Day 5- March 17, 2009 Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

When I talked to my nephews family yesterday, they were telling me that their body clocks were still on Central Daylight time and that they would be up early for breakfast. I got up before 0600 hours, cleaned up and packed that car for the day in the Phoenix area.

I met my nephews family for breakfast just before 0700 hours and following that we loaded into my car and went to a nearby self-service wash to clean the car up. It was a mess and hadn’t been washed for months. The kids did their part by spraying and the car and using the foam brush to clean what they could. They were happy that they could help me out.

After the car wash, we went to a nearby Target to get some fun pool stuff and clothing for the kids. They also got to pick up a couple snacks for the motel room. The Windemere Convention Center they are staying at (a block from me) has an extremely nice pool and garden area in a very shaded area between motel units. I couldn’t get into that motel as they had so many rooms locked up for spring training and college break groups. My Day’s Inn motel is nice, but not as fancy as the Windemere.

I dropped the family off back at their motel as they were going to spend the morning in the pool area. I headed to the Mesa FD shops a shirt distance away off Power Road. I met the Shop Forman Perez and he took me out in the apparatus yard to get some photos of their rigs. What used to be Ladder Tenders here are called “TRV’s” now for Tactical Reseponse Vehicle. They are no longer buying pumps on these as they are now run with a separate 2-man crew. The ladders still run with four men, and all have pumps. They have a new Pierce Quantum rear-mount Quint on order. I was told that Mesa is also starting to buy medic units.

Mesa’s three newest pumpers are only months old and sport the American flag painted in the grill. I also got a new roster of Mesa apparatus. I had to beg to get a list with the manufacturer numbers, and then only the Pierce numbers are listed. I was informed that security had increased since I visited two years ago (when I got the serials and everything else).

I decided to head all the way across to the Phoenix FD training and shops area, about 25 miles away. Rural Metro Engine 857 was parked out in front of their station on Power Road so I stopped and got a photo. I looked all over that rig for a Pierce sticker and could not find anything. I don’t know if Rural Metro took it off or what. I do know that Rural Metro has been very secretive about their operations - and that was long before 9-1-1. There are two mile square plus areas within Mesa that are still unincorporated and pay fees to Rural Metro for fire protection. They have two engines and a tanker in that area. They depend on Mesa for backup in cases of working fires.

It took me awhile to get to the Phoenix Training area as rush hour traffic was just ending. I saw at least two of their new Rescue Squads out in the training area. I checked into the office at the Training Center to try and get a guide to walk me around. I was told to come back tomorrow morning at 0900 hours, as everybody was really busy. For years I used to just walk out there myself, but things are getting a little hairy now so I don’t push it. And I sure don’t look forward to spending a night in the pokey, especially in Maricopa County where I’d have to wear a pink outfit.

I did catch photos of Engine 28 and Brush 28 parked out in the lot. I headed to the shop complex a few blocks away and went to visit PFD Shop Forman Ed McDonald, whom I had met a couple years ago. Ed gave me permission to spend as much time as I wanted out in the shop yards and he was going to look for an up-to-date roster of apparatus for. I spent at least a half hour looking around the huge complex and took a number of photos, included a couple Sky Harbor Airport crash trucks in for service.

Ed informed me that Phoenix has an order with Pierce for nine Quantum engines and two Velocity rear-mount towers. They also have a new Utility rig on order with Pierce. The first pumper will be at the upcoming FDIC Conference. They decided to go with the Quantum chassis for the pumpers as they would be the closest to (of the Pierce chassis anyway) to not having the engines in the crew cab (as they have been buying for years now). I asked him how the ALF’s have been holding up and he said they’ve done a good job of taking care of problems that have come up. He said he thinks the bad rep from some of the firefighters is really unfounded. The experiments they had with the Pierce PUC chassis had raised some concerns and that’s why they didn’t go with that style for this order.

Phoenix also has added Engines 91 and 92 to protect the Paradise Valley (between Phoenix and Scottsdale), which had been previously protected by Rural Metro up until about a year or so ago. It makes a lot more sense for Paradise Valley to go with Scottsdale or Phoenix as there are no longer any other Rural Metro Stations in the area, except for Fountain Valley on the east side of Scottsdale.

I got on I-17 and was headed up to see new Station 61. Around 1130 hours Engine 61 was dispatched to a reported structure fire that got a “2 and 1 response: at 2019 N 22nd place. At least I was headed into the right area. I wasn’t that far and went to turn north on westbound I-10, but missed my turn. Dang! I had to go to the next exit to turn around. Engine 61 reported a working fire and two more engines, a Utility, a Rehab unit, another battalion chief, and other assorted units were dispatched. I saw some smoke in the air as I got onto the 51 Freeway. The first exit off Highway 51 was too far north and I had to go back south to get to the fire, delaying me again. Engine 61 must have been in Station 5’s area when the alarm came in as 61’s district is further north along Highway 51. Engine 5 was not dispatched for some reason (maybe they were out training).

I got to the scene after the fire had been knocked down, but I did get photos of Engine 61, Engine 11, Engine 4, Ladder 11, a spare Utility rig, Bn 2 and CR-16 (Community Assistance Program). The fourth engine, rehab and a couple others were cancelled by the I/C. It was around 1215 hours when I left the fire scene. I called my nephew about lunch and he said they were just leaving the pool area to clean up and get dressed before going to have lunch in the convention center dining area. I told them that I’d meet them there in about a half hour. I jumped on I-10 and made pretty good time to the 60 Freeway and back into eastern Mesa.

They had a very nice roast beef buffet dinner in the convention center restaurant and after lunch we walked around the convention center grounds, where they have some very nice green space, with fountains, an outdoor elevated band stand area and dance floor where they can hold wedding receptions and other events. My nephew’s family went up to their rooms for naps around 1400 hours and I headed back to my motel room to cool off (its in the upper 80s with a blazing-hot sun today). Somehow I got sun burned from the time I was outdoors this morning. I decided to stay in the room and catch up on all the info I got this morning. I can buff Mesa and Gilbert from here rather than head back across town and end up getting caught up in the terrible rush-hour traffic here.

I think I made a good decision, as I haven’t heard any more fires in the Phoenix area. The nice thing here is that you can watch the local 24-hour news channel here and they will have live helicopter shots of fires, accidents and other big news events as they happen in the area- all day long. Oooops! I shouldn’t have said anything. Just now, dispatch sent out a full response for a reported structure fire at 935 E Curry Road in Tempe. Phoenix rigs are responding on automatic aid. I believe that is a commercial area in the NW section of Tempe, just across the wash. Tempe Station 275 is located nearby. t must not have been anything as I never heard any further reports on the fire).

All of the Phoenix area Tac channels are still simplex VHF frequencies. You can’t hear any of the rigs unless you are in the immediate area. That way, companies don’t have any problems with trying to reach a repeater to talk to another company 40-feet away. If you are a ways off, you’ll only hear the I/C reports after he gives them to the dispatcher, when they are repeated by the dispatcher.

Mesa Fire is operating on 800 trunked radio, but the radio traffic is being repeated on their old VHF frequencies for at least the time being. I believe that all police/sheriff agencies in the area are already operating on 800 trunked frequencies. I am only monitoring the VHF fire frequencies at this time.

That working fire in the west Phoenix apartment building yesterday (3-story- not two by-the-way) displaced four units of families. It started in an upper floor unit and spread to three additional units before being put under control.