4 Wheeling in Delle

Well, we finally took our first official ride on the new 4 wheelers yesterday. We went to Delle Utah which is about 40 miles west of Salt lake City. You get a mix of everything out there - trails, dunes, mud and salt flats. We had an awesome time!! It was fun to get on the salt flats and just open the throttle full and cruise about 50 to 60 mph on a smooth-as-glass terrain.
After that we climbed a trail up the side of a mountain range and found a great viewing spot where you could get a breathtaking view of the entire valley for miles and miles.
We then hit the sand dunes where Michelle had her first spill. She rolled the ATV when trying to make a turn and not leaning the opposite direction enough. She got a scratch on her leg and a sore foot out of the deal, but otherwise she was okay so we kept riding until we were nearly out of fuel.
We had a blow out on one of the trailer tires on the way home, actually it blew as I was backing the trailer into the driveway - that was some really good luck for us.
We are definitely looking forward to our next trip.

If you can't screw with your buddies......Pt. 2

There are three platoons that work each station is Salt Lake City. I happen to be on B platoon. This means that there are 27 people that keep Fire Station #2 in a constant state of readiness 365 days per year. This being said, there is not enough room in the station for 27 individual beds. This means that you use a bed that 2 other firefighters use when they are are on duty (1 for each platoon). So it is imperative that each firefighter clear his individual bed linens off the bed they used when they get up in the morning to go home. Sometimes after a long night, or if we get a late morning call prior to shift change, it is feasible that one might forget to clear their linens. Usually you only forget once. Because again, in the finest traditions of the fire service, we live to screw with our fellow co-workers.

Yesterday when we came on duty, low and behold one of the A-platoon paramedics (another dumb-ass new guy) left his bedding all over one of the bunks in the dorm. Well, being the mature adults that we are, decided to wrap his bedding in a thick layer of saran wrap. We then made a paper face and applied that with another layer of saran wrap. We then took an unused mop head and a ladder stay-fast (a hook device that connects a ground ladder to a building for safety when climbing) and attached that to the effigy we had created. We then pulled the ladder truck out and raised the aerial ladder and strung a rope between the top of our station and the roof of the building next door to us. We then hooked the bedding "head" to the rope and let it hang. The only way for the unlucky paramedic to retrieve his bedding is to get it down the same way we put it up, setting up the ladder truck.

My guess is that he won't forget to clean up his stuff in the morning from now on!!

We were actually so busy screwing with the other platoon that we left OUR new guy alone.......Guess we'll have to make up for it next shift. hehehe

If you can't screw with your buddies at work...why go?

This time of year, wildfires are a major concern. A good portion of those fires are caused by fireworks. Sometimes Firemen have to be the bad guys and confiscate the illegal fireworks that local residents have smuggled into the state from Wyoming. Well, do you ever wonder what gets done with those confiscated fireworks? I'm sure it's not hard to figure out when firemen are nothing but big kids. Usually they are used to make the new guy miserable, or to screw with one of your buddies when he is trying to catch a nap. Sometimes they get tossed into the racquetball court to test the reflexes of your buddies when they least expect it (Boy the acoustics in the racquetball court are great with a properly thrown M-80). Another good way to catch someone off guard is when they are going to the bathroom - it really limits their reaction options when they are standing in front of the urinal doing thei business and you toss a bundle of firecrackers under their feet. However, that being said, the thrower needs to be keenly aware of where the firecrackers land after the toss. We learned - through trial and error - that a ceramic urinal cannot withstand the explosive force of a large bundle of blackcat firecrackers that land INSIDE the urinal.

This particular incident happened over a year ago. And on the anniversary of the alleged event, we held a memorial service for the dearly departed urinal. Not wanting to let the perpetrator -or aspiring tossers - to forget, we created a plaque for all to remember that fateful day and posted it proudly above the replacement urinal.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Breaking in the new guy.

Well, we got a brand new rookie firefighter at the station yesterday. And consistent with the finest traditions of the fire service, the hazing quickly ensued. His name is Jim, a common name - you would think, but for some reason no one in the station could remember it, but we all new it began with a "J".....John, Jeff, Jehova, Jesse, Jerry, the list goes on and on. Funniest thing about it was that he would answer to all of them.

Continuing on with the name games, Our two paramedics - Matt and Chad - decided they would rather be each other, so they introduced themselves to Jack having switched their names. Jeremiah called them the wrong names the whole shift. we actually had to stay on top of our game to keep it straight, and it got really interesting when Joseph would answer the phone and it would be the wife of either Matt or Chad. But it still worked out in the end!

Next, Matt (who was sitting in the kitchen, knowing Jamie was downstairs) called the station posing as a stranger asking for the address of one of our Captains. Jamal, not knowing the policy (Dumb ass new guy) looked the info up on the computer and freely gave out the info the "stranger" was looking for. Later in the afternoon, we were in the truck on the way back to station when our Captain dropped the bomb and said that his wife called saying that there was some weird guy that came to the door and asked if this is where Captain Vaughn lives. And she continued on to say that he would not leave the front porch.. Captain Vaughn then told us how worried he was about his wife and was curious as to how this guy got his address, and that I needed to drive faster so that he could get to the station to call the police. Pete, our other truck firefighter was sitting across from Jacob and said he could actually watch the color drain from his face!! Especially when Captain Vaughn said..."Thank god I know you guys are smart enough not to give out personal info over the phone.. I just wonder how he got my address"? Turns out Jason is actually a stand-up guy and admitted not knowing the policy..(Dumb Ass New Guy)..and told us that someone called asking for Captain Vaughn's' address and did, in fact give out personal info over the phone. Lesson learned.

Yes there is more!!! BIG BED

At station 2 on B-Platoon, we are a very close crew. We work well together, we trust each other with our very lives. We party together, we go on crew trips, bar crawls, our families hang out at camp outs and other social functions. We sleep in the same room at work - a large open dorm (thanks to the homeless shelter infecting our station with bugs). We informed Jayden of how close we really are as a crew. We informed him that at night - still within the best traditions of the fire service- that we push all the beds together in the center of the room and create one big bed, and that we all sleep in one big huddled mass. Joshua, being the dumb ass new guy, stayed up later than everyone else after doing his dumb ass new guy chores. Jerry didn't know that the last guy to bed gets to sleep in the middle. You should have seen his face when he came in and saw all of us in the big bed with his bedding and pillow right smack-dab in the middle!!

Being the new guy on your very first day is probably the most intimidating thing any human will have to go through. Fortunately, he has six more months of this to deal with. I sure hope Justin makes it!!! To be honest he actually got off easy for his first day. Other new guy's have had far worse experiences, but it was the last day of our cycle, we were tired and ready to go home for a few days. But come next Sunday......................