^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Yes, they all said it best. redneckdan-You're a shoe-in for duty. And cheers on the note about the fella that straight gassed yer 395. And, as Stinny said: God bless you, and during this time of year, too.
Who is the member here that builds the bad azz fire fighting machines? I cannot remember.... Anyone else? Is he in MT or ID ?
Whoa !! Glad your family, home, and good dogs are safe! I would def talk to that fire crew about their POS chain saws and their ruining of your 395 !
redneckdan good for you on turning in your application to the FD, sounds like a no brainer to accept you, you definitely have the mind set for it! Hope to hear soon that you are part of the brotherhood (and sisters)
Bad azz fire trucks? If there is anything I like more the bad azz chainsaws, it's bad azz fire trucks!
Dan, what a great story! Thank you so much for posting about this. First off to commend is your preparation in case something like this were to happen. It did and you were prepared. Next comes a big sigh of relief knowing you had dogs that warned you in time. They do make great alarms at times! lol Do keep us posted on the cost of repairing your equipment. Perhaps we can help. On the fire crews, sadly this seems to be the case with many rural companies. That is, not as prepared as they should be. On the saws, I would think those would get a regular check the same as the fire trucks themselves and all the other equipment. That is a very sad state of affairs but in many areas they are working on fixing these things. Fortunately we have a very good local fire department that even though are all volunteer, they have excellent facilities and we make certain of it with a tax base to keep them current with equipment. I know of no case where they could be looked down at; they do good work and have excellent training. I do hope this is a wake up call for others. Not only in dry seasons but at all times, people need to know what to do ahead of time. Be prepared so you know what to tell the fire departments, even down to the directions to the place. Yes, they probably have gps but even in our case not all departments in the area knew how to get to our place the quickest because we live on a dead end road. Only one way in. Now they all know or should because they have been notified. If you get a chance with a fire department open house or even a fund raiser, go! Help them because you may need their help some day or someone you know may need it.
Not if, but when you or a neighbor needs help, also, the VFD's I know of are severely underfunded. Nice advice Dennis.
Our local news has been doing public awareness type segments about the shortage of volunteers in Maine too... for years now. Here's a chance for local politicians in all states to really step up and I would think most would agree... legislation needs to be passed to push back hard on a variety of liability issues that affect insurance costs for vol fire/amb services, as well as personal liability of the volunteers themselves.
Back at the house for Easter Dinner. Spent most of the day working outside and patrolling the burn every couple hours. The fire crews are off today. Still lots of hot spots. I found a big one just after lunch. Chained up the fire wood truck and filled 4 barrels of water in the back. Got the job done and didn't bury the truck too badly. The winch and snatch got a work out. We were fortunate the fire happened on Friday not thursday. The winds were much higher that day. More than likely it would have taken our place and crossed the road. It would have been a toss up if hwy 20 or the lake a mile beyond it would have stopped it. The 395 is siezed pretty good. Currently soaking in Kroil to hopefully free the piston from the cylinder. I definitely missed having it today. The 576 does okay with a full saw buck buy the longer bar and more horsepower is nice. I personally think volunteer emergency service personal should be eligible for a hefty tax credit. At least state, and fed would be good too. I don't think 5% would be unreasonable. That is no where near compensating for their time but it would be a nice gesture.
Their talking about a tax break now here in Maine, for volunteers. "We were fortunate the fire happened on Friday not thursday. The winds were much higher that day. More than likely it would have taken our place and crossed the road." ... I like to think God has a hand in things like that Dan.
It's good to hear such positive support of volunteer fired departments. Most will never understand what these men and women do for there communities, and how much of an asset they are. I fight with my governing board (township trustees) over budget, low tax base, equipment upgrades and maintenance. If it wasn't for FEMA grants we wouldn't be here for our community. Also begging people to join the department is a full time job. In 2005 Iowa made it mandatory for all volunteer fire men to complete Fire Fighter One training, that is a 100 hour class. I lost 30% of my roster due to that. I will say that the state is starting to chip in to the volunteers, we have a state tax credit ($100) and word has it that some one at the federal level is trying to get a hefty federal tax credit. I honestly hope my trucks get more use in parades each year then at fire scenes.... but that hardly ever happens. Support your local fire department, be it volunteer, full time paid or somewhere in between. They all need help in some way, there is always more training that can be done, equipment to be upgraded/ repaired, or even just a thank you note for being there. And again huge props to redneckdan for having a bug out bag, a plan, and a calm head when SHTF... keeping a calm head when your property is on the line is a hard thing to do, I've seen rational people totally loose it in far better circumstances than the story here. Plus stepping up and taking action... way to go. Here's hoping for calm winds, and a rain in the forecast!
My hometown VFD uses only 110 non-oxy gas in all their power tools and so far (knock on wood) they haven't had an issue. Their biggest problem is with training people how to start their equipment. Seems like no one wants to leave the choke on until they get the burp and then they end up complaining about how they need to replace the bleeping old Stihl chop saw. I've demo'd the starting technique a half dozen times at different outings and they still have issues. All good guys but mostly townies that don't handle saws or the like more than a couple times a year.
Pictures from Friday. The fire got much, much closer before it was finally extinguished. At that point, photography wasnt really on my mind...
Pictures from last night. Also spotted the local great horned chicken thief... Lots of hot spots yet. I went out this morning at 4am before work and found 3 more than weren't marked. Dug a little and hauled some 5 gallon pails from the creek. That seemd to help knock things down.
Can't tell from that picture, but the silhouette looks almost like a Great Gray......Too big for Barred. Don't see any ear tuffs.
