Found out yesterday that I made the IA-TF I Urban Search and Rescue team. For those of you who forgot or don't know, they are the specialized teams that get deployed to things like 9-11, Katrina, I-35 bridge collapse, tornados, earthquakes, etc. They don't know when they can send us down to College Station, TX for training but we will get outfittted with gear and join the team for training. Of course, the Nov. training dates fall in line with a WMD Haz Mat drill in Des Moines that I volunteered to go to so now I will piss off one chief to please another one.
So now that they are demolishing flood damaged homes, you really get to see the government at it's finest. In order to demolish a home, contaminated and damaged by the flood, you have to have:
The contractor hired to demolish the home
Family Environmental (a company to make sure all the EPA, OSHA, etc laws are followed)
a Disaster & Recovery company (hired by the city)
a City of CR building inspector
a staffed CRFD engine company
From 7:30 am till 3 pm yesterday, two other guys and I were paid $25 an hour to sit in a fire truck and do nothing. At one point, we counted 16 guys at this site (4 were actively working).
Saturday, the 8 new rookies come online. Official count: 10 firefighters under me. There should be 12 (which would prevent my layoff should they choose to close a station for budget purposes) but one rookie last year was fired and another went onto days to be a plans & inspector.
Everyone at CRFD and Area Ambulance have found out about Rachael and I dating. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be but there is some regular joking around. It's weird to think I havn't dated someone for about 2 1/2 years. I kind of forgot how hard it is to have to think about someone else when you are making plans, trading work days, etc.
Nick
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