Montgomery County, MD Public Safety Valor Awards

A few of my favorite shots from the ceremony where Master Firefighter Michael Ryman received a Bronze Medal.

Master Firefighter Ryman and Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Chief Richard Bowers

Receiving the medal from Chief Bowers

Truck 715 Crew:  Master Firefighter Christopher Reilly, Master Firefighter Steven Wiseman, and Master Firefighter Michael Ryman with Chief Bowers.

Me and Mike.....

Dump the House: The Shoes

It’s a colorful expression for getting all the apparatus out the door.  It’s more and more difficult these days of limited manpower, both volunteer and career. 

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Station 15--Burtonsville
 

What I like best about this picture, though, is the shoes. The empty leather shows the tenuous nature of the work.  It’s late evening, after ten.  One minute, everything is calm.  There is laughter someplace—inevitably in a fire house.  The television is on with a small audience.  Others have turned in for the night.  The bays are filled with the engine, ladder truck, and heavy rescue squad.  A minute later, all that remains is…..the shoes.

Busy Few Days

It's been a busy end of the week for Generation 3.  Mike has run four workers in less than four days.......so far.

The Final Count: 48 Hours From the Inland Hurricaine

The Maryland, DC, and Virginia area was pummelled by what some have decribed as an inland hurricaine.  Wind gusts to 90 miles an hour, and heavy rain fall combined to cause wide spread damage, power disruptions which may not be resolved for a week, and countless emegency runs.  The station where my son Michael lives in Montgomery County was in the midst of this, and in 48 hours, ran 52 calls.  Many were wires and trees down, automatic fire alarms, etc., but others were more serious.  These included

4 box alarms for structure fires
1 fatal wreck with one down the embankment and ejected
3 collapse calls for the squad
2 transfers to Howard county for the tower

All the above was in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees at times, and regularly in the high 90s.  Not exactly a "fun" weekend.