Charleston 9 Fifth Anniversary T-Shirts Are In!

The new Charleston 9 Fifth Anniversary T-Shirts are now available for shipment or pick-up. Order here on this website through PayPal to get your now!  Proceeds from the sale of these shirts will go to support the "Big John" project. 

The Loss of a Good Man.................

Today, we lost a good friend and a good man. Chief John Winn passed away this afternoon after a short but hard fought battle with Mesothelioma.  In addition to being a beloved friend and Chief, he was one of us. He volunteered early in our program to be trained as a Peer Counselor to help the men and women of the Fire Department receive the counseling they needed to help them during difficult times.  In addition, he worked hard to embrace all of the changes in the Charleston Fire Department in the last five years.  He once told me that it was hard to accept some of the changes but he knew that overall they were important to the safety and well-being to all of his firefighters.   He always led by example and many young men and women excelled in the Fire Service because of him.  When others doubted the effects of a counseling program, John encouraged firefighters to seek help. He was personally responsible for getting scores of our firefighters into the counseling program and was a valued member of our Team.

    

Personally, he was a trusted friend always willing and ready to help anyone.  Whether it was by phone or during a late night visit to Station 11, he would take the time to hear me out and offer his good solid advice.  If he disagreed with you, you would know it but you always knew where he stood and that you could count on him regardless.    

I was able to spend a good deal of time with him in the last three months as we worked on his “Big John” fire truck.  Even though he was not always able to be there, we would look over the photos of the progress and enjoy them together.   He wanted this truck to be used as a way to educate others about getting the necessary testing to find life-threatening illnesses and we pledged to him that we would carry out his wishes.   So, with a renewed commitment, we will complete this truck and begin the mission of taking John’s hopes and wishes to others.

To Debbie, J.J. and John’s entire family, we offer our most sincere sympathy.  

Rest in peace, Brother, until we meet again.

Gerald 

Turning the Corner............................

Many of you have been following our restoration of the "Big John" truck and today we made some significant progress as we mounted the light bars, air horns, and much of the trim.  As soon as the wrap shop finishes the cab, we will install the remaining hand rails and other trim. We are set to apply the lettering and stripes on Saturday and then on to the final touch-up. Stay tuned as we get ready to roll this truck out! 

"Kilts and Kegs" Event Coming Up!

The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Pipes & Drums has agreed to play at the "Inaugural Kilts & Kegs For The Charleston Nine". The event will be held on Saturday, June 16, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at the Charleston Beer Works on King Street in downtown Charleston! Special thanks to the Charleston Beer Works for sponsoring this event and to Charleston Local 61 for all the hard work in putting this together.  We are excited about being a part of this with our fire trucks and hot rod! Come out and join us for a good time!

Don't miss out on this great event! Click on the link below for more info and to get your tickets today!

http://www.local61.com/?zone=%2Funionactive%2Fview_page.cfm&page=Kilts202620Kegs20For20The20Charleston209

Firefighter Injured in Motorcycle Accident

Firefighter Darin Kingery of the North Charleston Fire Department was involved in a motorcycle accident this weekend in Georgetown while returning from Bike Week in Myrtle Beach. Firefighter Kingery was airlifted to Grand Strand Hospital where he is ICU and listed in critical condition. Please keep Firefighter Kingery and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Exciting New Program to be Debuted Next Month!

Today, six members of our Charleston Firefighter Support Team traveled to Columbia and joined others from around the State to receive training on becoming instructors for an exciting new Behavioral Health program to be offered to all of our firefighters by the South Carolina State Firefighters Association and the South Carolina Fire Academy.  We are all very excited as this program will be debuted at our Fire-Rescue Conference in Myrtle Beach next month.   It will be the initial component of a multi-faceted effort to bring appropriate behavioral health care and training to our firefighters all over South Carolina.  All of the folks that received the training today will be a part of the initial team to begin delivering this program. 

Thanks to Frank Marker, Robbie Baldwin, Bill Haigler, Gerald Mishoe and Johnny Hackett for their commitment to making this program a reality.  Special thanks to Christopher Wells, our Peer Team clinician, for the development and delivery of today’s program.  Stay tuned for more information as this program continues to unfold.

Iron Warriors to Ride for the Children!

The Iron Warriors Motorcycle Club is sponsoring the First Annual "Christmas in July" Benefit Ride to support the Callen Lacey Center for Children in Moncks Corner. The event will be held on July 28, 2012 with  registration at 9:00 a.m. and kickstands up at 11:00 a.m.  Further information is available by contacting the Iron Warriors at iwmcsovereign@hotmail.com.  

You may also read about the work of the Callen Lacey Center by clicking on the following link:

http://www.cydc.org/our-programs/callen-lacey-center/