Fire! fire!

[dave1949]

No fireman fund dues here either. I think someone in Kentucky mentioned this some time back. I've never heard of it.

Our VFD expenses are part of town budget that is paid for with property taxes and a smidgen of state revenue sharing.

I got involved with our VFD about a year ago. At 63 years-old, zero fire training and no SCBA, I probably ain't going to drag your butt out of a burning building, but I do a mean on-scene traffic control. :laughing: For me, just pitching in to support the community is the thing. I don't take any stipends for it.

 

[daugen]

No fireman fund dues here either. I think someone in Kentucky mentioned this some time back. I've never heard of it.

Our VFD expenses are part of town budget that is paid for with property taxes and a smidgen of state revenue sharing.

I got involved with our VFD about a year ago. At 63 years-old, zero fire training and no SCBA, I probably ain't going to drag your butt out of a burning building, but I do a mean on-scene traffic control. :laughing: For me, just pitching in to support the community is the thing. I don't take any stipends for it.

you and I are the same age, I wish my back was still working well enough to be active. I actually first really ruined it pulling the hood off a 5 series BMW on fire. Except the latch was still engaged. Got it open...and didn't walk for two days. Dumb, but then we were much younger. But I had to stop when I realized I wasn't able to pull my buddy out. Half the dept was heavy so that was a real issue. You try to manhandle a 250 pound guy with both of you in SCBA gear when you have herniated discs that you have to ignore because it is your duty to get that man out. I was afraid I'd let someone down. So then I drove trucks for a couple of years until I couldn't pick up the hard suction any more. So then I did what you are doing, and enjoyed it, though the 3am sleet storms really were miserable. But get out there where you know a lot of the drivers/neighbors and you can have great fun.
Just be careful of the texters and yappers who will run you over.

 

[dusty3030]

If the person who called that fire in saw one of mine they'd have a stroke before they dialed 911.

 

[turnkey4099]

One thing that we have been told is that if you don't pay your "fireman fund dues" yearly that they wont try to put out a fire at your home if it occurs.

Most of us who have ever held an inch and a half get a little nauseous when we hear of this. Where does service to the community come in?
This does happen in certain areas, areas I bet that are not well funded by county or state funds.
Sticker on the front window or door or we watch it burn.
Not on my watch.

We had a wildfire burning in the canyons at the south end of the county. All the county was covered with volunteer FDs funded by taxes. Too bad that south end had refused several times to form an FD. I spent an 8 hour shift explaining to the residents down there who were weeping gnashing their teeth why they weren't going to get free fire service. It even went allthe way to the governor who backed us up.

Harry K

 

[turnkey4099]

If the person who called that fire in saw one of mine they'd have a stroke before they dialed 911.

I heat with wood and have had piles 10ft high and 20ft around. I was cleaning up a grove of big willow that had burned over. Rather spectacular.

Harry K

 

[rekees4300]

Nice fire! Only thing missing is marshmallows.

 

[dave1949]

you and I are the same age, I wish my back was still working well enough to be active. I actually first really ruined it pulling the hood off a 5 series BMW on fire. Except the latch was still engaged. Got it open...and didn't walk for two days. Dumb, but then we were much younger. But I had to stop when I realized I wasn't able to pull my buddy out. Half the dept was heavy so that was a real issue. You try to manhandle a 250 pound guy with both of you in SCBA gear when you have herniated discs that you have to ignore because it is your duty to get that man out. I was afraid I'd let someone down. So then I drove trucks for a couple of years until I couldn't pick up the hard suction any more. So then I did what you are doing, and enjoyed it, though the 3am sleet storms really were miserable. But get out there where you know a lot of the drivers/neighbors and you can have great fun.
Just be careful of the texters and yappers who will run you over.

Good advice on the traffic.

We have a pretty good crew of much younger guys who do the real fire fighting. But I know what you mean, if I saw one of them in trouble, I'd have to do whatever I could. If you can't save your buddies, then you become an added danger, in a way. Better to not force that on someone by knowing our limits.

Having another pair of hands for fetching and lugging, hose washes, truck and equipment checks, keeping the station swept and clean, etc. is appreciated. I never really understood how much labor is involved in all that stuff, let alone the on-scene work dragging out ladders, tools, lights, generators, it all adds up to a pile of stuff to lug while wearing turn-out gear at a minimum.

It keeps me active and fortunately, my back is okay. I have a few groin muscles I need to baby now and then.

 

[YesDeere]

I am actually not allowed to burn so calling it in is not gonna happen. I am going to look into a permit from now on. I am gonna take a couple cases of nice 8 oz fresh burgers over to them boys, first nice spring weekend. They were all really cool guys. They weren't mad at all.

Actually I lie about the permit. I am going back to what I used to do with my brush. See that old silo to the right? "Redneck Chiminea". It's just a pain to stuff when you have that much brush. But you can light that thing off with no problems. Do it at night when the wind is right and no one even knows about it.

 

[RobertN]

Marshmallows?

I'd have a dutch oven on the coals with a nice peach cobbler or similar going

as an aside, has anyone here ever had a real marsh mallow? Not these sugar ones, but one really made from mallow plant?

Wikipedia: "Confectioners in early 19th century France made the innovation of whipping up the marshmallow sap and sweetening it, to make a confection similar to modern marshmallow. The confection was made locally, however, by the owners of small sweet shops. They would extract the sap from the mallow plant's root, and whip it themselves. The candy was very popular, but its manufacture was labour-intensive. In the late 19th century, French manufacturers thought of using egg whites or gelatin, combined with modified corn starch, to create the chewy base. This avoided the labour-intensive extraction process, but it did require industrial methods to combine the gelatin and corn starch in the right way"

Nice fire! Only thing missing is marshmallows.

 

[RobertN]

I have heard of it before too, but not locally.

We have a big district, paid/volunteer mix. All is paid by local taxes. On any given fire, you will have multiple Engines from other agencies showiwng as mutual aid too.

If there is a fire, we put it out and Admin figures the rest out.

No fireman fund dues here either. I think someone in Kentucky mentioned this some time back. I've never heard of it.

Our VFD expenses are part of town budget that is paid for with property taxes and a smidgen of state revenue sharing.