Aloha 53

We have been in our "new station" for 5 1/2 yrs. There was some original old landscaping yet it had fallen by the wayside .. lots of weeds creeping into the grass etc. We weren't sure what we were going to do with the place ... concrete, rocks, dirt or plants. As you can see we had workers come out and prepared the soil, trim the plants and lay sod.

Now we just need to order the lawn mower and edger and we'll be in business. Soon the new and improved pics of the station grounds will be posted to the blog for all to admire!

On September 11 th the tones went off at approx. 3 a.m. for a structure fire. We were one of the many responding engines. It was a condo fire. Here are a couple of pics of the outside of the condo taken the next morning.

The inside pics show where the ventilation cuts were made by the truck company on the roof. They cut a strip on the condo next door so as to stop the possible fire spread to the rest of the complex. Our crew was in the condo next door and we cut through the walls with our axes and found charring and fire so we got a hoseline up to the third floor and put it out...stopping the spread.

This larger pic shows the interior of the condo that burned. As you can see nothing is recognizable. All the crews on scene did a great job.

This is the Coast Guard boat that we worked with on this call out at the Channel Islands. The call came in to us as an injury so our engine responded to the Coast Guard quarters and we loaded up our medical gear and went aboard. The Coast Guard brought us out to the scene, which was a dive boat just off Anacapa Island. Here is a close up picture of the end of Anacapa Island, the "key hole". Here is Mo with the patient who had a cut above his left eye. There was a nurse on board the dive boat so he was bandaged up upon our arrival. We just made sure that his vital signs were ok and kept him calm.


It was quite a speedy ride out to the Island. It took just about 35 minutes and we were jetting right along. Here is a view of the island just as we went out of the harbor.
An interesting call. The Coast Guard personnel were all so professional and helpful. The hardest part was gettting our patient from the dive boat to the Coast Guard boat, we actually had to go to the back side of the island where the water was a bit calmer to do the transfer. Always something new in our day!

An overcast day in "The Wynizzle" a perfect day for rescue board training! Today Mo and Lowell ventured out on the rescue boards for a surf training session. John was our "Lifeguard" on shore. There were some waves this day so it was challenging. We talked about timing the waves, what to look for in terms of riptides and water patterns. We didn't wear wetsuits but actually when we got in and were moving the water was fine! We plan to do many more drills like this one. During the winter there are no lifeguards stationed at the beach so if a call goes down ... we come out.

Lowell had a Great morning and is looking forward to his next "surf session"!

We assist the Coast Guard if there is a medical emergency on the water. Here is a picture of one of the Coast Guard boats working with their helicopter. During this operation the helicopter would be used to "pick" the patient out of the water after our water rescue team had met up with the patient and secured them to be ready to hoist. Multiple agencies working together!

Another component to our fire department is our water rescue group. We have water rescue crafts that we use on the ocean. These pictures were taken at a training exercise in the harbor. Two rescuers can ride on the vehicle. The board that you see behind the craft can be used to assist people and carry them to safety, it is much like a large hard boogie board with handles. We never quite know what we will encounter on land or sea so training is always a priority!

This was an interesting call that we went on. A young guy was fishing with his Hawaiian sling and evidently he won't be having any fish for dinner because he actually stabbed himself with his own sling. The guy was ok other than the fact that we had to cut his sling pole so that he could fit in the ambulance...must bandage in place! He was smiling when we took this picture....can't you tell by the way his toes are positioned!

Today we remember all of our Fallen Firefighters and their families. We had a moment of silence at our station just before 7 am. We displayed the apparatus out on the ramp before raising the flag. Ironically we had just come back from a structure fire that we had been on since 3 am with Oxnard Fire Department. As we were
working at the condo complex we stopped for a second and realized, today is 9-11. For emergency workers, their families, and for all of those who lost their lives on 9-11 .... WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER !

Lots of black smoke billowing from this old motor home on the training ground. We had a live fire drill with a few other engine crews to learn how to attack a motor home fire.
It literally was a "house on wheels". When you have a "metal box" and it starts on fire, the spread is rapid. Now that's Hot!

Training day at the Harbor with our helicopter. This copter is used to fly patients to the hospital as well as being used for brush fires. Depending on the distance of the call to the hospital, and the injuries to the patient, the Captain can request that the helicopter be used to transport. The helicopter is also invaluable during brush fire season providing "water drops" from a tank that is secured to the bottom of the copter.