Last we heard from you; you quit your job....., you wrecked your ride........, you were about to enter the fire academy starting a new job......

Hows it all working out for you? People here want to hear about your continuing saga. So fill us in once in a while.

I can stand the suspense!!!!

 

Well, where do I begin??

THE TRUCK ~
The total damage was about $6000. It was in the shop for about 4 weeks. I didn't feel like paying my co-pay for the rental, so I bought an Exploder to get me by...the guy at the body shop told me it would take 25 business days. I found a stripped down 2003 Ford Exploder for EL CHEAPO and jumped on it. I sold it after the truck was done and made $2000 . I never made a payment on it.

The truck looks FANTASTIC! I have to take it back tomorrow for some corrective repairs...dent in the left bedside panel which was replaced, about an 8" paint run on the passengers side front door, overspray on the windshield and a bug in the paint on the front right hinge pilar. All in all, I am VERY satisfied. The guy at the shop knew that I handled auto claims for a while, and I assumed he knew I'd go over it with a fine tooth comb...that's what you get for assuming, right? I wasn't expecting it to be perfect, and it's not...but it will be when he's done. Plus, he's picking up the cost of a rental for the 2 or 3 days while they fix their flaws.

I was out of pocket my $500 deductible.
I was paid $1200 for diminished value.
I was paid $400 loss of use.
I made $2000 on the Exploder
...Who says wrecks are a bad thing?

THE JOB ~

For those that don't know, I took a job with the Fire Department.

This just gets better and better. My official start date was January 17th. Of course, that was MLK Jr. day, so the offices were closed. I didn't have to report to work until the 18th, AND I got paid time and 1/2 for my first day....and didn't even show up!

There are 11 recruits, and I am the only one with NO experience. 7 of the 11 are/were already firefighters somewhere else, and 3 of them have already been to the academy. It was a little intimidating at first, but I have been doing fine...in fact, better than a few of them. We've been doing a lot of search and rescue stuff, live burns and physical training. They spent a BUTTLOAD of money on us, just for the gear...three sets of uniforms, work shirts, jackets, full turnout gear, boots (two pair), officers uniform (for graduation and honor guard), flashlights, webbing, survival kit, SCBA and the packs, and tools, tools, tools...the list goes on and on.

I have enjoyed every minute of it and am learning a WHOOOOLE lot. I can't wait for my first call. We train through the end of March and graduate on April 1st (figures).

We just purchased 6 new Engines. They are UNREAL! We are building 3 brand new $2,500,000 stations, and replacing 2 others with the same plans. It's an exciting time!

I am up at 5:30 or 6:00 every morning, and usually in bed by 10:00. Getting old sure is fun! Seriously though, I have never been more excited to get out of bed in the morning, and getting back in shape sure feels good.




That should just about cover the truck and the job. I've got to go get my party hat on for the game. Until next time....

 

Glad to hear that things are going so well Tuff. It certainly sounds like you've turned it around...

Be sure to pay attention in your 1910.120 OSHA 40-hour class... Learn how to use that ERG... I'm sure you'll be using it on some calls!

Be careful out there and best of luck. It sounds like you'll graduate just in time for the summer! I'm sure those turnouts are nice and cozy warm when it's 95 degrees outside.

RP

 

Yeah, you got the bug (your talking uniforms, fire engines, live burns). Your hooked now and can go back. Glad to see you are doing well in the academy and we all want to see your graduation picture with the Class A's in April.

Always remember that this is still a dangerous job even though you having fun. We lost 3 FDNY recently, two of which jumped out of a 4 story building rather that be burned. The third got trapped in a basement during search and rescue.

Be safe, learn from you mistakes now while your in the academy. The go out and do your job well. There is no other like it.

 

I read about that...what a terrible loss. Forsyth lost a good firefighter a few years ago in an apartment collapse. It was awful. His wife still works in Admin for us. The sad part is that a simple walk around would have probable saved him. The apartment complex was two levels in the front and three in the back, they pulled up to the front and thought the fire was on the ground level (actually the second level). As it turned out, it started in the bottom level. The department has live footage of it from about 3 different sources, and they've overlapped it with the radio traffic. It's awful.

That was when we were a volunteer department though...a lot has changed since then. Used to, people heard the call for fire on scanners and just showed up and started throwing water at it with no plan. We've come a long way.

RP~

I can't wait for the 95 degree weather and 95% humidity...that's where we'll separate the men from the boys...and the little girls.

 

Sounds like you are much happier in this job than the last!! Glad to hear it, makes things so much easier when you like what you do.

And the truck is getting fixed too, life is good!!