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


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  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.