Messages

Steven L. Banasick
Station 58, Scottdale,PA

I'm posting in hopes to get feedback about the 1998 American LaFrance Fire Engines that are out there. Our Department is taking American LaFrance"Head-on" as far as the $223,000 rig that we purchased from them. In the first 600 days owned it has been "Out of Service" over 200 of them and the list of repairs has grown to staggering stacks of receipts. The PA Fire Commission has asked me to gather any information about other companies that have had problems, complaints and what not in regards to other 1998 units. If you have any input to help us litegate our case, Please forward it to me....Many Thanks & Stay Safe. lightdoc@cvzoom.net

Jeff Hischke
E58
I have two suggestions. First, how about updating the "contract talks" section. Everyone knows what we got last time. We want to know what we are going for this time.
Secondly, Is it possible to have a section to show the current rosters of every firehouse in the city with kellys and super kellys. This would help for people wanting transfers and work reliefs.

Sue Fitzko

I was trying to use your web site to locate someone and I thought that the Links page only included Detroit firefighters email addresses. I found out that someone was listed who is a volunteer firefighter from Alcona county. I would suggest to have a separate section for email address of people who are not Detroit fire fighters.
Anyway I am trying to locate a Detroit Firefighter regarding something he asked me to volunteer for. His name is Jim and I think he’s 37 and he lived in Texas and has relatives in Davision. He has is married and I think has children, has brown hair, is thin, and medium height and a strange sense of humor. If you know who he is could you give him this message:
Jim,
This is Sue (we met at Jacks in St. Claire Shores 2 weeks ago on Saturday.) Could you contact me, I’m trying to reach your friend Carl, but I lost his phone number. You can email me at wildflower_girl100@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Sue

FREDRICK GIBSON
GOD BLESS YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO. IT TAKES A "SUPERHUMAN" TO DO THE JOB THE DETROIT FIREFIGHTERS DO. I KNOW YOU'RE SUPERHUMAN BECAUSE ANYTIME YOU CAN PUT OUT A DWELLING WITH ONLY 3 MEMBERS PER RIG, THAT'S SAYING ALOT. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND GOD BLESS AMERICA

Hi John,

It's Jeff Topliffe from Windsor Fire & Rescue. Just thought that I'd send you a email about the Detroit Firefighters Clown Team. We are interseted in getting the Team to come to our family picnic in the summer; usually in August.

Let me know who to contact.

Thanks,

Jeff Topliffe

I.A.F.F. 455

Keith Miner
Engine 30

Hope all is all right with the web site, It was getting so unprofessional that it was a discrace to read. Hope you can straighten it out and that all of us can view it with an open mind and truely the professionals that we are. Best of the Holidays to you and all F.F.'s in the department.

I wish to thank everyone who attended the party for Sgt Wendell Burnett. I was so shocked, so proud to see the turnout only because of such short notice during such a busy time of year. Wendell is a man of tremendous talents; his affair with the harmonica left doubt to no one. He is as good a firefighter, and to those who played with or against him, an even better hockey player. Thank you for showing him how much he means to us. A very special thank you to my Tom, Danny Chimotti, Jerry Cummins, Don Carlton, the hockey team, everyone who made a presentation, everyone who showed up, and most of all to Wendell.

Hello,

I have been listening to the stories told about the heroism of the FDNY over the past several days. Reporters have extolled these brave men with “roasted appendages” and “smoking hats.” They speak of how people who used to snub these men are now cheering them when they walk by. America has discovered a real life hero.

While all this is true, I submit to you that these men in New York are merely the best example of what has happened quietly in small towns and firehouses across this nation since the first career fire department started in Cincinnati in the 1800’s. Firemen are a special breed, and have been since it first occurred to man to try and stop a fire’s destruction. Every town has a firehouse, and every firehouse is full of heroes. Sit quietly in their kitchens and listen to the stories they tell; watch them interact and you will discover the truth in this.

Firemen are dedicated to family, First and foremost is a fireman’s personal family. He places himself as personal guardian of those he loves, often working two jobs to ensure that they are provided for to the best of his ability. However, once he knows his family is taken care of, his attentions shift. Now he needs to take care of those around him. With him it isn’t a desire, it is a need. He feels a sense of civic duty that most people are blissfully ignorant of. At times he can seem cold to his family, if they don’t understand what he is doing. I know this because I have married one of these men. He is old fashioned, a man in the truest sense of the word.

All firemen are brothers. Since they are dedicated to family that means that they are also dedicated to each other. I watched while one brother came to the firehouse and sat in a chair with his head down. Then he looked up at those sitting in that room and told them that his wife was leaving him. Within minutes phone calls had been placed and the brothers started appearing. They took him out and let him drink until he couldn’t think anymore and than took care of him. They knew what he, at that moment needed to be able to do. Later, when he was more able to think, they talked. I have also watched them rally around the family of a fallen brother. They stepped in and became fathers to the fatherless children. They dug deep into their own pockets to support the widow. They cried at their brother’s funeral. And finally, I have had the honor of watching them rally around me. A few years ago, my son died after only living for a few hours. One memory I have from the blur of pain that was that time is the firemen. They did a walk through at my son’s funeral. I remember, one by one, in dress uniform, with hat in hand, they came to me with hugs and words of comfort. Afterwards, they stood back, in a line, while the minister read his words. They were honoring my husband for what he is and my son for what he might have been. They have become my truest and most trusted friends.

I know that what happened in New York is tragic beyond all description. My heart is breaking even though I have never met even one of these brave men. I don’t have to. I was not surprised when I heard how many were missing. In the back of my mind, I have known all along that something like this was bound to happen. How could it not. Firemen everywhere are running forward buttoning up their coats and pulling on their boots while the rest of the world is running away. They don’t know the people they are running forward to save. The property they are risking their life to protect is not theirs. In many cases, they aren’t even getting paid. Each time I see a truck pull away from the station or scream down the street, tears come to my eyes and I whisper a prayer for those brave men inside. They are, to a man, beautiful. They are the true Americans, and always have been.

These brave men are not digging through the rubble and destruction at the World Trade Center to get national attention, though that is an effect of what they are doing. They are men with broken hearts and numbed minds scratching at the earth trying to find their brothers. Of course they aren’t giving up. Anyone who understands firemen knows that they won’t until the last brother is accounted for and returned to his family. They can’t. If I were to meet one on the street, I wouldn’t cheer. I would do what I have always done – offer him a cold cup of water, a hug and my love. I would give him whatever he needs to be able to return to ground zero and keep digging. His name doesn’t matter. His battalion doesn’t matter. He is a brother. That is all that matters.