January brought sadness to the Portage Fire Department when we lost one of our retired brothers. Retired Captain Billy Channels passed away January 12th. Billy worked for the fire department from August 1965 and retired December of 1993. Rest in peace Billy, we will never forget you. January also was the start to a very busy year. It was the first time in history that station three ran over 90 calls in one month (91).
February brought the economy to its knees and we felt it in Portage. The fuel prices jumped to record levels and now the City wants us to conserve fuel. None of us thought we were wasting fuel, but started tracking everyday how we may have saved fuel in the fire trucks. The month also brought us the first real fire of the year.
March brought a retirement party for our Brother Leve. He retired officially in December of 2007, but the party took place March 22nd at the Eagles in Portage. We also had a train vs. Penske truck that closed down a major intersection for three days. The accident closed Centre and Shaver because the rail road lights came down in the street and had to be replaced.
April was a very busy month for the department. The union adopted a section of US 131 from mile marker 31-33 and did our first ever clean up day. The eleven guys picked up 98 bags of trash in 4 ½ hours (great job guys making our city cleaner). April was a record setting month for us also in runs. We ran 316 calls of service which was a record for the most calls in one month for the Portage Fire Department.
In May we sent two brothers to the State IAFF convention in Bay City. VP Kelecava and Brother Graham represented our local. We also played the Detroit Lions in the 5th annual charity basketball game. This has been a fun way to raise money for Great Lakes Burn Camp and MDA. Many of the guys on the department assisted Brother Graham on replacing his house and garage roofs. This was a two day event, but it is fun to see the guys come together. Then we got the news Brother Brad Wilson has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma (asbestos cancer). The fight was on for Brad, but this union pulled together to help with all the little things. First of all we signed up for his shifts and worked as many hours for him. Second we set up a trust fund for donations and fund raisers. This money is to help with doctor bills, medication, travel expenses, and so on.
June brought out the longest call of the year. The haz mat call at 3921 East Centre lasted from 05:54-21:10 (15.25 hours). The incident was cause from an adverse reaction from the business soaking aluminum in sulfuric acid all night long. We received mutual aid from Comstock, Texas, Oshtemo Fire Departments, and the Kalamazoo County Haz Mat Team. Brother Kelecava spear headed a spaghetti dinner fund raiser for Wilson and we were able to raise over $8000 at the VFW hall in Portage. The calls for service continued to increase by breaking April’s record with 332 calls for the month.
July brought two very fun fund raisers. The first was our annual golf outing. This event raises money for the Great Lakes Burn Camp and took place at the Praises. The second event was the MDA fill the boot drive. This year we did a Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday drive. The weather cooperated and we raised a record $18,000 for Jerry’s kids. Thank you to all who participated, the community for their support and the city for allowing us to do the event.
August brought the resignation of Captain Dan Tomlinson. He accepted the Fire Chief’s job in his home town of Three Rivers Michigan. Dan was a great asset to the city and will be missed. We wish him the best of luck in Three Rivers. The IAFF Convention took place in Las Vegas and I represented my union there. It was fun and very interesting watching how a meeting is ran with thousands on the floor (what an experience). And once again the calls for service climbed again. For the third month this year, we broke a record (348).
September was the month where Brother Wilson retired out on long term disability. He traveled to Texas, MD Anderson, for surgery in which they removed his left lung. The month also brought our first new career firefighter for the year. On Call Fire Fighter Jim Snowden was promoted to career. Jim has been with the city for 18 years and has fit right in. His new spot was created by Tomlinson resigning.
October held our biggest fire of the year. On October 4th, we responded to an apartment fire in Meredith. The fire was contained but burned four units. Mutual Aid was requested from Texas, Oshtemo, and Comstock. Brother Kelecava had been hurt and off the deck for over two year, so he took a new position in administration. The month also brought two more career guys. The city promoted OCFF Mike Walker and Louie Playford to career, they we the replacements for Wilson and Kelecava.
November was a quiet month, but the three new guys finally got out of the training division and onto their own shifts. Snowden now is an A shift guy, Walker went to B, and Playford went to C shift.
December is not quite over with yet but it has brought some awards and new officers for the union. Captain Hollister was given Firefighter of the year and Brother Kelecava was given Golden Brotherhood of the Year. The city recognized Campbell, Huss, Carroll, Nuyen, and Norris for 18 years of service. Also awarded were Madison, Foley, and Dean for 30 years of service. The elections are hot off the press with two new executive board members for 2009-2010. Brother Carroll was elected to be the new Vice President and Brother Dean was elected as the new Treasurer.
It is with sadness that we also mark the end of the year with the news that brother and fellow firefighter Brad Wilson has lost his battle to Mesothelioma. Brad brought a lot to the PFD and to the world as a whole; you will be greatly missed!
That is a wrap for the year of 2008.
Fraternally,
Rick Nason
President PPFFU #1467
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