Hope - Progress Report

For almost a year and a half, I have been documenting the construction of our new headquarters fire station. Every few days (more or less) I have been making the trek downtown, climbing up the hose tower to the roof of the old station, standing at the exact same spot and snapping a photo of the new building.

Day 2 of construction. The site was a parking lot that was

created by A shift (I think) way way back in the day.

 

That the station is being built is a minor miracle in itself. Years were spent deciding on a location, A bond was issued, funding the construction of three other stations, a training facility and EOC.  It was hoped that the bond would fund this building as well, but it wasn't enough. Federal stimulus money came through and saved the project, which includes the station and administrative offices located on the top floor.

Fussing over construction details led to a significant delays mid-project, followed by the primary contractor suffering some sort of business crisis and stopping work on the project. Fortunately, the city requires that a performance bond be purchased by the contractor as part of the contract. Thus, when situations arise like this, the bonding company steps in and ensures that the work is performed and that everybody gets paid.

Holding Pattern - The new station spent many weeks looking

pretty much like this. Needless to say, I didn't take a lot of

photos during the pause.

Since the bonding company stepped in, work has been proceeding like gangbusters. Though I don't think things are completely back on schedule, tremendous progress has been made. They wisely kept the project super on board and I think they kept they subs. Regardless, work is progressing nicely.

This was taken a couple of weeks ago. The stucco, brickwork

and trim is complete, thus the scaffolding came down. The 

interior changes are equally as dramatic.

They, them, those people are talking about the station being ready to occupy by the end of the year. While I have no way to know whether that is a realistic deadline or not, I do know that things are moving along well.

As I never thought I'd see this building built, it is refreshing to see it coming along. I would have liked to work in it a shift or two as I spent quite a few years in the existing station #1. Obviously, that isn't going to happen so I will have to be content attending the grand opening ceremony when that occurs. That should be an exiting event.

I hope to have all of the photos put together like a time-lapse slide show, hopefully it can be shown at the grand opening.

As work progresses, it shows that hopes can be fulfilled if enough people work hard to persevere.  That and funding becomes available.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe  

 

50 Weeks

I made it 50 weeks without having to put a uniform on. I didn't think about it much when I took mine off after working my last shift - I just assumed that I wouldn't have to wear one until I was buried in my hated class "A". 50 weeks is a long time, the longest I had gone without wearing a uniform since I was 20 years old.

I didn't think about wearing it to other people's funerals, the idea of it just skipped my mind. That is until two weeks ago, when I learned that Bob, a guy I had worked with in the early stages of my career, had passed unexpectedly while puttering around at home.

I had mentioned Bob briefly a few times on this blog, most recently in July when I was reminiscing how unpleasant it is to lay on a garage floor underneath a 200 lb. dead guy. Bob taught me a few other things as well, some relevant to my career, some just to life.

While at the reception after Bob's funeral, I was speaking with Dan, one of the legend firefighters from my dept. We were discussing Jim, another retired member who had been rumored not to be doing well. No one knew any details, but Jim was reported to be ill and was keeping his status close to his chest.

Last week, we received word that Jim had passed away after losing a battle with cancer. Though I knew he was ill, I don't think anyone knew that he was that ill.

Jim, like Bob, Dan and numerous other firefighters had taught me the survival skills necessary to make it on the KBFPD. Not only the firefighting skills, but the cultural skills required to succeed.

Jim was my senior firefighter for the first year of my career with the KBFPD, As such he had to endure all of the repetitive drills, the boring company schools, the memorization drills and the tedium that training a new guy entails. He did so without complaint (mostly) and spent extra time with me, covering a few things that I was having difficulty with.

Jim was also on my first crew when I promoted to captain. He was my junior firefighter at  49 years old, a few years younger than the other members - Queen, and Curtis who were both past fifty. It was easy supervising that crew, all were experienced, old school guys who did their jobs well. I appreciated their efforts, they tolerated mine. Young captains can be a challenge to an old school crew, we handled each other well.

Jim also taught me how to pour concrete - how to lay out a job, set forms, pour mud and how to finish. I worked for him for a few years after coming off of probation, back when overtime was rare and almost every fireman had a second job. I learned a lot, skills that I still use occasionally, though thankfully not out of necessity.

Today, I am pulling my despised "A" out of it's bag, making sure that it is presentable after wearing it to Bob's funeral. I have to pick up my dress shirt from the cleaner in the morning, don it and head to the church. The services are at ten, followed by a reception after. With any luck, I'll be rid of the uniform by three, and it will be bagged by three thirty. Depending on my mood, I may be bagged by five.

Hopefully, it will be longer that 50 weeks before I have to wear it again, though I hear another one of us old Battalion 2 - B shift boys isn't doing well. Time will tell on that.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe

Would You Buy A Lens From This Man?

It's Saturday, the Nebraska game is on TV and I'm kind of busy editing photographs. I am also trying to sell a lens which I just do not use any more. I sent the photos below to a perspective buyer.

All of the photographs were shot using the same Canon 28-135 lens which came with my camera. As I  usually keep my 15-85 on my camera, this lens has been sitting on a shelf for most of it's life. All were taken on Thursday at the F.D. maintenance facility and at the training tower.

It was kind of a goofy lighting day, we were under the anvil of a nearby dissipating thunderstorm. Halfway through the shoot, a dust storm came through, a result of the nearby downpour.

These were taken to showcase the capabilities of the lens, I think it helps.

The two images below were taken from the same spot, a few seconds apart.

Ya gotaa love the versatility of zoom lenses when shooting action/street/documentary photographs.

Though I really like this lens, it really doesn't meet most of my photographic needs. Thus, it has to go.

Our training facility is located right next to a very busy railroad. It's located right at the point where the trains have to sound their horn for a nearby crossing. I can't tell you how many times over the years that the class I was attending has been interrupted by a passing train.  The new classroom is very well insulated, the trains can hardly be heard.

I am not sure that this probationary firefighter likes having his picture taken, especially while sweating his ass off at the tower. He'll get used to it, especially when he learns to trust me and trust that I won't publish pictures of him doing something silly. Trust is very important in this career field.

I hear good things about this one,  that's not always the case. We have had to let a few boots go over the past months, a situation which is never pleasant.

I hope these photos help sell this lens, buying a lens used is always a risk, especially if you don't know the seller. It could be stolen, abused, have mildew, dust or other issues. That isn't the case with this one, it has been hardly used and has been babied.

Shallow depth of field, poor lighting, motion, distance and different types of subjects were addressed in these shots, hopefully they work and a buyer trusts that they are getting a good product.

Besides, how evil can a guy named Schmoe be?

Thanks for reading,
Schmoe