Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
Captain Wines and I recently headed to Nashville for the Country Music Awards and to witness Country Music Star Craig Morgan introduce a National Awarness Campaign to get smoke alarms installed in homes without working alarms. The name of the campaign is "Be a Safety Hero" and it is championed by Kidde.
On our way, we stopped by the Oak Ridge Fire Department in Oak Ridge, TN. The brothers invited us and we always enjoy stopping in a few firehouses when we travel. We met up with them at Firehouse #3. Oak Ridge, TN is known as the Atomic City due to the fact that the Atom Bombs were manufactured at the Y-12 National Security Complex in the City. The history of the plant and others in Oak Ridge is pretty amazing.
Check out the Oak Ridge FD on Facebook
Fire Chief Darryl Kerley, Assistant Chief Josh Waldo, and Brother TJ Giles welcomed us into their City for a short visit at #3 and then a nice meal at a local restaurant. Many of their members were there to enjoy some good food and fellowship. We enjoyed hearing the stories of their department and history of their department.
One thing is for sure, they are a proud department. They are hiring soon and were sure to make sure Captain Wines and I knew that in case we were looking for a change of scenery.
Chief Kerley is a soft-spoken man who you could tell was proud of his men. You could tell he was a well respected man who his guys looked up to. It is always refreshing to witness a Chief who "gets it" and holds himself in a way that he doesn't need to flash all of his certifications in your face to show you his "qualifications".
Yes, when we bump into a fire department like this I enjoy telling you it is that simple…If you treat your men great, they will make you shine!
The photo to the right is of some of the group. Unfortunately, many of the guys got toned out for calls prior to us taking a group photo.
Above all, the guys are proud of one thing imparticular. A Story that couldn't be made up.
A family in Oak Ridge designed and practiced a home escape plan in case of a fire just ONE week prior to their house burning in an accidental fire. They designed the plan after being prompted by their youngest son to create one. The young boy had been taught about home escape plans by the Virginia Beach, VA FD prior to moving to Oak Ridge, TN.
The Brothers in Oak Ridge realized the magnitude of this house fire, and didn't let the opportunity to use the lesson to teach others slip through their hands. I commend the young man for taking the time and initiative for creating the home escape plan and for the Oak Ridge FD for sharing the story for others to learn from it!
