I guess this fits well in this forum...
As a town council member, I serve as my town's fire commissioner (basically a liaison between the town and our two volunteer fire departments). I work out of town, so I've never joined the fire department thinking that I wasn't around enough to help out. After recently completing First Responder training at work, I decided to join the fire department. I figured even though I wasn't home much, I could help out when I was there. So, last Tuesday evening, I joined the Glen Allen Volunteer Fire Department.
Even with the very dry weather we've been having, GA VFD hadn't had a call in several weeks. Most calls are grass/woods fires where someone is burning trash or brush piles and it gets away from them. An occasional car wreck in our coverage area will get the Rescue Truck rolling. Fortunately, our little fire department isn't extremely busy. However, Saturday was a pretty busy day.
Having been a member of the VFD (can't claim the title of firefighter without the training) for just over 3 days, I was mowing grass on Saturday when my pager went off. I killed the mower to hear dispatch conducting a test. Whew! I thought I was about to go on my first call. While I was taking a break and letting my son mow for a while, a copperhead came crawling out of the shed where my other son was playing with doodlebugs (ant lions)! I caught the snake and put it in a bucket (more on this later).
After a half hour or so, I took over the mowing again to give my son a water break. Soon after I got back on the mower, the pager goes off again. Dispatch is notifying Glen Allen and Hubbertville VFD's of a tractor trailer of hay on fire on one of our (very) rural county roads. I disconnected the trailer from my p/u, gathered up the boys and took off to the firehouse. Once at the firehouse, I told the boys to go back and finish the mowing, and to leave the copperhead alone. I'd deal with it when I got back.
Engine #1 had already left the station and was soon on the scene (7 minutes from dispatch to on scene!). A couple other firefighters arrived at the station when I did, so they jumped in a tanker truck and I jumped in the rescue truck. When we arrived on the scene, GA VFD #1 was there with Hubbertville VFD #1. My chief asked why I brought the rescue truck. I told him I brought it because it was there and I needed a ride. He half jokingly told me that since I'd brought it, I'd be washing it when we got back to the station.
They pretty much had the blaze under control, but if you've ever experienced a hay fire, you know that it's very difficult to get it completely out. Turns out it was a long-time family friend that was pulling a metal (thank goodness) trailer with a dozen round bales stacked two wide in one layer with his JD tractor. Once the fire was cooled, the farmer decided that he could pull it on to his place and unload the smoldering bales.
So, here we go down the county road, the tractor towing the smoldering hay up front, two fire engines next in line, then the rescue truck, then several other vehicles with all of the volunteers that showed up. We get about a mile down the road, and, as a result of the smoldering hay getting fresh air from rolling down the road, it blazes up again. So, the farmer stops, we pull out the hoses, and cool it down again. Here we go again... This time, the farmer is successful in making it to his place where he pulls the trailer down to a pond in his pasture. It just happens to be down a hill where the engines can't go, but the F350 4WD rescue truck has no problem going down in there. And, it just so happens that the rescue truck has a pump on back that can be rigged up to pump water from the pond. So, we back the truck down to the pond and start pumping water. As the farmer unloads the bales with his hay forks, they get air underneath them and flame up. Fortunately, we've got a hose dowsing the flames as he unloads them.
The chief walks over and says, "I sure am glad you brought that rescue truck." The hay was a total loss. The farmer said that the cows wouldn't eat it with the smokey, charred smell/taste. But, he was very appreciative of our efforts. And made a $100 donation to the fire departments on the spot! We assured him that he was not obligated to pay anything, but he told us to put it toward fuel for the trucks. Luckily, the trailer was an all metal type (except for the tires, of course), so there was no damage to it.
The farmer said he isn't sure how the fire started. It was good, dry hay and he didn't think that it had went through a heat. He said that the best he could figure was that while pulling a hill, a spark escaped his tractor's exhaust and ignited the hay. Or, while pulling the trailer up the gravel road, rocks kicking up and hitting the underside of the metal trailer had sparked the fire. He said that when he smelled the smoke and looked back, the whole front of the trailer (first two bales) were fully engulfed, so he couldn't tell where the fire had started (on top or underneath).
My boys finished the mowing fine without me, but made the mistake of transporting the live copperhead back home. When they got there, they told my wife, "Come look what we've got!" Needless to say, when she looked in the bucket, she was not very happy! I got a good scolding for leaving the boys with a captive, live, poisonous snake (a justly deserved scolding I might add). And, the boys got another scolding from me reminding them to never mess with snakes (especially poisonous ones). I had told them not to bother the snake. That I would take care of it when I got back from the fire. I recon they assumed that I'd rather take care of it at home than have to go back to where we were mowing to take care of it. Of course, partly because I intended to kill it anyway, and partly to appease my wife, I promptly removed the snake's head after getting back home.
Sorry for the long post. It was a very exciting Saturday afternoon!
Later,
BR
As a town council member, I serve as my town's fire commissioner (basically a liaison between the town and our two volunteer fire departments). I work out of town, so I've never joined the fire department thinking that I wasn't around enough to help out. After recently completing First Responder training at work, I decided to join the fire department. I figured even though I wasn't home much, I could help out when I was there. So, last Tuesday evening, I joined the Glen Allen Volunteer Fire Department.
Even with the very dry weather we've been having, GA VFD hadn't had a call in several weeks. Most calls are grass/woods fires where someone is burning trash or brush piles and it gets away from them. An occasional car wreck in our coverage area will get the Rescue Truck rolling. Fortunately, our little fire department isn't extremely busy. However, Saturday was a pretty busy day.
Having been a member of the VFD (can't claim the title of firefighter without the training) for just over 3 days, I was mowing grass on Saturday when my pager went off. I killed the mower to hear dispatch conducting a test. Whew! I thought I was about to go on my first call. While I was taking a break and letting my son mow for a while, a copperhead came crawling out of the shed where my other son was playing with doodlebugs (ant lions)! I caught the snake and put it in a bucket (more on this later).
After a half hour or so, I took over the mowing again to give my son a water break. Soon after I got back on the mower, the pager goes off again. Dispatch is notifying Glen Allen and Hubbertville VFD's of a tractor trailer of hay on fire on one of our (very) rural county roads. I disconnected the trailer from my p/u, gathered up the boys and took off to the firehouse. Once at the firehouse, I told the boys to go back and finish the mowing, and to leave the copperhead alone. I'd deal with it when I got back.
Engine #1 had already left the station and was soon on the scene (7 minutes from dispatch to on scene!). A couple other firefighters arrived at the station when I did, so they jumped in a tanker truck and I jumped in the rescue truck. When we arrived on the scene, GA VFD #1 was there with Hubbertville VFD #1. My chief asked why I brought the rescue truck. I told him I brought it because it was there and I needed a ride. He half jokingly told me that since I'd brought it, I'd be washing it when we got back to the station.
They pretty much had the blaze under control, but if you've ever experienced a hay fire, you know that it's very difficult to get it completely out. Turns out it was a long-time family friend that was pulling a metal (thank goodness) trailer with a dozen round bales stacked two wide in one layer with his JD tractor. Once the fire was cooled, the farmer decided that he could pull it on to his place and unload the smoldering bales.So, here we go down the county road, the tractor towing the smoldering hay up front, two fire engines next in line, then the rescue truck, then several other vehicles with all of the volunteers that showed up. We get about a mile down the road, and, as a result of the smoldering hay getting fresh air from rolling down the road, it blazes up again. So, the farmer stops, we pull out the hoses, and cool it down again. Here we go again... This time, the farmer is successful in making it to his place where he pulls the trailer down to a pond in his pasture. It just happens to be down a hill where the engines can't go, but the F350 4WD rescue truck has no problem going down in there. And, it just so happens that the rescue truck has a pump on back that can be rigged up to pump water from the pond. So, we back the truck down to the pond and start pumping water. As the farmer unloads the bales with his hay forks, they get air underneath them and flame up. Fortunately, we've got a hose dowsing the flames as he unloads them.
The chief walks over and says, "I sure am glad you brought that rescue truck."
The hay was a total loss. The farmer said that the cows wouldn't eat it with the smokey, charred smell/taste. But, he was very appreciative of our efforts. And made a $100 donation to the fire departments on the spot! We assured him that he was not obligated to pay anything, but he told us to put it toward fuel for the trucks. Luckily, the trailer was an all metal type (except for the tires, of course), so there was no damage to it.The farmer said he isn't sure how the fire started. It was good, dry hay and he didn't think that it had went through a heat. He said that the best he could figure was that while pulling a hill, a spark escaped his tractor's exhaust and ignited the hay. Or, while pulling the trailer up the gravel road, rocks kicking up and hitting the underside of the metal trailer had sparked the fire. He said that when he smelled the smoke and looked back, the whole front of the trailer (first two bales) were fully engulfed, so he couldn't tell where the fire had started (on top or underneath).
My boys finished the mowing fine without me, but made the mistake of transporting the live copperhead back home. When they got there, they told my wife, "Come look what we've got!" Needless to say, when she looked in the bucket, she was not very happy! I got a good scolding for leaving the boys with a captive, live, poisonous snake (a justly deserved scolding I might add). And, the boys got another scolding from me reminding them to never mess with snakes (especially poisonous ones). I had told them not to bother the snake. That I would take care of it when I got back from the fire. I recon they assumed that I'd rather take care of it at home than have to go back to where we were mowing to take care of it. Of course, partly because I intended to kill it anyway, and partly to appease my wife, I promptly removed the snake's head after getting back home.
Sorry for the long post. It was a very exciting Saturday afternoon!
Later,
BR
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