FReeper Canteen~Tribute To Firefighters~August 3, 2006

The Canteen Crew

[AZamericonnie]

 

The Canteen Pays Tribute To



The badge of a fireman is the Maltese Cross. This Maltese Cross is a symbol of protection and a badge of honor. Its story is hundreds of years old.



The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means that the fireman who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life for you. The Maltese Cross is a fireman's badge of honor, signifying that he works in courage - a ladder rung away from death.



Today, fire and rescue remains a mix of paid, call, and volunteer responders. While urban areas such as New York, NY and Boston, MA are typically served by large, well-coordinated paid responders, there is no requirement demanding either paid, call, or career firefighters and many departments are so-called "mixed" departments - full time responders handle the day-to-day needs of a department and work with either call or volunteer responders when more manpower is needed. Other departments are completely "call" or volunteer, depending on local tradition, needs, and, most importantly, financial ability.



In popular literature, firefighters are usually depicted with Dalmatian dogs. This breed originated in southern Europe to assist with herding livestock and run along with horses, and in the days of horse-drawn fire vehicles, the horses were usually released on arrival at the fire and the Dalmatians would lead the horses to a safe place to wait until the fire was out. Dalmatians also filled the role of protecting the horses' feet from other dogs as equipment was being transported to the fire scene. In reality, most fire dogs were mutts pulled from the street.




Bucket Carriage used by Continental Bucket Co.No.1, of Jamaica, Long Island NY. Iron stanchion in center of machine bears metal plate, “Jamaica 1787-1907”. Four-wheeled carriage equipped to carry 50 buckets to use in places where there were no hydrants.



Glass Fire Grenades ranging from ½ pint to 2 quarts in size, filled with water or saltwater. These provided an effective means of quelling a small fire from 1868 to 1903. In later years they were filled with carbon tetrachloride and used to the mid 1960’s.






Click Here to see some of Austin's finest at work!






Now there's a handsome firefighting family!

“If Prometheus was worthy of the wrath of heaven for kindling the first fire upon earth, how ought all the gods honor the men who make it their professional business to put it out?” -- John Godfrey Saxe, (American journalist, poet, and lecturer) circa 1850



Click here to see some of Ft. Worths Finest in action!




The Fire Bike was a motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers on the American reality television show American Chopper. It was put together by everyone at the OCC, the project holding more emotional weight with its ties to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Click here for more information




10/13/2005 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq -- Firefighters assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron render a final salute in memory of Sgt. Brian E. Dunlap, an active firefighter and a member of U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, who was killed in action Sept. 24 in Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Randy Mitchell)
Click for the rest of the article


The Firefighters Memorial Fountain at dusk. The memorial, at 31st Street and Broadway in Kansas City, was created to honor those killed in the line of duty.




Keeping up the fight - Phoenix firefighters battle a three-alarm fire at Bowen Poles in northwest Phoenix (Pinnacle Peak and I-17) Feb. 4. No one was injured in the fire.





Click here for recipies



RAPID RESPONSE
Years ago, when I was working on a small town ambulance, it was not uncommon for my wife and me to stop at the local grocer to buy food for dinner after a call. I had gone in to get a head of lettuce and some apples. Unknown to me the floor was wet from the newly installed produce sprayers. Down I went, hitting my head hard. When I came to, the manager of the store was sitting beside me telling me not to move, that he had called 911. At the same time my pager went off and he looked at me and asked, “What was that? I said "My pager, I am 911." He looked at me, shocked " Boy, you guys are fast!"

More jokes here...


Fireman History Quiz



















A heartfelt thank you from the Canteen to all Firefighters & your families for your service & sacrifice!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Look at you for sure....aren't you the smarty. d:o)

[NYTexan]

Prep work for the next race is a work in progress!

As long as the 'we suck racin' team stays away the dillos should do well this week! (I hope)

[StarCMC]

LOL!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good night and sleep well, AZ...thanks for all you do for our troops.

[NYTexan]

G'nite Connie!

BBH

[StarCMC]

I am right behind you -- stayed up WAY too late last night!! LOL

[Kathy in Alaska]

wh!!

AZ.....#150!!
Luv.....#200!!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

*Hug*
Hooray!
Boy..
I really need to clean in here..
LOL
A spider is keeping me company!
God Bless this old confuser
It was me very first one!
Ms.B

[StarCMC]

Well Friends, time for this chick to hit the hay!
I'll see ya'll in a few hours!!

To all of my heroes out there:  you guys & gals have
my undying gratitude.  I can never repay you for
what you have done for me.  But know this, I
will do my best to keep our country a place
that you want to come home to.

Goodnight, my heroes, wherever you are!

 

[MEG33]

Yours sound great! I have white winged dove come..I don't live in quail territory.. I haven't seen the Inca doves this year..I have a juvenile Red Bellied woodpecker come for water.I have seen the adult on a tree but not up close.

I haven't put up a hummingbird feeder because I never had much luck luring them here..My daughter has a great supply of hummingbirds, though..I sat on her patio during migration and just watched the food fights..LOL! The males fight to own the whole feeder...so we put out several.

[tina07]

Good night and thanks for the great thread to firefighters.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Star....hope your area cooled off some.

[luvie]

I hope they do...I have a vested interest in them doing well! :D

Gooooo..dillos!!! VAAAAROOOOM!

[Kathy in Alaska]

[tina07]

That is so nice bringing the cookies with your kids. I bet they look forward to it every year.

My husband and son worked at Ground Zero a couple of years ago doing tile. My husband came upon the cross of steel girders and just stood still staring. Another guy came up and asked him, 'first time, huh?', he said he knew it by the look on my husband's face.

[BIGLOOK]

Good night and sweet dreams, Connie! And thanks again for a great thread!

[MEG33]

Goodnight,Connie, sleep well.

[tina07]

That's been my supplies of late. That soup looks pretty good! I had some earlier, helps the sore throat I have too, the 'just hurts when I swallow' type sore throat. Sorry to whine, but Dr. MOM needs to complain too!

[luvie]

Now, don't look around....just concentrate on talking to us! :D

Howdy, Mr. Spider! You just keep eating those bugs and MS.Be will let you stay!

[Species8472]

A FIREFIGHTER'S GLOVES

  A Firefighters Gloves hold many things
  From elderly arms to a kids broken swing
  From the hands they shake and the backs they pat
  To the tiny claw marks of another treed cat
  From the DWI who was on her way home
  And the equipment they use to roll back the dash
  From a family of 6 she involved in the crash

  The brush rakes in spring wear the palms out
  When the wind does a "90" to fill them with doubt
  The thumb of the glove wipes the sweat from the brow
  Of the face of a firefighter who mutters "What now"

  They hold inch and three quarters flowing one seventy five
  So the ones going in, come back out alive
  When the regulator goes; then there isn't too much,
  But the bypass valve they eagerly clutch

  The rescue equipment, the ropes, the C-collars;
  The lives that they save never measured in dollars
  Are the obvious things firefighters gloves hold
  Or, so that is what I've been always told

  But there are other things Firefighters Gloves touch
  Those are the things we all need so much

  They hold back the rage on that 3 am call
  They hold in the fear when your lost in a hall
  They hold back the pity, agony, sorrow
  They hold in the desire to "Do it tomorrow"

  A gloves just a glove till it's on firefighters
  Who work all day long just to pull an all-nighter
  And into the fray they charge without fear
  At the sound of a "Help" they think that they hear

  When firefighters hands go into the glove
  It's a firefighter who always fills it with love
  Sometimes the sorrow is too much to bear
  And it seeps the glove and burns deep "in there"

  Off comes the gloves when the call is done
  And into the pocket until the next run
  The hands become lonely and cold for a bit
  And shake just a little thinking of it

  And they sit there so red eyed with their gloves in  their coats
  The tears come so fast that the furniture floats
  They're not so brave now; their hands they can't hide
  I guess it just means that they're human inside

  And though some are paid and others are not
  The gloves feel the same when it's cold or it's hot
  To someone you're helping to just get along
  When you fill them with love, you always feel strong

  And so when I go on my final big ride
  I hope to have my gloves by my side
  To show to St. Peter at that heavenly gate
  Cause as everyone knows, firefighters don't wait.

  Thank God