Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
My Brother firefighter Michael “Mike” Peay moonlights as a blacksmith on his own and for Black Dog Salvage. His part-time job for Black Dog has recently put him in the spotlight of the new DIY TV show “Salvage Dawgs”. The show follows around the crew of Black Dog Salvage as they reclaim and re-purpose vintage pieces of architecture.
Mike Peay on the job
Check out Michael “Mike” Peay’s Facebook Fan Page here
Mike Peay is a Roanoke City Firefighter who works in the South Battalion. He was hired in the recruit school just after mine and is part of our swift water rescue team. Mike and I are both on the same shift and I had the pleasure of working with him just the other day. He came to the Northside to fill in for the day. I had fun asking him about the show and how things were going. He is enjoying learning about being on show all the while juggling his full-time job, part-time job, and family.
Mike works in the basement of Black Dog Salvage as a metal worker…but I assure you he is a learned blacksmith and has quite a skill manipulating metal.
More about Mike from his FB Fan Page:
A professional Roanoke City Firefighter since 1999, Mike works as a part-time welder and salvager for Black Dog Salvage during his down time. His EMS training, ladder expertise and Eagle Scout skills have served the team well on more than one occasion! Aside from keeping the Roanoke community and Salvage Dawgs safe, Mike enjoys a passion for the ancient art of blacksmithing. A member of the Old Dominion Blacksmith Association and the Artists Blacksmith Association of North America, he also currently serves as the Master of Lakeland Masonic Lodge. With a degree in Horticulture he shares his love of the outdoors with his wife and two girls in his spare time.
Also check out Black Dog Salvage web site, FB Fan Page here, Twitter @BlackDogSalvage, and the Salvage Dawgs DIY web site here
Mike Peay on the Show
The show can be seen on the DIY Channel and HGTV. There were 8 episodes in the first season and word is that they are currently filming for more episodes now.
About the show:
Salvage Dawgs is a trip into a world of shrewd negotiations as Robert Kulp and Mike Whiteside — co-owners of one of the premier architectural salvage operations in the United States, Black Dog Salvage — bid on homes and buildings condemned to be demolished. Their goal is to secure the
remarkable pieces of America’s past hidden inside these old structures before they are lost forever. These salvaged vintage pieces include everything from doors, windows, mantels and more. Once they are recovered, the guys sell these valuable pieces to a wide range of clients, from construction workers to high-end interior designers, who use them to restore other historical buildings and add character to newer structures.
