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There was a big fire in a neighboring beach town the other night. Our guys saw a lot of action. We did not get much snow, but there were gale force winds accompanying heavy rain and blowing sands. Here, Engine 10 gets its hosebed reloaded and the sand hosed off after returning home.
All is peaceful. The only sound is the whir of the Coke machine. A window pane rattles as the wind buffets one of the six garage doors. Suddenly, a klaxon blares out. There is a loud CLANG-CLANG-CLANG as the alarm sounds. All across town, men are awakened to the insistent BEEP BEEP of pagers. All… Continue reading Echoes
Spring is here. With my impending hike of Mount Washington, I have felt the urge to get out on the trails and warm up a bit. Yesterday I had an hour to spare, so I took a brief trek to the fire tower at Pawtuckaway State Park. Best laid plans. . . I took a… Continue reading A walk in the woods. . .
Roll #25 was split between 2 events. First, my FD took delivery of a new Ladder truck. I'm very proud of this fleet, as I've been involved with the design of all 3 rigs. They have worked out very well for us and our citizens. Later the same week, I attended a microcar meet at… Continue reading Week 25 – Split Roll
This past week we had a bit of a tragedy in the yard. A storm brought down a large pine which grazed the 1963 Ford/ALF. It was a freak thing; 2 feet one way would have been a complete miss, 2 feet the other would have crushed the cab. The body isn't totalled, but it… Continue reading Pickup
The tones drop, just like they have for the majority of my life. I've reached the point where I've been a firefighter for more of my life than not. (Scary thought, that.) A box alarm; routine. At least it's not another medical aid.Circumstances conspire: maintenance, a detail. The first engine responds as usual, but the… Continue reading Nostalgia again
My company stresses appearances.This is not necessarily a bad thing. I drive a large ambulance with bright stripes, lots of flashing lights, and a two-foot high corporate logo on the side. It's a rolling billboard. Everything I do in it reflects on me and my coworkers. No matter how pure our motives, if we look… Continue reading Billboards
2/13/12 - Hay Street crossing. 2/18/12 - depth of field. I haven't found a good way to achieve this with the iPhone yet. The D70 can, but it seems like more work with the automatic than my trusty FM2.
As mentioned previously, I've been shooting a bit on real film. I learned photography on a manual 35mm camera, shooting and developing my own film. Sometimes it's fun to go back. January 12 - At the firehouse. You don't see folding controls very often, but even when folded these barely clear the doors. January 13 - ALSShot… Continue reading Retro
Notes from Mosquito Hill 