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2A – Daily News – Friday, August 20, 2010 Community people&events Path Walk Kickoff to be held From the Firehouse: Why? By JON BENNETT Red Bluff Fire Department It is hard to be inconspicuous when you are driving a truck with red lights on top and a reflective stripe down the side. We are hard to miss, and on occasion we do things that cause people to scratch their heads. Almost always we have good reasons for what we do. Occasionally we make a human error just like anyone can. The fol- lowing questions are some that I have Courtesy photo Team captain April McDonald for Mr. Pickles Sandwhich Shop, above, was the first to sign up and has received her T-shirt. "Walk to make a Differnece," is the theme for this year’s P.A.T.H. Walk. P.A.T.H. — Poor and the Homeless — will be holding a kick off party at 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 for their upcoming PATH Walk, which is planned for Saturday Sept. 11 at 9 a.m. from Furni- ture Depot parking lot at 235 S. Main St. Anyone who attends the party and signs up to be a Team Captain will receive a free T-Shirt that says " I Walked to make a Difference". Team Captain April McDonald for Mr. Pickles Sandwhich Shop was the first to sign up and has received her T-shirt. If you are part of a non-profit group you could sign up as a team and PATH will give your organization 50 percent of all that is raised by your team. For more information on the kick-off, which will be at Bethel Church in the Youth Room, call Pam Klein at 527-6439. Setting it straight Thursday’s story about the traffic control issue had an error. The average police response time is about 5 minutes. A legal notice for a ficticious business statement in Thursday’s edition gave the incorrect business name. The business filing the statement, file #2010000253, is Red Bluff Gas on Antelope Boule- vard. The Daily News regrets the errors. –––––––– It is the policy of the Daily News to correct as quickly as possible all errors in fact that have been published in the newspaper. If you feel a factual error has been made in a news story, call the news department at 527-2153. received over the years. Hopefully these answers will explain away some of the mystery: Q: Why do fire fighters take such a big truck to medical calls or when picking up lunch? A: We never know what kind of call we will be sent to next. While we do have some smaller specialty vehicles in our fleet, the Fire Engine is our “Swiss Army Knife” that carries the variety of tools we need to take action on any type of fire, rescue or medical emergency. Q: Why do I sometimes see Fire Department pickup trucks around town after hours with non- uniformed people in them? A: The Red Bluff Fire Depart- ment currently has two chief offi- cers who must be on duty 24/7 on alternating weeks to provide what we call “Duty Chief” coverage. Due to these 168 hour work weeks (of which they are paid for 40) these chief officers are allowed to carry on with their family life after office hours so long as they stay local and connected by radio and cell phone. They must also keep their work truck with them so they can respond immediately to a fire. Q: Why do I see fire fighters picking up lunch at restaurants around town? Don’t they have a kitchen in the station? A: Yes they do have a kitchen in the station. But while some of our people are wonderful chefs, some others have not developed cooking skills. Also, the crews are sometimes too busy running calls to take time to prepare a meal in- house. Q: Why do I sometimes hear a fire fighter use cursive language or see a fire fighter using tobacco? Don’t they know that is setting a poor example for our children? A: Because we are human. Yes, fire fight- ers know we are looked up to as role models by chil- dren, and we take that responsibili- ty very seriously. We try to speak and behave in a pro- fessional manner that reflects well on our Department and sets the right example for others. But as I said, we are human, and we struggle with our weaknesses just like other people do. Q: Why do I see fire trucks at ice cream or coffee shops? A: See human weakness answer above. Q: Why do I see fire trucks at the gym or school track? A: See ice cream question above. But seriously, we train a lot to stay physically and mentally fit for duty. And while we would love to do our physical fitness training at our fire station, we simply don’t have the room or equipment at Red Bluff Fire Department to do that, so we must seek other locations to get our exercise. Q: Why do I need a fire truck as well as an ambulance at my medical emergency? A: The key word there is “emergency.” If you are truly hav- ing a medical emergency the fire fighters can usually get to you more quickly since there are sever- al fire stations around the county, but only two or three ambulances are staffed. Also, some major emergencies require additional personnel to help ensure a patient’s positive outcome. If you don’t have a true emergency you proba- bly don’t need a fire engine, and you can explain that when you call for help to avoid unnecessarily tying up a fire crew. Q: How do you keep your fire engines so clean? A: Hard work. But the truth is, sometimes we are too busy to keep the vehicles as clean as we would like. We take pride in our equip- ment and public image, and we want our station and vehicles to always be immaculate. Equip- ment also lasts longer and is safer when kept clean. But during busy days, or in wet winter weather, it is some- times impossible to keep them continually clean. But thank you for noticing when we do. Q: Why do fire fighters do such a dirty and dangerous job? A: Sometimes we ask ourselves that. Statistically fire fighters suf- fer more stress, develop more dis- eases, and have shorter life spans due to the substances and activities we are exposed to. But this job is attractive to people looking for an adrenalin-filled adventure where we get to help other people. And while it is not always as exciting as we thought it would be when we joined up, fire fighting has got to be one of the most satisfying jobs out there. If anyone has a “why do fire fighters do that” question that they would like answered please e-mail them to me at jbennett@rbfd.org. I will try to reply to you right away, and I may use your question in a future column. The Red Bluff Fire Department responses during the week of Aug.11 through 17: 1 Vegetation Fire, 1 Other Outdoor Fire, 37 Medical/Rescue Calls, 15 Other Type Calls/Public Service/False Alarms for a total of 54 incidents. From the Firehouse runs on Fridays. Jon Bennett is the Red Bluff Fire Department Operations and Training Division Chief. He can be contacted at jbennett@rbfd.org or by calling the station at 527-1126. Red Bluff couple celebrates 60th D NEWSAILY HOW TO REACH US RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY THE VOICE OF TEHAMA COUNTY SINCE 1885 VOLUME 125, NUMBER 233 On the Web: www.redbluffdailynews.com MAIN OFFICE: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Main Phone (530) 527-2151 Outside area 800-479-6397 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080 ______________________ Fax: (530) 527-5774 ______________________ Mail: Red Bluff Daily News P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 CUSTOMER SERVICE: Subscription & delivery Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (530) 527-2151 Ext. 125 subscription rates (All prices include all applicable taxes) Monday through Saturday $9.59 four weeks Rural Rate $10.69 four weeks Business & professional rate $2.21 four weeks, Monday-Friday By mail: In Tehama County $12.29 four weeks All others $16.23 four weeks (USPS 458-200) Published Monday through Saturday except Sunday, by California Newspaper Partnership. Home delivery NEWS News Tip Hotline: 527-2153 FAX: (530) 527-9251 E-mail: clerk@redbluffdailynews.com Daytime: Sports: Obituaries: Tours: (530) 527-2151 Ext. 111 Ext. 103 Ext. 112 After hours:(530) 527-2153 ______________________ ADVERTISING Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Display: 527-2151 Ext. 122 Classified: 527-2151 Ext. 103 Online (530) 527-2151 Ext. 133 FAX: (530) 527-5774 E-mail: advertise@redbluffdailynews.com SPECIAL PAGES ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS Mondays: Kids Corner Tuesdays: Employment Wednesdays: Business Thursdays: Entertainment Fridays: Select TV Saturdays: Farm, Religion Publisher & Advertising Director: Greg Stevens gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Editor: Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com Sports Editor: Rich Greene sports@redbluffdailynews.com Circulation Manager: Kathy Hogan khogan@redbluffdailynews.com Production Manager: Sandy Valdivia sandy@redbluffdailynews.com newspaper of general circulation, County of Tehama, Superior Court Decree 9670, May 25, 1955 © 2010 Daily News The Red Bluff Daily News is an adjudicated daily 90 years ago... Another Scheme To Escape Fire Wardens Being married, a newly wed at that, saved W. Stuart Webster, manager of the Woodland Theatre, from hav- ing to fight forest fires in the vicinity of Red Bluff. Webster and his bride were on their way home from their honeymoon trip up north. They were stopped by guards. While others were commanded to halt their machines and alight to fight the flames, the blissful just weds were told to go happily on their way and they went. – Daily News, Aug. 20, 1920 Courtesy photo Sam and Ruth Wright will be celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversay on Aug. 26. The couple has lived in Red Bluff for 31 years.They have four daughters, Elaine, Diane, Marsha and Gail; 10 grandchildren, Amber, Mindy, Samantha, Wendy, Sarah, Amy, Jacob, Colby, Charles and Emily; and five great grandchildren, Riley, Kayla, Brooke, Bryce and Elizabeth. Junior Round-Up Red Bluff Junior Round-Up is set for Sept. 11- 12 at the Tehama District Fairground. Admission is $5 at the gate and barbecue dinner tickets are $10. Purchase five admission tickets and get a free barbecue dinner. Events are for ages 3 to 18. Visit: www.RedBluffJu- niorRoundup.com or call 534-5736. Saddles awarded to all around senior and junior boy and girl and buckles to all around youth boy and girl. Awards will be pre- sented Sunday, Sept. 12 following the rodeo. Jack the Ribber Come by for the Best Lunch in town • Ribs •Tri-Tip • Pulled Pork • Specials Tues.-Sat. 6am-8pm Sun. 10am-3pm Closed Monday 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 645 Main St., Red Bluff • 529-2482 Monday Morning, 8am-noon Wednesday Evenings, 5-9pm Join us for neighborhood Bring your jars & ingredients. CANNING & PRESERVING www.californiakitchencompany.com $1 We’ll help you and provide equipment. a jar