Firefighter Jake in Action

[hossthehermit]

Great job, Jake......

(broken link removed to http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article/222018/315/Bangor-Fire-officer-give-wood-stove-safety-tips)

 

[pen]

Well done Jake

 

[firefighterjake]

Oh that isn't me . . . that guy is short, fat, ugly and balding. I am 6' 3'', medium build since I work out every day, folks say I look a lot like Harrison Ford and I have a luxurious head of hair.

Figured someone here would see one of the three pieces I did yesterday with the local TV stations . . . thanks a lot Hoss.

Wish the camera didn't get the "gut shot" . . .

Not my best work . . . I stumbled a bit over some things . . . and also sadly due to time constraints they didn't get everything in there -- the fact that the hearth pad wasn't big enough, cleaning chimneys, seasoned wood, ashes in metal buckets, smoke detectors, how to start fires, etc.

 

[PapaDave]

A star...is born.
I've heard the camera can cause even Harrison to look....um, less than slim. Maybe if you'd worn a fedora......

 

[loon]

Good stuff jake

loon

 

[stoveguy2esw]

great stuff Jake! keep fighting the good fight my friend

 

[Shari]

Why, Jake, you have no "Maine accent"! Here I was.... expecting to hear.... something..... else.

When hubby walks past a large glass storefront window and sees his reflection he wonders who that old man is.

Good job on the video!

 

[Gary_602z]

Not my best work . . . I stumbled a bit over some things . . . and also sadly due to time constraints they didn't get everything in there -- the fact that the hearth pad wasn't big enough, cleaning chimneys, seasoned wood, ashes in metal buckets, smoke detectors, how to start fires, etc.

And only splitting vertically!

Gary

 

[Danno77]

I knew him back when he was only known for long-winded forum posts! Now he's a TV Star! ! !

 

[hossthehermit]

Yer welkum, Jake....... I know I have a bit of a reputation here for sarcasm (totally undeserved), but seriously, you do a great job with Bangor FD. If you can prevent ONE of the tragedies we see every year around here, it's priceless. Keep up the good work.

 

[Danno77]

By the way, even though it was a short video, it was jammed full of good info. think of what you could do in a 10 minute video.

 

[PapaDave]

OOOH, we can name drop now.
"Oh yeah, I know Jake."
Not sure what good it'll do.

 

[Flatbedford]

Looking good Jake. Spreading the word. I am surprised that you didn't touch on the horizontal/vertical thing though.

 

[Tramontana]

Very nice PSA. Wish you had been given time for more.

Heck, you didn't even get to educate them not to use combustible and/or explosive liquids to light their stoves!

Cheers!

 

[hossthehermit]

Every reply here seems very lighthearted, and I understand how it is on the interwebs. BUT, the fire in Orrington this week,( that I'm guessing led to your appearance on the tube, Jake) , that caused the DEATHS of a father and 3 kids, was caused by either stupidity or ignorance. If you DON'T KNOW that you shouldn't store cardboard and lighter fluid beside the wood stove, then you are ignorant. This is where people like Jake can help, by teaching. If you know that you SHOULDN'T store these materials in this location, but do it anyway, then yer STUPID. Even duct tape won't fix it..........

 

[hossthehermit]

And the worst is the fire in Bucksport where the dog woke the people up. they all made it out, dog didn't ........... that really sux ........... we get this every year, but seems to be starting early this year ................ maybe the Myans were right .............. on that note, anybody know why there ain't no Myans in Myanmar ???????

 

[ScotO]

Every reply here seems very lighthearted, and I understand how it is on the interwebs. BUT, the fire in Orrington this week,( that I'm guessing led to your appearance on the tube, Jake) , that caused the DEATHS of a father and 3 kids, was caused by either stupidity or ignorance. If you DON'T KNOW that you shouldn't store cardboard and lighter fluid beside the wood stove, then you are ignorant. This is where people like Jake can help, by teaching. If you know that you SHOULDN'T store these materials in this location, but do it anyway, then yer STUPID. Even duct tape won't fix it..........

I couldn't agree more, Hoss. Thanks for sharing the link. My hat goes off to Jake and all firefighters, both paid and volunteer. I was a volunteer firefighter in my youth, and I saw some bad things happen to very good people. But the careless fires (like the one in Orrington) really piss me off, mainly because three children died to the negligence of an adult......that just shouldn't be.

As others have said, keep fighting the good fight. Keep pounding that safety into the heads of everyone on here, especially the newbs....

 

[Tramontana]

I agree on continuing the good fight.

Perhaps we could convince FFJ to create his own full length PSA videos and post them to YouTube and cross post here?

Whadaya think?

Cheers!

 

[corey21]

Nice work Jake.

 

[firefighterjake]

Why, Jake, you have no "Maine accent"! Here I was.... expecting to hear.... something..... else.

When hubby walks past a large glass storefront window and sees his reflection he wonders who that old man is.

Good job on the video!

Some words I have the accent . . . but many folks of my generation and younger lost the accent due to the advent of TV, radio, etc. . . . Maine is no longer quite so isolated as it was and after awhile the accent is lost when you're hearing "regular" English. . . you can still hear the accent somewhat in the northern and eastern most reaches.

Many folks can still "turn on" the accent though . . . sprinkle a few "ayups" or "ayuhs" here or there along with a few "wicked" references . . . we sometimes do it for the tourists so they can feel they got the authentic Maine experience.

I did have one experience after college though . . . applied for a job at a radio station for their on air talent (guess most folks would call this a DJ) . . . was told that I was pretty good, but I had to stop cutting off the "g" when pronouncing words with "-ing" like "walking", "talking", "speaking" . . . apparently when I speak it is more like "walk-in", "talk-in", "speak-in". I didn't take that job . . . and I'm glad for two reasons. 1) They played soft rock from the 1970s. 2) The job I eventually took was where I met my wife.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Heck- I'd do ya.

Err-I mean, you know- in a manly way.

 

[firefighterjake]

To acknowledge some folks . . .

All: Thanks for the "atta boys" . . . but it's what I do . . . it's my job. The bad thing about doing fire and life safety education is that you generally don't hear about the life that was saved because someone paid attention to what I mentioned in an on-air story or in a class . . . since that fire never happened . . . well that and the other bad thing is seeing people continue to make the same fatal mistakes over and over and over . . . despite the same message being sent out each year. I guess the one good thing -- and it's rare -- is that once in blue moon I will meet someone who will say that they went out and bought new smoke detectors or discussed the escape plan with their family after being in my class . . .

PapaDave: Hmmm . . . I don't own a fedora. I have a cap like the 1920s news boys . . . don't know if that would have the same effect though. As for the name dropping . . . in Bangor it might get you a cup of free coffee at the fire station.

Gary and Flatbedford: Very funny . . . very funny. But as you know splitting vertically can be dangerous . . . you could put your back out of place moving the splitter from the horizontal position to the vertical position if you're not careful . . . and I will not even get into the mortal dangers of sitting on a plastic milk crate.

Danno: My wife also says I tend to "wax on and on" with various topics on occasion . . . usually when I start talking about some deep and meaningful subject she just kind of rolls her eyes, but patiently listens to me. 10 minute video . . . I think I would bore someone to death that way . . . don't know if you could kill someone that way, but why tempt fate. By the way . . . in keeping with tradition I'll be sure this post is at least 150 words long.

Tramonta: I actually did cover the flammable liquid/starting the fire deal . . . but it was one part that got axed. Thomas at NWFuels would have been proud . . . I even brought along a Super Cedar to show a possible alternative to using flammable liquids. Also, I have gone national before . . . if you search the web you will find a video I did with the National Christmas Tree Association several years back about natural Christmas trees. That video was shown at a NFPA Conference in Boston (I was a bit surprised to see myself on this huge flat screen TV since I didn't expect the video or that organization at the conference) and it was sent out as a feed to various TV News stations.

Hoss: Thanks . . . and you are absolutely correct on two points. Point 1) Yeah, this was a direct result of the fatal fire in Orrington. All three of the local TV stations sent a crew. Point 2) A lot of fires are caused by either a lack of commonsense or ignorance -- either someone knows something is dangerous and does it anyway or someone just doesn't realize that what they are doing or not doing is dangerous. If there is anything good in this fatal fire it is that some folks are now paying attention -- while I was at the stove shop one person actually called in to find out if their pellet stove clearances were good . . . that's at least one person out there who is stopping to think about fire safety.

 

[firefighterjake]

Heck- I'd do ya.

Err-I mean, you know- in a manly way.

Uhhhh . . . for once I am at a lost for words.

 

[ScotO]

Heck- I'd do ya.


Err-I mean, you know- in a manly way.

???

 

[ironpony]

good job Jake, now we have a face to go with the name......
funny thing is that was my picture in my mind of you, based on your posts etc......
sometimes the mind pictures are way off sometimes pretty close