New Endeavors - New Changes - Whe

BULLETIN...BULLETIN....

READ IT ALL ABOUT IT!!

New autobiographical firefighting book is released on Amazon-Kindle!!

 

If you've been wondering where we've been, this little picture above will tell you the first part of the story. I am very happy to announce the publishing of my first book, "Fish Out of Water - 2 Jewish Guys in a Deep South Firehouse." It is available on Amazon's Kindle format at http://preview.tinyurl.com/NCFirefighting.

 

A lot of people will not realize that there truly is a juxtaposition of the words, "Jewish," and "firefighting." Why? Because not too many of us enter this amazing profession as a career or even as a volunteer. And why is that? Back in my day it was because most Jewish parents want to see their children grow up to be doctors, lawyers, dentists, surgeons, CPA's etc. In all my years of synagogue work, not once did I ever hear a parent tell me that their son or daughter was joining a volunteer fire department or the local rescue squad.

 

However, I was different. I set my own path when the opportunity presented itself and joined a combination fire department just outside Greensboro NC and a couple of years later, accepted a paid position with Guilford County EMS.

 

I won't bother you with the why's and how's here. It's all spelled out in the book. More importantly, this decision afforded me to meet another Jewish young man who is still my best friend, these nearly forty years later.

 

There are plenty of great stories, exciting calls and more. From basic training to high-level rescue, from firehouse pranks to extremely serious calls, I've included it all. So please, pick up a copy and feel free to le me know what you thought of it.

And now back to our show...

 

I'm glad to let you know that we are once again making forward progress on our show, "Cause & Origin." Our Los Angeles-based partner has secured a new agent for us and her job will be to provide us with the entrée needed to submit the treatment and script to various studios and production companies. Thankfully, our partner has numerous contacts that he can direct her to and we're hoping their combined networking will result in some positive interest.

 

Along that line of thought, it was just announced that the City of Philadelphia has named a new Fire Commissioner, who will assume office in the near future. All of us at Dalmatian Productions, Inc. and Cause & Origin, LLC want to thank outgoing Commissioner Sawyer for his leadership of this great department and his eager interest in working with us on the show. We just hope he'll pass his recommendation on to his replacement.

 

Finally, some of you may have heard about the weird weather up in the Greater Boston area last week. I did. That's because I was frickin' in the middle of it!! Here it was, April 3rd and snow was pummeling us, along with winds reaching 40-50 mph! The next day, April 4th was to be opening day at Fenway Park for the Red Sox! No frickin' way! We were hit with a second snow storm that dropped another 3-4 inches and the game had to be postponed!

 

Boston - Strong!!! You got to love it!

Now - Stay Safe and Let's Make Sure Everyone Goes Home!

 



 

 



How Much is 40% to a Firefighter?

This post that you will read here, encompasses an extremely important issue that many first responders, especially, firefighters, EMT/Paramedics and Police Officers, must be made to read!! "Why?" you ask. Because for the year 2012-2013, forty percent (40%) of the firefighters who died either during or subsequently to responding to and/or working at a major, physically exhausting call, did so as a result of a medical condition.

I approach this important issue from three levels. I was a volunteer firefighter at two departments, one in NC and one in NY from 1977-1981 until an injury took me out-of-service. I earned my EMT-I and II in NC and also worked for the county EMS there for eight months, before we moved up to NY. Finally, I spent twelve years as the administrator of a medical practice, where the doctor used me for "other" duties, as well.

Throughout the entire time and even til today, I have never stopped reading FireHouse Magazine. For many years, other than visiting firehouses wherever I went, the magazine was my key connection to the fire-rescue service. And every month, I would read the LODD dedications and wonder why...why were so many firefighters dying? Not just dying, but dying from what looked like conditions unrelated to the last call or calls they had been on. 

You see, I guess I was lucky. Because during my brief years of service, I did not experience a LODD either in my own or the surrounding departments. We had some close calls in both locales, but no fatalities.

On the other hand, I've never been considered "svelte," at least not since I was seven years old. I started packing on extra pounds at that age and yo-yo'd the rest of my life. I was the last kid chosen by the others to be on a team in neighborhood sports. I had the cheeks that all of my late aunts loved to pinch. Finally, in college, I started to drop some weight by playing softball with friends. 

I've now been married over forty years and my wife is a terrific cook and baker. So through most of those 40 years, my weight has fluctuated, but it was always my decision to lose weight. I never waited for my doctor to tell me. I knew it myself when it was tough to button a pair of pants or my suit jackets were getting too tight.When that happened, I'd go "back on the wagon," and drop 15-25 pounds. I'd keep it off for several months, sometimes longer. But then the extra pounds renewed their attach and started to creep back on.

Finally, partly due to determination and partly due to meds that I have to take continually for my severe back condition, I've lost about 30 pounds and kept it off for almost a year now. Funny thing is, my back injury doesn't allow me to walk as much as I used to, so I exercise my bending my elbows....and pushing myself away from the dinner table!

As I'm sure you'll agree, we are part of a wonderful family. No matter where we serve, no matter if we're volunteers, career folk or paid-on-call responders, a firefighter is always a firefighter. Thus, as I read the LODD bulletins that come through my email or I read the articles online, in the paper or watch them on the news, every loss saddens me, especially those that might have been prevented. For some are simply not preventable and that's the first fact that we have to acknowledge, whether we like it or not.

However, we see that the rate of LODD's caused by health problems is nearly 40% of all LODD's, it must give us pause. As a popular commercial for heart disease demonstrates, no one really knows when they will have a heart attack, an aneurism or a stroke. What we can and do know is if we are out of physical conditioning to do our jobs. Sure, you may have passed a PAT test 15 years ago, but where are you now, especially if you're in a smaller department, that doesn't require annual or semi-annual physical exams? Do you still smoke or chew tobacco? What is your resting blood pressure? Pulse? What is your weight today compared to what it was when you entered the job? Has an officer, your spouse/significant other or doctor told you you need to lose weight? If so, have you heeded their call or brushed them off.

Remember the old TV show, "Home Improvement," where Tim Allen played the host of a TV show aimed at "real men," with "real power tools!" The more power, the more Tim howled and growled. While that was funny on TV, it can all too often lead to a tragedy in real life. Your doctor tells you to drop 25 pounds. "Yeah, Doc, sure," you reply, knowing full well that the doctor has no idea how hard you swung the sledge earlier that day to take out a heavy door. You tell yourself that those 25 pounds that he/she is complaining about is really what gives you that extra bulk, that power, to do your job! Horse shit! And you know it!

There's no doubt in my mind that over 90% of us love what we do. We love the action, we love the thrill, we love the services we perform and we don't want anything to get in the way of that. But ask yourself, "What else do I love?" Think about that for a moment or two. Then make a list of what else you love, i.e. your wife, your kids, your parents, your significant other, your siblings, your friends. Which ones are you ready to cross off the list first. What's more important to you, the job that you love or the people that you love and love you?

Remember, we can't control when and where the Devil wants to dance, but we can decide what kind of a "dance partner" he's going to face!

Stay Safe and let's make sure, "Every One Goes Home!"

A Day of Mixed News 3/25/2015

Our Toughest Job

As emergency service workers, whether active or retired, one of the hardest tasks we are constantly faced with is, balancing our emotions. Each dispatch, run, call, etc. holds the promise of a surprise that often bears no relation to our initial call, as described by our dispatchers. 

If we were or still are on the job for any decent amount of time, we have all had to deal with loss. Sometimes it's health related, others it's an MVC. Still others are common (OK, some uncommon) accidents that can happen to anyone. The worst of course, is when the loss involves a child. They often think they're indestructible and we pray to the Lord that they are. While we are working the call, we do our very best to remain stoic and unmoved, yet still trying to be comforting, to the public. When we get back to our station, cruiser or home, that stoicism often melts, as we feel that knot in our guts, our eyes water and our bottom lip quivers.

Then comes the day like today; one that we all dread, yet often feel powerless to stop or prevent. That is when we hear about a line of duty death. No matter where we are or what we doing, when the news, social media or a colleague notify us of an LODD, it's like a punch in our guts; one that reaches inside of us and twists our intestines into knots.

It makes no difference which emergency service we serve; police, fire, EMS, or the colors we wear, the blue, the red, the green. Neither does location have a bearing. Even if the loss occurs completely across the country, it still hits all of us hard, as it did this morning, when we all received word of the LODD of Fire Apparatus Officer Daryl Gordon of the Cincinnati Fire Department. And that's because, beyond our jobs, we are a family.

Nearly 40 years ago, I lived in Cincinnati while attending grad school at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where I studied for a masters degree in broadcast education.Our apartment was outside the city limits and in that small town was where I tried to join my first volunteer fire department. Had I been able to join, so they told me, I would have been the first college graduate in the department. It never came to pass there, as they needed daytime responders, but  I was in class.

However, it was probably once every couple of weeks that once I was done with class and didn't have to rush anywhere, I'd visit a CFD barn. What a great bunch of characters they were. I wasn't even a probie or a member of another department. However, they always welcomed me. And looking at FF Gordon's picture today and that smile, it was easy to see that that same tradition is true today. A great bunch of firefighters who love the job they do and the people who love it, as well.

So, we pause for a moment to remember FAO Darryl Gordon. We remember his family, friends and colleagues. We hope and pray that the Heavenly Sovereign of all will welcome him in sheltering care, bring solace and comfort to his family and may the memories of his devotion and love for his family, his job and the community he protected, be for a blessing and inspiration to all.

A Job We Love to Do

There's no doubt that we love to talk about our jobs, especially firefighters, EMT's and paramedics. There's something that we get out of reliving the call, poking fun at our colleagues, arguing over details, etc. However, something is missing. Because, if we look to our primary source of entertainment, televisions, we don't have much of a presence there. There are probably over a dozen shows that deal with law enforcement, in one manner or another, but where the hell are the firefighters?! Currently there is "Chicago Fire," and I'm sure most of us remember, "EMERGENCY," from it's initial run or through reruns. There was also some short-lived series, "Code Red," and "Firehouse.."

We want to change that. And today, for the third time on a Thursday, 2 weeks after another Thursday with good news, we got more good news this morning. Our partner in L.A., Jesse, dropped us a line at 4:30 AM, EDT, that the producer and a rep from the talent management agency were calling him all afternoon. Jesse has a great project on a major crisis event in NYC and these calls were primarily dealing with the fact that all these people were calling because they love it and it's targeted to be a motion picture.

However, because Jesse is also our partner at DalmatProd, they also are very interested in our project as well. Let me say this: Jesse has been in the production business for a good long time. He's sharp in the ins and outs, the phonies and the real deals. And he doesn't get excited easily. But there was no doubt from this email that he was really excited, as the interested parties see, not only his movie, but our TV show, because they love the premise and because Jesse is the one bringing the project to them, along with his own. 

Also in our favor is the fact that we have both the pilot script written and a three-year plan for the direction of the show. The producer loved it from his first read of the premise. Then, after reading just the first 10 pages of the script, he jumped on it. And it's been Jesse who's been out there in Tinseltown, carrying the "ball" for us.

We'll keep you posted via this blog and through our Twitter account @DalmatProd. Join us and see where we go. 

Till next time....

"EVERY ONE GOES HOME!"