Sandy Hook

I thought it appropriate to be respectful and wait at least a week before posting again out of regard for the tragedy at Sandy Hook. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families as they deal with this tough time, and for the Fire EMS and Law enforcement personnel who witnessed the horrific scene and must investigate it to discover the motives behind such an act.

I ask to all to not jump on the media band wagon, do your own research regarding these laws your politicians want to put in place. I found it totally disgusting that people such as Mayor Bloomberg were already attempting to turn this massacre as a justification for gun grabbing and getting on the airwaves before even all the victims were buried...

Out of respect for the families i will not debate my opinion regarding this tragedy at all, it is not appropriate to use 6-8 year olds deaths as political rhetoric, especially so soon.

To all, it may be difficult with this event so fresh in our minds still but i wish everyone a Merry Christmas, I and other first responders will be doing what we do best even though it's holiday season, stay safe, lock your doors, and pray for a White Christmas this year.

for this post i decided to end it with a quote in addition to the regular song of the week...
" Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first" - Mark Twain


Song of the week: Ain't no Reason Brett Dennen

Medical Provider

Officially passed my course to become an Emergency Medical Provider in my state and now have my card in hand. Looks like i'm moving up in the world...

On another note:

When on midnight patrol with an officer working the rural area of our jurisdiction, we came upon an extremely low hanging tree branch over the road. The officer then, i kid you not, pulls over, turns on his lights and pulls a hacksaw from the backseat and proceeds to cut this two and a half inch or so tree branch off the tree and toss it on the side of the road.

When i asked why the hell he keeps a hacksaw in his trunk he replied "cause the city maintenance guys ain't gonna do it, and we're out  in the countryside anyways"

While this was hilarious to watch the rural end is quite boring especially on a 10pm-6am shift, i prefer to run in the areas where every officer keeps a patrol rifle in their trunk and every call requires lights and sirens. Around other areas that morning were reports of shots fired and car pursuits while we sat relaxing and surfing the web...

Meanwhile...
 My Fire Company has been running fire calls like no other as of recently, we have so far worked in the past two weeks a fatal house fire, 6 other dwelling fires of sorts, and 3 significant car wrecks which all required transport to the nearest Level I trauma center (the highest level of care) and we have nearly lost a piece of fire apparatus several times to idiotic drivers when we are backing our pieces back into the station. It seems that an engine or a large SUV or pick-up truck with it's lights on is not a cue to stop your car and allow them to maneuver but to instead floor it past them, nearly severely injuring the driver of the fire vehicle in the process...

Song of the Week: Call You Out- Flyleaf

Gun Bills

As some of you may have been able to guess by now based on my earlier rants, i am a staunch supporter of gun rights, and the ability to carry a handgun, concealed or open by the the general public.

I have seen too many times where someone who was stabbed, shot, mugged, raped, who could have  averted this and put one more bad guy in the ground by simply being able to carry a handgun and being proficient in its use.

It irks me when i hear people argue for stronger gun laws after mass shootings such as Aurora, or Oakland. These men set out on a mission to kill as many innocents as possible, it is highly unlikely that tougher penalties and more guns being illegal would stop someone who is hell bent on mass murder. The only people it really hobbles are the people wishing to own a gun for collection,hunting, sport shooting, or home and public defense.
(important to note also is that every modern mass shooting has either occurred in a specific building that bans carry of firearms by the general public such as Aurora, or in a state or city that heavily restricts or outright bans concealed or open carry by civilians. If you are able to find of any mass shooting in the US recently that proves this wrong, please let me know, regardless the overwhelming majority fit in the category i stated above)

This is why the ridiculous attempt to jump start the Assault Weapons Ban bill again bothers me so much, it's as if they think in general also that the majority of crimes are committed with AR-15s and M1 garands and Saiga semi auto shotguns. Less than one percent of all crimes are committed with these firearms, the overwhelming majority are handguns, which are already reasonably regulated in the first place to keep felons and the mentally ill from owning them, while still making it possible for the general public to exercise their second amendment rights by owning them.

So there is my little rant for the day, after reading several stupid articles on the topic i felt the need to express my feelings.

Y'all have a good one, drive safe and please...don't call 911 at 430 in the morning because your CO2 detector is sounding, and you just forgot to change the batteries...

--Burnout

Training

i realize i've been absent a while, i've been quite busy lately due to numerous training courses i am taking for my fire company and the plentiful calls that have been run, be back soon with stories from my company and soon more stories of patrol again.
Till then, take care, drive safe, and please don't call 911 after 11pm for a stubbed toe...

Burnout

That Special Someone

Well it's official, Burnout has found a special someone!


now some of you may be asking "Oh Burnout, you're such a cynical, bitter and sarcastic human being! what besides a demon from the depths of hell could possibly like you!"

first, to that i say blow it out your A**, and second, the lovely missus happens to be just as cynical and bitter a human being as me, and actually rivals me in some areas.

Folks, it's never too late to find someone you care about so even if this doesn't end well we sure as hell are gonna have good times before it's over


Burnout

Song of the Week: Blind Man- Black Stone Cherry

Fire Activity

As some of you may be aware, in my spare time i am not just a volunteer for law enforcement... I also happen to be a volunteer firefighter, which brings a whole new set of frustrations and difficulties.
While on a call of a vehicle that had flipped on the road, i pulled the short straw and got stuck on traffic detail  as the state troopers got cozy in their vehicles. It is STUNNING to me how drivers see at least five flares, and a fire engine, an ambulance, several state troopers and a tow truck all with their lights on and blocking the entire road on top of which a firefighter in reflective bunker gear and waving a flashlight to signal them that the road is closed (me) they still roll up and say "hey can i get through here?" as if we are just gonna move our vehicles out of the way, or that because he asked suddenly the road will widen enough for him to fit his vehicle by...
*sigh* sometimes i just can't understand what people are thinking.

Song of the Week: Enemies by Shinedown

Irritating Drivers

i cannot express just how infuriating it is to have drivers doing the speed limit or under in the fast lane on the highway while right next to another car, it seems as if they do this specifically to piss people off who are actually in a hurry...and this is probably the ONLY time i will admit this but, New Jersey has it right for not allowing drivers to travel in the fast lane on the Turnpike and can only use the fast lane to pass.

Song of the Week: Blink 182- All the Small Things

Politically Incorrect

As anyone who knows someone in a first responder profession is aware, we are some of the most politically incorrect, rude, and have the darkest senses of humor out there of any people. I mention this because i have gotten used to referring to medics as "Meatwagons" to the point where i nearly broadcast that term over the radio instead of the department sanctioned term for an ambulance recently. When i have referred to EMS vehicles as meatwagons in the company of people who don't know me well, i invariably get a lot of horrified stares from folks that do not see the dark humor in the term.
What can i say? I've never been known for showing an abundance of tact anyway...

Just as a little aside rant, feel free to disagree but this is just my personal opinion... the University of California Police Chief is just a political animal that deserves no respect. He caved to public pressure and fired Lt. Pike despite the LT operating FULLY within the use of force continuum, Lt. Pike and the officers on scene that deployed pepper spray against the foolish protesters actually showed remarkable restraint and warned all of the civilians what would occur if they did not disperse. The important thing to remember here is that pepper spray is not a 'weapon' it is a 'pain compliance tool' and as such was used appropriately.

Just my personal thoughts, if you agree or disagree either way feel free to share your opinion on the case in the comments section for this post (for those unfamiliar with the story, here is the link to said incident  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UC_Davis_pepper-spray_incident  )


Song of the Week: Guilty Pleasure by Gone for Days

Lucky Dealership

While on patrol we happened to drive by a car dealership around 10:30pm that had a brand new and decked out GMC Yukon sitting in one of the parking spots there, idling after apparently being parked and having one of the workers forget about it before leaving work for the day. It is a miracle in this town that it hadn't disappeared five minutes after the worker left it unattended, let alone at least 3 hours...

Song of the Week: Like i Roll- Black Stone Cherry