Coming to Ottawa

[resqtek]

I will be in Ottawa from June 6th-16th for a CBRN course. Anyone else going? Are there any Ottawa firefighters here that wouldn't mind showing off your station and your city?

[RspctFrmCalgary]

How was your trip?

[resqtek]

Really good. It was 40°C with the humidity but the beer was always cold at the end of the day. Bumped into some friends that may have led me astray....or did I lead them?

[RspctFrmCalgary]

HAHA I never would have guessed beer might have been involved!

So what's CBRN?

[resqtek]

Chemical biological radiological nuclear response aka terrorist *****.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Learn anything interesting?

[resqtek]

Alot of it was review for me but I practiced the technique for removing radiation from the body.....drinking copious amounts of beer. It helps expediate the removal of radiation through frequent bathroom breaks. Although we only worked with radiation on one of the days, I felt it would be prudent to flush the system for 10 days.

Seriously, it was a great course. The main focus of the course is on the roles of the 4 main agencies involved; hazmat, police bomb techs, paramedics, and police identification unit.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

You're toooo funny LOL

All this schooling you've been doing the past few years is bound to pay off. Can't learn too much, right?

I always get antsy at this time of year, I do really miss volunteering for the FF Museum at all the events over Stampede. And seeing the parade from my balcony

Toying with the idea of taking an actual vacation in August though, and if I do, I'm bound to come through Calgary


STAY SAFE this long weekend if you're on shift, and throughout Stampede.

[Dave404]

Did somebody say STAMPEDE! I feel the party motor winding up - wouldnt you know it, I have that week off work. ccmon body - take one for the team!

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Originally posted by Dave404
Did somebody say STAMPEDE! I feel the party motor winding up - wouldnt you know it, I have that week off work. ccmon body - take one for the team!

You're a big meanie! *sob* *sniffle* *whine*

Have fun!

Very sad to hear the news last night about the horses

[Dave404]

Ahhh yes the horses. Big city + wild horses = ??????
There once was a time and place for the traditional drive - now is not that time. Completly avoidable in my opinion - just glad nobody was killed.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Hijack! Hijack!




Stampede promises to investigate horses' deaths
CTV.ca News Staff

Calgary Stampede organizers are facing a public relations disaster following the accidental deaths of nine horses.

The horses fell from a bridge over Calgary's Bow River at the end of a 200-kilometre trail ride Sunday.

The mishap occurred when some of the 200 participating horses got spooked, and the animals rushed on to the bridge.

At a press conference Monday, Stampede organizers insisted they had taken every precaution to ensure the horses' safety and promised to review the incident.

"I think once we understand better what happened, I'm guessing we'll find it was like any accident," said Calgary Stampede President Steve Allan. "It was [probably] a variety of things that came together and caused the unfortunate loss of the animals' lives."

But such assurances did little to appease some critics. The Humane Society of Canada is calling for a boycott of the Stampede's rodeo and chuck wagon events.

Animal rights activists are also upset by the incident.

Michael Alvarez-Toye of the Calgary Animal Rights Coalition dismissed the trail ride as a public relations ploy, as a way to "grandstand 10 days of Western spectacle."

The trail ride was organized to celebrate Alberta's 100th anniversary. The horses were to take part in the Stampede, which begins Friday.

Most of the ranch hands on the ride were professional wranglers. However, about 20 guests, who paid $15,000 each, also took part in the event.

One of those guests was former Ontario Premier David Peterson, who described the ride as "the most Canadian experience" of his life.

"These are controlled risks. It was unfortunate that the bridge was there. It was the configuration of the bridge," Peterson said of the incident. "[If it was] any other bridge, we wouldn't have had this problem."

The trail ride was held in 1987 and 2000 without incident.

But this isn't the first such tragedy in Stampede history.

Just three years ago, seven animals were killed at the rodeo. Of those, six were horses injured during the chuck wagon races and one was a calf that suffered a broken leg during the calf-roping event.

Twelve animals, including six horses, were killed during a chuck wagon competition at the 1986 Stampede.

********

WTF ... I thought the trail ride was a Stampede tradition, every year?

WTF #2 - don't the horses have to cross the river at some point in order to get to the Stampede grounds???? From what I remember of the route ...

You may be right, Dave. Time to end the trail ride at the outskirts of the city. Sad to lose the tradition but unless they are going to close all the roads on the route the horses take, another tragedy will occur.

And to tie it all into resqtek's thread .... was it a Hazmat call? Was the fire department called? I'm betting YES!

[resqtek]

Funny you should ask......the hazmat truck had to go to the responding station to help them decon their tarps which were used to cover the dead horses.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Yuck!

So who had to fish the horses out of the water? Did that fall to the fire department too?

Are you boys busy yeeeeehawing? Hope you had good weather for the parade!

[resqtek]

I had the painful task of working at the stampede grounds from 1800hrs to midnight lastnight. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.

[firedog7]

You poor thing!!

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Originally posted by resqtek
I had the painful task of working at the stampede grounds from 1800hrs to midnight lastnight. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.

Uh huh

Originally posted by firedog7 You poor thing!!

[Dave404]

Hey Resqtek, you didnt make it down for the MVA on hwy 2 on wednesday did you (molten sulphur). Any how Calgary hazmat showed up - didnt know if you were there or not?

As for the STAMPEDE - its horrible all those little doughnuts, corn dogs and cold cold (expensive) BEER

Be at the wagon finals Sunday night!

[resqtek]

No I didn't. I was at home shoveling 8 yards of lime stone into my yard.