Jan 7 (Thu, 7:00pm) First Thursday Business Meeting.

Jan 14 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training, and our first of the year. Reviewed location of most-used items on the pumper. Ed and Wayne also spent from 4:15-5pm en route to a chicken house fire (10-22) so that counts for something.

Jan 19 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Jan 21 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. A wet night, so we didn’t take the trucks out. Brian had routed the pumper’s air compressor hose along the ceiling to the pumper bay. He demonstrated the use of the coupling to the pumper and everyone cycled through that. Josh had just completed his 3-week 7 days a week EMT training in NC and gave a summary of that. Ed planned to take the budgets to the County in the morning and that will free up 2010 money. And we discussed the ongoing efforts to retrieve our equipment from four inactive firefighters.

Jan 22 (Fri 2-4pm): Impromptu. Fueling both pumper and tanker, acquainting Josh with the county fuel station.

Jan 28 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. We repeated the coupling/uncoupling of the air compressor hose to the pumper for those not present previous training. We went over emergency procedures and expectations for weather emergencies, especially winter storm and tornado weather (in view of this week’s tornado warning). We concluded that firefighters use their own common sense – if they can’t get their POV out easily upon a call, a truck can’t be driven. Phyllis cited the 60-80 mph limit on high profile vehicles. We tested the radios for ability to send/receive from station/ff homes. Ed, Wayne/Glenn, and Phyllis can send/receive well from home. Wayne/Glenn can send/receive from station, can hear Lisa on other occasions. Ed had the propane tank filled and Brian got the gas furnace lit!

Feb 4 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

Feb 11 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training: Discussed hose lays on the pumper bed – probably make one a forward lay. Reviewed the Arnoldsville fire at 4 Stewart Circle. Reviewed the inspection by GFS&T. Glenn and Josh reviewed the contents of the orange medical bag on the pumper.

Feb 16 (Tue 6:30pm): Special early time: Covered dish dinner (bring a contribution to dinner) and firefighter of the year recognition: Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Feb 18 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Continued discussion of hose lays on the pumper bed – made passenger side 3” forward lay. From driver side, gives 250’ 1.5” attack, 200’ and 550’ 2.5” reverse lay, then forward, then four 6” hard suction. Reinventoried pants, Pat’s equipment returned 2/16, recovered and bagged three radios and four pagers (plus chargers) from SteveK, PatN, and AndyR (!).

Feb 25 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. Set up for nursing from tanker to pumper using 3” hose, topped off pumper. Then practiced 3” hose attack using the tanker. Difficulties with setting the fire pump panel controls were resolved by shutting down the system, turning the battery off for a few seconds, and essentially rebooting. Preset is at 150 psi, which is probably too high. WH and JA refilled tanker.

Mar 4 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting. Business meetings are open to the public, and all are welcome.

Mar 11 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Observers and participants always welcome. We broke down liners from seven sets of turnout gear for washing. Removed helmets, flashlights, boots, gloves, hoods. Consolidated returned items with remaining gear and stored. Topped off BA cylinders (need to order compressed air from AirGas. Brian mentioned need to replace a working light on pumper.

Mar 16 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Mar 18 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Set up drop tank, dumped from tanker, cycled through strainer and pumper suction hose from drop tank through pumper to tanker to refill. Repeated. Pumper left with low water so Ed and Jon refilled at hydrant. Brian changed 30amp fuse (only two left) on tanker for back four worklights. Discussed traffic control operations at 3/18 call to S-curve on Wolfskin.

Mar 25 (Thu 6:30pm): Trip to Old Edwards Road pass over Lake Oglethorpe. We drafted from the tanker, using the vacuum pump through 6-inch hose on passenger side, and dumped through both rear attached hose, and through the passenger side strainer. Cycled everyone through. Using floor pedal to power pump, had two problems with pump disengaging. Cruise control didn’t give any trouble. Vertical distance about ten feet – the length of 6-inch hose dedicated to the strainer plus one additional length sufficed.

Apr 1 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting. Business meetings are open to the public, and all are welcome.

Apr 8 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Training effectively cancelled due to upcoming Firefighter Weekend and lack of attendees for one reason or another. Since it was a late cancel, I put training records in place and did a few other small chores in case anyone showed.

Apr 10-11: Forsyth, GA Firefighter Weekend. Wayne and Phyllis, Training Operations in Small Depts (2d). Glenn, Practical Fireground Hydraulics (2d). Josh, Pressurized Container (1d).

Apr 15 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Training was planned and paged out but only one person informed me they would not be there. I got the word on three others about 15 minutes after the page. Jim did stop by, and we talked about hazmat training, and Glenn stopped by as well. Thanks to them, but otherwise that’s two training meetings in a row essentially not done, and this one because the Training Officer was not informed. Not good.

Apr 20 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford). Cancelled.

Apr 22 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. Unloaded the monitor, set it up w/3” hose, and emptied the pumper in 30 sec. Used the barrel and the fog nozzle. Filled the pumper nursing from the tanker, then Ed and Brian filled the tanker at the hydrant.

Apr 29 (Thu 6:30pm): Fifth Thursday Training. Site inspection visit to xx Lake Oglethorpe Drive, by invitation. Took both tanker and pumper. Toured the premises, and checked aspects of exterior (driveway access, power lines, septic tank, propane tank, combustible vegetation); interior by inquiry (storage of combustibles, smoke/heat detectors, fire extinguishers, heating). Discussed upon return to station.

May 6 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

May 13 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Stuffed cleaned liners into cleaned PPE shells for the seven or eight jackets and pants. Stowed in box (need another box). Examined wildland fire boots – Ed’s seems to have denser outsoles than the two that have degraded. Reviewed cancellation of Washington structure fire day, alternatives. Ran pumper briefly.

May 18 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

May 20 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Got out both pumper and tanker. Checked out booster hose on pumper, then used to wash tanker – general cleanup. Jim drove pumper first time to refill with water and Ed followed in tanker to dry off.

May 22 (Sat 8:00am): All day HazMat Awareness I training at Glade FD. Wayne went.

May 26 (Wed 7:00pm): HazMat Exam. Wayne took and passed.

May 27 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. Ed and Brian performed maintenance checks and cleaning of the pumper, refueled, and topped off with water.

June 3 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

Jun 10 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Preparation of PPE and SCBA for Jun 12 structure fire training in Washington, GA. Brian and Ed will be going. Brian discovered potential problem with exhaling, took face mask apart, not satisfied. Ed had “chicken problem,” i.e., low battery. Replaced and eliminated. Driver side pumper compartment – faulty piston for overhead door – difficult repair.

Jun 12 (Sat 8:00am): Structure Fire Class in Washington, GA (1 hour east). Ed and Brian attended 8 hour very hot day.

Jun 15 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Jun 17 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Pumper and air compressor maintenance. Jim brought his air compressor and wired it up for plug-in. Tested on pumper and works well as temporary fix. Jim evaluated the old compressor for possible repair. Brian and Josh worked on pumper rear lights and fixed; listed needs for replacement of front right wig-wag. Both trucks out and run in place briefly.

Jun 24 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. Pumper brought out for hookup and use of 1.5” hose. Josh demonstrated use of shoulder line for holding hose. Cycled through pump panel operation and emptied tank. Josh and Brian refilled. Rechecked station for tenth BA assembly – did not find, but 407 BA assembly was located in tanker box. So missing BA assembly probably has no identifying marks.

Jul 1 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

Jul 8 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Temperatures near 100F, so we did ropes and knots. Bowline, running bowline, clove hitch, figure eights – each in a couple of different ways. Plus safety knots for each, and how to use and decide what to use on a given job. A couple of other more specialized knots for fun.

Jul 15 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Small group – we went over the two fire calls on Saturday and early Monday morning. The latter was a vehicle overturn on Wolfskin Road and we went over Oglethorpe County SOGs on vehicle accidents, did some preplanning, checked that there were rolled 1.5” hose on pumper and tanker. Brian gave his notice that next Thursday will be his last training meeting before he moves to his new job in Dalton.

Jul 20 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Jul 22 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. General station maintenance (Brian's going away party).

Jul 26 (Mon all day): Special unscheduled pump testing. Drove tanker (morning, WH, EF, and GG) and pumper (afternoon, EF) to Lakeview Drive in northwest Oglethorpe County for drafting/discharge pump tests. Tanker fire pump could not be evaluated, after two hours of effort – no spec plate. Pumper fire pump passed with a B+, 800 gallons per minute. See 7/29 records for more info on tanker.

Jul 29 (Thu 6:30pm): An infrequent Fifth Thursday Training. Examined and obtained info from tanker fire pump for requesting spec plate. Spec test plate was not on the truck, and Monday’s efforts to get the pump tested were short circuited by this lack of information. We went over these results (see 7/26 records). We also went over the J and J chemical plant fire in ACC today, and noted potential move to OC/Smokey Road/78 area, along with area topography.

Aug 5 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

Aug 12 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Observers and participants always welcome. We have two agendas this month - a demo of new equipment by OC Rescue, and working toward pumping and drafting simultaneously with tanker. This is necessary for fire pump testing, as well as general operations. Main event: Mark Bridges (Oglethorpe Rescue) brought the rescue truck with equipment to display and answer questions. Lisa attended and added to the training. We went over much of the equipment and use and Mark made suggestions as to what we should probably carry (saw). Afterward EF, JH, WH checked spotlights on tanker (need some repair) and planned for simultaneous draft/discharge test.

Aug 17 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Aug 19 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. We’d planned to attempt tanker pump discharge/draft, but not enough present to do that, besides the heat and discovered/destroyed wasp nest. General maintenance on tanker instead – especially attempting to locate the electrical problem on the four rear work lights which went out simultaneously. Jim was unable to find any fuses that had blown.

Aug 26 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. Jim located the likely problem of the loss of four rear worklights on the tanker – a short to ground where wire rubbed on driver’s side, and possible short on passenger side. We worked out a system for simultaneous pumping and drafting using the tanker. With full tank, draft through 6-inch hose, vent closed, discharge as usual. We ran it up to 400 gpm, 65 psi. Requires monitoring at end when truck itself runs dry. Done for pump test purposes but could be used for continuous nursing from a pond/lake. Got rid of tanker lake water, Ed and Jon refilled at hydrant.

Sep 2 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

Sep 9 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Observers and participants always welcome. On our agenda this month: in August we were able to demonstrate the ability to draft and discharge at the same time with the tanker. This is necessary for pump testing. We did it at medium levels (400 gal/min) with no protest from the fire pump. We'll ramp this up to a higher discharge rate along with an 8-foot vertical distance challenge in September. Hopefully we'll be able to schedule a formal pump test this month, as well.

Sep 16 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. JK examined the newsletter. (No shows on everyone else for this newsletter work session scheduled at the Sep 2 business meeting. LV did email helpful resources.) We nursed from tanker to pumper and EF, JA, GG, and WH drilled several times in setting up the hoses, engaging and disengaging the pumper PTO, opening the correct valves, and operating the tanker fire pump. Note that tanker fire pump must be in the NEUTRAL position to operate while the pumper fire pump when the PTO has been engaged must be in DRIVE. We filled the pumper via nursing and then the tanker at the hydrant.

Sep 21 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Sep 23 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. General station and training maintenance (building materials being removed, couldn’t get in the way). Leaky battery pack checked with new batteries. Reviewed Ed’s attendance of Washington meeting on training requirements for volunteer firefighters (in effect 2012). Ed checked tanker vacuum pump oil reservoir. Glenn touched base on newsletter/mailing addresses.

Sep 30 (Thu 6:30pm): Fifth Thursday Training. Had tentatively planned to attend Oconee County FD Driver's safety but sense of remaining attendees suggested it would be better to take the evening off. Canceled.

Oct 7 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.

Oct 14 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Battery situation in knocker investigated. Batteries are probably dead. Ed put the charger on to see if they could be charged (apparently not).

Oct 19 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Oct 21 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Newletter completed (Glenn and Wayne, since 4:00pm). We went through the drill in teams of two of simultaneously pumping with the pumper and nursing with the tanker. Noted driver’s side pumper worklight and searchlight out (passenger side ok). Searchlight on driver’s side also requires bolt to hold it secure. Knocker battery situation reviewed, replacement of old gas discussed.

Oct 28 (Thu 6:30pm): Fourth Thursday Training. We went through the 2-person arrival drill in teams of two of simultaneously pumping with the pumper and nursing with the tanker. Refilled pumper by nursing and Jon and Josh refilled tanker at hydrant. Note: Pumper driver’s side wigwag out. Two other running lights out.

Continue to note: driver’s side pumper worklight and searchlight out (passenger side ok). Searchlight on driver’s side also requires bolt to hold it secure. Knocker battery situation, replacement of old gas.

Oct 30 (Saturday 6-8pm): Halloween Eve at Wolfskin VFD. We had an excellent turnout of kids and family, with around thirty or so kids and as many adults stopping by. Most stayed to chat for awhile, and it was good to get to know some new folks. Thanks to David, Jim, Glenn, Ed, Wayne, and especially Lisa for organizing the event

Note that the Dec 2 business meeting will feature elections for 2011. All members should attend. Training in November will include inventory of equipment, and all active firefighters with equipment must account for what they hold. The formal deadline for this is the last training meeting of the year, December 9, but equipment may be brought by the station at any training meeting during November. Let Wayne know if this presents a problem.

Nov 4 (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting. The nominating committee has been selected and consists of Bill Cosgrove, David Hill, and Jon Huff. Contact any of these members to nominate a candidate for office or Board, to be voted on Dec 2.

Nov 11 (Thu 6:30pm): Second Thursday Training. Timed trials for single firefighter setup of 1.5” attack from pumper (with charging) and 3” nursing from tanker (fire pump on, no charging). Two trials each FF. LV, EF, WH met 30 minutes early for background check/membership application.

Nov 16 (Tue 7:00pm): Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Nov 18 (Thu 6:30pm): Third Thursday Training. Josh was just offered a professional firefighter job in Columbus. Events moved quickly and this was his last night. He turned in his equipment. We had pizza, provided by Glenn, and discussed Josh’s very involved search for a professional firefighter job.

Nov 20 (Sat 6:30am-11am): Sixth Annual Restoration Run. Pumper used to occupy two checkpoints along the way, ensure safety of runners, establish direction at intersections, and drive and park appropriately from point to point. Cary directed the mission and Wayne and Ed conducted the details (Ed drove).

Nov 25 (Thu 6:30pm): Training cancelled. Happy Thanksgiving!

Continue to note: Pumper driver’s side wigwag out. Two other running lights out. Driver’s side pumper worklight and searchlight out (passenger side ok). Searchlight on driver’s side also requires bolt to hold it secure. Knocker battery situation, replacement of old gas.

Dec 2 (Thu 6:30pm): First Thursday Business Meeting. This is our usual Monthly Meeting, beginning at 6:30pm, followed by Elections of the Board and new officers. All are welcome to attend but only Board Members vote on business matters during the 6:30-7pm period. The bylaws can be downloaded as a Word Doc here. Oglethorpe County SOG (Standard Operating Guidelines) can be downloaded as Word doc here.

Dec 4 (Sat 3-8pm): Glenn cleaned and reorganized station, searching for missing and unenventoried items.

Dec 9 (Thu 6:30pm): Last meeting of the year. General station maintenance and end of year inventory. Filled air compressor with oil. Found location for thermal imager on pumper. Determined schedule for reprogramming day, truck radios that can be easily removed (knocker and pumper), contacted Jim for his radio. Debated end of year party on Dec 16 (per Lisa); will probably not have. Glenn continued to clean and reorganize station. New policy for equipment officer and handling com devices in need of repair. Exchanged schedules for rest of December.

Dec 16: WFD Party CANCELLED: "Due to our smaller staff this year and a general lack of interest, the official party scheduled for Thursday, December 16 at Wingate's Studio has been canceled. If anyone had invited folks from the community, please pass along this information."

Dec ??: Reprogramming Day: Radios will be reprogrammed for the narrowband mandate. The details on when the Day (and Makeup Day) will occur, and how, have not been given out. Be sure your radio is accessible to Ed, Wayne, or Lisa if you're going out of town.

Dec 21: (Tue 7:00pm): Email Lisa for confirmation on this: Third Tuesday Oglethorpe Firefighters Association meeting (Farm Bureau Office in Crawford).

Dec 23 and Dec 30: Formal training canceled, although if I have something to tend to I'll probably schedule it at the station at the usual 6:30pm time.

Jan 6: (Thu 7:00pm): First Thursday Business Meeting.