Being Thankful

I'm thankful for all of the Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, and Emergency Medical Personnel that protect and serve this great country. God Bless the U.S.A.

Longview

Having traveled up and down the I-5 corridor, I always thought Longview was on the Columbia River. However, the river that runs along side I-5 is the Cowlitz River. And you never see the two rivers meet. So I've always been a little confused as to which river Longview was on. Turns out, it's both. Hence the green and blue stripes on the patch.

It's always a good day when you learn something new.

http://www.mylongview.com/index.aspx?page=384

Wenatchee

How fitting to have an apple at the center of the Maltese Cross.
Wenatchee, in about the center of the state, is the Apple Hub of Washington State.
Too bad Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples aren't so delicious anymore.
Granny Smith apples have always been my favorite.

http://www.wenatcheewa.gov/index.aspx?page=30

Snohomish County Fire Protection District #11

I suppose one of the good things about blogging, is that I'm free to try different things and see how they turn out. For instance, I uploaded this image first, which is centered, only to find out that the text is now centered too. Interesting.

 

I suppose if you weren't too familiar with fire department patches, you wouldn't know that F.P.D. stood for Fire Protection District. And possibly wouldn't know that Co. stands for County instead of Company.

 

At any rate, there is a Silver Lake in Snohomish County in South Everett.

 

This patch has always struck me as a bit odd. I'd never seen a green fire department patch before I'd gotten this one. And I have no idea why the creators of this patch made it green. Maybe green has to do with the color of life?

 

Today, there is no Snohomish County Fire Protection District #11. Several years ago they merged with Snohomish County Fire Protection District #1, which serves southwest Snohomish County. But that's a different story for a different patch.

 

 

 

Lincoln City, Oregon

I enjoy the Oregon ocean beaches. My wife and I actually made a snowman on the beach outside the Inn at Spanish Head one February when there was an ice/snow storm. The power was out due to a car accident, we'd already had a drink in the bar, and it was too early for bed.

This patch was actually somewhat difficult to obtain. As per usual when I'm on vacation, I stop by a firehouse and see if they'll swap patches with me. Must have talked to the wrong guy. He didn't know me from Adam and wasn't about to trade patches. He told me an abbreviated story of how someone had gotten ahold of one of there patches and tried to impersonate a fire fighter. I told him that's not how I do things, that I understood, and thanked him for his time.

So a couple of days later when we were heading out of town, we stopped by a different station to try again. The lady at the front desk was more than helpful. I got a North Lincoln patch, and she picked one of several that I offered in exchange.

http://www.nlfr.org/

Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department

I'm guessing that this must be an east coast vs. west coast difference thing?
The website says that they supplement fire fighters in Arlington, Virginia.
I don't know anything about how their layered system works, but if it works,
more power to them!

The layered system I grew up with was that of a fire engine being dispatched
first, followed by an aid car (if needed), followed by a medic unit (if needed).
Then a private ambulance company was called for transport.

I like the cherry tree incorporated into the patch. But once again, being a west
coast guy, I don't know how Cherrydale is part of Arlington. Is a neighborhood
thing, different municipality?

http://www.cherrydalevfd.org/

Historic Franklin, Tennessee

Guess I'll have to take their word for it, as I've never been to Tennessee.
I'd like to some day though.

Another orange fire department patch.
All I can say is, "Wow!"

It certainly does get your attention doesn't it.

I like the more traditional Maltese Cross patch better than the other one.
However, I like the U.S. and Tennessee flags on the other patch.

http://www.franklin-gov.com/index.aspx?page=127

Fire Fight Navy

And we're not talking aerial combat here.

I'm glad to see the armed forces take pride in the fact that they're also fire fighters.

Navy Region Northwest is headquartered out at Bangor on the Kitsap Peninsula.

I only knew one Navy Fire Fighter. That was back in the good old days when they actually had a Navy base at Sand Point on Lake Washington. I got to spend a couple of shifts riding with him. Even though the amount of action we saw was zero. I still had fun and learned a few things about fire fighting. That was back in the mid 1970s. I wonder whatever happened to Jim?