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Thanks folks, it's a tough & dangerous job but a proud profession for those with the guts to do it.

Dana "Saving a basement" is just more of an expression used by firemen when a house is a total loss after a fire and nothing is salvagable other than the property.

My son Jim was always an adventurous kid growing up and loved doing crazy stuff. He was seldom afraid of dangerous situations so we weren't surprised when he told us he was gonna become an iron worker. Their the guys that walk the narrow steel beams hundreds of feet in the air and bolt them together to form the skeletons of buildings. He became very good at his job and ended up being one of the foremen for his company. He wasn't intimidated by heights but had a great respect for them. Strange as it seems, he always said the higher the job, the more he enjoyed it. Safety belts are obviously mandatory for anyone doing that type of work, but sometimes they have to unhook them to get into certain places and sadly that was when something went terribly wrong and my son fell to his death from a building they were erecting. That was 7 years ago today. Jim was 37 years old and had been walking the steel for 20 years. Anyways, the last couple days I've been wandering around on the internet looking at some of the places he helped build and found some pictures of a few of the more familiar places you may know. He did alot of the steel work in parts of Scotia Plaza and was working there the day 3 other construction workers were killed. This is St. Mary's Cement on the 401 at Bowmanville. If you look above and behind the large building to the left of center you can see the steel cap on top of the chimney that Jim and his partner installed. Compare the size of that cap to the size of the vehicles on the ground and you can imagine how tough of a job it was to install. When your watching the evening news and they show you the traffic jams on the Gardner Expressway, some of the cameras are mounted on brackets that Jim installed on top of the pod on the CN Tower about 1200 feet above the city. When you go to the Sportsman Show at the Exhibition Grounds you'll see alot of Jims work there as he installed many of the curved steel beams that form the front of the building. I always have a real feeling of pride everytime I go there and see his work. One of his biggest jobs and one that he was really proud of was the massive Hybernia oil rig in Newfoundland. He worked on that job for a long time and put up a lot of the steel structure. He said the most beautiful place he ever worked was near Fort St. John, in northern British Columbia where he erected a bunch of communication towers. That was a place he even talked about retiring to when the time came He worked all over Canada and other parts of the world but one of his favorite jobs was erecting a couple buildings in China. He spent a year in Bejing and then another year in Shanghai and was talking about going back to supervise more jobs when they were ready to go. That's Jim on your right in the brown coat with his best bud Kirk when they were in China. He was a big tough guy at 6' 4" and strong as an ox but could also be as gentle as a lamb and was loved by all who knew him. His funeral was huge and alot of the members of this board attended and for that I'll always be thankful. The number of flower bouquets we received at our home from OFNers was unbelievable and meant so much to my family. Even a month after the funeral flowers were still arriving. Anyways, sorry for the long ramble so early in the morning, but I think of Jim always, specially on the anniversaries of his death and today I just thought I'd share some of his life with you.

When I went on the job in '68 Bob, I was working with a bunch of old men, but when I retired more than 3 decades later I was working with a bunch of kids. Funny how that works out, eh ??

When I retired 11 years ago we had about 3000 men on the job in Toronto and if I remember correctly we were the 4th largest department in North America, behind New York, Los Angeles & Chicago. And we saved most of the basements too :lol:

Wearing a mask is a basic thing for a firemen and is one of the 1st things their taught when they come on the job....at least in Canada anyways, and I couldn't imagine a truck sitting and waiting in the firehall for qualified men to get there before they respond to a fire. If it works for you guys, then OK I spose, just seems really odd to me. Not arguing with you Bob, just stating an opinion from someone who did it for alot of years.

Damn Bruce, that's absolutely terrible news and like everyone else, I sure hope little Peanut is gonna be OK.

Never heard of such a thing What happens if the guys inside need help in a hurry and you've got un-qualified guys outside who cant wear a mask and can't enter the building ??

Dana, was there an actual explosion before the fire or could you have heard the noise of the windows blowing out ?? Alot of pressure builds up inside a house while a fire is burning, specially this time of year when the building is closed up tight against the cold weather. Once the pressure is high enough, it'll blow out the windows and sometimes that can be pretty loud. Coppers will probably ask the same question.

Check your smoke detectors folks, you don't have alot of time to get out once the fire gets going, specially when it happens in the middle of the night. Hope everyone made it out safely.

Just by coincidence I was talking to my neighbor last night about this very same thing. He's a long haul trucker who goes to BC frequentely and says he nearly always goes thru the States and says on average, he saves about 8 hours actual driving time.

Very very nice !!

Thanks oldphart, some funny stuff there. Here's a true story that I was reminded of by the above joke. My friend Madeline was driving thru downtown Hamilton and when she stopped at a red light her car stalled. While she was trying to re-start it the doofis behind her started blaring his horn at her. She got out of her car, walked back to the other car, opened his door and handed him her keys. When he asked what the heck she was doing, she said you go up and start MY car for me and I'll get in YOUR car and blow your horn for you. Doofis backed up, went around her and drove down the road with his tail between his legs.

Thanks Doc, interesting story and great picture.

On the Halifax Naval base in the 60's we used to get beer for a nickle a glass on Friday nights. Go in with a $2 bill and party all night. At sea we were allowed 1 beer each evening and then everyday at 11:00 AM whether at sea or in port was "up-spirits" and we received a 2 1/2 oz. tot of rum. If you didn't want the tot, you were paid an additional 7 cents per day....most took the tot

Came across this on the net this morning http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/canada/government_will_evacuate_attawapiskat_if_necessary/b5c174fe

Who can't help but love a love a puppy ?? Boy, your kids are gonna love that little guy !!!!

Incredible picture Bill, thanks !! Nice to see those gorgeous birds making their way further south in the last few years.

Lotsa nice fish for your efforts Will, thanks for the tale.

I've framed a couple that turned out nice, here's one I like.

Saw that on the TV this morning Phil. It's a real mess and they say the eastbound 401 may not re-open till around 10 A.M.

I'll give you 1st crack at it Roger

Reading all this is just one more reason I always buy new

Welcome home Bruce, good to hear the trip went well !! Sounds like it was alot of fun.

Couple of fantastic fish darsky, specially that big musky and congrats on the pair of PB's. Looking forward to the pictures.