Entertaining Jack

One of Jacks favorite activities is to go the fire station and see the fire trucks or the “we-lows as he calls them. The name “we-low” comes from the sound that the siren makes. He gets kind of excited when he sees them on TV as well, so the other day I decided to pull up some videos on YouTube of fire trucks. I didn’t really think he would sit and watch it for long but the video I pulled up was nine minutes long and he sat there and watched the whole thing.


This has started quite the craze at our house. Jack often comes to me and says, “Daddy, puter, we-low”, or roughly translated he wants to watch fire trucks on my computer. So I pull out the computer and put a video like this one on. I have to say as a firefighter I’m pretty excited about this interest in fire trucks and I am going to do everything I can to keep it going.

Promotion

A couple of weeks ago we had a promotion ceremony for the Kaysville Fire Department (KFD). The Department promoted three Battalion Chiefs, four Captains, three Engineers and three new fire fighters. I was one of the new engineers getting promoted along with A.J. and Keri. The ceremony consisted of a swearing in by the mayor and a badge pinning ceremony.
For the pinning ceremony I was supposed to have a family member or someone else come up and pin my new badge on me. Ariane was going to do it but at the last second Lucy said she wanted to do it. Originally she declined the invitation so I was surprised to see her come up.
She needed some help doing it, after I got stabbed several times but it eventually got pinned on my shirt.

The whole family was there for the event, the kids even wore their firefighter shirts for the occasion.
I also had two fathers in law and one mother in law come as well as my own Dad.

Some friends and family have asked what I had to do to become and engineer and what I do know that I am an engineer. Now that I am an engineer it is my responsibility to drive the fire engine and pump water to the hose lines.
I am also assigned two department vehicles to make sure that they are maintained properly and that the equipment that they carry are in good condition.

To become and engineer I had to be certified to drive and pump the fire engine, which I had done a couple of years ago. To do this I had to take the states fire apparatus pumper course, which we did at Kaysville Fire and then pass the states written and skills test.

To get promoted at KFD once there were some openings I had to take a test. This consisted of a pumping scenario, getting water from the engine to the hose line in a timely manner and the right pressure, a driving test where they set up a bunch of cones and I had to show I could drive, and an oral board where I was asked questions about my knowledge about driving and pumping.

After all that I did not think I had done very well but it turns out that out of the five of us the tested I finished third overall, enough to get promoted. I ended up being moved up to second on the list when the number two guy got promoted to captain.

I have even had the chance to put my skills to use. We had a car fire where I was the engineer.
I managed to get us there in one piece and get water to the hose line. This job just keeps getting more fun all the time.

July 4th, 2012

One of our traditions for Independence Day is attending the Kaysville 4th of July parade. Mostly because the fire department is in the parade and I work for the fire department. We gather at the Kaysville fire station with other families of the fire fighters to watch the parade. Ariane got the kids Independence Day t-shirts, this was Jacks first 4th of July, he was having a great time until the parade started.

Photo Shoot

We recently had some family pictures done. My cousin Amy came down from Idaho and was able to fit us in to her busy schedule. This time around the theme was firefighter, so I brought my bunkers and helmet from the station so we could have a few props and we all wore out firefighter shirts. I think they turned out pretty good.

Some of Lucy

We took some of Jack

And some of both the kids

We got some shots of me with the kids

And Ariane and Jack

(Lucy was finished by the time we got to this phase so no Lucy and Ariane)

Also some of the whole family

I think they turned out really good. Amy did I good job as always, she is also available for hire if you are looking for someone to take some pictures. She does great work and highly recommend her.

Now we just gotta figure out which ones should go on our wall. Let us know what you think.

The winner of the Photo Caption contest would be my brother Greg who wrote "I have herd lucy talk so I know there is NO WAY that you could put what she said into such a small box" 

Centennial Fire Department

This last month the Kaysville Fire Department had its Centennial Celebration. I feel very fortunate to be part of an organization with such a long proud history.

To celebrate we had a banquet at the fire station. We invited anyone who had ever worked for the fire department and their spouses. There was a pretty good turnout, around 200 people showed up, including quite a few old timers, a few of which were pushing 100 years the selves. Kaysville city had it catered and the Farmington Fire Department came out to serve us.

Ariane and myself with Angie and James Wade.

The fire department was officially organized on May 4, 1911. The first piece off firefighting equipment, other than the standard bucket brigade, was a hose cart reel purchased for $75. Similar to the one pictured here. A small shed was placed on the old Relief Society grounds on Main Street to house the hose cart and fire hose.

Their first fire engine was made out of an old Hudson car in 1922. It had a water tank, a pump and a hose. They used this until 1929 when an American LaFrance Pumper truck was purchased, similar to the one pictured here. It was the beginning of a long line of different fire engines and trucks.

The Emergency Medical Service First Responder Program began in 1986. The department did not have an ambulance at this time; it was operated by the Davis County Sheriff’s Office. They would respond to calls and assist the Sheriff’s Department on medicals.

We no longer push a hose cart or build our own fire engines out of old cars. Our station is now a nice state of the art building with five bays that house two engines, one ladder truck, three ambulances, two brush trucks, one heavy rescue truck and a hazardous materials trailer instead of an old shed with one hose cart and 500 feet of hose. We have our own ambulances now and don’t rely on the county to provide one for us. The one thing that hasn’t changed in the last one hundred years is the dedication and bravery of the firefighters.

My engine Company. From L-R My Self (Firefighter Scott Boomer Bredthauer), Captain James (Jimmy) Dotson Jr., Firefighter Keri Harwood, Engineer David Snowball and Firefighter Jared Harvey

Eastern Kentucky University

This week I have started graduate school at Eastern Kentucky University. No, this does not mean that we are moving to Kentucky it’s an on-line program. I am pursuing a master’s degree in Safety, Security and Emergency Management with an emphasis in Fire and Emergency Services. It looks like a pretty good program. I do two classes a semester each running six to eight weeks long, I do one right after the other that way I don’t have to take them concurrently. I should be done in two years.

This will be a really new experience for me. I only took two on-line classes while I was at Weber State, botany and a social work class, and I didn’t take them very seriously. Now to be doing two years worth of nothing but on-line classes will be a real change for me as well as the fact that I haven’t had a college class since 2006. I have some adjusting to do.

I choose this school because I felt that this degree could help me move with Church Security and with the Kaysville Fire Department. I liked the idea of doing a degree on-line so that I could attend class when it was convenient for me.

A little bit about EKU or “Eastern” as the locals call it. It is located in Richmond, KY and was founded in 1906. Its colors are maroon and white and the mascot is the colonel. I think he bears a little resemblance to the Kentucky Fried Chicken guy. They play in the Ohio Valley Conference. Some notable alumni include, Dan Patrick - Sports caster and writer, Laura Kirkpatrick - Runner up of “America's Next Top Model” Cycle 13 and Rex Ryan - Head coach of the New York Jets. I am in good company here.

If all goes as planned in two years I will be receiving my master’s degree in Richmond, KY.

Wedding Announcement

By now all of you should have received a wedding announcement for Ariane and myself. If you haven't well here's what it looks like.

Arianes sister Chelsea took the photos and my friend Dave did the design for the announcements and invitations. He said, "I wanted the layout to have an old fashioned, almost western feel, but with a contemporary touch." He also did the invitations to the luncheon and temple sealing.I thought he did a great job and we were very happy with the way they turned out.

Here are some of the pictures that didn't make the announcement.