I finally made it to hump day. Since I have not been feeling very well, this week seems to drag on. Since last Thursday, I have not felt very good. My head is congested, I have had a dry cough, nose is running and I have been sneezing a lot. On Sunday evening, I took a sinus pill, not knowing whether I was treating a sinus problem, or a cold. The pill did not help. I wound up going and getting some Nyquil and have been taking it every day since Monday. I have the Dayquil for the daytime and Nyquil for the night. It seems to be working. I keep coughing up lots of junk and have been blowing my nose a lot. So far, there has been no signs of infection. I am not a good patient when I get sick. I am a very healthy person, so when I get sick, I turn into a blubbering baby. Fortunately, I have not experienced any soreness in my throat, or any headaches…although, my ears have been popping like crazy. I just continue to go to work and then come home and rest.
Because of this illness, I have not gotten out much. Once I have gotten, home, I have stayed home. Last night, it was time for me to shave my head and trim up my goatee and mustache. Everything went well until it came time to trim around my facial hair. I am always very careful because I do shake a lot. Unfortunately, I got in too big of a hurry and cut a big gap out of my mustache and goatee. It was so bad, there was nothing I could do to make it look right. The only other option was to cut it all off and start all over again. It has been over 25 years since I have shaved any facial hair off. It was depressing, to say the least. I look so much different. I am hoping it grows back quickly. After shaving it all off, I did not realize I had such small lips. The only hair I have left are the nasty ear hairs that grow out of control. Ear and nose hairs are part of the Sossamon curse. So far, I have freaked out a few people at work, but the big test will be tonight when I see the students at church. They will freak out, kind of like they did when I got my ears pierced.
Well, yesterday we were being told all day long, by forecasters, we were in for a slight risk for severe weather and once again, our REACT team was getting prepared to do some storm spotting. By 6 pm, there was nothing happening in the state of Oklahoma, so I knew our chances for severe weather were slim to none. On the 6 pm weather, it showed the severe weather risk to be in eastern Oklahoma, away from us. When I went to bed last night, there were storms in northern Oklahoma, but they were moving north into Kansas. When I got up this morning, I found out that a few storms did develop in OKC, but it was after 10 pm and they moved quickly to the east of us. Then, I found out that a tornado had struck Branson, Missouri early this morning. It looks as if the storm system bypassed most of Oklahoma and hit the states east of us. I hate that these other states had to face the devastation that we normally have to face. It will be a long, clean-up process.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
CERT Training
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Feeling Bad Today....Physically
Well, it looks like it has been a week since I have blogged. It’s either writer’s block, or I am just being lazy. I am not really sure how many people, if any, follow my blog, but it at least gives me a chance to vent and express my feelings.
I met last Monday evening with the Chairman of Deacons and the Pastor, in reference to their decision on why they would not allow my REACT team to use the empty office space in the church as our Emergency Operations Center. They gave me their reasons and in my opinion, the reasons were acceptable, however, it was still hard to swallow. It would have been the perfect place for us to have our EOC, but there were some concerns they had…..concerns that were beyond my control. So, our team will just keep looking for a place to serve as our EOC.
Last Saturday, our REACT team worked the 5K Run in Del City. We assisted Del City Police Department with traffic control during the run. We started at around 7:30 am and finished around 10:30 am. There were 7 of us assisting with the run. It was a beautiful, crisp, cool, morning….a great day for a run. After the run, I went by the church to get a Sunday bulletin so I could work on the power point for Sunday morning. I had forgotten the Pinewood Derby state races were being held in the gym. I stopped in long enough to get a sound system set up for them and to watch for about an hour.
I left at around 12:30 pm, went to Sonic to eat lunch and then headed over to Southern Hills Baptist Church, to attend the funeral of the daughter of a close friend that works for the City. There were hundreds and hundreds of people at the funeral. The entire service lasted 2 hours. It was the longest funeral I have ever attended. It was a beautiful service, with lots of family sharing stories.
That evening, I was able to set up a REACT radio in my house, which enabled me to act as the EOC for three of our units that went out on courtesy patrol. It was an extremely busy evening….we started at 7:50 pm and ended at midnight. I was so tired.
For the last week or so, I have not been feeling very well. My head is stopped up and I have a dry cough. I feel like I may be catching a cold. This blog today may not make sense because I don’t feel good and I had to be at work at 4 am this morning. Needless to say, I am still congested and very sleepy. 4 pm can’t get here fast enough today.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
I met last Monday evening with the Chairman of Deacons and the Pastor, in reference to their decision on why they would not allow my REACT team to use the empty office space in the church as our Emergency Operations Center. They gave me their reasons and in my opinion, the reasons were acceptable, however, it was still hard to swallow. It would have been the perfect place for us to have our EOC, but there were some concerns they had…..concerns that were beyond my control. So, our team will just keep looking for a place to serve as our EOC.
Last Saturday, our REACT team worked the 5K Run in Del City. We assisted Del City Police Department with traffic control during the run. We started at around 7:30 am and finished around 10:30 am. There were 7 of us assisting with the run. It was a beautiful, crisp, cool, morning….a great day for a run. After the run, I went by the church to get a Sunday bulletin so I could work on the power point for Sunday morning. I had forgotten the Pinewood Derby state races were being held in the gym. I stopped in long enough to get a sound system set up for them and to watch for about an hour.
I left at around 12:30 pm, went to Sonic to eat lunch and then headed over to Southern Hills Baptist Church, to attend the funeral of the daughter of a close friend that works for the City. There were hundreds and hundreds of people at the funeral. The entire service lasted 2 hours. It was the longest funeral I have ever attended. It was a beautiful service, with lots of family sharing stories.
That evening, I was able to set up a REACT radio in my house, which enabled me to act as the EOC for three of our units that went out on courtesy patrol. It was an extremely busy evening….we started at 7:50 pm and ended at midnight. I was so tired.
For the last week or so, I have not been feeling very well. My head is stopped up and I have a dry cough. I feel like I may be catching a cold. This blog today may not make sense because I don’t feel good and I had to be at work at 4 am this morning. Needless to say, I am still congested and very sleepy. 4 pm can’t get here fast enough today.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday...Monday...Can't Trust That Day.
Well, once again it has been a week since I posted anything. I don’t know if I just really haven’t taken the time, whether I have been too busy, or I just have not been in the mood to. There really has not been that much going on with my life in the last week. I had a Multi-County Fire Corps meeting in Hinton on Thursday evening and had a Valentine Banquet at the church on Friday evening. The entertainment was pretty much geared towards the folks in their 60’s and 70’s. I have to admit that it was a decent program, but I wish there had been some other type of entertainment for the younger couples. One thing we have very little of in our church is young couples. It seems like everything we do is geared towards the older folks. If we expect to make any progress, we need younger couples.
Last Saturday, I assisted with the R.A. Pinewood Derby Races in our church gym. I was the announcer , so I had the task of calling the names of the people that were racing their cars. It was kind of fun and the kids had a great time racing their cars. Even a few of the adults raced their cars. That lasted until around noon. I went home, took a short nap and then headed back to the church at 2 pm to get ready to take the students to the Winter Jam 2012 concert. We left the church at 3 pm and waited in a crowded line for almost 2 hours. Last year, when we went to this concert, we got stuck behind the stage. This year was not much better. We were in front of the stage, but we were all the way to the top of the arena. We pretty much had to watch the concert by watching the huge screen that hung from the ceiling.
I was so tired Saturday, I did not get a chance to do a power point for the church, so when I got to church Sunday morning, I had no announcements to show. I didn’t really care because I was too tired to care. The only reason I have been doing it is because most of our members do not look at their bulletins, so this is an easy way to let them know what is going on in the church for the rest of the week.
During the afternoon, I had a REACT training session and then a REACT Executive Board meeting. Both of those events took my whole afternoon. I was so mentally drained, I went home and stayed there the rest of the evening. That same evening, the deacons were meeting to decide whether our REACT team would be able to use the extra office space for an Emergency Operations Center. I gave a verbal and written proposal to the deacon body three weeks ago and had several deacons that assured me they were voting in favor of it.
Well, around 8:45 pm, I received a call from the Chairman of Deacons, informing me he and the pastor wanted to meet with me to give their reasoning. In other words, it got voted down and they want to give me the reason why. So, we were scheduled to meet tonight at 6 pm.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
Last Saturday, I assisted with the R.A. Pinewood Derby Races in our church gym. I was the announcer , so I had the task of calling the names of the people that were racing their cars. It was kind of fun and the kids had a great time racing their cars. Even a few of the adults raced their cars. That lasted until around noon. I went home, took a short nap and then headed back to the church at 2 pm to get ready to take the students to the Winter Jam 2012 concert. We left the church at 3 pm and waited in a crowded line for almost 2 hours. Last year, when we went to this concert, we got stuck behind the stage. This year was not much better. We were in front of the stage, but we were all the way to the top of the arena. We pretty much had to watch the concert by watching the huge screen that hung from the ceiling.
I was so tired Saturday, I did not get a chance to do a power point for the church, so when I got to church Sunday morning, I had no announcements to show. I didn’t really care because I was too tired to care. The only reason I have been doing it is because most of our members do not look at their bulletins, so this is an easy way to let them know what is going on in the church for the rest of the week.
During the afternoon, I had a REACT training session and then a REACT Executive Board meeting. Both of those events took my whole afternoon. I was so mentally drained, I went home and stayed there the rest of the evening. That same evening, the deacons were meeting to decide whether our REACT team would be able to use the extra office space for an Emergency Operations Center. I gave a verbal and written proposal to the deacon body three weeks ago and had several deacons that assured me they were voting in favor of it.
Well, around 8:45 pm, I received a call from the Chairman of Deacons, informing me he and the pastor wanted to meet with me to give their reasoning. In other words, it got voted down and they want to give me the reason why. So, we were scheduled to meet tonight at 6 pm.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
Monday, February 13, 2012
Snowy days and Mondays......
Our big 'ol Winter Storm turned out to be nothing much. All day yesterday, all the meteorologists did was talk about the OKC area getting 3-6" of snow and some ice. It moved in as flurries around 8:30 pm last night. I went to bed at 10 pm and there was a slight dusting in our yard. Since I had parked my truck in the garage, I wasn't too concerned. When I stepped out at 6 am this morning, this is what I saw..
Yep, Karla's car was completely covered and my mower got covered as well. What was really strange is it was not really that cold this morning. It was just below freezing, so it felt pretty good. Once I got my truck started and headed out, the side streets were the only thing that caused me any real problems. The interstates were pretty clear, although, all the on-ramps and off-ramps were very slick. I left the house at 6:15 am and made it to work by 6:35 am. It really was not that bad, but many of the idiot drivers were already out, so I was glad I was already at work.
This week, I am training a new dispatcher. I know it's a honor for me to be chosen to be the trainer, but it does kind of cramp my style because I have to train at my desk and don't get time to do my own work. The lady I am training has turned out to be a quick learner, which is good for me. Unfortunately, slow days are not good days to train....it's better to do it on busy days. It did start out slow this morning, but it picked up around 10 am and just kept getting busier. That was good because it really gave her some good hands-on training.
Well, our REACT team is still waiting on the word from my church. Two weeks ago, I gave a proposal to the deacon body....this proposal would allow my REACT team to use one of the vacant office spaces in the church as our emergency operations center. We would pay them a monthly fee and use the office anytimke we do courtesy patrols, or when we have severe weather. I really did not think it would take this long to get a decision. The deacons would have normally met yesterday, but decided to meet next Sunday. So, one more week and we should have an answer. If they deny us, it will kind of be a kick in the face to me.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
Yep, Karla's car was completely covered and my mower got covered as well. What was really strange is it was not really that cold this morning. It was just below freezing, so it felt pretty good. Once I got my truck started and headed out, the side streets were the only thing that caused me any real problems. The interstates were pretty clear, although, all the on-ramps and off-ramps were very slick. I left the house at 6:15 am and made it to work by 6:35 am. It really was not that bad, but many of the idiot drivers were already out, so I was glad I was already at work.
This week, I am training a new dispatcher. I know it's a honor for me to be chosen to be the trainer, but it does kind of cramp my style because I have to train at my desk and don't get time to do my own work. The lady I am training has turned out to be a quick learner, which is good for me. Unfortunately, slow days are not good days to train....it's better to do it on busy days. It did start out slow this morning, but it picked up around 10 am and just kept getting busier. That was good because it really gave her some good hands-on training.
Well, our REACT team is still waiting on the word from my church. Two weeks ago, I gave a proposal to the deacon body....this proposal would allow my REACT team to use one of the vacant office spaces in the church as our emergency operations center. We would pay them a monthly fee and use the office anytimke we do courtesy patrols, or when we have severe weather. I really did not think it would take this long to get a decision. The deacons would have normally met yesterday, but decided to meet next Sunday. So, one more week and we should have an answer. If they deny us, it will kind of be a kick in the face to me.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Come on Wednesday!!
It seems as if the weather can’t make up its mind what it wants to do. Yesterday was cool and sunny with very little wind. Today started out cloudy and forecasters said we would get light rain with some snow mixed in. Well…….so far, we have not seen anything, so it looks like they were wrong again. I would hate to be a meteorologist in Oklahoma because you really never know what the weather is going to do. The ingredients have to be just right to experience snow, thunderstorms and tornadoes, but if even one ingredient is missing, nothing happens. So far, we have had a very mild Winter (knock on wood), but things can really change fast.
This last weekend was fairly quiet, weather-wise and really a relaxing weekend, except for Sunday. I spent most of the day at home Saturday. I did drive out to Spencer to spend a couple of hours with my buddy, but then came home and took a nap. I rested the rest of the evening.
My busy day was Sunday. After church on Sunday morning, I decided to hang around the church because I had lunch plans with some fellow REACT members at 12:30…..a REACT Board meeting at 2:00 pm….a team meeting at 3 pm…….and a Super Bowl Watch party at the church at 5 pm. Yes, I was slammed with two meetings, but got the chance to relax and watch the Super Bowl and eat chili. As a matter of fact, we had a chili and dessert cook-off and I was one of the judges. I think I was a judge for last year as well. The food was great and everyone had a great time. The New England Patriots played the New York Giants. It was a good, close game and I was actually rooting for the Patriots, but the Giants won in the last minute of the game. No big deal. I was home by around 9 pm.
Well, in other news….once again, a toddler has died due to child abuse. It really sickens me to hear news of the police doing a welfare check on a child, just to find out they have head trauma and broken ribs. Head trauma and broken ribs on a toddler? That is IN-excusable. The parents, or guardian that is responsible for this abuse needs to be punished to the full extent of the law. Actually, someone just needs to take them in a back alley, bash their head in and break their ribs. These babies and toddlers are so defenseless, yet adults feel they have to beat them. What cowards! It just makes me so mad when I hear another child is abused. Another thing they need to do is put these child abusers in lock-up with the general population of inmates. There is a certain code of conduct in prison between inmates. One thing inmates can’t stand are child molesters and rapists, especially rapists that prey on children. The survival rate for a rapist or child abuser in prison is very low. The inmates usually “take care of them.” I say, let the inmates at them!
www.centralokreact.org
This last weekend was fairly quiet, weather-wise and really a relaxing weekend, except for Sunday. I spent most of the day at home Saturday. I did drive out to Spencer to spend a couple of hours with my buddy, but then came home and took a nap. I rested the rest of the evening.
My busy day was Sunday. After church on Sunday morning, I decided to hang around the church because I had lunch plans with some fellow REACT members at 12:30…..a REACT Board meeting at 2:00 pm….a team meeting at 3 pm…….and a Super Bowl Watch party at the church at 5 pm. Yes, I was slammed with two meetings, but got the chance to relax and watch the Super Bowl and eat chili. As a matter of fact, we had a chili and dessert cook-off and I was one of the judges. I think I was a judge for last year as well. The food was great and everyone had a great time. The New England Patriots played the New York Giants. It was a good, close game and I was actually rooting for the Patriots, but the Giants won in the last minute of the game. No big deal. I was home by around 9 pm.
Well, in other news….once again, a toddler has died due to child abuse. It really sickens me to hear news of the police doing a welfare check on a child, just to find out they have head trauma and broken ribs. Head trauma and broken ribs on a toddler? That is IN-excusable. The parents, or guardian that is responsible for this abuse needs to be punished to the full extent of the law. Actually, someone just needs to take them in a back alley, bash their head in and break their ribs. These babies and toddlers are so defenseless, yet adults feel they have to beat them. What cowards! It just makes me so mad when I hear another child is abused. Another thing they need to do is put these child abusers in lock-up with the general population of inmates. There is a certain code of conduct in prison between inmates. One thing inmates can’t stand are child molesters and rapists, especially rapists that prey on children. The survival rate for a rapist or child abuser in prison is very low. The inmates usually “take care of them.” I say, let the inmates at them!
www.centralokreact.org
Friday, February 3, 2012
TGIF........Finally!
I am so glad it is Friday and so glad the weekend is almost here.
It has been a very interesting week to say the least. I have really focused this week on getting things done around the house. Our vacuum cleaner bit the dust months ago, so we have been using a push broom (that does not do well on the carpet) and trying to clean the house that way. Tuesday evening, I finally went to Wal-Mart and bought an upright, bag-less, vacuum cleaner. There was no way I was going to buy another vacuum cleaner that required bags. Our main problem in the house is hair, namely dog hair. Our dogs shed really bad. I needed a vacuum cleaner that could vacuum the hair up and one with attachments for hard-to-reach corners. I have not had the chance to put the vacuum cleaner together yet, but I hope to use it tonight.
Last evening, Gayla and I were both home, so we went to Boomerangs for dinner and then came home to work on the house. She had an online form she needed to complete in order to see about getting more scholarship monies for school, so I helped her fill it out. I also did some major cleaning in my office and put more stuff in storage. I disconnected our old desktop computer and put it in the garage for storage. It was real slow anyway and not serving a purpose, so I just replaced it with our old laptop that has the broken lid. So now, the laptop is sitting on the desk and I am going to try to hook up an external keyboard to it tonight. I sent a text to Stephen to see if he could find us a good price on a new printer at Target. We need a new printer badly, so I am hoping to get one tonight, or tomorrow. I am just happy I got the office in good shape now.
Today has been a slow day and I am enjoying it. The rain has kept our phone calls down, allowing me to get stuff done at my desk. We have two dispatchers off today, but it isn’t even noticeable because it is so slow. I have a meeting this afternoon with our superintendent. For the past 15 years, the employees in my office have been allowed to wear nice shorts to work. During the Spring and Summer, it gets very warm in our office and no matter how much we adjust the air-conditioning, it stays hot. Because of that, many of us have worn shorts and there has never been a problem. Just recently, we were told we could no longer wear shorts in our office. Many of us are not happy with this, so I have become the spokesman for our office and will be discussing this issue with our superintendent this afternoon. Where we are, nobody comes back to our office, so we have little to no visibility to the public. I have a feeling they have made their final decision, but I am going to try to reason with him anyway.
Well, it looks as if our City Council members are making some enemies. You see, about a week ago, one of the councilmen was arrested for the second time for driving under the influence. The first time he was arrested, it was back in 2009 and it was just a misdemeanor. Since this is his second offense, it will be a felony now. According to the City Charter, any council member convicted of a felony, must vacate their seat. Here is the worst part. The other council members are supporting this other councilman and feel that he should continue to be a councilman. I think the man has made a fool out of himself and has embarrassed not only himself, but the citizens of Oklahoma City. He is a disgrace and should not be in any kind of leadership position. He needs to resign, but he refuses to. So, we have a bunch of bleeding heart council members on our council and a drunken councilman who is still in office.
www.centralokreact.org
It has been a very interesting week to say the least. I have really focused this week on getting things done around the house. Our vacuum cleaner bit the dust months ago, so we have been using a push broom (that does not do well on the carpet) and trying to clean the house that way. Tuesday evening, I finally went to Wal-Mart and bought an upright, bag-less, vacuum cleaner. There was no way I was going to buy another vacuum cleaner that required bags. Our main problem in the house is hair, namely dog hair. Our dogs shed really bad. I needed a vacuum cleaner that could vacuum the hair up and one with attachments for hard-to-reach corners. I have not had the chance to put the vacuum cleaner together yet, but I hope to use it tonight.
Last evening, Gayla and I were both home, so we went to Boomerangs for dinner and then came home to work on the house. She had an online form she needed to complete in order to see about getting more scholarship monies for school, so I helped her fill it out. I also did some major cleaning in my office and put more stuff in storage. I disconnected our old desktop computer and put it in the garage for storage. It was real slow anyway and not serving a purpose, so I just replaced it with our old laptop that has the broken lid. So now, the laptop is sitting on the desk and I am going to try to hook up an external keyboard to it tonight. I sent a text to Stephen to see if he could find us a good price on a new printer at Target. We need a new printer badly, so I am hoping to get one tonight, or tomorrow. I am just happy I got the office in good shape now.
Today has been a slow day and I am enjoying it. The rain has kept our phone calls down, allowing me to get stuff done at my desk. We have two dispatchers off today, but it isn’t even noticeable because it is so slow. I have a meeting this afternoon with our superintendent. For the past 15 years, the employees in my office have been allowed to wear nice shorts to work. During the Spring and Summer, it gets very warm in our office and no matter how much we adjust the air-conditioning, it stays hot. Because of that, many of us have worn shorts and there has never been a problem. Just recently, we were told we could no longer wear shorts in our office. Many of us are not happy with this, so I have become the spokesman for our office and will be discussing this issue with our superintendent this afternoon. Where we are, nobody comes back to our office, so we have little to no visibility to the public. I have a feeling they have made their final decision, but I am going to try to reason with him anyway.
Well, it looks as if our City Council members are making some enemies. You see, about a week ago, one of the councilmen was arrested for the second time for driving under the influence. The first time he was arrested, it was back in 2009 and it was just a misdemeanor. Since this is his second offense, it will be a felony now. According to the City Charter, any council member convicted of a felony, must vacate their seat. Here is the worst part. The other council members are supporting this other councilman and feel that he should continue to be a councilman. I think the man has made a fool out of himself and has embarrassed not only himself, but the citizens of Oklahoma City. He is a disgrace and should not be in any kind of leadership position. He needs to resign, but he refuses to. So, we have a bunch of bleeding heart council members on our council and a drunken councilman who is still in office.
www.centralokreact.org
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Good Week So Far!
It has been a good week so far. The highlight of my week was on Monday afternoon. I left the office at 10 am and picked up our CFAAA President….and we both headed out to Choctaw, Okla. to participate in the Oklahoma City Fire Department Recruit Live-Burn exercise. The live-burn exercise is something new fire recruits go through, while they are training to be firefighters. In the live-burn exercise, these recruits are required to have their bunker gear on and actually go through a smoke-filled, fiery building, to do search and rescue and to put the fire out. Also, during this exercise, they are required to go through the “flashover” simulator. What is a flash over?
Recruits coming out of the flash over simulator
A flash over is the near-simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases. Flash over occurs when the majority of the exposed surfaces in a space are heated to their autoignition temperature and emit flammable gases. Flash over normally occurs at 930 °F, or 1,100 °F, for ordinary combustibles, and an incident heat flux at floor level of 1.8 Btu/ft²*s (20 kW/m²).
Flash overs are not only very dangerous, but they can be deadly to a firefighter. The simulator is controlled by professionals and the heat inside varies. Close to the ceiling, it can be as hot as 2,000 degrees, whereas, in the middle of the room it is around 600 degrees and 300 degrees at floor level. That’s one reason firefighters enter a building on their knees, or crouched down. That way, they escape some of the very intense heat.
The recruits on Monday experienced what it was like to be in a flash over, as all of them were required to go through the simulator. They also experienced what it was like to have to make forced entry into a house with solid doors and how to make entry into a house, or business, with burglar bars on them. Another part of their exercise was practicing on how to ventilate a roof. They have to probe to find the right spot…and then use an axe to cut into the roof. Once they make a cut in the roof, they use a chainsaw to cut out a piece of the roof so smoke can escape and less chance of a flash over.
Recruits ventilating roof
It was very, very, interesting to watch these recruits in action. They have to be in excellent physical shape to perform these tasks. As the recruits were getting ready for their last scenario of the day (going into a burning building), I was given the opportunity to participate, which I did. I was outfitted with the proper bunker gear and had one of the fire chiefs as my instructor. I entered the burning building and could not see a thing. They had me sit on a bale of hay in the corner, which allowed me to observe the recruits come in and put the fire out. I was in there for about 10 minutes and it was very, very, hot. When I came out, I was sweating profusely. I can’t imagine how the other recruits were handling it, since they were the ones in action. I was just sitting and got very hot.
That's me coming out of the burning building
That's me going into the burning building
That was basically the end of my exciting day. As I left, I could tell my clothes and jacket smelled of stale smoke and even my truck smelled like smoke. I had a great time and look forward to doing it again.
http://www.centralokreact.org/
Recruits coming out of the flash over simulator
A flash over is the near-simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases. Flash over occurs when the majority of the exposed surfaces in a space are heated to their autoignition temperature and emit flammable gases. Flash over normally occurs at 930 °F, or 1,100 °F, for ordinary combustibles, and an incident heat flux at floor level of 1.8 Btu/ft²*s (20 kW/m²).
Flash overs are not only very dangerous, but they can be deadly to a firefighter. The simulator is controlled by professionals and the heat inside varies. Close to the ceiling, it can be as hot as 2,000 degrees, whereas, in the middle of the room it is around 600 degrees and 300 degrees at floor level. That’s one reason firefighters enter a building on their knees, or crouched down. That way, they escape some of the very intense heat.
The recruits on Monday experienced what it was like to be in a flash over, as all of them were required to go through the simulator. They also experienced what it was like to have to make forced entry into a house with solid doors and how to make entry into a house, or business, with burglar bars on them. Another part of their exercise was practicing on how to ventilate a roof. They have to probe to find the right spot…and then use an axe to cut into the roof. Once they make a cut in the roof, they use a chainsaw to cut out a piece of the roof so smoke can escape and less chance of a flash over.
Recruits ventilating roof
It was very, very, interesting to watch these recruits in action. They have to be in excellent physical shape to perform these tasks. As the recruits were getting ready for their last scenario of the day (going into a burning building), I was given the opportunity to participate, which I did. I was outfitted with the proper bunker gear and had one of the fire chiefs as my instructor. I entered the burning building and could not see a thing. They had me sit on a bale of hay in the corner, which allowed me to observe the recruits come in and put the fire out. I was in there for about 10 minutes and it was very, very, hot. When I came out, I was sweating profusely. I can’t imagine how the other recruits were handling it, since they were the ones in action. I was just sitting and got very hot.
That's me coming out of the burning building
That's me going into the burning building
That was basically the end of my exciting day. As I left, I could tell my clothes and jacket smelled of stale smoke and even my truck smelled like smoke. I had a great time and look forward to doing it again.
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