Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
The Fire Critic had to work tonight, Christmas Eve. It isn’t a big deal, I don’t have the seniority to get this cycle off. That is the life we lead. Luckily I have Christmas Day off. Actually, I get to enjoy a four day break starting Christmas Day. I will be spending the day at home with my family. I cannot make it to Nashville to spend Christmas with my extended family, but we will make it to Richmond on Saturday/Sunday with my wives family.
On Sunday night I will be back in Roanoke to be at the viewing of an Icon in my FD. You can read all about Battalion Chief Billy Obenchain here.
On Monday we will pay our respects with a full honors fire department funeral. If there is any question as to how we take care of our Brothers you can view the last funeral we held for a comrade who died suddenly here.
Needless to say, it has been a tough couple of months for our department. We have a couple other firefighters battling cancer as well. One who is off-duty and another who is still working.
This cycle I enjoyed working at a different station than the one I am assigned to. I have been working at Station 2, The Palace, while a good friend of mine is riding the car (battalion). We have had a pretty decent cycle.
The highlight of the cycle was the 14 lb. prime rib roast we made for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, I got two calls while getting ready to eat so I had to eat cold prime rib. However, cold prime rib is better than no prime rib at all.
Merry Christmas to all. I hope that everyone enjoys their Christmas morning with their loved ones. For those of you working…stay safe.
