New blog site

I have officially had it with this site, I am done fighting them to post my blogs. So you can now find the new creek medic blog HERE

Grain Elevator Explodes, Business Fires, Firefighters Remember, and Give Back

Norwalk Grain Elevator Explosion

Two grain elevators in Norwalk, Oh toppled over and exploded on Tuesday. Spilling corn into the streets, firefighters were unsure if anyone was buried in the rubble. And also while they were on scene at this incident, citizens of their city went to fight for their jobs. Read that story here.

Links Courtesy of The Norwalk Reflector and The Sandusky Register

Fire Breaks Out at Old Pharmacy in Youngstown.

Firefighters were able to save the adjoining market, which shared a common wall with the building on fire.








Link Courtesy of WKBN 27 Youngstown

Four People Injured in Farmersville fire.

Fire thought to have started when an ash tray was dumped into a garbage can.

Link Courtesy of WKEF 22 Dayton

Multi-Alarm Fire at Brake Factory

Fire was above the sprinkler system in the roof, all employees were evacuated safely.





Link Courtesy of WCPO 9 Cincinnati

Three Escape Uninjured from House Fire wih No Smoke Detectors

Trying to represent the local departments here is an amazing story of a late night fire that could have easily been a triple fatal.





Link Courtesy of The Times Reporter
Picture from Uhrichsville Fire Facebook Page

Time of Mourning and Rememberance of Fallen Brothers In Massillon

The Massillon Fire Department had a memorial service on the 30 year anniversary of the La Cuisina fire that killed 3 of their own.







Link Courtesy of The Massillon Independent

Off Duty Firemen Give Back to the Community

Firemen in Akron were giving up their precious off duty time to deliver Christmas trees to those less fortunate.





Link Courtesy of The Akron Beacon Journal

The time of year has come when the white stuff has begun to fly, just a reminder to all the first responders, slow down and take your time when the road conditions warrant. Remember you are no good to anyone else if you too become part of the problem. I have also made commenting public, so please feel free to comment on this post or any of the past ones. I would love to hear from you out there.

                                                  -Creek Medic

Contact Creek Medic

Proposed budget cut has Union fighting

A proposed budget cut that would eliminate firefighter jobs, has the Union of the first full time department speaking out.


Link Courtesy of WCPO 9 Cincinnati

Arson suspected in Apartment fire

Cincinnati firefighters fought an early morning arson fire.


Link Courtesy of WPCO 9 Cincinnati

Multi crew fire in Dayton

Fire broke out in a Dayton duplex. Seven engine crews were needed to bring fire under control.


Link Courtesy of WHIO TV Dayton
Picture Courtesy of Dayton Daily News

Council looks to eliminate fire departmentCouncil looks to eliminate fire department

The Ottawa Hills council is looking to eliminate their fire department, and  looking into contracting with the city of Toledo for fire coverage.


Link Courtesy of WTOL 11 Toldeo

                                                   

Woman discovers fire at her old childhood home.   

Link Courtesy of WKBN 27 Youngstown 

Fire Chief and Union President at odds over transport.Massillon fire chief and Union president are at odds over they are able to staff a second transport ambulance.

  Link Courtesy of Massillon Independent

Fire employment opportunity.

Dayton Fire has announced that they will be hiring.

Link Courtesy of WDTN 2 Dayton

Also if you have heard of anything happening in the State of Ohio fire or EMS oriented send me a message and I will try to put it up here.

                                                                         -Creek Medic

Car Fire Arson, Dispatch Screw Up, and a comedy legend passes.

Auto Repair Shop Fire in Sheffiled Village, Ohio

One firefighter injured, and a civilian transported for an unrelated medical emergency.


Link Courtesy of WEWS Cleveland


 .

  http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=13508617

I love Carl Monday, he is the investigative reporter from 19 Action News in Cleveland, and this story he ran is great reporting, I do feel horrible for the family. This is a grave mistake on the dispatchers part, and unfortunatley it happens everyday. Hopefully this city can sit back and rethink their dispatch protocols, and rectify the situation.

Link Courtesy of 19 Action News Cleveland

Man and Woman Hurt in House Fire

A man and woman were both sent to the hospital after a house fire. Police were at the same apartment earlier in the evening for an altercation.

Link Courtesy of 10 TV Columbus

Car Arson In Dayton

A one night arson spree in Dayton has left residents of an apartment complex without transportation.


Link Courtesy of WDTN 2 Dayton

Sad day for all of those Amish food fans.

It is being reported that the Der Dutchman restaraunt in Waynesville, Oh will not be reopened following a fire that caused $1.5 million in damages.

And finally people all over the world are saying good bye to a comedy legend. Leslie Nielsen 84, passed away yesterday. His credits include Airplane!, The Naked Gun movies, and the Scary Movie films, among many others. He has also brought many great one liners including:
"Stop calling me Shirley."
"This is Frank Drebin, Police Squad. Throw down your guns, and come on out with your hands up. Or come on out, then throw down your guns, whichever way you wanna do it. Just remember the two key elements here: one, guns to be thrown down; two, come on out!"
"The truth hurts doesn't it, Hapsburg? Oh, sure maybe not as much as jumping on a bike with the seat missing, but it hurts!"

Mr. Nielsen you will surely be missed.

                                          -Creek Medic

New Direction

So after re-evaluating this blog I have decided to head in a new direction, while I am still going to throw in some commentary I am also going to try and up-date everyday with news going on in the great state of Ohio. Mainly Fire and EMS related, but I might throw in a feel good story here and there. I hope you enjoy.

Thanksgiving

So its that time of year, the beginning of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is less then a week away. It is the official kick off to the holiday season. My favorite time of the year. Followed closely by football season, but I digress. Thanksgiving is a time for all of us to come together with family and loved ones, and enjoy a feast of epic proportions. As is tradition you are supposed to reflect on those things you are thankful for so let me give you my list:

1. God- Without the big guy I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today. And it is by his love and grace that  I am able to enjoy this holiday with my loved ones.
2. Wife- I am so thankful for her, she puts up with alot. And with the honeymoon phase of our marriage almost done I love her even more everyday.
3. My Kids- These two little guys are able to make me smile no matter what mood I am in. And it is so amazing to watch them everyday as they grow.
4. Family- Whether they be living or not I am so glad that they all had a hand in raising me the way they did, because if it wasn't for them I would not be the man I am today.
5. Friends- While I may not keep in touch as much as I should with some, I have the best group of friends. And its amazing how the list just keeps going. It feels wonderful to have a support group if I need one.
6. Job- I will admit there are days in which I am not too keen on the whole idea of working. I am so thankful I have a job. And unfortunately there are those people out there who can not say this. And I feel bad for all of them.
7. Home- I am so glad that I am able to have a roof over my head, that keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And a place to lay my head at night.

That is just an abbreviated list there are lots of other things I am thankful for. And as we enter into this holiday season lets remember those people that are not able to enjoy them like they should. I think that everyone should help out this holiday season to make those persons holidays more enjoyable, whether it be by putting money in the red kettles outside all of the stores or helping out at a soup kitchen I think we all can afford to help in one way or another. What are you thankful for let me know  I want to hear it. Have A Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Election day

So the election was Tuesday, and all in all I am fairly happy with the results. I am not going to get into my political views, just now I am fairly happy. One Issue that has me disappointed though was Issue 16. This issue was presented to the residents of Sugarcreek. It was going to take the soon to be expired Sewer levy and shift it into the newly formed Safety Services fund. Well needless to say it failed, it was a difference of 65 votes, but it still stung a bit. I know it took me a few days to post on this, but I wanted to calm down and collect my thoughts before I wrote on it. That way I don't type something I might regret later.It might still happen, but at least I have thought it out a while.


Let me share a little bit more about the proposal. The Sewer levy as it sits right now is a 1/2% percent income tax. Meaning if you don't work, you don't pay. Also a good majority of the income tax comes from the workers at the various Belden Brick plants in Sugarcreek, at least half if not more live outside of the village. After that comes Pro-Via door, which also has a lot of employees coming to work from outside the village. The Sewer levy was originally placed on the ballot 16 years ago. It was to help fund much needed improvements to the sewer plant of the village and to bring it up and beyond into the future. When it was originally placed before the citizens it was told to them that when it expired it would be taken off, unfortunately it was never worded that way on the ballot. So it was now left to the village council to decide the fate of the levy when it expired. The council that serves now has decide that it would be in the best interest of the village to leave it on. And after careful contemplation they felt that establishing a Safety Service fund and utilizing the soon to be defunct levy would be the way to supply funding for it. As it stands now, the Fire, Police and Street department are all funded from the general fund. Luckily the Fire Dept. is pretty well self sustaining thanks to contracts they have with surrounding townships for coverage. But the Police and Street departments both pull from the fund, and both require high budgets to maintain day to day operations. By establishing the Safety Service fund the general fund would be left just for the street department. Freeing up money to do some much needed maintenance around the village.


What else was decided was that due to the fact of deteriorating conditions of the Fire and Police facilities a new one was going to be designed and built that would house both Police and Fire. Let me give a little synopsis of the facilities. First the police station is to small to house the operations that the Police Department does. As of right now the police have to operate out of three rooms. Which at one point was fine, but newer standards have been established as to what a police station needs. In a new station you need to have a separate room for suspects and victims, ours has one room. In a new station you need to have a room to hold your prisoners, ours has none. In a new station you need to have a room to store your weapons in, ours has them within sight of criminals. I am not going to keep going because there is a lot more that needs updated. Now on to the fire station. The major issue here is the fact that our apparatus bay floor is below street level, so whenever there is a heavy rain we have flooding.So after hours of dealing with storm damage we have to return to the station grab squeegees and spend another hour or two pushing water down the drains. And this water is usually in lake form due to the cracked bay floor. This also happens to the police department too. As a result of flooding we have had black mold in the basement not once but twice. The first time it made our EMS personnel sick with upper respiratory infections. Let me show you some pictures of our station as it sits today.
                                                                                                                                                             

 As you can see it is kind of cramped truck wise. The sad part  is if we need a truck in the back then we need to waste valuable time to pull the truck in front out just to get to the needed truck.

Finally the levy would have provided for two firefighters on station during the day. As any volunteer firefighter can tell you pulling a crew during the day is no easy feat. And in time of need you don't want to wait 10-15 minutes just for a fire truck to leave the station.  So by having two guys at the station we can insure the truck can get out in the 5 minutes that is recommended by the NFPA. (The people that regulate fire departments). 

So since it failed we now have a major decision to make. Do we put it back on the ballot in May, or do we chock it up to a loss and move on? What is your opinion and please leave a comment I want to know, good or bad I won't hold a grudge. And no matter what we decide to do I want the citizens of Sugarcreek to know that when you call 911 we WILL be there no matter what.

Artist rendering of the proposed new station.

The Big Game!!!!

Well ladies and gentlemen this is it, the week that most Massillon football fans dream of for 51 weeks a year. Some look forward to this week more then Christmas. Some schedule their entire lives and schedules around this one day. They can't tell you what day their anniversary or birthday will fall on from year to year, but bet your bottom dollar that they can rattle the dates off for the next 10 years. It's time for the Massillon - McKinley game. The original rivalry, the most storied game in high school football. If you fancy yourself a high school football fan then you need to attend this game at least once in your life. The roar of the crowd, the sound of dueling bands from opposite ends of the stadium, the yelling of cheerleaders trying to drown the other squad out, and of course the smashing of pads as the players take frustrations out on each other. Records are thrown out the window on this day and this day only there is only one game, and to the winner goes the spoils the coveted victory bell.

 

Which gives said winner a years worth of bragging rights. And you can believe that every year those rights are used to the fullest potential. And just as exciting as the game itself is the week leading up to the game.Public appearances by the football team all week, free lunches for the boys everyday of the week as they go from club to club to hear there members  words of encouragement. And lets not forget the organization that gave me my place in this rivalry the Massillon Tiger Swing Band. They to have a busy week of public appearances. And this whole week culminates on the Friday before the game. Elementary school pep rallies, luncheons, and the storied parade around downtown. The one day where the band gets the privilege to enter whatever building or business they want while marching through the downtown area. From there it is on to the high school where they have the biggest pep rally of the season. Then that evening they have a giant parade, of the real parade variety, where I do believe the entire community comes out to either participate or spectate. Which winds it way to the bonfire where the usual chants of T-I-G   E-R-S can be heard. The football players give speeches, the band pumps up the crowd, and the head coach gives his word that tomorrow the Tigers will emerge with the W and the bell. Editors Note: It has been eight years since I last participated so events are subject to change. I think the only other key player in this shindig that is busier might be Obie the Tiger. 

 

Now I tell you all of this to elaborate on another situation that would have ruined the entire game day experience. Some politicians decided that they would reach the masses in the Stark County area by throwing a political rally right next to the stadium. This rally would feature someone sure to bring the crowds former President Bill Clinton.

He would be there to rally support for U.S. Representative John Boccieri and Governor Ted Strickland. And not to be out done the Republicans were also going to hold a rally for Jim Renacci, a candidate forvthe 16th district seat. Joining him was going to be U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner. You can see the original announcement here at the Massillon Independents website. Luckily there are higher ups in the city government that had their heads on straight and put their feet down and said "Oh no you don't!". I can only imagine the security and parking nightmare that would ensue around the area of the stadium. The democrats can not even claim discrimination because the Mayor of Massillon Frank Cicchinelli is a democrat himself. It is the only wise thing to do. This day isn't about politics, its about the players, the coaches, the band members, and the cheerleaders, participating in a game that they will remember for the rest of their lives. A game that they will tell their children, and grandchildren about. I can tell you from experience that they might now remember what they learned in math class 8 years ago, but they will be able to tell you everything that happened during the Massillon - McKinley game. Here is the rest of the story from the Independents Website. I think extending the offer to Mr. Clinton to do the coin toss is a wonderful idea, something those kids will remember for the rest of their lives, but that should be the end of his visit to Tiger Town. There is a time for politics, and a time for football. And those two times should never intertwine EVER!!!! Go Tigers!

It smells like roses...

  

It's been a few days since my last post, and I have had a little trouble coming up with a post but low and behold the dry spell is over. Sitting here on shift in the Ville I have realized something that really burns me up, in fact it pushes me to the point of overly annoyed. I am talking about those amongst us in the field that think they know everything, have seen it all, and can do anything you put in front of them. And to help them reaffirm this fact they walk around spouting useless facts, and telling stories that are meant to put us into a position of shock and awe. But normally all you can achieve is a blank stare from those around you.

 

After spouting their stories they then feel the need to complain, about trips, about driving, and about the company. I am sorry being new to this company there is no right to complain. In fact you need to thank your lucky stars that you are employed. How many people out there don't have a job? EMS jobs are hard to come by and this place has blessed you by giving you the opportunity to prove yourself, and you want to go and trash it. I have been here for three years and while there are things that I don't like and yes I have been known to complain about it, I have earned that right. 

And last but not by a long shot the least, they feel the need to tell me how to do my job. I want this to be clear I may at one time have felt the need to throw around that I am medic and I am the man, but that was when I had just got the card and thought I ruled the world. But nowadays I just lay low, and believe me I hate to do this, but as a Basic EMT especially one fresh out of school you have no right to tell me how to do my job. Now if you have questions or suggestions present them in a way that doesn't feel threatening and at a point in time that is convenient for me to answer. Not when I am knee deep in pt care. Even better when the ink dries on your card maybe we can have a chat. And if you have a problem with the way I operate things then guess what deal with it. In the words of a fellow medic here, "This isn't a democracy, it is poker and I have the high card, I win." This is by no means directed at one individual, I hear stories about it all the time. It happens everywhere. And it is not just an EMS problem it happens everywhere. If you are reading this and saying to yourself "He must be talking about me." It's time for you to step back and re-evaluate your work ethic. In fact I have some words of  wisdom for you, sit down, silence yourself, and open your auditory listening devices. You have been handed a golden opportunity to be surrounded by people that have years of experience and would love to pass on the wisdom and perils of the job. And you can only ruin it by acting and thinking you are a one person show!

Cabulance Service Inc.

Ahh once again the Cabulance was out on the road. Female pt. with abdominal pain. Sounds like an actual call, the only problem is she was a pt. at the ER two days ago for the same thing. At which point she was told that she should follow up with her primary physician. Today she called his office and found out she couldn't get an appointment until the 5th of November. Ok I can overlook that, but they proceeded to tell her if the pain came back she should head to the ER and be evaluated. Wouldn't you know it. Suddenly her pain came back. 10/10 pain showing no real distress. She was able to walk out to the road and meet us, and then hop up into the ambulance to the cot and have a seat. Without a tear shed

Now I don't have a problem with doing these calls if they are legit. Although today it really didn't bother me Now had it been 2 AM then I might not have been so chipper. The saddest part about all this is the fact that we as EMS workers see it everyday and night. People who hold a gold card (Medicare) decide that they need to go to the hospital because they stubbed their toe on the coffee table. So they call 911 and say they need an ambulance. All hours of the day, all types of weather. We head out and pick these people up. Putting valuable ambulances out of service for those that really do have medical emergencies. Now don't get me wrong, I know there are those that have Medicare cards that actually need it. And that leave us alone and only call when they actually need an ambulance. Especially with all of the hard working Americans that are laid off that actually need to use it, but there are those that taint the system to ruin it for them. And unfortunately the ones that taint the system, that call for an ambulance all the time, make those that work in the system very prejudicial. I think that those that are "frequent flyers" or abusers of the system should have to take a quiz. And wouldn't you know it I already have a few questions in mind for this test:

1. If you are walking through your living room and the end table jumps out in front of you causing you to stub your toe do you:

    A. Call an Ambulance
    B. Call a taxi
    C. Put some ice on it and wait to see what happens

2. If you are carrying a grill at 3 AM at it slips out of your hands and you strain your back do you

     A. Call an ambulance and beg for some pain meds
     B. Call a cab and go to the ER and beg for some pain meds
     C. Put some ice on it and wait to see what happens

3. If you start feeling severe chest pain and you can't catch your breath do you

    A. Call an ambulance
    B. Call a cab
    C. Put some ice on it and see what happens

What do you think, if you have any ideas about how to make the test better leave a comment.

Buckeye forever!

Well now that Ohio State lost go ahead all of you Buckeye haters rub it in. But I for one am not one of those fans that makes excuses as to why they lost. Do you want to know why they lost its simple they were totally out played. They played horrible tonight. They deserved the loss. When you play like you are back home on Friday night against a Division 1 Big Ten team then you get what you have coming. Does this mean that I am going to jump off the band wagon and be done with them.... Nope! I will be in front of my TV again next week at noon to watch them play Purdue. My only hope is that they stop reminisce on their little experience at Camp Randall Stadium, figure out where they went wrong, and fix it. I am just glad that the school up north lost too, at least their fans can't run their mouths. No matter what number is in front of the Buckeyes in the rankings I will always root for the scarlet and gray!

Sweetest Day

Well gentlemen it's that time of year again. It's the second romantic holiday of the year, that's right it's Sweetest Day. So what did you do for your wife or girlfriend? Want to know what  I did, I gave her a very romantic phone call... only after hearing it was Sweetest Day from the radio DJ this morning on my way to work. And that call consisted of Hey hunny Happy Sweetest Day! I know, Casanova style. Yeah I totally forgot about it sue me. It's kind of hard to remember a holiday when it doesn't have a set date. In fact it's official day is the third Saturday of October. I will be quite honest, I probably wouldn't remember to vote if it wasn't for all those political ads polluting my television every year starting in September. Now Valentine's Day that's an easy one February 14th. And it is that day every year no matter what day it falls on. So as I was driving down the highway heading to work I got to thinking, what exactly is Sweetest Day and how did it come to be a holiday? Well after probing my sources (aka a google search) I was able to come up with an answer. So here is the shortened version.


It seems Sweetest Day, which is only really celebrated in the Great Lakes Region of America, began in 1921. It appears that about 12 confectioners in Cleveland wanted to make the Sweetest Day in the Year by handing out  20,000 boxes of candy to those less fortunate. And it just sort of snowballed and contorted from there. Fast forward to modern times, 2010, and it is mainly a holiday now for men to show their affection to their wives by giving them the usual flowers, cards, and candy. But men here is the interesting part of it, women are supposed to give their men bacon, or another meat product. I got this information from Wikipedia so muchos gracias for that. I don't know about you, but I for one just feel it is a Hallmark holiday any  more. So, on the chance of making the wife mad, I won't be getting her anything. Honestly I love my wife, I really do, I tell her that everyday. I let her know all the time how special she is to me, and how lucky I am to have her in my life. Why do I  need to have a holiday to say it when it is said everyday? Honestly people if we want to celebrate this day the way it was intended then maybe we should take sometime out and go find someone who has fallen on hard times and let them know we care by giving them a gift. I am not saying give them candy, but maybe give them groceries, or an anonymous donation.In this economy we all know someone who is in this situation. And if you can't afford that maybe an open ear and a cup of coffee. Let them know you care. Let them know you're their for them. And maybe, just maybe, you might make their day, by letting them know they have a friend. And don't we all need some of those, you can never have too many!

Arson... what a shame.

On Wednesday night the local area had a spree of suspicious fires that broke out in an 8 mile radius of one another, and were all within a few hours of each other as well. There were four total all but one caused significant structural damage. Including one business Garver's Flea Market in Strasburg which was a total loss.The other businesses were in Brewster one was an old grocery store, and the other an old pizza shop, both of which have been closed for a little over a year. The fourth one that really gets my stomach churning was a church in Beach City.



                                                                                                                                    


This video is from the fire in Strasburg. The aerial on the right in the begining is the ladder truck from our fire department. Unfortunately I was working in Steubenville on this night.


 

 This is the fire in Brewster at the grocery store. After the Fire Marshal's office came in and investigated of course they declared them arson. Here is the timeline of how the night unfolded:
               10-13-10 2309 hrs. Fire reported at Garver's Flea Market in Strasburg
               10-14-10 0040 hrs  Fire reported at First Lutheran Church in Beach City
               10-14-10 0053 hrs  Fire reported at the former Jer's Pizza in Brewster
               10-14-10 0100 hrs  Fire reported at former JB's convenience store in Brewtser

 Now judging by the timeline in my opinion this individual or individuals that started these fires had to have hung out near the Strasburg fire just waiting, and watching grinning from ear to ear watching their work. And once they realized that almost the entire Tuscarawas County fire service and part of Stark Counties departments were all on hand, they went to work wreaking havoc and testing our resources. But I hope much to their dismay we disappointed them. See one thing the fire service is great at is pulling together when the going gets tough, And I hope they saw how well we can function in situations like this. The greatest part about this service is we are brothers and sisters. Not just in our individual departments, but in the fire service as a collective unit. And when the cry for help comes out we will be there and we will prevail.

 I hope this person or persons involved can have some feelings of remorse, but I know that as usual they probably have no guilty feelings. None about destroying the lively hood of not only the people who own the flea market, but all those individual vendors who had stands set up in the building. According to reports I have heard, there were numerous collectible items inside including historical artifacts, and pictures from the buildings history. Which they will never be able to replace. Also the building was on the historical registry for buildings. That building which was so selfishly destroyed was a piece of history for the village of Strasburg. Then to move down the road and attempt to burn down a church, that shows your morals in this life are way out of balance. I don't care what your religious views are, you don't set a church on fire. A church is not just about a Sunday service, its about family. It's a place where people go no matter what their walk of life to become one family in God. A church is not just a building it is the house of the Lord. I don't care if you agree with that or not in my beliefs that is exactly what it is. And to attempt to burn it down just shows you have no respect for religion.

 If anybody has any information I urge you to please contact the Fire Marshal's office at 1-800-589-2728


Links to newspaper stories:
New Philadelphia Times Reporter
Massillon Independent
Canton Repository

Who Am I?

I guess my first blog post should be a little more about myself. My name is Jacob and I am 26. I hail from Sugarcreek, Oh. Which if any of you don't know where it is just ask your grandparents, it is right in the heart of amish country. Which means tourism is a big deal around here. Sugarcreeks claim to fame is the annual Swiss Festival (as is shown on the sign above) Its a four day shindig which honors the areas Swiss heritage. It has all kinds of great activities from the swiss cheese eating contest, to the swiss cheese auction, and the swiss cheese judging for the local cheesehouses. Notice we have a whole swiss cheese thing going on here.


I work two full time jobs both of which are on ambulances as a paramedic. One is in Steubenville, Oh, and the other is here in Sugarcreek. And if that isn't enough I am also a volunteer firefighter. I am married to a very beautiful, lovely, and very understanding wife. I say understanding because she has to put up with my being gone alot of the time due to work. I work 24 on 48 off at Steubenville, and usually a 24 hour shift at the second job during my 48 hours off. Then the volunteer firefighter gig gets thrown in when I am off from the other two. So our time together is a very rare and precious thing. I actually feel sorry for her because she has to deal with the pager going off usually when she is trying to sleep. Together we are raising two wonderful boys 8 and 6 who just like their mother are very understanding. I know it has to be hard for them that Daddy isn't around very much, I know it is hard on me. But I try to be there as much as I can when time allows. And I know that eventually all my hard work will pay off when I get the coveted position of full time firefighter somewhere, and I can drop down to working just one job. But until that day I am just going to have to work hard, lose sleep, and drink lots of coffee.