Letter from Captain Sandi

First and foremost, I would like to thank Doug for the opportunity to learn all I have and will learn in the future, as a member of the Sandy Island Fire Brigade. Secondly, I would like to thank all the members who participated last year, and who will participate again this year. We are the island’s first line of defense in a fire, and it is a responsibility that we should all take seriously.

Summer 2010 began as a summer of change with the addition of Engine 2. We also replaced the old Tender jeep with a newer truck.  We had the biggest crew I’ve seen in my few years on Brigade, and members from every crew at camp! Let’s continue this! If you are returning to the Sandy staff this year, I sincerely hope you are, and bringing up a brother, sister, cousin, best friend, please please talk to them about Sandy Island Fire Brigade. If they express interest, have them join the Facebook group, or shoot me an email so I can keep them in the loop.

Doug and I had many conversations about Fire Brigade, particularly regarding off-season training. Most of our members are not firefighters off-island. We decided we needed a place for communication, where all members can access, reply and discuss all matters Fire Brigade. We have created multiple avenues of communication, with the intent of reaching as many members as possible with the same information. In addition to the Facebook group page, we also have an email address SandyIsland.FireBrigade@gmail.com, and a blog http://sandyislandfirebrigade.blogspot.com/. All communication bulletins will be posted in all locations. I encourage all our members to join the Facebook page, since you can follow and comment on the discussion threads. Be on the look-out for more threads in the future!

Last summer, the officers met weekly to discuss the upcoming drill, where and what to do. We welcome and need all members input on what and how we learn or teach aspects of training. There are currently three discussion threads on the Facebook group page. Please take some time and answer, as your answers will help us tremendously to plan this summer.

In the upcoming months, Doug and I will be working on creating some new training documents, such as a glossary of terms. We encourage you to look at these materials as they become available. (Shh… I think Doug may be planning a pop quiz at the first Brigade meeting, so study!) If there is something you think would help you understand, please feel free to comment or email it. Chances are, if you have a question about something, or a different way to learn/understand, someone else is in the same place.

Lastly, if you have any great pictures of fire brigade in action, please post them on the Facebook page, or email them so we can post them.

See you all in a few short weeks!

~Sandi Lemieux, Captain, Sandy Island Fire Brigade

Letter from Chief Doug

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Re:  Welcome

Greetings Members:

First, I would like to thank everyone for “signing up”.  The intent here is to have an administrative “communications point” where folks can gather, find out what’s going on, ask questions, make suggestions and have access to the Sandy Island Fire Brigade Knowledge Base.

There will be a number of future “mailings” like this one.  Sandi Lemieux, at my request, will be the primary administrator of the FACEBOOK page, and in addition will assure that anything appearing on that site is also made available via e-mail for those who “don’t do” FACEBOOK.

The year 2009 goes down in the books as the Brigade’s most promising, as well as its most challenging year ever.  I’ll take a second here to thank everyone who worked so very hard last season.  If anyone ever needs a definition for the word “heart”, they need only watch you folks in action.  Impressive.  While the acquisition of our first “real” fire apparatus was an event to remember, I was more impressed with the way the people around that event responded.  This was a new beginning, fueled by people, not equipment.

Special thanks go to Tom, Artie and Kate for trusting that this was the right thing to do and simply stepping back and letting us do the deed.  Mary’s financial contributions made the Engine a reality quickly.  Other donors followed including Dr. Mark, Tuftonboro Fire, Shawn Flannagan, George Randall and Tim and Dave Gagne.  And let’s remember that without a solid history of dedicated members over the years, there would be no Brigade today.

Moving on, the “Command Structure” we instituted in 2009 will remain in place essentially unchanged.  Every year we will be looking for individuals who demonstrate an obvious willingness to take on a higher level of responsibility and training.  Officers are appointed on an annual basis.  There are openings at present for as many as three Lieutenants (depending upon returning officers from 2009) who will report to a new Captain position starting this season.  Additionally, I have asked Mary Driscoll to evaluate and harmonize our training procedures for a best fit with our members learning styles and individual capabilities.  If I’ve done this right, as Chief, I don’t have to do anything…

I will make the announcement here and now that I have appointed Sandi Lemieux as Captain.  Her willingness last year, and to a greater extent this winter, to take on many high effort/low reward activities makes her the obvious choice at present.  She will need everyone’s cooperation and wants everyone’s input on any and all subjects.  Please participate early and often. 

We’ll be back on the Island in about a week, believe it or not.  As the mud recedes and the temperatures start to climb out of the forties, thoughts will turn toward “Firehouse, one o’clock and I’m the only one who’s allowed to be late”.  Until then, help your Brigade by making comments and getting questions answered.  Read over the upcoming training materials as they become available.

See you all in June, if not sooner.

D.  A.  Chisholm, Chief of Brigade

Summer 2009

Summer 2009 saw the arrival of our "brand new" Engine, a retired 1971 Ford F900 750 GPM Squad-Pump from Arlington, VT. Last summer, we had 15 members, with four members promoted to Officers. We started out strong with an Island-wide drill involving all staff along side of The Tuftonboro Fire Department. We had our mishaps, some great drills, and an amazing learning experience. Thank you to all who were a part of the 2009 Sandy Island Fire Brigade! Onward to 2010!

Welcome!

Welcome to the yet another interactive communication point for The Sandy Island Fire Brigade. Available to past, present and prospective Brigade members, this is the place where everyone is encouraged to ask questions and make comments and suggestions about the various aspects of The Brigade's overall activities. We also have a Facebook group page, and we strongly encourage all members to join and participate in the discussion threads.