No Clever Title

almost there

2009-05-27T20:54:00.003-04:00

So I'm about a week away from graduating! I'm excited, to say the least. Still have my big final and a few more little hoops to jump through, but I'll be ok. Anyway, the last few weeks have been tough. The hardest week of training was two weeks ago. It's all about surviving when everything goes wrong in a fire. One of the scenarios we had left us in all of our gear with ours masks covered so we couldn't' see. We were put in the burn building and told to find our way out using a hose line. There was about 1600 feet of hose in the building, most of which led in the wrong direction. During this drill, I wanted to quit so bad. It pushed me past my limit 10 fold. We crawled for ever, over and under things, and through "halls house of hell" aka the maze captain hall built which is a very VERY tight fit. Oh yeah, the whole time we're doing this, we're getting yelled at. That's not the worst though. Throughout the entire scenario, they were BLASTING all of the worst songs/sounds you could think of over a huge intercom. Things like baby's crying, coyotes howling, and of course, amazing grace on the pipes (which you NEVER want to hear in the fire service, for obvious reasons). One of my favorite songs they used to mess with us (if you can really have a favorite) is the song "Oh Death" by Mr. Ralph Stanley. I left you a clip of it, so maybe you can relate to my torture ;)

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So what's this Combat Challenge thing?

2009-04-21T20:54:00.004-04:00

Well here's my take, though I am not an expert or even a professional combat challenge participant. The Firefighter Combat Challenge is the method that GFD uses to asses us on our physical ability. The course its self consists on 5 events and they are, in order:

The stair climb/hose carry: In the first section we carry a 42 pack of hose up 5 flights of stairs wearing full turnout gear and SCBA.

The hose hoist: After reaching the top of the stairs we drop the hose pack and climb out onto a landing where we hoist a 42 pound roll of hose up 50 vertical feet. After the roll hits the landing we are standing on, we proceed back down the stairs.

The Keiser Force Machine: During this event, we straddle a 165 pound steel beam. We use an 8-9 pound rubber sledge hammer to drive the sled back 5 feet.

The hose pull: After completing the kieser sled we continue outside. From there we grab a charge hose line weighing about 70 pounds and drag it 50 feet.

The Dummy Drag: The last event is the toughest by far. In this event, we pick up and drag a 175 pound 100 feet. That ends the course!

Here's a video to help you all understand it more.

So there you have it, now you all can understand what I mean when I talk about the Firefighter Combat Challenge!

give up, give in

2009-03-26T18:15:00.002-04:00

I'm not really sure what I'm about to write about, but I hope it's good.

Every morning when I get to work, I pull out the little Bible I keep in my truck and just flip to a verse, so I have something to think about during the day. A friend of mine gave me this verse, which I've heard over and over again. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The thing that struck me about this verse is that I've always clung to it during the tough times, when nothing is going right. Today it hit me in a new light. Things are going well for me, and the Lord is blessing me everyday. I give Him praise all of the time for the success I'm having, but not nearly enough. The whole reason I'm here is for His glory. It's so easy to try to steal some of that glory away from God and say "look what I did" or "look how great I am". What a sinful heart I have. The Lord has this amazing plan for me and I've been trying to take the credit.

Most Christians have said at least once that "I'm nothing without Jesus, He means everything to me". You're right, but do you really believe it? I'm starting to. You see, everyday I wake up I know that I cannot complete my day without the Lords help. He is using this experience to teach me to rely on Him. After all, His plan is one to "prosper and not harm, to give me a hope and a future" So why not just give up on your own and give in? I did, and it works.

on a rainy Sunday

2009-03-15T13:30:00.003-04:00

So, I passed my tests this past week! Woohoo. Enough celebrating. Before I start rambling about next week, let me say that I had an awesome weekend. Got to hangout with a bunch of friends, watch some good movies (everyone go watch "Taking Chance" it was great) and just relax. It was nice.

Now this week I start a class simply called "ladders". I'm generally pretty good with heights but I found out we get to do something extra special during our class. A video of this extra special event follows.

Now, if you'll notice, that ladder isn't resting on anything. There are 2 ropes tied to the top beams of the ladder, and there are four guys on the ground holding them, keeping the ladder stable. No safety harness, no sweet stuntman crash pad thing, just me, a ladder and four other recruits holding me 35 feet in the air, oh yeah, and a cement parking lot beneath me. Boy, am I thrilled! (sarcasm)

I complain a lot on this little web do hickey here about my job. But let me say this. Even though I get run into the ground most mornings, am sore 24/7 and go through an emotional roller coaster, I love it. I love this job. I'm done with six weeks of training, but I still remember the first day. This thing is flying by, and I know that one day I'm gonna get to tell my kids and grand kids all about it. Kind of cool really......

Today, I leave you with a few great videos. The first is a duet with Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice.

The next one is from this guy that calls himself Coffey. He was on Nashville star and writes some worship stuff. This song is called "let me love you" and it's amazing. It's not completely cliche, and it hits on the fact of a persons past hurt hindering them from getting into a new relationship. Enjoy.

Until next time

And you thought firemen were stupid.....

2009-03-10T18:14:00.003-04:00

Well, you're mostly right......But I must say, this week is proving to me that this job isn't just about being strong or what not. We started a class today called "ropes and knots". Now I know you're thinking "what is so hard about tying a few knots" well, let me show you. Visit this page http://www.firetactics.com/KNOTS.htm Now that I'm sure you've all taken the time to learn all of those knots by heart, try to tie them with bulky gloves, while blindfolded. As you can imagine, I've cussed a few times at that piece of ten foot rope they gave me today, but I'm sure I'll be a pro by Friday, which is when we're tested on them. That's just the knot portion of the class, the portion about the ropes is a different beast in itself. For example, did you know that general use rescue rope (which is of the kernmantle type construction) is always rated at 600 pounds, with a safety ratio of 15:1 meaning the rope will break around 9,000 pounds of pressure. Yeah, me either until today. So before you say firemen are dumb, try to tie a figure eight double loop on a bight with a double overhand safety knot on both working ends.

On another note, I really feel like you all need to watch this video. If I was to die and come back as someone (which I'm pretty sure won't happen) I'd want to come back as Tim McGraw (Because he's married to Faith) or as this man.

just a quick update

2009-03-03T19:44:00.002-05:00

It's 7:45 PM and I'm getting ready to hit the bed......wow. I'll brief you on how the past 5 weeks of my life have been going (assuming you actually care). I wake up at 4:30, eat a piece of toast with peanut butter on it and a bowl of semi-hot oatmeal......double check, then tripple check that I have all of my uniforms and then head into work. From 7-7:30, we stretch as a class, and then at 7:30 we march outside to put up the flags. After that, all hell breaks loose....We workout from about 7:30- 9:30 or 10. After that, it's into the classroom to hit the books, or out to the drill ground to learn about some type of fire ground task. Now, that is a dumbed down version of course, but in the past 5 weeks i've had do some things that have pushed me to my limit and completely past it. It's been good for me though. I know that on June 5th when I graduate, I will be proud of my accomplishments during my training. For now, I take it a day at a time, trying not to think about the next day (although now i'm quite worried about rappeling off of the tower next week). Keep praying for me, that this time will go by fast and that I will be safe and excel in my training.

With best regards, Justin

Here we go.....

2009-02-01T20:24:00.002-05:00

So tomorrow is the day.....I start Greensboro Fire Departments 59th recruit class. I know alot of you are rolling your eyes going "what's the big deal, it's a new job" but to me, it's alot more than just a job. This is really a dream come true. I love the fire service, and I've been wanting to make it a career for a while, so this is a huge step!

Anyway, let me feel you in on whats been going the past few months...My good friend Ian Trent who works for GFD has been helping me prepare physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the next four months....He has truly put meaning into the scripture Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another", He's been a blessing, and this might all sound really weird and slightly homo, but he's the man, and I love him like a brother. We've been to the gym more in the past 2 months than in my entire life before that. We've been running downtown, up and down parking decks, all the while talking about Jesus and the fire department and all that jazz.

So I'm here. Ready to eat, breathe, sleep, and puke GFD for the next 4 months. I'm gonna try to update every day. Prayers are appreciated so much!!!

It happend....

2008-12-13T23:21:00.003-05:00

Friday morning, I was on the way to Boone and had stopped to get some stuff from the gas station. Anyway, I'm walking in the door and my phone rings. I didn't recognize the number but I answered anyway. It was Chief Whitworth, from Greensboro Fire. I have been selected for their academy that starts in February!! I'm excited, and nervous all the same. It will be a long journey, and I know it's going to be hard, physically, emotionally, and mentally but I'm ready. This is a dream come to...Thanks for all of you who have prayed for me through all of this. There is no other explanation as to why I was chosen except it was a "God thing".

Justin

a day in the life...

2008-11-27T19:21:00.003-05:00

So today, I have to say I'm thankful...and here's why.

I came in to work today at 0800, just like any other day....well except for it was thanksgiving...so anyway, got done cleaning and checking trucks, and got toned out for a med call, it didn't turn out to well...at all (not gonna go into details thanks to HIPPA) . Got back to the station, sat down to eat a good meal that Bobby fixed and we got another bad one....once again, bad outcome. Ok ok, so as if thats not enough, I went to go get fuel in Quint 16 (our ladder truck), no big deal right? Wrong, I backed the freakin thing into the side of the station....Then I got a fun ride in Chief's truck to go get my little post accident drug test (I passed, in case you were wondering).......and thats all....NO WAIT! The worst news all day. A good buddy of mine from our other station was hit by a car on 40 while responding to a wreck on I-40...He'll be ok, but he could use your prayers. All in all, it was a terrible day. But I'm thankful I'm alive, and that I have this job. It could have been me out there on 40, and the outcome could have been worse. I forget sometimes that this is the real deal. Yeah, we're a slow station, but my shirt still says "fire department" on the back, and people still depend on me. Be good, and give thanks.

Happenings of a Great Sunday

2008-11-16T22:29:00.002-05:00

So today, I'll admit, I slept in and missed church.....Now before you begin to judge, I was able to catch some of good ol' Joel Osteen from the warmth of my bed. This afternoon was awesome. I played guitar for a few hours....Some of you may know that I write my own music. Now, I use this phrase very loosely since I have about 12032193 incomplete songs saved on my computer. The songs I have completed rival the complexity of your all time favorite camp jam "Sanctuary" so I would hardly call myself a "writer". After that, I headed to the Core (the meeting on Sunday nights for the High Schoolers I volunteer with) which is always awesome. These students are amazing, it almost make me sick how amazing these kids are. Like, I know I wasn't half as cool as some of them when I was in high school. Anyway, always good times. After that, headed to Brixx Pizza with a friend of mine from the youth group to chat about our experiences in youth ministry (although about 98.3% of our conversation is basically a counseling session for yours truly). So after that fun filled day, here I sit. Typing to....well I don't really know who. I hope this found you in good company though, and look forward to you reading my thrilling blog tomorrow!

Here We Go.....

2008-11-13T19:33:00.002-05:00

So, this is it....A new attempt to share my thoughts. It should be interesting to say the least.

I suppose I should start with a brief summary of myself, in case somewhere out there in cyber space, you have stumbled across my little blog. I'm Justin, 20 years old, work for Colfax Fire Department and volunteer at Westover Church here in Greensboro, North Carolina. I'm currently going through the hiring process with Greensboro Fire Department, and hope to make the fire service a career. I have alot of great friends, and am really lucky to be where I'm at in life.

I'll post again later tonight, assuming something interesting happens!