles, first hand. In the middle of flowing water, the AP driver overrode the basket’s nozzle controls, and opened the nozzle pattern as wide as it would go. This effectively soaked the two probational employees that were riding there.
Not much scarier than riding in a 10 ton vehicle on a sheet of ice. But, it’s beautiful and good for business. We made quite a few 10-48’s (injury accidents) during this last ice storm.
Nothing serious in our area, however, down in Derby, my son’s English teacher was involved in a wreck and had to be flown to the hospital. She spent several days in a drug induced coma. They say she should make a full recovery, but she’s done teaching school for the rest of the year.
We got a call to assist people that were trying to rescue a dog that had fallen through the ice. Our concern with these alarms, is that people will be so intent on rescuing the dog, that sometimes they get themselves in a position where they need rescuing themselves. Sure enough, on our way to the scene, the dispatcher advised that someone had fallen through the ice.
When we got on scene, there was the dog’s owner, standing next to the lake, soaking wet. Steve Runyan, our Rookie, volunteered to play hero and rescue the dog. Since no one else was trying to push their way in front of him, he got the job. As soon as he was tied to a rope and a life jacket fastened around him, in he went.
He said later, that once he got over the initial shock of the cold water, it just got colder. After 30 seconds of breaking ice with his stocking feet, he made it to the dog. Then, he and the dog raced each other to the bank. As soon as he reached the bank, I told Steve to get in the cab of the engine. Surprisingly, I got no argument.
“What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty man.”
It started out early in the day with a code blue (subject not breathing). We ended up doing CPR for about 40 minutes and EMS shocked him 4 times. I don’t think he made it.
After many more calls we made a man choking. I only took this picture because I remembered I had the iPhone.
Then, about an hour later, we made a small apartment fire at the Cimmaron Apartments in the 700 block of North Ridge Road. We were the third unit in, so we got to stay and help. No real fire, just some smoldering wood.
This is just a shot of the room we store our bunker gear when we are off shift. Usually there are at least 14 sets of gear here any given day.
Just a test from my iPhone.
