Time To Sharpen The Knives!

Well, once again in my fire department we are gearing up for the upcoming fire company elections which will be conducted the first Thursday in December. Its an annual ritual that takes place once per year and the process is more interesting to watch then prime-time television (and i know cuz i work in television).

Its a process older then many fire departments in the state; strange things happen when this time of year rolls around; people who were best of friends suddenly turn on each other and stab each other in the back. Its a truly amazing sight to behold. I've actually seen some friendships that never recovered due to the infighting and backbiting that occur during some elections; of course some years are worse then other years; its sort of cyclical process.

Some members of the fire company, in an effort to eliminate some of the pettiness that goes on during elections, have changed the by-laws of the fire company to prohibit anyone from running off the floor. Its felt that this will help to eliminate last minute quirks in the election; we shall see.

Already, the secret meetings are taking place in the various corners at the fire station, new cliques are developing like larvae from mosquito eggs dropped into stagnant water. They wiggle as small groups and connive ways to get their candidate elected; I think some of these people would have done well to have worked in the last presidential campaign last year. Deals are being cut as we speak.

I'll report on the results of the election once they have been conducted.

The Legend of The Lincoln Fuse

Most people don't think twice about a penny when they hold it in there hand. For some its a nuisance; something to be discarded as soon as possible; for others they pick through their pennies looking for the famous "wheat" penny hoping to make a rare find that will turn them into millionaires.

During the depression, the Lincoln penny was used by many American's to keep their power on in their houses. You see most people in the days of the depression had houses which used the screw-in type fuses in their power panels and when the fuse would burn out, rather then going out and spending money on a new fuse (remember things were tight during the depression financially) which worked well up to a point. The main problem was that fuses have a certain amperage rating and while most fuses were rated to 15 amps or so, the penny was good for about 60 amps. The end result was in many cases homeowners ended up burning down their houses because the wiring wouldn't support up to 60 amps. The moral of the story is: being cheap in the short run may cost you dearly in the long run.

Rest In Peace FF Patrick Joyce

Its always a very sad time in the life of a firefighter when a Brother or Sister passes away, its particularly tragic when its a line-of-duty death and even more so when its arson-related, which in this case is what happened.

Yonkers Fire Department NY lost one of its bravest when FF Patrick Joyce, 39, died while trying to escape a "Flash Over" which occurred on October 9, 2009. He jumped out of a third story window to get away from the blistering heat and smoke which intensified due to the flash over. Two other of Yonkers bravest suffered injuries from that same fire but fortunately will recover from their injuries.

The Yonkers Police Department apprehended a suspect, Rafael Roldan, 33,who allegedly lit the fire for reasons of revenge for being tossed out of his apartment for non-payment of rent. I hope that he faces the family of Patrick Joyce in court when found guilty to see the loss and hurt he has caused. Ideally the courts will sentence Mr. Roldan to life without parole so he may spend his remaining days thinking about the horrible deed that he did and the heartache and suffering he caused to the family and friends of Patrick Joyce.

May FF Patrick Joyce rest-in-peace.