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I pull into the parking lot, maybe even a little early for me. Wild. But whatever, man. Even the biggest turds have their shiny days. I'm heading for a parking space and hit my brakes as I spot it. It couldn't be real. Right? It couldn't be real. There was no way. No actual way some fucking EMT drove this car here. This VW Jetta with that sticker on the back. That sticker. It had to be a joke. The biggest joke he'd ever seen. There was no way some EMT actually drove a VW Jetta with a sticker that said "EMT's Are The True Hero's" Spelling errors and all. Jesus H. Christ. Someone was gonna get a reaming for this one. I park my car and get out, lighting a cigarette. It's gone and forgotten by the time I hit the door. I open it and head straight for the duty room. I step in and scan the room, taking a long drag from my vape. There wasn't enough nicotine in the world for this shit. This kid needed to be bullied. "Which one of you fuckin EMTs is driving the Jetta with that godawful sticker?"

Bling bling on patrol. Crak patrol. I looking fo dat crak. I also on pOlice patrol. My fren ga me dis pOlice shurt. I ou herr. I spot me some crak. "EY YO. GI ME DAT CRAK." Dey run. I miss be skary. Dey drop dat crak. I grab it an begen to put it in my pipe. Some people pass by an sey "hey, who you" An I sey "BLING BLING DA CRACKHEAD! CASH ME ON UTUBE DOE." The real police show up a short time later and bling bling is booked on multiple misdemeanor charges and some get dropped in court. He has a short jail sentence and is now currently sentenced to rehab.

*Walking up as I finish eating my bologna sandwich wishing I had my protein shake to wash it down with. I notice that the patient is dead. Oh no, if only I wasn't on break I could have saved her and nursed her back to health with my sweet guns of mine. Why must the good die old. Tragically I walk back to the nurses station.*

Access the EAT Here The Emergency Administration Terminal is a call back to the early days of the ERT and our EAT system, which helped with keeping track of calls. Right now, we're happy to announce the EAT is now live. What is the EAT? The Emergency Administration Terminal, or EAT, is an RPG adapted CAD/MDT for our purposes. In its current stage, this will act as a quick dispatch tool and provide call information for dispatchers and players alike. With a few clicks, players and dispatchers can see what calls are outstanding, information on the calls, and what units are available, as well as quickly update their own status or add narrative notes. Walk through On the main "Active calls page" players can see active calls and a brief overview of units. Clicking into a call will open the individual incident and provide a brief dispatch. This will show currently active units (Staffed by a player character OR NPC on a scene) and active incidents. Information included is: Call type Call number Location Call notes Vehicle information If the call is still active Call narrative Units assigned By clicking a unit on the assigned page, or within the call itself, players can view the unit's information, which includes Department Call status Members, including in charge and rank Vehicle status (and ability to change) Image of the unit The status options for units include, Available, Call Assigned, Off Duty or NPC Staffed. Available Staffed by a player character and not currently assigned to a call, ie available for an incident Call Assigned Staffed by a player character and currently assigned to an incident, either responding, on scene or otherwise tied up by that incident. Off Duty Staffed by a player character, but otherwise unable to respond, whether for lore reasons, or due to a short LOA not expected to last the full shift NPC Staffed Used to indicate a unit is on an incident, however is not staffed by player characters. Under the Call Log, is a screen similar to the active calls screen, however includes closed incidents as well. On any call incident, players are able to update the Narrative in the call, which can include anything from dispatch information to other information that would be essential to player characters wanting to quickly "catch up" on an incident This page is searchable The final tab currently is the Units list. This is searchable, sortable and contains all units in game. Search allows search in any field, so if a user wanted to see which unit member "Doe" was on, they could search that, or by department, or any other information they wanted. Under filter, they can show units based on department or statuses. This is particularly useful for dispatchers, as they can quickly see what units are available and waiting for a call. This tool should allow for less downtime and better roleplay experience, however is still well under construction, so feedback is welcome and we'll see what we can implement going forward! This is not meant to replace any aspect of the site, only augment it.

*I step into the passenger seat a few seconds after Alyssa; she asks if I'm ready for the burn* 'Oh yeah, ecstatic.' *I open up a new chart as dispatch updates with the additional callers reporting a burn victim but unknown if there's any entrapment* 'This guy better have been trapped at some point to have gotten burned, don't wanna hear that he was burned trying to save some shit from his car or something' *I fill out what I can on the chart so far - dispatch and responding times, location, nature, etc. I shut the laptop and enjoy the rest of the ride when I've filled out what I can on it* 'Guess this guy's never played Grand Theft Auto... Burning cars explode after like 4 seconds, you run away from them not toward them.'

* i hear the traffic abd i have to take a second to place the voice* ‘ jesus firdt she rolls to a home invasion now she wants in on this, mudt be a slow night for hugs’ * i utter under my breath by now my tazers out as im not sure anybody pulled a less lethal im not even touching her rookie hour radio call just now Only to hear yrt more traffic* ‘ shit guys, you got this so i can back 206?’

*Slowly the Holy Stromboli goes from 5 feet long, to 4...to 3....to 2. The stromboli now fits on just my console. By this point, its gone cold and solidified, but that doesn't deter me. All this eating has made me sleepy* Ah well. I guess it's time I take a little break...It's time for me regular break anyway. *I halt all incoming calls to my console and take off my headset, placing it on the console in front of me. I take a swig of my giant 100oz 7-11 Big Gulp cup and then lean back in my chair* Ugghhhh *My stomach starts to rumble.* An unpleasant feeling enters my gluttonous engorged belly. I don't often feel this way. 'I think there was too much cheese in that stromboli' I say to myself trying to fight the growing cramping in my gut. 'Let me just...let me just close my eyes for a minute. Maybe it'll settle down' I say to myself. *I close my eyes* 'ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz' In no time I start to snore. 'ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz' ..... 'ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz' .... 'PPPFFFFFFRRRRTTTTTT' a loud noise fills the room, waking me from my sleep. 'What the hell was that?' I ask in confusion. *I look around confused.* 'Was that an explosion? Sounded like a pipe ruptured or something.' I myself quietly while looking around for the source of the explosion. *sniff....sniff* 'Oh shit.' I say quietly to myself. My look of confusion turns to embarrassment. 'That wasn't an explosion. That was me.' I whisper to myself. Jesus. It stinks. It must have been all the cheese. Damn you Holy Stromboli! I try and act natural and straighten up at my console to get back to work. *As my weight shifts in the chair I feel....wet.* Oh God. Oh no. NOT AGAIN! I think 'ol Jim let a little more out than just some gas. *I push my seat back and struggle to get out of my chair* Yep. I sharted. I confirm. I feel the wet in my drawers. Let's only hope it didn't soak through to my pants. *I quickly waddle, more so than usual, to the washroom. Leaving a trail of foul stench behind me.* *HUFF PUFF WHEEZE. HUFF PUFF WHEEZE*

bet me and my gang are in

That's my favorite!

Better remove utility 1 lol

*Walking in feeling like I've been dead a couple years.* 'Here'

‘Anything I can do?’ *I give Billy Ray Cyrus a dirty look. Is this his first day?* 'Of course there is. First, slow the fuck down. This isn't your emergency. Slow way the fuck down. And let's get this damn Lucas on. Then take care of Karen. And see if you can get history and meds list.' *I keep doing compressions until we get the Lucas attached, then sit back on my heels and look over at the monitor.* 'The fuck? Some kind of ventricular bullshit. Fuck that. OK, Raven, let's get some access. EJ if that's what you want, I guess. Not my forte, but it'll do. Garcia, go ahead and get that airway roll open and get me an airway. Supraglottic or ET, I don't give a fuck. Best airway is one that works.' *I grab the drug bag and open it, taking out an epinephrine prefill and connecting it while Raven works on getting the EJ.*

August Shift Date: March 8th, Friday Weather: 54f high at noon, low of 37f at 22:00, Raininf, Fire and EMS Shift 08:00 for 24 hours Sheriff Shift: Starting 1200 until 2200

‘your dealing with a good police officer whos caught a lot of bad breaks, one thats listens to his gut while i do admit i could of made better choices had i got on scene 2-3 minutes ealier my gut said breach with weapons drawn as the perp had fired a weapon which killed a dog i had no way of knowing if the first shot missed or struck our EMT,i have a vest if i get shot i can both potentially survive it as my vest takes the slug and defend myself, a police k9 gets shot and while it might survive the shot it more often then not cannot defend itself afterwards As the impact tends to be at the head or neck, both areas not covered to well by its vest, i had no way of knowing if a probationary deputy would of froze upon my dog making entry or would of followed it as he was stacked on the door and he had already delayed entry once already so i was looking out for everybodys life, including the perps but again due to how things transpired after entry i was forced to shoot,had the perp not been standing over the EMT and not of turned leveling his weapon to chest height,i would not of fired,I could ld not risk a taser induced muscle contraction squeezeing the trigger putting potentally another round in our EMT’ * i sigh this was gonna be a loooong explanation* ‘ during my stint as an FTO and as a supervisior i got familer with all patrol deputys both to see how i could potentially mentor and guide them and so i myself had an idea how in the event Patrol had more new hires then FTO’s i could assist the other FTO’s by having a ride along and how best to train them‘ * another pause and yet more ecplaining* my responsibility as a K9 officer ontop of enforceing the law is to is to employ my K9 in a smart efficient manor on calls as is my responsibility to maintain my uniform my weapon my cruiser and my gear as every part of me represents the entire sheriffs department while on shift,were shiloh countys finest afterall,i dont deny that my dog taser or shotgun were options, im admiting due to the nature of the calls progression, We entered weapons drawn because the offender had just shot an animal and i as the seinor officer felt that an immediate entry would prevent further death, you suggest alternitives a taser ectra i have said numrous times that from my arrivial there was no time for them to be safely employed’ *another pause while i keep my temper and tone in check,IA probably has never walked the street only the station, he also has our policy book memorized to my guess is the letter i needed to remember that,while i try to explain that said policys need to allow flexability* ‘for me to enter with anything but my weapon in this case would be a further risk to life as the suspect was presumed in a defensable location and now pissed off by the failed dog attack i made the call to enter because cops need to head towards gunfire sometimes to save an innocent life’ ‘after we entered and we saw the perp had his back to us,the thought of less lethal crossed my mind but in the seconds it would of taken to draw said option the act would of gotten myself or any other party involved shot as he turned around so fast with his weapon aimed at me as we issued commands and before we can even think to find cover or employ less lethal means he became a direct threat to my life and deputy allen and we fired, if i could of employed a less lethal i would of ,the scene escalated upon my arrival, and like i said had i been able to arrive sooner i could of had a better chance to employ or my k9’ * i take another breath mentally sighing* ‘ i also dont discount the fact the entire situation could of potentially been difused had probationary deputy allen entered the residence and confronted the suspect,but in my past stint as a Field Training Officer for this department and having trained probationary deputys much like him for him to hesitate in this kind of situation is not uncommon some people freeze up,with most there trained out of the habit before a situation like this occurs but as he entered behind me and subsequently shot at a threat when i shot,im confidant he will have my fellow officers backs should this unfortunate situation inwhich said officers are forced to take a life occours again’ * its probably foolish but i want a reaction now even though i doubt he’ll bite* ’ humor me sergeant, how would you handle the incident if you were in my shoes,you roll up to two gunshots after a dog bursts through the fromt door, i mean youve called me out for presumed bad tactics and judgement,what would you of done diffrently,in my eyes your an untrained new hire cause from what ive heard,youve never even been on the streets,from judicial services to IA,so howed i exercise bad tactics and judgement, have you ever had to take as you put it certain risks, if i werent a K9 officer would you of rather i order the probationary deputy to enter without being able to cover him immediately therefor risking an officer down situation?’ * i finish the statement locking eyecontact with him*

Are we shocked? Lawful Evil Lawful Evil- A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises. This reluctance comes partly from his nature and partly because he depends on order to protect himself from those who oppose him on moral grounds. Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains. Some lawful evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master. Lawful evil is sometimes called diabolical, because devils are the epitome of lawful evil. Lawful evil is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and dedicated self-interest. However, lawful evil can be a dangerous alignment because it represents methodical, intentional, and frequently successful evil. Detailed Results: Alignment: Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14) Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXX (9) Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXX (12) Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (22) True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17) Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (20) Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (32) Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (27) Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (30) Law & Chaos: Law ----- XXXXXXXXXXXX (12) Neutral - XXXXXXX (7) Chaos --- XXXXXXXXXX (10) Good & Evil: Good ---- XX (2) Neutral - XXXXXXXXXX (10) Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (20)

'Yeah, pretty messed up, when did we get put in a kung fu movie? Detectives are already here.' Pointing out the units and some of detectives on scene who arrived quite some time ago out of the blue all stealthy like. 'Need me to call one of them over?'

*I walk over to Anderson with the mug in my hands. Maybe she can show me around a bit.* ‘Hey you’re Anderson correct? Congrats to your promotion. I’m Joshua I’m gonna be taking your probie spot.’ I say as I reach out for a handshake.

'We feeding the cattle greens again? Jesus Charles. I'll get it all. Do me a favour, maybe have one of the ALS cars around here when lunch arrives. See if we can't post it nearby, or invite them in for a, I don't know, liaison meeting. I don't want to have the imagine carrying his corpse out of here.'

'You better handle it. If I open the papers tonight and find Frankin looking the way of SCSD, I have a feeling you'll be dusting your ERT badge off again.'

Here we have Sergeant Patterson of the K9 Unit at work

'If Franklin gets wind of this everyone from the sheriff the the department custodian is fucked. I'll handle it'

*As I see most of the fire gone I go and get the pike pole. As soon as i get the okay i go to the dumpser with the pike pole and move what is left of what is in there making sure there the fire is completely out*

*I hear the tones go off I rush to the my gear. I put on my gear then get in the truck*

I humbly submit the 2020 Pablo Hernandez ceiling tile incident.

What the fuck is burke wearing.

Released

*Parking my Stealth in the parking lot I get out of the vehicle and grab my gear out of the back and passenger seat. Locking up the car I close the door and make my way down the trail. Three days off from work means three days of not being around Big Jim. There's no way he's coming to this. He'll have a heart attack walking down this trail if he even tried. It's going to be nice. As I reach the end of the trail I come to a clearing where every one else is. I'll introduce myself later but for now I'm going to set up my tent. Looking around the place the area on the other side of the stream looks clear and open.* 'Yeah, over there looks good.' *Saying to myself as I walk through the clearing and walk nearby the firepit social area where I drop of my camping chair. Moving on I come to a bridge, giving access to the other area of the camping site, and cross it. Finding a spot next to a grove of bushes nearby the bridge I set the rest of my stuff down and begin pitching up my tent.*

'Maybe we can replace that with another new hybrid. Those will save us a lot in the long run'

*I make my cuts with the sawzall and we start pulling her car apart. I've never used the tunneling technique before and it's very new for me so I try and retain as much as I can about it. I think we went over it once or twice in classes but besides that.. it's a smaller car and I'm shocked it's held up as well as it did.* 'It looks like it'll be a tight fit.' *I comment offhand as I'm working my way in.*

*I move to the door as Burke orders it breached. Once the other deputies are stacked, I breach the door and step in, keeping the Halligan in hand. I move through the building at the head of the formation, scanning as we move through. As Burke says to breach the next door, I step towards it and quickly step back as I hear the other man give up. I set the Halligan aside as Burke tosses him towards Jerry and his probie Joey and follow Burke into the office. As he wrenches Mathers' arm, I grin and pass him a pair of cuffs, letting him have the joy of personally cuffing the piece of shit.*

*Once the German girl gets everything back on the stretcher, we start to push it outside. Once we're outside and I see no one's around, I look to my partner.* 'Is that fuckin hard to remember what ambulance we're in? Fuckin christ. This is Medic 7. Seven. Not one. Fuck. I'm gonna smoke before we leave.' *I pull my cigs out as I step away from the truck, lighting up. I burn it quick and then get back in the truck so we can get clear.*

Firefighter Safety (3.1) Firefighter safety is paramount. In real life hiring a firefighter is typically seen as an investment by a community, and it is in the interest of a department to make sure that employees do not wantonly injure themselves in the line of duty as this is a huge monetary loss. While the everyday slips, trips, fall prevention, and cancer prevention doesn't necessarily make it into a role playing game as there are liberties taken into account as we are playing a TV show like game, aspects of ensuring scene safety, wearing the correct PPE, no freelancing, maintaining crew integrity, and safe driving can make or break a story line. Your officer should always know where you are and what you are doing at all times. This is referred to as Personal Accountability. Command may request at anytime a Personal Accountability Report or PAR Check, where the firefighter reports where they are, what they are doing, and their progress or status if applicable.

Company Organization (2.2) Fire companies are organized by the tasks that the perform. This guide will reflect the companies available in game. In real life, nomenclature will vary by regions and department. The trucks that fire companies are on are called apparatus. Engine companies are the bread and butter of the fire department. Engines carry a pump, water, and hoses to fight fire, they also carry an assortment of hand and power tools to perform all essential functions on the fire ground. Ladder companies classically do not carry water or hoses on their trucks. Ladder companies primarily perform ventilation, search and rescue, and supporting tasks on the fire ground. If a ladder company is a "quint" it carries a small compliment of water, hoses, and a pump in order to function like an engine in addition to a large aerial ladder device. You may also see a ladder company called a "truck company". Squad companies in ERT provide advanced life support paramedics in addition to a medium assortment of specialized rescue equipment and a basic compliment of firefighting tools. In game they respond to serious medical calls, technical rescues, and fires. Rescue companies are considered to be the special forces of the fire department. Rescue companies provide highly knowledgeable, skilled, and equipped firefighters to accomplish the most difficult tasks. They are typically assigned to carry out rope rescues, difficult extrication, confined space rescues, trench collapses, water rescues, building collapses, and HAZMAT operations. On the scenes of fires they operate in a similar capacity to ladder companies and will typically perform search and rescue capabilities. ARFF companies are very unique companies. ARFF, or Aircraft Rescue Firefighting companies handle aircraft and ramp emergencies that are typically very low frequency high risk events. They drive specialized vehicles that can pump water and foam while moving and can operate on all terrain. The fire department also maintains other apparatus. In ERT the fire department has tankers, brush trucks, and support vehicles. Tankers are large trucks that carry several thousand gallons of water to areas where fire hydrants may not be available. Brush trucks are all terrain vehicles with a small pump and a few hundred gallons of water to reach fires that are off road or difficult to access, such as a fire in a field or a forest. The department has support vehicles as well, these transport command staff or firefighters around or perform a very specific purpose. You can find details on the apparatus ERT has here.

*Crunch Crunch Crunch* 'What do you mean all tied up? You have 6 units on.' I say chomping down on pork rinds over the phone. *Crunch Crunch Crunch* 'Well we got a serious situation. We're calling a code orange here. A code orange.' *Mmmmmmm...orange* 'You're sorry? Doesn't code orange mean anything to you?' *Crunch Crunch Crunch* *pause* 'Now we're talking here babe...how long are we talking about? 30-40 minutes!? Upwards of an hour? *Crunch Crunch Crunch* 'Well....*Chewing*...if that's the best you can do, I appreciate it. Thanks darling.' I hang up. Shit. CFU EMS isn't any help. *I lean back in my chair once again to peak into the EOC. It creaks wildly under my massive weight* 'HEY HENRY! Not the best of news but its something. Shiloh Volunteers have one unit up and are sending it, Code Blue in Essex can also spare one unit, but both have a 20 to 30 minute ETA....' *Heavy breathing as I catch my breath. Thats a lot of talking. I shove a pork rind into my mouth. Crunch Crunch Crunch* '...and CFU... ' I continue with my mouth full, 'has 2 units stuck holding the wall at Campus medical since they're fully saturated, they got one on an out of county transfer, one just got a run, and the remaining two are stuck at some stupid concert at the university.' *I take some more heavy breaths and shove another pork rind into my mouth. I continue speaking with my mouth completely full* '..they're saying they can probably have a unit for us in...' *I inhale a piece of pork rind and proceed to cough violently. I cough, cough, and cough some more. I lean back forward in my chair. I reach for my 72oz plastic jug of soda. COUGH COUGH COUGH, GASP, COUGH COUGH. I take a drink from my soda.* Holy shit. Big Jim almost ate the big one there. *Clears throat several times* 'sorry about that...anyways...they can have a unit for us in 30-40 minutes at the earliest. More likely in an hour.' I say. *I lean back in my chair again. The usual squeaking is replaced by a loud SNAP. The chair breaks and I proceed backwards onto the floor. The room vibrates with the impact of my colossal mass.* Holy shit. I've fallen. How the hell am I going to get up?

As I go to leave, boss man grab me. "Pablo, I need your ass on the flatbed with the bulldozer going down to the lumber mill, the firemen need the bulldozer to help with the fire." He say. I stop and look at him, why do the firemen need the bulldozer. "Pablo, get your ass-o in the truck-o and drive-o to the lumber mill" Boss man say again. I nod and get into the truck. I turn on the radio and listen to Son de la negra on repeat.

*I walk out of the bathroom feeling oh so refreshed after a good S H I T and smell the very familiar scent of scat.* 'Alright....' *I walk through to the bay, and the screaming pair of medics that have just roared through the area and see traces of poopie on the floor. I sigh softly and grab the garden hose and simple green at the end of the bay* 'I'm not gonna ask...but...WHOEVER STEPPED IN THE SHIT, GIVE ME YOUR BOOTS SO I CAN CLEAN THEM PLEASE!' *I exclaim in a non-chalant tone, loud enough that it would make it to the lounge. Hopefully the raging man in that room could hear me clearly.*

*I walk the perp over, sitting him down on the curb. I set the handgun on the hood of Wagner's car.* 'This guy has charges without the drugs in the car. How much did you find?' *I nod as Patterson says he doesn't want to rip it apart roadside.* 'Well, you're the narcs guy, this is your bust. You sought the dope. I'm just here to back y'all up.'

As part of a new effort, we will be hosting a posting weekend, SCFD will receive new temp assignments to the end of shift to accommodate the new calls, unassigned deputies may be assigned to help out with calls. Please make an effort to join in this weekend

Tomorrow I'm down though I'ma be at work. Sunday I got a big tiddie goth girl coming over tho. That's gonna be an all day thing.

Kimberly Volunteer Fire-Rescue: Hometown Heroes or Tax Thieves? Everyone who lives in Kimberly is familiar with the men and women of Kimberly Volunteer Fire-Rescue. They’re neighbors, friends, sometimes even family. Good Samaritans who donate time to serve their community, purely out of the goodness of their hearts. The fire chief, Michael Mathers, can often be seen around town in the department-provided Chief’s SUV. The white fire trucks can be seen racing to emergencies in times of needs. But recently, dark accusations have surfaced against the good-hearted volunteers. Some people in town are beginning to question the department’s money management ability, with the town’s fire trucks unquestioningly older than anyone else’s around. Some even say that volunteers with the department have to face out of date protective equipment and inadequate equipment onboard those same fire trucks. A town document obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request lists the budget for KVFR as 151,000 dollars. It lists $40,000 as being provided by a county subsidy and the remaining $111,000 coming from the town of Kimberly. This represents the county paying for nearly a third of KVFR’s operating expenses. National standards published by the National Fire Protection Association say that fire engines should be replaced on average every ten years. Kimberly operates only one vehicle newer than ten years old - the 2019 Chevy Tahoe driven by Chief Michael Mathers. This is in stark contrast to the town’s primary fire engine - a 1990 American LaFrance. Many members of the community question why Chief Mathers drives a car only a year old, while the fire engine is thirty years old and aging. Public records indicate that the oldest fire truck operated by Kimberly, a water tanker, is a 1986 model, and the newest, a brushfire truck, is only a 1995. Yet Chief Mathers drives a brand-new SUV around town, using tax money to pay for gas and his salary. I reached out to Chief Mathers for a comment explaining the purchase of his vehicle over a new fire engine, and did not receive a response. A look into Chief Mathers’ salary reveals some startling numbers. His salary is $75,000 a year, with benefits bringing the town’s total expenditure on Chief Mathers to 101,000. 66% of KVFR’s budget goes to paying to have Chief Mathers on duty from Monday to Friday, 9AM to 5PM. Not even 24 hour fire protection. Not even the minimum recommended by national standards, which is four firefighters on a fire engine. Many community residents question whether KVFR can continue to provide adequate response to emergencies in the community. Some posit the idea that as happened in Clinton, the Shiloh County Fire Department should take over administration of the department, combining departments to decrease overhead costs and share costs of equipment and manpower. I sent an email to Chief Mathers, asking for comment on several questions posed by the community, and this was the only portion that elicited a response. His reply is displayed below and has been edited to allow it to be printed. “As long as I am the Chief of Kimberly Volunteer Fire-Rescue, Shiloh County will keep their ******* noses out of town business. We are Hometown Heroes providing the best service with what pennies the town gives us. Shiloh County and the ERT have chosen to support the county-based paid service instead of the volunteers, but Kimberly doesn’t need their **** money anyways. KVFR will continue to provide service uninterrupted. Chief Michael M J Mathers Kimberly VOLUNTEER Fire Rescue We fight what you fear, for free. The Real Hometown Heroes” Chief Mathers’ claim that the county does not support KVFR is, of course, demonstrably false. Not only does the county provide financial support to KVFR, but county records show that in 2019, Shiloh County Fire Department units were dispatched to 51 calls for service within the town limits of Kimberly. Of these 51, 11 were requests from Kimberly for aid, 20 were ambulance calls when the Kimberly ambulance was already on a call, and 30 were calls dispatched to SCFD units by ERT due to the communications center not receiving a confirmation that KVFR units were responding to the call. Of the 30 where KVFR did not answer, it shows that 17 resulted in SCFD being cancelled by Chief Mathers when he finally responded to the call. I dug deeper into KVFR’s financial situation, speaking to several current and former members, as well as several of the department’s commissioners. These interviews revealed that Chief Mathers and the department throw several social parties throughout the year - Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter - for each occasion, I was able to track expenses to the department’s funds. Surely the funds could have been better used elsewhere? One member I interviewed, whose identity will remain hidden to protect him, showed me the expiration dates of his personal protective equipment. His coat, pants, boots, and helmet were all past the manufacturer’s expiration date, varying from being only days out of date to over a year. He informed me that he was unable to attend the fire academy due to not having in-date equipment, and that Chief Mathers had informed him that there was no room in the budget to purchase new equipment for him. I sent another email to Chief Mathers questioning whether this exchange had occurred, and it was met with silence. Chief Mathers appears to have a lot to hide from the public concerning his expenditures and his management of the department’s funds, but from what little I have seen, I am deeply concerned for the residents of Kimberly. KVFR swears they will answer the call when needed, but will they be able to if their trucks and equipment is unusable?

I come out of the attending room and see EMS in the hall and the nurses are hardly paying attention. I come down the hall and smell the smell. Theres nobody in the ER, 0 patients until now. I yell out. "HEY, IS THAT AN URBAN OUTDOORSMAN? I DONT CARE. NURSES, PUT HIM IN A WHEELCHAIR AND GIVE HIM A SHOWER. HE SMELLS LIKE SHIT. IF HES x3 GIVE HIM A SANDWICH AND KICK HIM OUT."

The Origins of Shiloh County begins with Fort Shannon during the French-Indian War when the Fort was built on Lake Ontario in 1756. Soon after the war, settlers began to live in the surrounding areas of the Fort and the other cities and towns of the county began to form. Delmore, Oxnard, and Arcadia were the first lands outside of Fort Shannon to fill out with settlers living in those areas. Delmore was the first of those three cities to get recognized and established as town in 1771. Arcadia, in 1773, was next to be established as a town and in 1779 Oxnard was officially established as a town. After the American Revolutionary War end the locals in the area ventured out further into the lands of the county and the areas of Kimberly and Essex were inhabited. Both areas were great for farming but later on Clinton and Crescent Falls would split and take away land from those towns but we'll get to that part later. In the 1790s a new state of the US was founded when a large part of New York decided to split from the state and became Saratoga. Shiloh County was apart of this new state and became one of the first established counties of Saratoga taking the Fort Shannon, Arcadia, Delmore, Oxnard, Essex and Kimberly as it's towns and cities within it's borders. In the 1840s mills were built in the western lands of Kimberly after the locals there started to have trouble farming the lands there. Within the decades to follow other industries started to pop up and the area flourished as the population grew. In 1872, the lands eventually became Clinton after officially splitting away from Kimberly. Similarly, with the founding of a college in 1883, the population of Essex grew in it's eastern parts and later became it's own city, known as Crescent Falls, in 1891.

11:30pm - Friday night Medic 1 backs into the ER bay. The bay is empty, and the ER...actually looks pretty dead for a Friday night. I'm surprised. The back of the medic smells like a God damn brewery....if the brewery was staffed by 500 sweaty men in the dead of summer in Alabama. To continue with this analogy, those 500 men don't believe in deodorant, and they haven't bathed in about 3 months. Unfortunately, I've inadvertently just described our patient. No amount of deodorizer will ever get this smell out of the back of this ambulance. We're probably going to have to burn it. The seconds it takes Breslin to get from the front cab to opening the back doors seems like hours. I think my eyes are starting to water from the stench. We picked this dude up under a bridge, as is typical for a 'man down' call. When we found him, he had 2 of the corner liquor store's finest quality plastic pint bottle vodkas...you know...the kind that's probably 50% vodka 50% kerosene. Unfortunately, our beloved boys in law enforcement arrived before us and gave the inebriated man the ultimate decision: Go to jail or go to the hospital? What could this man answer? Was jail really even a real option? So here we are...luckily the ER looks dead. As soon as the back doors open I jump out...taking a deep breath of fresh air. 'Holy jesus!' I say to Breslin. 'I'm going to have to burn my clothes.' Our patient is sleeping..probably dreaming of the turkey sandwich in store for him soon.