One of the last calls that I ran on Truck 12 involved a person who had fallen from a tree stand and died. C-shift had gone to the initial call and we were sent back after shift change, to assist game wardens with their investigation. The tree stand was found to be 33 feet 7 inches off of the ground. The tree stand was a self-climber. It appears that the victim fell while attempting to either remove a coat or put it on. This call is forever engraved in my mind for a number of reasons. In 2002, I fell…
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Hi and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I mentioned in the past that I have a few mice prowling around. I finally had to go hard and put in wire spring traps, since they were taking the poison and not eating it. I think they were just stocking it up for the cold winter months. I caught a couple, and after a few weeks I thought my problem was over, but not so. Over Labor Day I went to visit my sister and her husband, and on my return, I found little gifts where they should…
I dislike being reactive in these articles, but it took an apartment fire in Hyde Park Apartments to push me in this direction. I read a news report that stated that seven adults and seven children were displaced by this fire. The video I saw online showed the rear of a building that is two-story on the front and three-story in the rear. From my many years at Fire Station 1, in Chester, the front of each building gives access to a two-story townhouse, while the rear of some of the buildings have a ground-level, rear apartment. The main…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Some good news to report: the BigTen has decided to have a football season after all. Ohio State will play a home game against Nebraska on the 24th of October. Start time, viewing, and other details are still up in the air, but it is something to look forward to. I have not watched much sports this year due to the over-politicization of the game to the point it being a distraction. I am not a baseball fan, I have not watched any NBA games, and – to be…
October 4-10, 2020 is Fire Prevention Week, which commemorates the Great Chicago Fire. That fire occurred Oct. 8, 1871, killing 250 people, leaving 100,000 people homeless, destroying 17,400 structures, and burning 2,000 acres. This year’s theme is “Serve up Fire Safety in the Kitchen.” Cooking, unattended or not is the No.1 cause of residential fires in America. When I left the job in 2010, 3.7 out of every 10 fires in Chesterfield County were caused by cooking. Interestingly, we talk about this issue more, but the statistic remains high. When you put all of the right ingredients for a fire…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I am pleased to announce that I have made another trip around the big yellow ball in the sky that we call the sun. Even though we know that it takes the same amount of time to go around in a big circle, it just seems to be going faster and faster the older I get. Maybe it feels that way because I can see the end of the road much clearer than the beginning of this journey. With that being said, you also look at all the things…
My wife and I went to a movie last night, at Regal Cinemas-Virginia Center Commons. I give all of the details because it was the only theater in our area that was showing “My Brother’s Crossing.” Some may say, Don’t you know that there is a pandemic, and you choose to go to a movie? Sadly, we walked into a movie theater that was practically empty. We had a front row parking space and no line to wait in. We had Auditorium 2 all to ourselves. You heard me, not another soul in the theater where we watched this movie.…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As I mentioned in my past article, I was going to get carpet for my whole house: the master bedroom, living room, and both small bedrooms. The carpet store told me they would move the heavy furniture but all of the stuff in the cabinets, breakables, etc., I would have to move by myself. The only areas not impacted were the kitchen, dining room and the bathrooms, which became the storage area for dozens of boxes and baskets, with the overflow going into the garage. What a mess. then,…
I have had two rare privileges in my life, compliments of a friend from the Coast Guard, to ride with the New York City Fire Department. The first ride was my friend Mickey and me riding on Engine 75. Mickey’s dream in 1981, and even before, was to be a New York City firefighter. I think it was in 1985 that Mickey’s dream came true and he was hired. Another part of Mickey’s dream was to be a firefighter on Rescue 3 in the Bronx. Fast forward to 1998 or 1999. I had the opportunity to take two others on…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend. I took the opportunity to go visit my sister and her husband who live in southern, Ohio, in the general area where we grew up. The weather was nice. Traffic was heavy at times but steady. The police, especially in Ohio was out in force to welcome all of the visitors to the Buckeye State. Some drivers were lucky enough to get an autograph to take back home with them. LOL. So after that five-hour drive, I think I deserve a…