On July 19th there was a car fire at the Mill Mountain Star. Check out the video below.

I am not sure if this was Roanoke or Vinton. If you know where it was let me know.

AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka blasts racism and underlines why workers should vote Obama in 2008. Excerpt of speech given at Steelworkers convention July 1, 2008, sponsored by USW President Leo Gerard.

Fireman Jake vs Policeman Perry Part 9

Thanks for the heads up by the anonymous commenter on the new video.

Here is a video from on of the students of Jefferson College of Health Sciences. It is a view through their eyes of our Department and their program. You guys at work will not be able to see this as it is hosted on YouTube. Enjoy.
UPDATE: The video was taken offline, and now has be edited to give credit for some of the photos. The video is live again. Enjoy.

Do you need any help there Billy? We need some more help, we have one stream in operation and the first floor is fully involved…wait make that HOOOOLY SHIIIT. HOOOLY COW THAT WAS INCREDIBLE.

This is some amazing footage.


Backdraft Levels Two Story Building – Watch more free videos

I can see it now. In an effort to ensure response times and to make sure not to be proven wrong after making cuts that he said will not change a thing, the Fire Chief and others beat the streets to stop traffic to get the fire apparatus to calls on time.

Here is a look into the future.

And of course we have to talk about the increase in fees. More than likely, we don’t have enough firefighters to adequately attack a highrise fire. Furthermore, we are becoming a fee for service department. Therefore I give you a view of our department in the future…again. Enjoy.

Just the other day, I was explaining to our rookie some of the differences in residential building construction. We talked in depth on truss construction. I was trying to explain how we have more time inside a structure built of balloon frame as opposed to newer light-weight truss construction. Although balloon frame has other concerns, basically the construction is more solid. The light-weight construction is cheaper and has killed too many firefighters.

Then, Scott Fritz sent me a video that I had actually checked out a couple of months ago. Thanks for the idea Scott. It seems as though I come across a lot of things I should blog about but do not, only to revisit it later when someone sends it in. Which leads me to another point I will be blogging about soon – how to learn on a daily basis just by checking in on the various websites which offer news, training, incidents, etc. online.

Here is the video:

I saw this commercial the other night. I loved it. Then, TheHouseWatch.com posted the Youtube video. I am now posting it for you all.

Amidst all of the issues with Roanoke City Council, the problems continue. I have spoken with several candidates and I am not too surprised by the people who are running. Nor am I surprised by some of the reasons some are running. So much for the Republicans though, they aren’t running anyone. It seems as though many aren’t willing to waste their money running against the Harris Contingency.

Bowers and Wishneff are running though. So far, I am more pleased with these two than any others.

Check out their ideals they are running on below. It seems as though they are willing to spell out what they will spend, instead of the Harris Contingency just doing whatever the hell they want.

A Real Downtown Roanoke Agenda – April 2008

Abandon the Amphitheater project along Reserve Ave and take the $12,600,000 budgeted for that project and instead spend it downtown on the following projects:

1. $3,000,000 – Elmwood Park Amphitheater of 2-3,000-seats

2. $3,000,000 – City Market Building Renovation, City share of estimated $7-$8M for comprehensive renovation

3. $1,000,000 – Center in the Square Renovation this represents initial payment on multi-year City $4M commitment for this $27M renovation and reinvention of Center

4. $1,500,000 – Church Ave. Garage Renovation, this represents a cash payment to eliminate need for City to borrow which makes parking rate increase unnecessary

5. $250,000 – Farmers Stalls Modernization that adds items like heat, electricity, which was requested by farmers

6. $850,000 – Market Square Improvements, initial aesthetic and functional improvements to Square to support ability to more easily change uses at nights & weekends

7. $3,000,000 – New 600+ Williamson Rd Parking Garage in parking lot across from Link Museum could hold new hotel rooms and meeting space on top for expanded Hotel Roanoke;
strategic location allows for parking garage to serve multiple purposes including Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, the Civic Center, the improved Market Building and the new Art Museum, money represents initial City contribution for planning & design toward a much larger
multi-million project
$ 12,600,000

Presented by Mayoral candidate David Bowers and Roanoke City Councilman and candidate Brian Wishneff

Hey all,

Amidst one of the worst weeks of my life, I managed to enjoy the phone calls and comments related to the Blog coming to an end. After all, it was April 1st. Some of you all got it right away, others it was a little tougher. The best phone call was someone calling to complain about it, then the next day realizing it was April 1st the day before, calling me to admit I had got him. He even said that he was frantic in trying to think of someone else to take over the blog.

I had a “Cowboy” Captain call up and bitch me out about it, only to realize it was April 1st at the end of his sentence and promptly say something like “Oh I get it, April Fools you asshole” – I don’t even think I got a word out of my mouth. Damn did I get him good. His guys called to tell me how pissed off he was.

Others just told me of firefighters who thought it was BS that I stopped the blog. However, several of you saw right through it.

I must say that my April Fools joke got a lot more mileage than I imagined it would. I will be back to work tomorrow, still homeless after having trouble closing on our new house. Tomorrow, I think I will try some new pump training, courtesy of C.J. Schaffer (Salem Fire Department):

Do you work with this guy?

This video is great. Maybe the guys at 10 should try this…kidding.

I thought that this video clip was worthwhile. Check it out.

And this one from Chief Rick Lasky about Pride and Ownership.

Check out this video on Youtube. It is hilarious. Thanks to Tim Pickle from the Lynchburg Fire Department for the heads up on this one.

Check out this video sent in by Gavin Miller over in Troutville.

Hey guys, the Danville Firefighters are having a blast with their new blog. Ken Jones, whom I have hung out with through VPFF and IAFF functions, recently bet another firefighter $20 to dance for 10 seconds. Through a little coercion, the firefighter finally takes the bet. Check it out here: http://www.danvillefirefighters.blogspot.com/. Also there is another hilarious video they link to from The Bravest Online.
This is a pretty cool video of an artist creating an awesome painting. Thanks to Scott Fritz for the heads up on this.

The other night, Jay Warren was caught laughing about a prior joke during a news story about a deadly accident. The footage is circling the net on various video sights. This is great news. The last time the Nation heard about Roanoke was when the lady in South East who was complaining about jackhammering noise hurting her unborn baby while she smoked a cigarette (link).

The video is here:
If it doesn’t show, the direct link is here.

The Biggest Asshole News Reporter Ever
Clowns: funny. People dying: not funny. Again…that’s clowns: funny. People dying: not funny.

Get humor videos at NothingToxic

This is why you should always lead the stretcher by the head or by the feet. I was taught to lead it by the feet, that way the pt. can see where they are going. Of course, in the video below the pt. can’t see at all. But it did make the EMT’s look like complete idiots with no regard for the recently departed.

The video is hosted on Nothingtoxic.com and I am not sure if station computers allow you to view the site. If you can’t view the video below, click here for the video.

Poor Guy Killed in an Accident then Dropped by Paramedics
It's just my opinion, but I'd say this is the worst day ever for this guy.

Get humor videos at NothingToxic