Weekly Update for Friday, May 26, 2017, Memorial Weekend

 "Memorial Day isn't just about honoring veterans, it's honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that's a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It's a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it." — Pete Hegseth  (former executive director of Vets For Freedom. Major, Minnesota National Guard)

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OPEN SHIFTS: JULY: Tuesday, 7/4, 0700-1900.  AUGUST: Saturday, 8/12, 0700-1900.
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Memorial Day Parade Detail:  Lt Martin is heading up the parade detail. The parade starts at 1300, line up is on Waterhouse Road at 1230.   Great job to those who helped get the trucks cleaned up!
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Arundel FD:  You may have heard by now that a drunk driver drove into the side of the Arundel Fire Station, right into a bedroom. Luckily, they were just returning from a call and no one was in the room when the vehicle hit it.
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Access Control System:  The upgrade to the system is complete. The bugs with the fob keys seem to have been worked out. If you have any problems with your cards or fobs, please let me know asap. Everyone has access to the main door and the bay side door 24/7. Your PIN for the side bay door is your last-4. PIN or fob will open that door. Your fob will open the rear employee entrance only between 0600 and 2100.
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Chief's Call & Celebratory BBQ: Tuesday, May 30, As part of the Chief's Call we'll be doing a celebratory BBQ (hamburgers/hot dogs) for FF Fowlie's graduation. The BBQ will start at 1730.
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Lyman Elementary School:  We made a stop at Lyman Elementary this morning to recognize 5th grader, Scott Pelletier.  Last Friday afternoon we responded to the school for an unresponsive person. Scott was the first to recognize the emergency and without hesitation ran to the office to get a 911 call made. He was presented with a GMFR Logo pin and a Chief's Letter of Commendation with the whole school present.
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Basic EMT Course: West Kennebunk  Aug 29 to Dec 12.  A flyer is on the bulletin board and more info is available at http://www.unitedambulance.com/EducationDivisionMenu.htm Also, an Advanced EMT course is in the planning to start in August at West K.
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Image Trend Elite:  If you haven't yet, do so soon, log into Image Trend Elite. Make sure your log on works. And make sure you know how to use the new software. We go live with Elite on June 1st. That's next Thursday!
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Firefighter Fatality:  I get 2 or 3 of these a week. Two just today. I don't post most of them, this one kinda hit home. This could easily happen here. No matter how hard we try to be safe, Murphy always has a vote. Know your surroundings, know what's going on around you. Always keep your Situational Awareness.
Name: Darrell Lavon Plank
Rank: Firefighter
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 12
Date of Incident: 05/20/2017
Time of Incident: 1630hrs
Date of Death: 05/23/2017
Fire Department: Macon County Fire Rescue
Address: 2630 Fields Crossing RD, Montezuma, GA 31063
Fire Department Chief: Micah Kauffman
Incident Description: Firefighter Darrell Lavon Plank died in the hospital several days after suffering a traumatic brain injury while at the scene of a working residential structure fire near Montezuma, GA, on Saturday, May 20, 2017.
According to initial reports, Firefighter Plank was donning protective gear when the accident occurred.  As other firefighters were setting up a hose line, the fire hose snagged on a truck, causing a coupling to strike Plank in the head knocking him to the ground. Firefighter Plank was treated at the scene and rushed to the hospital where a CT scan showed he had suffered a stroke on the left side of his brain. Firefighter Plank later underwent surgery, but succumbed to his injury on the evening of May 23, 2017.
Incident Location: 227 Hawk Cir, Oglethorpe, GA
Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Darrell Lavon Plank at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/ 
To date, 41 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2017.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html
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Call Volume: On 5/26/2016 we ran call #267. Today we ran call #271. 
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We've got a lot of our members out of town this weekend. We may be a little short handed.

Take care,
Chief


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Roger S. Hooper, Fire Chief
Goodwins Mills Fire-Rescue
481 Goodwins Mills Road
Lyman, ME 04002
Office: 207-499-7878
Station: 207-499-2362
Fax: 207-499-2893
www.gmfd.org

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."  -John F. Kennedy