Jon and Jason's Truck Inspection Trip

Jonathan and Jason both flew to Florida to inspect our next truck this weekend and have arrived back home safely. They report the truck as being in fantastic shape, and we will expect to see the truck in a few weeks. Here are some photos from the trip.

Abandoned Structure Fire on Symsonia Highway

On Tuesday May 21, West Marshall units responded with Benton Fire units to the 2000 Block of Symsonia Highway in reference to an abandoned mobile home on fire.  WMFD arrived first on scene reporting a fully involved structure with heavy smoke.  WMFD and BFD units suppressed the fire and fire in nearby wooded area immediate to the structure.

Units responding: Engine 82, Engine 83, Tanker 81, Brush 81

The Maltese Cross

I don't reminisce very well and usually I don't get too involved in history and tradition, but I want to take a minute to try to impress upon people, including our own people, what being a firefighter is really about.  I know we all feel like it's simply throwing on the pager, running to calls and listening to me gripe at you during training, and it may really sometimes feel like it.  But on the flip side, everyone needs to remember what you are a part of, and how far things have came from where this started to where we are now.  Sure we may worry about cleaning trucks and sweeping floors at the station, but it's about honor and courage and the respect for your fellow man that keeps you coming back to help people that may not even thank you, or even care.  Every time you look around the station you see this emblem, and even though I didn't write this, I want you to read it and remember the sacrifices that were made for this emblem to mean what it really means.

The Maltese Cross is symbolic in meaning, and it dates back to the 12th Century.  When a courageous band of crusaders known as the Knights of St. John, fought the Saracens for possession of the holy land, they encountered a new weapon unknown to European warriors. It was a simple, but a horrible device of war; it brought excruciating pain and agonizing death upon the brave fighters for the cross. The Saracen's weapon was fire.  As the crusaders advanced on the walls of the city, they were struck by glass bombs containing naphtha.   When they became saturated with the highly flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled a flaming torch into their midst. Hundreds of the knights were burned alive; others risked their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying painful, fiery deaths.  Thus, these men became our first firefighters and the first of a long list of courageous firefighters.
Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each here a badge of honor - a cross similar to the one firefighter's wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on a little island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross.  The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means that the firefighter who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life for you just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow man so many years ago. The Maltese Cross is a firefighter's badge of honor, signifying that he works in courage - a ladder rung away from death.