Aw.... Son of a BITCH!!

"Big Red" may be dead. Who is "Big Red" you ask? My beloved 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab pickup truck. The top photo is from the day I brought it home from the dealer on Monday August 2, 2010. My wife named it Big Red since it was the biggest, baddest pickup truck I ever owned.

This photo is from Wednesday October 20, 2010 just after having the brand new ARE Mid-Rise cap installed. I bought the cap from Killam's in East Windsor. They matched the factory paint perfectly. I took the photo on the back ramp of the firehouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the truck from Charles Toyota in Norwich on July 31, 2010. It had 33K on the odometer and was listed for $23,506.00 as a 3-year lease turn in. It had the 4.7L V-8 engine and TRD Off Road package with factory towing. Of course as a fireman, my new truck HAD TO BE RED! But I wasn't sure what body style I wanted; Double Cab or Crew Max. It turns out Charles Toyota had one of each in Radiant Red. I returned to the dealer with my wife and had them bring both trucks up front side by side so we could go through them and decide which configuration was best. The Crew Max only comes with a 5.5' bed and a huge back seat, but a poor in cab cargo area because of the way the seat folded down (they have since made it better). The Double Cab had a 6.5' bed (they are available in 8' too) and a slightly smaller back seat, but the seat folds up completely out of the way allowing a huge cargo area behind the front bucket seats. We felt that for traveling, especially with the dogs, that would be best so they could be in the climate controlled cab with us. Funny story; I paid their full listed price and here's why. When I went to pick it up, I tried to pull a last minute negotiation and asked for $1000 off, figuring they would counter and I could save a few hundred. They told me they were selling it for what they paid at auction. I told them to produce the invoice that backs up that claim and they've got a deal. They did and the invoice read $23,501. Because I brought my own financing, they made a whopping $5 on that truck. They needed to get rid of it when they did, because it was on the lot for 4 months and they were about to start paying property taxes on it as inventory.

And travel we did! Cape Cod, Maine, and trips to Massanutten Resort area in Virginia with her parents and brother's family. I made multiple trips over the years to Emmitsburg, Maryland to the National Fire Academy and the annual Fallen Firefighter's Memorial Weekend with a few guys from the department. My last trip down there was in 2015. 

In this photo it's parked on the side of The Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia on June 23, 2014 the first time we went down there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our trip back there in 2015, we brought our kayaks and bicycles but never the dogs because they were not allowed in the vacation condos. The kayaks rode on top of the cap, the bicycles in a hitch receiver mounted bike rack, and all our luggage and food in the bed under the cap. A small cooler and snacks were in the back seat cargo area. Below is a photo from when I was test fitting the kayaks in the driveway using the saddle racks on the integrated Yakima roof rack system. Because they sit up so high, I bought and installed cockpit covers so if we got caught in heavy rain, the kayaks would not fill with water. Two kayaks filled with water up that high could mean a rollover disaster. It takes two people to load and unload them; one on the tailgate and the other on a 6 foot stepladder. The ladder got stowed in the bed for travel. We only used this configuration for the long trips, never for day trips around home. For that the kayaks just slide into the truck bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2016 we rented a trailer for cheap from a guy on the fire department after I spent the better part of a month rehabbing it in lieu of rental money. We went all the way to Glacier National Park in western Montana and back with lots of stops in between. This photo is from when we arrived at Badlands National Park in South Dakota on August 24, 2016. The trailer weighed in at 7600 pounds, and the towing capacity of my truck was 7800 pounds. But Big Red pulled that trailer effortlessly, especially since I used non-ethanol gas whenever it was available, which was almost everywhere from Indiana west. We had all three dogs with us for the 3 week trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop was Devil's Tower in Wyoming on our way to the western entrance to Yellowstone. After being at Yellowstone for three days it was north to Glacier. We headed home three days later by way of North Dakota and then headed south to Indiana where my wife wanted to visit a wolf sanctuary. From there was one more night in Pennsylvania and then home. It was the trip of a lifetime for sure.

We have used the hell out of that truck for hauling stuff, helping friends move, towing my utility trailer, commuting, and just all around use. With the big back seat we always took the truck if we were going to carry passengers. My wife's RAV-4 and her previous 4Runner always had the back seat down and set up to transport the dogs, making it a lot of work if we were going to use it that way, and then put it back.

In 2018, Toyota put a brand new frame under Big Red. That made it worthwhile for me to remove the rusted bed and repair all the mounts two summers ago. While the bed was off, I fixed a bunch of other stuff too. The plan was to keep the truck at least 3 more years from now. But that plan has been totally derailed.

On Sunday morning May 31st, I was on my way home from the firehouse at 6:05 AM. Less than half a mile down the road, the truck lost all power and I pulled off the road. There was no check engine or other warning lights and the gauges were normal. When I tried to restart it, it would start and run perfectly for 1 1/2 seconds then shut off. I tried repeatedly with the same results. Having a small tool bag in the back seat cargo area, I disconnected the battery and shorted the battery cables together for 30 seconds to completely reset the truck. I connected everything back up and tried to start it. Same results as before. It was acting like the engine immobilizer was preventing it from starting, as if you were trying to use a cut metal key without a chip. I gave up screwing with it and called AAA to get towed the 1 1/2 miles home. They showed up within the hour and got my truck and me home. Being a Sunday all service centers/dealers were closed, and I had to be back at work Monday morning at 0600. I would ride my motorcycle to work and spend standby time burning up the phone lines to deal with it Tuesday. Luckily we were in store for a stretch of decent weather with only showers on a couple of overnights, so using the bike has been OK.

I first called the garage we normally deal with that specializes in Toyota. But since they are not a dealership, they, like myself do NOT have access to Toyota's proprietary diagnostic software and OBD cable. So it was going to have to go to the dealership. I called them and they said they could not set something up until I had the truck towed there. I replied I would see them Tuesday the 2nd.

Tuesday morning I called AAA to arrange a tow. They said sorry, you get one tow per disablement and I would have to pay. They would arrange it for me but could not give me a cost, it would be up to the towing service. I said thanks but no thanks, I would rather give my money to a local guy I know. I called my local guy and he said he could tow it for $207.65 He towed my truck to the dealership and I went on ahead of him on my bike. When I got there I spoke to the service advisor and told her my truck was coming and why. A few minutes later my truck arrived on the flatbed and they checked it in. There were phone calls back and forth over the last week and finally a diagnosis.... mice have chewed up my wiring harness under the fuse box in the engine bay. Good news is auto insurance covers this under Comprehensive Coverage. Yesterday I called Progressive to file a claim and secure a rental car. I get the car for up to 30 days and will hitch a ride with my wife on her way to work tomorrow morning to get it.

Today I get the bad news. The wiring harness is no longer available new from Toyota or  anywhere else used or salvaged. I thought I found one in Florida, and had a discussion with the parts manager about it. It turns out they are specific to the model and options, and the one I found in Florida was not correct for my truck and would not work, even though the website's fitment chart said it did. He also stated that any wiring harness needs to have the factory tag on it with the proper part number before they will use it. Shit! I am now staring at the possibility of Progressive totaling my truck. Time to gather up the receipts for all the work I put into it recently. 😒

My original plan was to replace my truck in about 3 more years with a 25+ year old, low mileage, Grandpa's creampuff from down south where they don't use winter salt. No emissions, cheap property taxes, cheap insurance, easy to work on myself. I would drive it into the ground like always over the period of about 10 years, then find another. It looks like I might get close to 10 grand if they total my truck, so I'm not sure what I am going to do. I really need a truck, but they are unaffordable these days. There will be no getting a good deal like I got on Big Red. That truck these days are going for $45K plus.

Now More Than Ever

I am not "Pro Life," not even close. I served in the U.S. military and was ready and eager (still am) to kill Commies. I am strapped 7/24/365 and and am prepared and willing to defend my life at the expense of someone obviously willing to forfeit theirs to try to kill me. I am however, ANTI-ABORTION. I understand it is a standard medical procedure that is rarely necessary, but to use it as routine birth control, although legal, sickens me to no end. I consider it murder pure and simple, an absolute abomination, crime against humanity, and a mortal sin against God. That was reinforced several weeks ago on an EMS call for a possible miscarriage.

I have never shied away from such calls that once upon a time, dispatch would put out a request for a female technician. Due to availability of personnel that is no longer a viable option. In fact, time in my career is running out to earn my stork pin for doing an emergency delivery which would be freakin' awesome. The last delivery I was present for was my own daughter 41 years ago. The worst part was watching the OB-GYN do the episiotomy on my wife. Made my asshole pucker! Of course there is the old joke about asking the doctor to put in an extra stitch or two to "snug things up."😆 This was the second miscarriage call I have been on in the past 20+ years, but the first one I was directly involved in. What follows is a photo of the "Narrative" portion of the Patient Care Record written by me, redacted to protect the PT privacy, my FD, other medical personnel, and my identity.

I know it's small print, so click it to big it

 

 

 

 

 

There are some standard abbreviations and medical terms we use so I will try to define, and do them in the order they appear:

y/o/f = year old female

PT = patient

A+Ox4 = Alert and oriented x 4 means they know who they are, where they are, date and time, what happened, and can answer simple quiz questions without having to think hard.

Gravida = pregnancy

Para = pregnancy resulting in live birth

Tachycardic = rapid heart rate

Hypotensive = low blood pressure

BP = blood pressure

O2 = medical oxygen

15 lpm = oxygen flow rate of 15 liters per minute

NRB = Non Re-breather, the type of oxygen mask used for high flow oxygen

 

I was the lead tech on this call, and as such dealt with the patient and the product of the miscarriage, a 17 week old male baby. I picked up this delicate little creature lying on a towel, placed him on a clean towel, and because of the nature of the bodily fluids he was gently placed in a bio hazard bag and laid on the tray area at the head of the stretcher under the mattress to stay with mom. At the hospital I made sure someone personally took charge of the remains because mom had stated she was afraid someone might just throw him away. I assured her I would not let that happen and the paramedic on board explained what would take place at the hospital as far as any possible arrangements. As you can see by the Gravida/Para description, this call was her third miscarriage. Also, this call bothered me a little because of the sadness of it all, but as usual I got over it and don't dwell on it. But I will never forget it, nor will I ever forget the sight of that precious little baby boy. Below is the best photo of a 17 week old fetus I could find, and is exactly what that little boy looked like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it makes me question what kind of callous, shitty excuse for a human being would think nothing of walking into an abortion factory to have their baby killed and sucked out of their body like the annoying fat in their ass by liposuction? Some profess online to have done this multiple times! All because they either did not take proper precautions, those precautions failed (because they are not 100% effective), or practice abstinence (which is ALWAYS 100% effective).

 

OK... END OF RANT 

Planned Range Day

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past month. I have been busy posting on X and cramming in my continuing education requirements for my EMT renewal at the end of this month. You have from the first day after your renewal until renewal date 2 years later to get them done. I thought I had a lot more done, but when I looked up what I had I didn't have squat. I have 7 hours more to do online and will have it all completed and renewed by next Tuesday. I have a 24 hour shift tomorrow and Sunday and this will be a time filler between calls.

But today I plan on doing the minimum with C.E. and head to the range. I will be testing a new component on my Ruger PCC-9. Here is the original Kommiecticut legal configuration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of commie tyrant diktats, you can only get it here with a traditional style rifle stock. But that doesn't stop me from putting it the way I WANT IT. Gun control laws in this state be damned! Compliance? What's that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's right, it's now set up with an Archangel AR style collapsible stock. In my opinion, not quite as good as the Ruger factory AR style version, but a good substitute that doesn't break the bank. Ruger does not offer their factory AR style stock for the PCC-9 as a separate purchasable item, which I would have preferred to buy. The Archangel stock was amazingly shipped directly to me from MidwayUsa. The only places they won't send it to is NY/NJ shipping or billing addresses. While it is supposed to be drop in fit, and it was... I discovered a multifaceted problem with the magwell. The original Ruger stocks have interchangeable magwells for Ruger, Glock, and I believe Smith & Wesson. This way you can pair it with a pistol and share mags. I had set mine up with Glock mags and purchased a brand new G-17 to go with it. The Archangel stock only works with Glock double-stack 9mm magazines. I chose a G-17 Gen 3 that can use 17 round mags, and operates and feels EXACTLY like my G-21 Gen 3 that I am already familiar with. The receiver fit into the stock nice and snug, and the mounting bolts lined up with the rear pillar and the bolt holes on the receiver. They get torqued to 60 inch/pounds. Using "Snap Caps" I loaded a magazine, inserted it and cycled the bolt. It worked the first time but then I discovered an issue. If I have the bolt locked back manually, when I insert a loaded magazine and release the bolt it stops as if the magazine is empty, forcing me to manually cycle the bolt again. Not good in a tactical situation! I put the rifle away for a few days until I had time to fully analyze and hopefully correct the problem. 

That time was yesterday. I spent about an hour and a half at the gun bench with a G-17 magazine and collection of 9mm Snap-Caps. I broke the gun in half so I could observe the top of the mag in the magwell. I compared how the mag fits against my factory set up. The bar that operates the bolt catch for the last shot was catching the top edge of the magazine on the new stock. That transfer bar is easily removable (in fact upon assembly you have to insert it) and with some gentle bending in the right places I was able to get it to not touch the mag body but still react to the mag follower. The next problem I noticed was the mag could move to high up in the magwell with pressure from the bottom of the mag. I reassembled the rifle to test and found it was still hanging up. The rifle was disassembled again and inspected. I noticed the ejector on the factory magwell in a slightly different position. I slowly and carefully bent the new ejector to more closely match factory. That did it! The mag was no longer able to move too far up in the magwell. Now to test the realigned ejector. I fully assembled the rifle without torquing, loaded and cycled the rifle several times again using Snap Caps and found everything functioning normally. I torqued all the bolts to spec. Today's range outing with live ammo will be the final test. Once I am satisfied, I may put my rifle back to original Kommiecticut compliant configuration and put the new stock in the hidden SHTF stash with my other contraband until I move out of this commie blue shithole. But I have not made that decision.

 

Pictured below and circled in yellow is the newly added super deadly chunk of plastic that frightens the hoplophobes in the state government. They don't like flash suppressors either so I have a muzzle brake device (which actually suppresses the minimal muzzle flash as well) instead. This stock simply makes the rifle much more comfortable to shoot for someone like me with arthritis in both shoulders. The receiver, bolt, and trigger group which actually operate the gun are factory. The red dot sight is a SIG Romeo 5 with co-witness mounts so the factory peep sights are still visible. In reality, this stock is much more dangerous as a fucking club! The only way for me to shorten the factory stock I have is to permanently alter it on a bandsaw. Ruger includes a bunch of filler plates to make it longer. I currently have it as short as possible with a QD sling mount plate installed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have 200 rounds of 9mm loaded and ready to go. I had planned on loading another 150 before today's outing but life happens. I'll just shoot what I need today and since my press is currently set up for 9mm, just replenish today's use and the do the 150 at the same time. 

Well, This Should Be Fun

On Wednesday November 19th, I will be visiting my daughter's Kindergarten classes, reading them this book:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will read it aloud to them while wearing my firefighting boots and pants. At the end of the story, Fireman Joe gives all the kids plastic fire hats which I will do as well. Afterwards I will demonstrate putting on the rest of my gear including an air pack, and show the kids what we look and sound like if we have to come into their house to rescue them. We tell the kids not to be scared and go run and hide, but to come to us even though we look and sound kinda scary. Afterwards an open Q & A which is always entertaining. My daughter seems to think the questions will be all about the amazing fact that I am her Dad, not about being a fireman.

In October I did my 19th Fire Prevention program at our local school. I have been in charge of it since 2006 when the subject came up and the Chief was looking for someone to run it. I have done it ever since. Sometimes I have a helper to do the gear demonstration, but other times it is just me like it was this year. We currently do Pre-K to second grade, but I have spoken to the school about moving the program up to second to fifth grade. My thought is if we REALLY want to engage the kids in fire prevention, they need to be a little older where fire safety points make sense, and it's not just about seeing a big red fire truck.

OMG!!! She Was Hot AF

Whom you may ask? Why the gorgeous and super sweet 19 year old Irish redhead "Sexy Kitty" I had as a patient in my ambulance on Halloween night. She had been traveling through town on the interstate to an out of state Halloween party and began having an asthma attack while driving. She got off the highway to seek medical attention, however she instead found herself traveling on a dark state road in the middle of nowhere. She finally stopped on the side of the road and called 911. When I approached her car to talk to her.... HOLY SHIT!! look what she's wearing. Black stiletto ankle boots, fishnet stockings, a tiny black short skirt, sporting a bare midriff, a small black top with spaghetti straps, and of course... the cat ears on her head and a round black spot on the tip of her nose. I won't go into the details of her physical attributes, but it suffices to say she was a well put together young woman. She was very sweet and outgoing and so nice to me as well. She had tried to use her rescue inhaler but found no relief. Thankfully, she was not in acute respiratory distress. When she exited her car I got to see her from head to toe. OMG... so smokin' hot! I wished I was 20 and single because I would have done my damnedest to date her. Alas, I am married and old enough to be her Grandpa, so I was just the charming old man that took care of her until the paramedic got on board and then I assisted the paramedic. We got her to the hospital and turned her over to the ER and wished her well.

I just returned from another call with that same paramedic, and told her I will remember that call until I die. She didn't get why.

 Uh.... maybe because I'm a guy?

FD Service Call Today

I am on duty with the FD today. FYI... we do not rescue cats stuck in trees. That is a big city FD type call because they usually have a ladder truck that can reach the heights and retrieve the cat safely. We only have ground ladders that make that type of rescue extremely hazardous for us and require quite a bit of manpower. When they call the station for that circumstance I recommend people put food at the base of the tree and wait until they are so hungry they come down themselves. 

Mid-morning there was a knock at the front door. It was a elderly female resident that lives a couple of miles up the road and she told me she was a damsel in distress. She was on her way back from a veterinarian office in Hartford and had her cat in a pet carrier in her car. Because she is unable to manipulate the latch mechanism, she had the door tied shut. When the vet brought that cat out in the carrier, the string was gone and the door was latched but she didn't notice until she got home. She thought the latch was broken and stuck, but it just has a really stiff spring and she couldn't open it. I went outside to her car to look at the situation and check out the cat carrier for myself. I then called dispatch to log a service call incident and responded with our service truck. When I arrived at her house she was already inside with the cat. I showed her how to hook her fingers as leverage on the door and pull the latch with her thumb, but she still couldn't do it. I opened the door and stepped back and the cat scooted out. She sat on the rug several feet away looking at me, eyes as wide as dinner plates... and then she beat it up the stairs. I conversed with the resident for a few minutes before clearing the call and returning to quarters. So this is as close as I ever got to the cat rescue scenario.

 

Here is the official narrative from our NFIRS (National Fire Incident Reporting System)

"Resident stopped by Station XX looking for assistance with a cat stuck in a cat carrier. She had been to the vet and they locked the carrier. The resident could not open it due to the heavy spring on the latch. If the door was left loose in the vehicle the cat would escape. She requested assistance at her home to release the cat inside the house. Service-XXX responded to the resident's home and the cat was released safely." 

Two Good Scares This Week

Scare #1; Fire alarm at my house

I worked a 24 hour shift from the morning of Sunday the 31st until the morning of Monday the 1st, Labor Day. At 03:30 AM Monday as I was sleeping at the firehouse my phone buzzed. Then buzzed again. Then again. Then it started vibrating non-stop which meant I was getting a phone call. It was my alarm monitoring company telling me there was an active fire alarm at my house, and is everything all right? I told them I was not at home and I have no idea what the problem may be and to dispatch us immediately. Here's what really scared me... the buzzes were alerts from alarm system app; first reporting the alarm, then reporting a power failure. When an actual fire occurs the electrical system is damaged so my immediate thought was "Holy shit! There is a real emergency!!" I yelled to wake up my partner to get ready to go to my house. As I got dressed I called my wife and she answered saying she did not see anything and did not know why the alarm was going off. I told her we were on the way. We were dressed and had half our gear on before the tones dropped to respond. We respond with what's called "One and One" meaning one guy in each engine. We rolled out to my house lights and siren. My partner was in front of me and went up the driveway first and I pulled up behind him. The garage door was up so I grabbed my portable radio and the TIC (thermal imaging camera) from my engine and went inside. My wife was in the kitchen in her jammies with all four dogs with the alarm still sounding. I punched in the master code to clear the system and stop the siren.

There was no fire, just a faulty detector on the first floor. I have all my sensors tagged in the system with their physical location but the monitoring company said they did not have a specific sensor location. When I mentioned to my wife about the power failure, she told me she tried unplugging the base unit to silence it. Unfortunately, it has built in battery backup good for at least 48 hours so all she ended up doing was scaring the bejeezus out of me. 

I am not happy with the alarm equipment company. The smoke detectors have reached the end of their 10 year life this year, but have been rendered obsolete before they could be replaced. Like back in 2018! I found this out talking to customer service who told me I would have to upgrade my ENTIRE system at my expense to the tune of about $2000 to keep what I have. None of the sensors are compatible. THAT is not happening. So, I will eliminate the smoke detectors and the system will be a burglar/break-in alarm only since those sensors will work forever. I have the hard-wired smoke detectors that came with the house, which were all replaced in 2021 and still have 3 years of life left. They all have battery backup and are connected together so if one goes off they all go off.

 

Scare #2; Almost bought it on "The Beast"

Tuesday was a gorgeous sunny day with temps in the high 70's. I decided to go for a loop cruise late in the afternoon just before 3 PM. My security camera showed me pulling away from the house at 2:51 PM. I planned on heading north and east on the back roads of Windham County so I took a right out of my driveway. 

The speed limit on my road is 35 MPH and that's about how fast I was going until I locked `em up about 300 yards or so up the road from the end of my driveway.

I say locked `em up, but in actuality my bike has ABS which brings it to a quick stop without going into a skid and possibly laying it down. A jackass that lives a couple of miles from me drives like a raving lunatic on my road all the time. I had to jump out of his way at my mailbox when he went screaming by at 60 several months ago. I got his license plate while he was parked at the local convenience store so that if I observed him driving like a nut again I could report him. But in this incident I didn't know it was him because he wasn't driving his normal blue Chevy Avalanche.

He was driving an older kind of beat maroon Chevy pickup with a roof rack. He came around the curve at a high rate of speed and overshot the curve putting him on a direct head on path to me. It happened very fast and I had nowhere to go but to sit stopped and brace for impact. At the last second he swerved and missed me, and then threw it in reverse to come back to where I sat so "I could yell at him" he said. That's when I saw who it was and I laid into that motherfucker without removing my helmet. I told him what a fucking asshole he was, that he drives like a fucking lunatic, that I know he drives the blue pickup and little white Nissan van, and where he lives. I told him he will be getting a visit from the state police, threw my bike in gear and took off. He continued on his way. I went up to his house to get his house number, but of course, an asshole like that doesn't bother having a visible house number. It was at that point I realized I was so shaken by the incident I needed to go home and park my bike. I actually had the shakes. I have other means at my disposal to get the guy's name and proper address, which I did and then called the state police routine number, not 911. I told the desk trooper what happened and he said they would send a trooper to my house to talk to me. The state trooper came by just before 4:30. Another young 'un younger than my own daughter. I explained the whole situation including the incident at my mailbox. He took me by surprise by asking if I thought he was targeting me. I told him definitely not. While I was at my mailbox he came speeding around a blind corner and probably didn't even see me. And on my bike I had on a full face helmet so he had no clue who I was. I was asked if I had dashcam video and I said I didn't. The state trooper left and said he may or may not get back to me, but there will definitely be a record of this situation in case there are any future incidents. I assume his next stop was to visit that jackass.

Because of this incident, I pulled my old GoPro Hero 3+ camera out of storage and will use it from now on as a dashcam on every ride. My wife ordered me 3 new batteries with charger, a windshield clamp, and a ball swivel mount off Amazon so I can put the GoPro protected behind the windshield without obstructing my view or interfering with the controls. People ask me how I can do something as "dangerous" as ride a motorcycle? I remind them what I do for a living, and that just going in to work each day could be my last. I tell them I thoroughly enjoy riding motorcycles, and WILL NOT deny myself such pleasure because of "what if?" I live my life.

Wednesday afternoon I ventured out again.... kinda like the "get back on the horse" ride. I did the 35 mile loop ride I attempted Tuesday. On the way back I stopped at the firehouse to speak with the Deputy Chief who was out front putting in some mums. I parked my bike near his SUV on the front ramp. As I was talking to him, that jackass drove by, saw my bike, stopped and turned around in the parking lot to drive by again. He didn't see me at first because I was behind the SUV, but I looked right at him and he knows he was seen. He doesn't yet know where I live or that I am on the FD, but he will definitely find out if he fucks around.

Not Happening I Guess

The new gig I referenced in this post that is. Sometime on Tuesday August 26th I was supposed to receive an email from one of the owners as an invite to interview. I had updated my resume' in anticipation of sending it back to her in a reply. Nothing. My buddy that would have been my manager there probably thinks I am pissed at him because he has made himself scarce. I'm not mad at anybody. I have a job. If they are not interested in my services, then once again as always.... their loss.

In the meantime, I will keep looking around for other employment opportunities. 

New Gig?

I am looking into a new job as a production line mechanic for a regional food manufacturer about 30 miles from home. First shift Monday thru Friday 7 AM to 3 PM starting pay will be about a $12 per hour raise. This kind of work is right up my alley. Electrical, mechanical, electronics, PLC's, preventative maintenance, and my manager would be a buddy of mine. He actually told me about the job. Probably going in Tuesday to fill out an application. He will be informing them tomorrow that he has a possible candidate for the opening and to find out the process to apply. He got his job offered while doing some contracting work there.

The FD is not going to be pleased if this pans out. As a taxpayer in the town I work in, it is in my best interest to give and honor the 2 weeks notice so they can get coverage, but it will still be a shit show. I will leave on a good note as best I can (even though I would love to stuff it up their asses and tell them why I am REALLY leaving). I will remain with the department as a volunteer, and may take myself off the line as an interior fire fighter and just be driver/pump operator.

I saw myself as a short timer in the FD, shorter if an injury (or worse) were to take me out. This line of work may take me past my normal retirement date if I like it enough, and the chance of serious injury is way less. I will be able to squirrel away much more in retirement savings when SSI kicks in. Other benefits are sleeping in my own bed every night, getting to commute on "The Beast" in good weather, and having staggered hours from my wife making the care of our animals no longer a point of concern.

Nepotism - The Nightmare Has Returned

I posted this on X earlier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to document the latest problem below, redacted heavily for SafeSECS of course. This is not the version I will be discussing with the involved chief officers, leaving off the personal opinion paragraph.

 

Incident #2025-XXXXXXXX   Location totally redacted

 

At 23:48:17 on Wednesday August 13, 2025 Station XX was dispatched for a Fire – Service Call “RESIDENTIAL LOCKOUT / ADULT / 2 CHILDREN”. The response was with A-XXX only since there is a complete lockout kit on board.

8-13-25 23:53:07 A-XXX responding

8-13-25 23:57:09 A-XXX on scene

Upon arrival, found two adult females and two children under 2 years old waiting outside at the end of the sidewalk. They told us they were not locked out of a vehicle, but had lost the keys to the building and the apartment at the location they left to come home. The Knox Box was accessed and the keys to the front door and the “Apartment Master” were retrieved. I followed the resident upstairs to Apartment #XXX. Upon arrival at the door, I observed heavy damage to the door and the exterior housing of the deadbolt. The resident stated she had tried to break open the apartment door using the fire extinguisher from the hall. The apartment master key went into the deadbolt but would not turn. I could not determine if it was an incorrect key or that the resident had damaged the lock making it inoperable. An inspection of the door jamb behind the weather stripping in the immediate area of the dead bolt showed a gap that would easily accommodate a forcible entry attempt. The plan was to get a Halligan bar to see if the door and jamb would give enough to pop open. If that did not work, no further attempts would be made so as NOT to cause more damage than what the resident already caused. Knowing C-XXX was on the air responding from home, I called him on the radio to stop at Station XX to grab R-XXX. He acknowledged.

8-14-25 00:07:05 R-XXX Responding

8-14-25 00:10:14 R-XXX On Scene

As we were discussing the plan and about to get the tools, EMT X. XXXXX called C-XX at home and reported that we “were going to break down the door.” C-XX via telephone through EMT XXXXXX ordered crews on scene not to perform forcible entry.

For the next 15 minutes multiple phone calls were then made to property management to try and get maintenance out ASAP. Maintenance was not immediately available. The residents took shelter inside the vestibule to wait for maintenance to arrive. The keys were secured back in the Knox Box.

8-14-25 00:25:41 All units cleared

FAILURES

1). Non-fire qualified personnel not understanding proper forcible entry techniques and PANICKING. WE are trained in forcible entry and do not “break down doors.” Is there NO FAITH in our abilities to perform the task or use proper restraint?

2). Breach of the “Chain of Command.” This went in both directions. There were TWO Chief Officers on scene (C-XXX & C-XXX). At no time were they consulted by EMT XXXXX or C-XX. One could go as far as to say they were totally ignored.

3). Making command decisions from miles away via telephone relayed by non-fire personnel, instead of speaking DIRECTLY to those on scene with DIRECT KNOWLEDGE of the plan. Or by responding to the scene if concerns were so great.

 

OPINION

True, there was no life safety or medical emergency need to gain entry to the apartment. There was only the need for shelter from insects and proper care of the children. Only one attempt to get the deadbolt to pop free was going to be made. The door was already severely damaged by the resident. Nothing the FD was going to do was going to result in further damage. But unqualified people with no clear understanding rendered concerns that were not necessary, and have now caused tension in the workplace and fostered distrust between team members.

PERSONAL OPINION

There were MANY reasons I left the XXXXXXX Fire Department in 1995 and took a 10 year hiatus from the fire service. A major one was the nepotism of the XXXXXX family which seems to now be the case with the XXXXXX’s and the XXXXXX FD.  XXXXXXX XXXXXX was appointed “Administrator” without that position being offered to anyone in the department or publicly. The lines are now being blurred between line officer and operations and admin of the paid staff, with actual “power” being derived via a phone call to Daddy. All qualifications for line positions have been permanently suspended, and this as well as future situations are proof that this has not, is not, and will not be advisable for the department going forward. There is also the fact that XXXXX constantly leaves a mess in the kitchen, both a sink full of dishes and a disgusting greasy mess on the stove top. The Chief’s response to a complaint early on is “some peoples definition of a mess is different than others.” Therefore, his messes are left for him to clean up on his next shift.

If I can get another job lined up I WILL be terminating my employment.

 

 

All I can say is pretty fucking sad to have to be dealing with this once again. Nothing can be done about it because nothing would change. That would first require an admission that there is a problem. I can only escape it on my own. I will however, remain a volunteer, because I am very close to 20 active years and Lifetime Membership, getting me a lifetime town benefit. Once that is awarded it is for life.