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Engine 51′s four-burner

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Engine 51's 4 burner for @Firegeezer. Firing it up this am after an early job.

Thanks to The Happy Medic for letting us know that his new quarters has the requisite coffee apparatus.

Now, how can we get Justin to supply the kitchen with a case of Firegeezer mugs?

:)

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

(that Droid takes a nice picture)

Darwin Visits Florida

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A PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA, TEENAGER was seriously burned Monday evening after her boyfriend tried to juice up an outdoor fire with gasoline.  The Panama City News Herald reports:

Paige Bomia, 19, told deputies that her boyfriend, a juvenile whose name and age were not released, was pouring gas on a log from a coffee cup. They were cooking in the backyard and having a bonfire. The fire ran up from the log and into the cup, and the boy threw the cup away “out of reaction,” the report said. The flaming gasoline splashed on Bomia, setting her on fire.

She suffered 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns over her chest and both arms.  A passerby saw Bomia on fire and helped the boy extinguish the flames by rolling her on the ground.  She was transported by Bay County EMS to the Bay Medical Center.  No charges were filed.

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Culinary Training

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CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?  SOMEBODY HAS TAKEN THE time and effort to make a video presentation on How to Eat a Chicken Wing.  They’re talking about the center section with the two little bones in it.  We’re getting credit for already knowing how to eat the “drumstick” part.

We're On A Roll !

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MORE PRECISELY, WE’RE ON A BUN….. a barbecue bun, that is.

George C. sent us still another fire engine that has been converted to cookery.  This one is a 1961 Mack C-85 that started its long life with the Lake Hiawatha Fire Department in Parsippany, New Jersey.

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Now it’s down in Texas where they really do barbecue, all geared up for some serious cooking.  A novel feature is having the former deck gun mounted on the cooker’s smoke stack.  Yep, that’s smoke you see coming out of it.

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You can view our previous postings on culinary pumpers HERE, HERE, and HERE

The Lake Hiawatha F.D. has a good website HERE and you can see the page devoted to the history of this pumper with more pictures HERE.

A Cultural Gap Arises In Buffalo

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IN THE BUFFALO SUBURB OF HAMBURG, NEW YORK, a man stood and watched as an employee of the China King restaurant non-chalantly dragged a road-kill deer across the parking lot and in through the front door of the restaurant.

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Sensing that this isn’t the method commonly used by restaurants to procure their provisions, the concerned citizen called the health department.  A sanitarian/inspector arrived promptly and went into the kitchen where he found the workers dissembling the deer carcass.  The inspector immediately closed the restaurant which already has a long history of sanitary violations.

WIVB Ch. 4 Buffalo has a video story on the curious culinary practices of the China King:

Officials believe that none of Bambi made it onto customers’ platters because the butchering was still taking place when they got there.

Firegeezer adds:  Anybody who works for a fire department where firefighters do inspections can no doubt relate similar experiences to this one.

Another Culinary Pumper

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FOLLOWING UP ON OUR POSTINGS OF THE two beer and pizza pumpers yesterday (HERE and HERE), longtime-reader Firehat sent us this photo.

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This former fire engine is currently in Baytown, Texas, and the entire hose bed has been altered to contain a commercial-sized barbecue cooking pit.

The current owner and caterer says that this fire engine saw its service with the Waco Fire Department and was the first-in engine at the infamous Branch Davidian compound fire in 1993.

Firegeezer notices that the booster line and reel are still on there and wonders if that is how they apply the BBQ sauce?

Burgers and Beer? Oh, Boy!

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BURGER KING, HOME OF THE WHOPPER, announced in a press release this month that they will be opening the first of a new type of outlet that will be called Whopper Bar.

These new faster-than-fast food restaurants will be set up in places that were previously unaccessible to their standard restaurant, such as airports, cruise ships and shopping malls.

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The Whopper Bar will have its nationwide debut at Universal CityWalk in Orlando (test kitchen to the world) in February.  They plan to open about 20 of the WB’s during the next 12 months or so.  The menu board will be reduced by 2/3 and will primarily feature 6 or 8 varieties of the firm’s icon burger, the Whopper.

One new item on the menu at many of the Whopper Bars will be beer.  While some locations won’t be favorable for beer sales, others such as airports and sports arenas will be good candidates for the pairing.

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Firegeezer hasn’t been to a Burger King for many years, but it looks like I’ll have to reconsider my eating-out choices soon.

Don't Forget: Turn It Off

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FROM SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA, THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS is reporting that a routine food-on-the-stove call has caused some embarrassment at Fire Station 3.

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Station 3 (North Shelby FD photo)

The North Shelby Fire District engine company was dispatched on a fire call Sunday and when they returned to quarters around 6 pm they found a fire in their own kitchen.

It began in a cooking pot that had been left on the flame when they left on the call.  Fortunately, damage was limited to the stove and some nearby cabinets.

North Shelby Fire Dist. WEBSITE.

Hat tip to G. W.

Hot Idaho Potatoes

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BOISE, IDAHO, ENGINE 8 WAS HAVING A BUSY evening on Christmas Eve.  Mostly medical calls, they were running a succession of emergencies when they started fixing a quick dinner, including Idaho’s specialty, Tater-Tots.

Shortly after, another medical assist call came in and away they went.  When they returned from this one they immediately saw a recognizable orange glow coming from the kitchen.  The potatoes became over-cooked and started a small fire in the overhead cabinets.  It was quickly extinguished and damages are confined to the kitchen.

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Engine 8 at quarters

All Boise Fire Department stations are designed to cut the power to cooking equipment when the station bells are activated for an emergency call.

“In this case it appears the dispatch center did not know they had returned from the previous call and did not activate their station bell, thinking they were still returning to the station,” Dep. Chief Dave Hanneman said in a media statement.

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There were no injuries, but the Tater-Tots were a total loss.

Doggone…..Pie's Gone!

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THE WORLD PIE-EATING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN WIGAN, ENGLAND, were thrown into turmoil when Charlie, the organizer’s dog, got into the stock and ate ten of the competition pies.

The event staff is hoping that local bakers can provide replacements in time.  Not just any pie will do, you see.  They have to conform to strict specifications.

Charlie has been taken to a friend’s house to get over his bellyache.

The London Daily Mirror has the (full) STORY.

Firehouse Cooking Empties Office Bldg.

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THE ALICETOWN FIRE STATION IN HUTT CITY, New Zealand, gave their adjoining office building an unscheduled fire drill yesterday when the firefighters burnt their morning tea snack.

They were fixing a tray of cheese-on-toast when everybody had their attention elsewhere.  The cheese started burning and sent a flow of smoke right into the smoke detector which set off the building alarm.  All the people in the office building dutifully evacuated the building and no doubt were entertained by the firefighters’ show-and-tell.

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The Dominion Post has the STORY.