Today was going pretty well until I got a phone call from my mother around 1900. A prominent citizen in our community that was close to the family died this week. They think he died a couple of days ago, but aren't sure. Somebody called for a well being check after two days because he didn't show up at work (he owned a business). They found him dead. He was only 52. He left behind a 17 year old daughter and ex-wife (which he was still on really good terms with); they were my neighbors when I lived up there (in Wisconsin).
I am contemplating whether or not I will make the 325 mile journey up there tomorrow for his service. Logically, I probably shouldn't because of gas prices and me not working, and because I have to work at 0800 on Friday. But, on the other hand, I would like to be there for my neighbors and for my mother who will also be attending the funeral. I guess I will decide in the morning. I can always find coverage for the first 1/2 of my shift on Friday if I have to.
Other than that life is good. I am ready to get back to work. Hopefully I still fit in my uniform :). Yeah, that would definitely suck. Ha.
I can't believe that January is almost halfway over with already. I just realized that a week from tomorrow my third job starts-I start teaching for the EMT-B class again.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Work Release
I went to the doctor today...and she cleared me for work! Yeah!!! I am so unbelievably happy right now :) I got back to my 24 hour shift at the ambulance company on Friday, and I am back at the fire department on the 17th. Ahhh....
I can't believe it is finally here-my psycho life has returned. I will write more tomorrow. I am going to go out and celebrate or something...
I can't believe it is finally here-my psycho life has returned. I will write more tomorrow. I am going to go out and celebrate or something...
Monday, January 9, 2006
Community Education
So close, yet so far to being back to work. I go to the doctor tomorrow. I am praying that I will be able to convince her to let me return to work. I am so ready. I did schedule my first physical therapy session, but unfortunately I know how they work. Once you're in physical therapy, it is up to them to release you-not your doctor; so basically if they decide I'm not 100% I don't go back to work. That would really piss be off. Oh well wish me luck.
In my time off I have had a lot of time (obviously) to think about my future. I am psyched about the new year. My classes will be great and I am ready to have my psycho schedule back. And, of course, I'm always looking for something else to take up more of my time (sleep is so overrated).
On Thanksgiving Day I posted about a incident I had in my apartment with Carbon Monoxide. I spoke with my management at my apartment complex a few times about it and I decided that I am going to do some sort of fire prevention/public education at the complex. The manager agreed that this would be a good idea. I have everything typed out-including handouts about smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire safety in the home, etc. I plan on putting on several nights of public education in my apartment community so that I can tell them my story and urge my fellow neighbors to take action and get CO detectors, check their smoke detectors, and have a plan if there ever is an emergency. I have also spoken to managment about fire drills, escape plans, setting up meeting places and fire prevention ideas that will dispersed in our monthly newsletters-to both my community (at Osprey Lake) and other communities owned by the same company.
I would also like to include my EMS skills including offering several nights a month for free blood pressure readings, and (once I am certified) offering free or very low cost CPR and first aid training.
I am depending on some of my fellow firefighters, EMTs and medics from my fire station, private amublance job, and other adjunct instructors to help me get this started- I think it will be a great learning opportunity for both myself and everyone else involved.
I never realized until just recently how much I enjoy teaching and sharing what I know with my community. I have been an adjunt instructor for a local EMT-B course for about a year or so; teaching practical skills, such as first aid, shock management, medical/trauma assessment, etc. I have always loved it and I think it is important that I share this with my own community outside of the classroom-free of charge. It is a small thing that I can give back to my community that has given so much to me.
So, wish me luck in my endeavors-hopefully I will get into the CPR and First Aid instructor classes so I can get my show on the road-literally. If all works out, I will be accepted into the National Fire Academy in June for a week long course on Fire Prevention and Public Education-my application is in, now I just have to wait. Cross your fingers :)
In my time off I have had a lot of time (obviously) to think about my future. I am psyched about the new year. My classes will be great and I am ready to have my psycho schedule back. And, of course, I'm always looking for something else to take up more of my time (sleep is so overrated).
On Thanksgiving Day I posted about a incident I had in my apartment with Carbon Monoxide. I spoke with my management at my apartment complex a few times about it and I decided that I am going to do some sort of fire prevention/public education at the complex. The manager agreed that this would be a good idea. I have everything typed out-including handouts about smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire safety in the home, etc. I plan on putting on several nights of public education in my apartment community so that I can tell them my story and urge my fellow neighbors to take action and get CO detectors, check their smoke detectors, and have a plan if there ever is an emergency. I have also spoken to managment about fire drills, escape plans, setting up meeting places and fire prevention ideas that will dispersed in our monthly newsletters-to both my community (at Osprey Lake) and other communities owned by the same company.
I would also like to include my EMS skills including offering several nights a month for free blood pressure readings, and (once I am certified) offering free or very low cost CPR and first aid training.
I am depending on some of my fellow firefighters, EMTs and medics from my fire station, private amublance job, and other adjunct instructors to help me get this started- I think it will be a great learning opportunity for both myself and everyone else involved.
I never realized until just recently how much I enjoy teaching and sharing what I know with my community. I have been an adjunt instructor for a local EMT-B course for about a year or so; teaching practical skills, such as first aid, shock management, medical/trauma assessment, etc. I have always loved it and I think it is important that I share this with my own community outside of the classroom-free of charge. It is a small thing that I can give back to my community that has given so much to me.
So, wish me luck in my endeavors-hopefully I will get into the CPR and First Aid instructor classes so I can get my show on the road-literally. If all works out, I will be accepted into the National Fire Academy in June for a week long course on Fire Prevention and Public Education-my application is in, now I just have to wait. Cross your fingers :)
Sunday, January 8, 2006
Bored
Yeah, I haven't posted in a while. This is simply because my life has been absolutely boring. My roommate finally moved out. She just have to finish repainting her room, turn in her keys, and sign off on the lease and she's finally out of here. Unfortunately I got screwed-she didn't pay her rent or bills for the past months. Damn.
I start classes in 2 weeks. I just ordered my books. I am especially excited about my dance classes. I am going to finally be back to my extra busy schedule-just how I like it :). I go back to the doctor on the 10th- hopefully to come out of it with a work release. Then I can get back to my normal schedule; 24 hr shifts every 3rd day at the ambulance company, day/night shifts and training at the fire department (including ice rescue certification :) ), 18 credit hours worth of classes, teaching at the local EMT-B class 2-3 times a week, and in the spring I will start back at the local theme park. I also applied for a patient care tech job a a semi-local hospital to do in my free time. Other than that I've just been getting ready to go back to work and fire training. I started my regular work out schedule again today (30 minutes of stretching, 5 miles on the elliptical and 1 hour of weight training). I feel so much better. Wow. I forgot how much I loved it. Good times.
I start classes in 2 weeks. I just ordered my books. I am especially excited about my dance classes. I am going to finally be back to my extra busy schedule-just how I like it :). I go back to the doctor on the 10th- hopefully to come out of it with a work release. Then I can get back to my normal schedule; 24 hr shifts every 3rd day at the ambulance company, day/night shifts and training at the fire department (including ice rescue certification :) ), 18 credit hours worth of classes, teaching at the local EMT-B class 2-3 times a week, and in the spring I will start back at the local theme park. I also applied for a patient care tech job a a semi-local hospital to do in my free time. Other than that I've just been getting ready to go back to work and fire training. I started my regular work out schedule again today (30 minutes of stretching, 5 miles on the elliptical and 1 hour of weight training). I feel so much better. Wow. I forgot how much I loved it. Good times.
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Chest Pain
I drove him to Lake Forest Hospital. They got him in right away- ran a 12-lead, drew labs, did a chest x-ray- the whole nine yards. So far everything was negative. The bad news was that the doctor wanted to admit him to draw more labs, do a stress test, etc. He didn't like that too much (and I don't blame him). He decided he was going to sign AMA. The nurse was getting the paperwork ready and the doctor just had to finish up in another room before he talked to my friend.
Just before the nurse came in my friend stopped talking mid-sentence and had a funny look on his face, so I automatically looked at the monitor. He was throwing a PAC every beat, although I wouldn't normally associate that with chest pain-as soon as his pain went away so did the PACs. Weird. I went out and got the nurse-they did another 12-lead, which was still unchanged, but now he had to stay. We got him settled in his room and I stayed there until I was kicked out because it wasn't visiting hours. I was told to come back at 0800 (it was already around 0630). So, I went home and made Velveeta shells and cheese because he had been talking about it all night and I knew he wouldn't eat the hospital food, took a shower and made my way back to the hospital. They ran him around doing all kinds of tests. By the evening he was cleared to go-they changed his blood pressure meds because his old ones made him short of breath, and he was good to go. Whew. That was scary.
Time to rest. No more action hopefully for a while-I'm praying for good health. My cold still hasn't blown over from Sunday and it is going into my chest. Hopefully no pneumonia-I had enough of that last year.
Just before the nurse came in my friend stopped talking mid-sentence and had a funny look on his face, so I automatically looked at the monitor. He was throwing a PAC every beat, although I wouldn't normally associate that with chest pain-as soon as his pain went away so did the PACs. Weird. I went out and got the nurse-they did another 12-lead, which was still unchanged, but now he had to stay. We got him settled in his room and I stayed there until I was kicked out because it wasn't visiting hours. I was told to come back at 0800 (it was already around 0630). So, I went home and made Velveeta shells and cheese because he had been talking about it all night and I knew he wouldn't eat the hospital food, took a shower and made my way back to the hospital. They ran him around doing all kinds of tests. By the evening he was cleared to go-they changed his blood pressure meds because his old ones made him short of breath, and he was good to go. Whew. That was scary.
Time to rest. No more action hopefully for a while-I'm praying for good health. My cold still hasn't blown over from Sunday and it is going into my chest. Hopefully no pneumonia-I had enough of that last year.
Monday, January 2, 2006
Bottles and Cans
Our last day in New York. That sucks. I woke up this morning to the smell of frying food, and Tony singing at the top of his lungs. It really wasn't what I would call a song, but rather a refrain that never ends; "Bottles and Cans, Cans and Bottles, Bottles and Cans, Bottles and Cans...." It finally quieted down after about twenty or so minutes of this.
We got somewhat of a late start. We wandered a bit throughout the neighborhoods and then we went out to Jones Beach. It is really beautiful there. We walked the boardwalk and took some pictures. Then we went into one of the warming houses to get breakfast. I had my first "egg sandwich." It was good. We walked around a bit more, decided it was way too cold and headed back to Huntington Station.
We thought we were flying out at 2000, but decided to look at the tickets to be sure. It was a good thing because we would have missed our flight-it left at 1830, arriving at Midway at 2000. Oops. We stopped at the place that Tony works at. He basically sorts out bottles and cans- 24 to a case, throws out the ones that the business doesn't sell, packages them onto pallets, totals up the value and gives the customer a receipt. We stood and watched for a while to see exactly what he does everyday because he tells us the oddest stories about it. Now I know that they are true. The people are ridiculous. I never realized how hot of a commodity cans and bottles can be. Some of the people would come back three or four times in one day-making well over $100. It could be a job in itself. I don't know where one would find so many bottles or cans, but what do I know. I throw them away with all my other garbage.
We went back to the apartment to get in a quick nap before we had to go to the airport. Tony returned shortly after we did. Then the grub followed...he knocked on the door and this is what I heard; Grub: "Can I have a cigarette? You know you love me." Tony: "...Yeah, I love you like a retarted son." I just thought that was really funny. The things that pop out of his mouth sometimes are unbelievable.
Our flight ended up running almost 30 minutes late due to weather in Chicago. All was good for the most part. Boarding the plane was okay, and we got seats next to each other. We flew on Southwest Airlines and there it is first come first serve seating. Kind of weird, but it worked out since there were 30 open seats on the flight.
This is where things got bad. The flight attendants started serving drinks, etc. when the captain announced that we might be hitting some turbulence. Okay, not too big of a deal, right? Wrong. Less than five minutes later the captain came back over the intercom, told the flight attendants to stop serving, seal everything up for landing and to get into their seats. It is never good when the captain starts telling the flight attendants what to do. Then I saw a couple of flight attendants with worried looks on their faces whispering to each other. Another flight attendant yelled at a guy sitting behind us because his cell phone was on-he was just playing games. Yeah, that can't be good. Then I figured out why. We started to get into some really bad turbulence. At one point my butt wasn't even on my seat anymore. The whole plane was shaking-I thought for sure that we were going down. This must have lasted for quite a while; I could feel us dropping altitudes to get out of the worst of the storm-the next thing I new we were descending and getting ready to land. Thank God. We had to land using instruments only because it was so foggy.
I heard later from some friends that no flights were allowed to leave Chicago due to the storm and fog. We were one of the only flights that was actually allowed to land-most were forced to land elsewhere and layover until the storm passed.
I was extremely relieved once we hit ground. It scared me at first because by looking out the window I couldn't tell we were landing-it was too foggy. The jolt took me by surprise and my heart jumped into my throat. We had to wait about 20 minutes for our gate to open up-another plane was still in it. While we were sitting on the runway my friend said, "I have to tell you something. I couldn't tell you while we were flying because you were already too scared. I got really bad chest pain that ran into my left arm and I felt like I was going to pass out." I was just like, "Shit. Why didn't you tell me? You need to go to the hospital...this isn't the first time this has happened and we aren't screwing around anymore." He didn't want to go-he said the pain was gone already and he felt fine. Great-so here comes a five hour fight to get him to go to the hospital.
We made our way off the plane and to the baggage claim. The whole way I was trying to convince my friend to go to the hospital. He said, "it's only a little bit of angina-no big deal..." And I responded, rather loudly, "what the hell do you think angina is a F***ing musical?" I got a lot of funny looks-but whatever. I had to do something to convince him to go. He is an EMT and knows perfectly well that chest pain isn't normal. I'm a medic so I thought I would try to explain maybe a little bit more the difference between angina (such as chest pain on exertion that goes away at rest) and true chest pain that is more worrisome-such as pain at rest, radiating to the left arm and jaw, sweating, weakness, etc.
We got onto the EL and ended up getting off at the wrong stop. That is a whole story in itself. I tried to be smart and push my big bag through the little turnstyle and get me, my backpack and laptop through all at once-bad idea. my foot got caught on my bag that was on the ground. My leg pushed the turnstyle so that my other leg was caught. It was all going in slow motion; I was diving head first into the concrete floor over my bags as the turnstyle caught me other leg from below. Yeah. I landed with a huge thud-my glasses flew off my face. I was laughing my ass off- hoping that once I got up I wouldn't be hurting. It turned out to be okay- I had a little bump on my head and I will probably have a few bruises, but it was worth the laughs. The best part was that the lady behind the ticket window didn't even bat an eye at me. She acted like she saw this everyday. Maybe she does.
We had to walk a few blocks to get to Union Station but we made it. My friend was still adamant about not going-I was not giving up my fight. I spoke with him briefly on the train about it and I said I wasn't going to force him. We got to Round Lake, got a taxi, and went back to his house. I threw my luggage in my car. He knew he was defeated when I took the extra effort to get my bags into the back seat of my 2-door car. I got him into the ER and I will tell the rest in my next entry.
We got somewhat of a late start. We wandered a bit throughout the neighborhoods and then we went out to Jones Beach. It is really beautiful there. We walked the boardwalk and took some pictures. Then we went into one of the warming houses to get breakfast. I had my first "egg sandwich." It was good. We walked around a bit more, decided it was way too cold and headed back to Huntington Station.
We thought we were flying out at 2000, but decided to look at the tickets to be sure. It was a good thing because we would have missed our flight-it left at 1830, arriving at Midway at 2000. Oops. We stopped at the place that Tony works at. He basically sorts out bottles and cans- 24 to a case, throws out the ones that the business doesn't sell, packages them onto pallets, totals up the value and gives the customer a receipt. We stood and watched for a while to see exactly what he does everyday because he tells us the oddest stories about it. Now I know that they are true. The people are ridiculous. I never realized how hot of a commodity cans and bottles can be. Some of the people would come back three or four times in one day-making well over $100. It could be a job in itself. I don't know where one would find so many bottles or cans, but what do I know. I throw them away with all my other garbage.
We went back to the apartment to get in a quick nap before we had to go to the airport. Tony returned shortly after we did. Then the grub followed...he knocked on the door and this is what I heard; Grub: "Can I have a cigarette? You know you love me." Tony: "...Yeah, I love you like a retarted son." I just thought that was really funny. The things that pop out of his mouth sometimes are unbelievable.
Our flight ended up running almost 30 minutes late due to weather in Chicago. All was good for the most part. Boarding the plane was okay, and we got seats next to each other. We flew on Southwest Airlines and there it is first come first serve seating. Kind of weird, but it worked out since there were 30 open seats on the flight.
This is where things got bad. The flight attendants started serving drinks, etc. when the captain announced that we might be hitting some turbulence. Okay, not too big of a deal, right? Wrong. Less than five minutes later the captain came back over the intercom, told the flight attendants to stop serving, seal everything up for landing and to get into their seats. It is never good when the captain starts telling the flight attendants what to do. Then I saw a couple of flight attendants with worried looks on their faces whispering to each other. Another flight attendant yelled at a guy sitting behind us because his cell phone was on-he was just playing games. Yeah, that can't be good. Then I figured out why. We started to get into some really bad turbulence. At one point my butt wasn't even on my seat anymore. The whole plane was shaking-I thought for sure that we were going down. This must have lasted for quite a while; I could feel us dropping altitudes to get out of the worst of the storm-the next thing I new we were descending and getting ready to land. Thank God. We had to land using instruments only because it was so foggy.
I heard later from some friends that no flights were allowed to leave Chicago due to the storm and fog. We were one of the only flights that was actually allowed to land-most were forced to land elsewhere and layover until the storm passed.
I was extremely relieved once we hit ground. It scared me at first because by looking out the window I couldn't tell we were landing-it was too foggy. The jolt took me by surprise and my heart jumped into my throat. We had to wait about 20 minutes for our gate to open up-another plane was still in it. While we were sitting on the runway my friend said, "I have to tell you something. I couldn't tell you while we were flying because you were already too scared. I got really bad chest pain that ran into my left arm and I felt like I was going to pass out." I was just like, "Shit. Why didn't you tell me? You need to go to the hospital...this isn't the first time this has happened and we aren't screwing around anymore." He didn't want to go-he said the pain was gone already and he felt fine. Great-so here comes a five hour fight to get him to go to the hospital.
We made our way off the plane and to the baggage claim. The whole way I was trying to convince my friend to go to the hospital. He said, "it's only a little bit of angina-no big deal..." And I responded, rather loudly, "what the hell do you think angina is a F***ing musical?" I got a lot of funny looks-but whatever. I had to do something to convince him to go. He is an EMT and knows perfectly well that chest pain isn't normal. I'm a medic so I thought I would try to explain maybe a little bit more the difference between angina (such as chest pain on exertion that goes away at rest) and true chest pain that is more worrisome-such as pain at rest, radiating to the left arm and jaw, sweating, weakness, etc.
We got onto the EL and ended up getting off at the wrong stop. That is a whole story in itself. I tried to be smart and push my big bag through the little turnstyle and get me, my backpack and laptop through all at once-bad idea. my foot got caught on my bag that was on the ground. My leg pushed the turnstyle so that my other leg was caught. It was all going in slow motion; I was diving head first into the concrete floor over my bags as the turnstyle caught me other leg from below. Yeah. I landed with a huge thud-my glasses flew off my face. I was laughing my ass off- hoping that once I got up I wouldn't be hurting. It turned out to be okay- I had a little bump on my head and I will probably have a few bruises, but it was worth the laughs. The best part was that the lady behind the ticket window didn't even bat an eye at me. She acted like she saw this everyday. Maybe she does.
We had to walk a few blocks to get to Union Station but we made it. My friend was still adamant about not going-I was not giving up my fight. I spoke with him briefly on the train about it and I said I wasn't going to force him. We got to Round Lake, got a taxi, and went back to his house. I threw my luggage in my car. He knew he was defeated when I took the extra effort to get my bags into the back seat of my 2-door car. I got him into the ER and I will tell the rest in my next entry.
Sunday, January 1, 2006
Lazy Day
We got a very, very late start today. We didn't get up until about 1300. I still had a splitting headache. I have never gotten a hangover before, but it is what I would imagine it to be like. I just wanted to lie back in bed. I could tell as soon as I stood up that I had gotten myself sick from standing out in the cold yesterday. My nose was stuffed up, my sinuses hurt, I was coughing, my throat hurt, and my lungs felt really heavy. I really hope this doesn't turn out to be more than a cold; the last time I felt like this it turned into pneumonia. Great-let's hope that doesn't happen. Either way, colds always last a lot longer, and are more severe with me than most other people. I'm not quite sure why, but I attribute it to the fact that I have asthma. Oh well.
I got up anyways. I took a shower and felt a little bit better. Since we had blown most of the day sleeping we had to make a quick decision as to what to do with our few hours of daylight. we ended up going to Huntington Manor Fire Department which is just down the road from where we were staying. When we got there we ran into two police officers; in that part of Long Island they do shift changes at fire stations because it is more convenient. One of the officers took us over to the dispatch center and introduced us to one of the firefighters.
The guy was really nice. He showed us all the apparatus, which once again, was amazing by my standards. They seemed to have even more apparatus than West Islip. They also have two other stations. They had at least 2 engines, 2 trucks (with a brand new 3rd in the shop), a heavy rescue vehicle, a smaller version of an engine to fit into the parking garage, a dump truck, a fire police vehicle, command vehicles, and a huge semi-truck cab for towing the engines if need be. I think they also had some other stuff, but I can't remember everything. Like West Islip, they had company lounges which where set up very similar.
We got to see the memorial that is set up for their previous Fire Chief who was lost on 9/11 with F.D.N.Y. Squad 4. He wasn't even supposed to be working that day-he was called in to cover someone else. His wife went into labor with their child on the day of his funeral. It was really sad. Another town close by (Dix Hills) also lost their Fire Chief-he was found with the Chief from Huntington.
Another firefighter walked in as we were getting the tour and offered to take over. He was an officer on the hook and ladder company. He showed us around the rest of the building-which was absolutely huge. We saw the upstairs first. Their kitchen even put West Islip's to shame. It had just been redone. They had commercial everything-even their pots and pans looked like they cooked for an army on a daily basis. They even had a deep fryer like they have at fast food restaurants and a walk in freezer/fridge. They also have a dumbwaiter in the kitchen to get from the basement up. The guy giving us a tour told us when they have parties he likes to climb into it wrapped in a garbage bag and ride it from the basement up. He especially likes it when someone opens it and he pops out of the bag :). Around the corner was a huge wet bar, dance hall, and auditorium. The rest of the upstairs area was made up of offices. They also had an elevator-just in case you don't want to take the stairs.
He then proceeded to show us parts of the first floor that we missed. We saw the "miniature kitchen" that is even bigger than the kitchen at my fire house. They also had a TV and huge table in the room- it is right off the bay floor. He then proceeded to take us downstairs to show us the rest of the station. There was another kitchen, wet bar and sitting area with a huge TV. There was also a pool table, shuffle board and poker tables; not including all the regular tables. I was in awe. The guy was like, "this bar is for the rowdy crowd...there really isn't anything down here they can break...we use it mostly for super bowl parties-that kind of stuff." Yeah. The closest thing we have to a "bar" in my station is the bar stools that are up against the counter in the kitchen.
We went outside and took pictures of the outdoor memorial and the building. We also swapped out patches, t-shirts, and got local "fire news" newspapers. We also talked about the normal stuff-like the type of nozzles and hose they use, what they use as a preconnect, if you are assigned a specific task according to your place on the truck/engine, etc. I was surprised by the differences in Huntington and West Islip. Huntington uses a 1 3/4 pre-connect with an interchangeable nozzle (it can flow anywhere from a straight stream to a fog stream). West Islip uses 2 1/2 pre-connect, and they swear by a smooth bore nozzle. West Islip has defined exactly what apparatus and position you will take-such as if you are an "engine guy" you will be on the engine for the call. In Huntington, you could be on the truck or engine, but whatever the call came in for, you got on that apparatus and assumed that position, regardless of which company you are on (Hook & Ladder, Engine, Rescue, etc.).
We also discussed the "passport" or "tag" system. At my department (and all the departments around me that I know of) we use the passport system, with our names attached with velcro to the inside of your helmet. There are several there, and when you get on the apparatus, your passport gets stuck on another larger piece of velcro in the rig. Usually you have 3-4 passports so that one stays on the apparatus, one stays on your helmet, and one goes to the incident commander. In Long Island they use a tagging system that is basically a plastic tag (much like a drivers license) that clips onto their jacket. It has their picture on it, and info such as height, weight, etc. This gets turned into command on a call. It is interesting to see things from a different perspective than I am used to.
By the time we left Huntington Fire Department it was already dark out. We drove around a bit, stopping at my friend's old hang out places, and we visited with one of his old neighbors. Then we did the "one stop shopping" at 7-11 to get sandwiches and stuff for dinner.
I called it a really early night. My friend stayed up to entertain Tony. He ran out to the store while I was sleeping. When he came back into the parking lot he used the second entrance instead of the first one- not realizing that the curb was really high. He ended up going up and over a section of the curb to make it into the parking lot. It messed up the rental car pretty good-scratched up the hubcaps and dislodged a piece of the car below the doors. Tony and my friend looked at it afterwards and decided to fix it. The called it something that I can't really repeat because I don't like the word, but I'm sure you can figure it out. They "n***** rigged it." They used gasket sealant and propped it up with some newspapers and an old briefcase that was lying in the parking lot-allowing it to set over night. They also fixed the door that the grub kept using to get back inside the building. He would unlock the inside locks of the door so that he wouldn't need a key to get in (there are two doors-one that is locked and one that has locks on the inside track of the door. It is basically always locked except when people are moving furniture etc.). They filled the lock with gasket sealant and covered it up completely. He won't be getting back into the building for a while :).
He even took Tony up to the roof so that I could get some sleep without listening to Tony's stories through the walls. I don't even know what time it was when I was woken up. It was rather late. My friend was in the bathroom, at like a bunch of idiots we had put the light bulb back in the lamp. Tony opened up the door, turned on the light and asked, "are you awake." I was like, um...yeah, let me think about that, "No!" He said, "you need to look at this...what does this look like to you?" In my line of work, whenever someone asks me to look at something I politely decline. I opened up my eyes and he was holding something like 2 inches from my face. Once again he said, "what does it look like to you?" It was a dish towel with cookies on it...so that is what I told him. He said, "No...it looks like a teddy bear bending over...ha, ha, ha." Then he stumbled back into the other room and shut off the light. Good night to you too. My friend came back out of the bathroom, yelled at Tony, took the light bulb back out of the lamp and went to bed. Ahhh...all is quiet in the building.
I got up anyways. I took a shower and felt a little bit better. Since we had blown most of the day sleeping we had to make a quick decision as to what to do with our few hours of daylight. we ended up going to Huntington Manor Fire Department which is just down the road from where we were staying. When we got there we ran into two police officers; in that part of Long Island they do shift changes at fire stations because it is more convenient. One of the officers took us over to the dispatch center and introduced us to one of the firefighters.
The guy was really nice. He showed us all the apparatus, which once again, was amazing by my standards. They seemed to have even more apparatus than West Islip. They also have two other stations. They had at least 2 engines, 2 trucks (with a brand new 3rd in the shop), a heavy rescue vehicle, a smaller version of an engine to fit into the parking garage, a dump truck, a fire police vehicle, command vehicles, and a huge semi-truck cab for towing the engines if need be. I think they also had some other stuff, but I can't remember everything. Like West Islip, they had company lounges which where set up very similar.
We got to see the memorial that is set up for their previous Fire Chief who was lost on 9/11 with F.D.N.Y. Squad 4. He wasn't even supposed to be working that day-he was called in to cover someone else. His wife went into labor with their child on the day of his funeral. It was really sad. Another town close by (Dix Hills) also lost their Fire Chief-he was found with the Chief from Huntington.
Another firefighter walked in as we were getting the tour and offered to take over. He was an officer on the hook and ladder company. He showed us around the rest of the building-which was absolutely huge. We saw the upstairs first. Their kitchen even put West Islip's to shame. It had just been redone. They had commercial everything-even their pots and pans looked like they cooked for an army on a daily basis. They even had a deep fryer like they have at fast food restaurants and a walk in freezer/fridge. They also have a dumbwaiter in the kitchen to get from the basement up. The guy giving us a tour told us when they have parties he likes to climb into it wrapped in a garbage bag and ride it from the basement up. He especially likes it when someone opens it and he pops out of the bag :). Around the corner was a huge wet bar, dance hall, and auditorium. The rest of the upstairs area was made up of offices. They also had an elevator-just in case you don't want to take the stairs.
He then proceeded to show us parts of the first floor that we missed. We saw the "miniature kitchen" that is even bigger than the kitchen at my fire house. They also had a TV and huge table in the room- it is right off the bay floor. He then proceeded to take us downstairs to show us the rest of the station. There was another kitchen, wet bar and sitting area with a huge TV. There was also a pool table, shuffle board and poker tables; not including all the regular tables. I was in awe. The guy was like, "this bar is for the rowdy crowd...there really isn't anything down here they can break...we use it mostly for super bowl parties-that kind of stuff." Yeah. The closest thing we have to a "bar" in my station is the bar stools that are up against the counter in the kitchen.
We went outside and took pictures of the outdoor memorial and the building. We also swapped out patches, t-shirts, and got local "fire news" newspapers. We also talked about the normal stuff-like the type of nozzles and hose they use, what they use as a preconnect, if you are assigned a specific task according to your place on the truck/engine, etc. I was surprised by the differences in Huntington and West Islip. Huntington uses a 1 3/4 pre-connect with an interchangeable nozzle (it can flow anywhere from a straight stream to a fog stream). West Islip uses 2 1/2 pre-connect, and they swear by a smooth bore nozzle. West Islip has defined exactly what apparatus and position you will take-such as if you are an "engine guy" you will be on the engine for the call. In Huntington, you could be on the truck or engine, but whatever the call came in for, you got on that apparatus and assumed that position, regardless of which company you are on (Hook & Ladder, Engine, Rescue, etc.).
We also discussed the "passport" or "tag" system. At my department (and all the departments around me that I know of) we use the passport system, with our names attached with velcro to the inside of your helmet. There are several there, and when you get on the apparatus, your passport gets stuck on another larger piece of velcro in the rig. Usually you have 3-4 passports so that one stays on the apparatus, one stays on your helmet, and one goes to the incident commander. In Long Island they use a tagging system that is basically a plastic tag (much like a drivers license) that clips onto their jacket. It has their picture on it, and info such as height, weight, etc. This gets turned into command on a call. It is interesting to see things from a different perspective than I am used to.
By the time we left Huntington Fire Department it was already dark out. We drove around a bit, stopping at my friend's old hang out places, and we visited with one of his old neighbors. Then we did the "one stop shopping" at 7-11 to get sandwiches and stuff for dinner.
I called it a really early night. My friend stayed up to entertain Tony. He ran out to the store while I was sleeping. When he came back into the parking lot he used the second entrance instead of the first one- not realizing that the curb was really high. He ended up going up and over a section of the curb to make it into the parking lot. It messed up the rental car pretty good-scratched up the hubcaps and dislodged a piece of the car below the doors. Tony and my friend looked at it afterwards and decided to fix it. The called it something that I can't really repeat because I don't like the word, but I'm sure you can figure it out. They "n***** rigged it." They used gasket sealant and propped it up with some newspapers and an old briefcase that was lying in the parking lot-allowing it to set over night. They also fixed the door that the grub kept using to get back inside the building. He would unlock the inside locks of the door so that he wouldn't need a key to get in (there are two doors-one that is locked and one that has locks on the inside track of the door. It is basically always locked except when people are moving furniture etc.). They filled the lock with gasket sealant and covered it up completely. He won't be getting back into the building for a while :).
He even took Tony up to the roof so that I could get some sleep without listening to Tony's stories through the walls. I don't even know what time it was when I was woken up. It was rather late. My friend was in the bathroom, at like a bunch of idiots we had put the light bulb back in the lamp. Tony opened up the door, turned on the light and asked, "are you awake." I was like, um...yeah, let me think about that, "No!" He said, "you need to look at this...what does this look like to you?" In my line of work, whenever someone asks me to look at something I politely decline. I opened up my eyes and he was holding something like 2 inches from my face. Once again he said, "what does it look like to you?" It was a dish towel with cookies on it...so that is what I told him. He said, "No...it looks like a teddy bear bending over...ha, ha, ha." Then he stumbled back into the other room and shut off the light. Good night to you too. My friend came back out of the bathroom, yelled at Tony, took the light bulb back out of the lamp and went to bed. Ahhh...all is quiet in the building.
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