View from Engine 4

In Cleveland St. Patrick's Day is a party that would rival any city in terms of pure debauchery. It is a weird family party mixed with binge drinking and green everything. This all culminates into a large parade which last multiple hours through the heart of Downtown Cleveland. In other words, this is a bar's black Friday if I may be so bold. The way to clear out the coolers of old beer that was left over from the winter and what better way to mask the skunked flavor than to color it green?

Like many people I often relive this day in pictures the next day. Seeing what people saw and listening to stories from the day, often in a haze of a hangover. But rarely do I ever see a well thought about picture. Only recently did I start to follow some great photographers and they always put out great photos, but they are often from the sidelines. Very artful compositions, but always from the curb looking into the parade. 

So when I was invited on a ride with Engine 4 in the parade I jumped at the opportunity to bring sweet photos from inside the parade. I hung off the running boards of the rig, I stood on the roof, and even laid down on the bed, just to get interesting poses. 

The one I loved the most was hanging off the driver's side running board, holding onto a rail, leaning out to get a good shot of "BROWN" on the side of the rig and yet, capture the crowd all in the same shot. Some of them fell short, but some came out well. 

I am proud of this set.

How Firefighters Honor Their Brothers

When a good man dies, the community takes notice. When a firefighter dies, whether in the line of duty or not, the immediate community takes notice, but so does every other firefighter in the community and quite frankly the world.

James Waugaman, Jr passed away on November 11, his passing was felt throughout the community of Brunswick. He wasn't just another citizen of the small Ohio town; he was the founding member of Brunswick Old Fashioned Days, the largest volunteer festival in Medina county. He was Chief Emeritus of the Brunswick Fire Department and very active in the Ohio Firefighters Association. He lived his 77 years in service to his community.

A few months later Brunswick lost another great man, Fred Hoffman. He passed away at age 94 and his resume is just as amazing as James'. He was an original volunteer member of the Brunswick Hills Fire Department and late Assistant Chief Emeritus of the Brunswick Hills FD. He was fighting fires in his community before they started to pay firefighters to do the work. He obviously loved what he did and loved his community.

Well June 24th, the community gave something back to these two great men, two firefighters who gave all they had to their community and their brothers in arms. The Old Fashioned Days parade was lining up and a special honor to anchor the parade this year.

Walking around the Brunswick Fire Department on this cool morning you can hear all the firefighters talking about Jim and Fred. "I knew Jim well, he helped me find my way into the fire service." is what I heard from many different firefighters. They came as far away as Youngstown to drive their fire trucks in what was being billed as a possible world record. There were apparatus from years as far back as 1916 and as recent as 2012.

Brunswick councilman Brian Ousley said, "we aren't going to break a world record today and that's not important. What is important is that we remember Jim and Fred." he spoke with clear emotion. The firefighter community mustered together, by my count, 36 apparatus. With each apparatus filled with firefighters, family, and friends, they rolled out onto Route 303 to anchor a parade; a parade started by Jim Waugaman, it only seemed fitting that his brothers end his parade, sirens blaring, horns honking, and crowds waving.

Fire service is often called a brotherhood, and this past Sunday they proved it with a salute only fitting for a fireman. A big truck and loud sirens.

You can see more great fire apparatus from that day here.

The Volunteers

You get a different perspective on firefighting if you ever visit an all volunteer fire department. Watching Vermilion Township's fire department come together on a cold Sunday morning, just to unroll miles of hose and pressure test them makes you forget that they are doing it all for free.  When most of us might be heading off to church, or getting ready for the Sunday NASCAR race, this group of men and women were in a nearly empty parking lot pressure testing their hoses for annual certification.

Some career firefighters look at volunteer firemen as weekend warriors, perhaps stealing a paying job from a career firefighter.  Some career firemen even look at volunteers as reckless because some don't see a lot of action and they can be dangerous on the fire ground because of that lack of action.

It's hard to agree with those statements. Sure most volunteer firemen don't see a lot of action, and some can be in it to get their name in the paper, but most of them do it because they want to legitimately help, or they are young guys learning the job while they work to put themselves in medic school and the fire academy so they can get a career job.

In the end 70% of all firefighters in this country are volunteers. Whether they are getting paid or volunteering means little to a resident who's house may be on fire. They just want the fire department to show up and put it out and these volunteers are making sure their hoses hold up when they do get that call.

*special thanks to my cousin Scott Schindler for inviting me and my daughter Audrey out. Wish the weather was better, but hell, we have a great time**