Tag Archives: open house

Bothell’s New Fire Station

One of the routes that I take when riding my bike takes me through the center of Bothell – a town next to ours.  I would ride past the old fire station but hadn’t been on the route for a while.  There had been a sign saying a new fire station was going to be built and, when I recently rode by, not only was it finished but there was a sign outside saying that they were planning to have an open house to celebrate the opening.  I figured this might be interesting.

The open house was scheduled for a Saturday morning so was not going to be a long event but that didn’t deter people from showing up.  There were plenty of people there when I arrived – indeed some were already leaving having got there earlier.  As I stayed around, it got a lot busier.  So many people came to have a look around.  Many of them brought their kids along to see the station but I suspect the kids were less interested than the parents were.

The appliances were on display in the main open space of the station with fire trucks, ambulances and assorted support vehicles for people to climb all over.  These were of interest to me but I was almost more interested in the stuff around them.  Storage for the equipment, venting pipes for the vehicle exhausts so they could run indoors, things like that.  The one thing that they didn’t have was a pole!  I guess those are no longer a standard of fire stations!

There was much more to the station to see, though.  You were able to walk throughout the building and, while there were some tours explaining everything to people, I was happier going at my own speed and avoiding the worst of the congestion.  The operations space where they could control the delivery of whatever services were needed was pretty compact but efficient.  It was alongside a selection of offices for some of the leadership.  Across from that was a gym where the crews could work out if they wanted.

Heading upstairs and we got to the more domestic side of things.  There was a large kitchen and dining area.  Large cooking surfaces with big skillets were a sign of what feeding a shift involves.  There were multiple refrigerators along one wall with each labeled for the shift that utilized it.  I wonder whether there are ever issues with one shift pinching food from another!  Next to that was a TV room with big recliners arrayed around the TV – each on embroidered with the logo of the fire station.  This logo showed up in various places.

Next was the accommodation space.  There were bunk rooms available for the crews to use.  I understood that they would be on watch for long periods so could eat, relax, sleep, shower and work out while they were not required for operations.  The bunk rooms were compact and basic but looked like they would do the job nicely.

It was interesting to see what a modern fire station involves.  I hadn’t really given it much thought before and seeing the layout gave me a new appreciation for what the crews’ lives can be like.  The new building was clearly a nice upgrade for the facility and it was functional but not unattractive.  They even had some sculpture work outside.  A lot of effort went in to putting the place together.  I hope they find it beneficial.

Open House at the 142nd

The 142nd FW of the Oregon ANG is based at Portland International airport.  They held an open house one Saturday morning and I figured a trip down was worth it.  I put together a piece for Global Aviation Resource on the visit which you can see here if you want.  The event was aimed at sharing the work the unit does with the local community that is probably well aware of their presence courtesy of the regular launches of F-15s from the runway at the international airport.

They had a couple of the jets for people to take a look at.  One was out on the ramp and you could walk around it.  Another was in the hangar with an access ladder to the cockpit (devoid of ejection seat, just to be on the safe side).  They also had missiles and engines available to look at with people on hand to talk about them.  Meanwhile, the unit launched a few waves of jets.  They taxied out from the shelters a short distance away and, given the distance to the threshold of the runway, the F-15s were airborne well before they even came in to sight.  Fortunately, they did keep them low and fast until they came by our location.  Then they pulled up rapidly.  Each departure was appreciated by the spectators!

So Close to a Gear Up Landing

A gear up landing is never something you want to have.  What is worse is doing it in front of a lot of people.  However, the crowd can sometimes be a benefit.  The open house at Paine Field included some flybys by various types and one Navion was the last in his group to recover.  Coming down the approach with flap deployed but no gear he looked very odd.  I imagine the horn should have been blaring but, whatever the reason, he continued.  Much frantic waving by the crowd and a call from the air boss had the desired effect, fortunately.  A go around ensued followed by a normal approach a landing.  I understand many beers were bought that night.

128th ARW Open House

A short drive north of Chicago is Milwaukee.  The main airport at Milwaukee is General Mitchell International and, aside from the commercial services that operate there, the Wisconsin Air National Guard also has a unit based on the field.  It has a fleet of KC-135 tankers operated by the 128 Aerial Refueling Wing.  Periodically, they have an open house  and I went up to the recent event.

This is not an air show.  The field remains open and normal flight operations continue.  However, the ANG unit takes the chance to show off what they do to the local community and let them know what is going on with their tax dollars.  They also invite others to bring aircraft in to give the visitors a variety of things to see.  These visitors include aircraft from other Air Force units, a helicopter from the army and a variety of vintage aircraft, many from the local area.

The event took place over two days of the weekend.  The Sunday looked better from a weather perspective so that is the day I went for.  It proved to be a good choice with plenty of sun but temperatures staying very comfortable.  What I didn’t appreciate was the additional benefit of it being Mother’s Day.  I got their early for the better light but most people were spending time showing their mothers that they love them.  Since I am 4,000 miles from my mum, a personal visit was a little impractical!  It did make for a quiet ramp for quite a while though.

As the day progressed, plenty more people showed up and they probably achieved their goals for sharing with the local community.  I got to chat with a number of interesting people and, since it was quiet, was able to have more than a passing conversation.  I also met a few people who might be interested in some follow up work for the magazine so the trip was productive as well as fun.

I got a few shots of airliners as well as the aircraft on the ramp.  We were also lucky that one of the based KC-135s launched on a mission while I was there so a shot of that flying helped out a lot.  Since it isn’t an air show, that was a nice extra!  I hope to get back up to the unit in due course and find out more about them and maybe put together a more detailed piece on their history and operations.