Extreme Conditions

I was definately thinking I could realistically blog weekly but when I looked at my last, first blog I was coming upon one month! This has been a busy month.  It really started before the 4th of July with the professional fireworks displays and the local fireworks stands applying for their permits.  This process is through our Fire Prevention Bureau. Our Deputy Chief who is also our Fire Marshal, Chris Bachman inspects all Fireworks tents, stands, etc. in our district.  In addition, the professional shows put on in our area receive inspection done at time of set-up.  The phone was ringing what seemed like non-stop regarding if residents could shoot off fireworks and in our District they could but of course Mid-County had put a press release out advising against shooting off fireworks and suggesting to attend a professional show as another option.  With the weather conditions still today showing no relief the entire state is still under a no burn and now our county is on the very long list of counties deemed a disaster area due to the extreme heat and dry conditions. If that wasn't enough to keep us busy the dock issues will.  I will not go into what most of you already know but will tell you our web-site www.mcfpd.org under the Fire Prevention tab has the Dock Wiring Requirements, Dock Wiring Checklist, and Dock Application!

  
First, I will apologize that it has been so long......I did not think it would be so hard to write often. I used to love writing in a diary when I was younger. Maybe it is the fact that others will be reading it!

Nothing has slowed down here since my last blog. We ran a record amount of calls in July totaling 159. So far in August we are at 117 with today and a couple more days to go. We also had a busy weekend the 25th with the Shoot-Out. Preparation started months ago but things were really buzzing around here last week and weekend.

Unfortunately, today is the funeral of Bill Hale, Assistant Fire Chief for many years at Camdenton Fire. The ladder trucks are out front with the Flag and everyone looks great in their formal dress. The Honor Guard and Pipes and Drums were practicing yesterday afternoon. They are holding the reception here at our station. It has been amazing the amount of support from the community and Firefighters from around the entire lake.  Reminds me that I work with a really great group of people and to be here watching their acts of kindness is endearing.

The weekend is Labor Day which means no rest; our Firefighters will be busy collecting funds for MDA.  Standing at the intersection for hours with their boot held out!  Drop your change in a boot if you see them out their!

I will catch you up on our Firefighter Intern Program the next time but will quickly say the three we have now are doing awesome and we will be adding a few more soon, visit us at www.mcfpd.org for more information on the becoming a Intern through our program.

Locally the temperatures are rising as we are headed into the busiest holiday at the Lake of the Ozarks, "4th of July".  Chief Frandsen has the firefighters preparing by stocking trucks with coolers filled with ice and water bottles.  Staying hydrated and other hot weather reminders are going out all over the area via the news media. Concerned citizens have been calling all week regarding fireworks and the accidental fires that are started by them.  Deputy Chief Bachman sent out a news release earlier this week to remind everyone of the dangers of fireworks and precautions to take with fireworks.  We had responded to three brush fires over the weekend all started by fireworks. 
Internally, we started our Firefighter Intern Program June 1, this week they were busy with basic firefighting training conducted by Captain Kleimkewicz.  I was busy with creating additional print materials for the Firefighter Intern Program as we have found that employment locally for these interns will be tough to find with their training schedule here.  Trish Creech at the Camdenton Chamber is helping us get the word out to local businesses so hopfully we will have some options in place as we recruit more interns into the program.  We are close on our new web-site, the team at MSW Interacitve Designs are ready to take us live with it and we are very excited for everyone to see the new look!  This is officially my first blog so I wanted to give you a little summary of the week in progress.........if I am not on again before the 4th, have a Happy and Safe 4th of July.