July 1, 2012 began a new budget year. For the past two budget cy-cles we have been mak-ing an effort to replace our aged and aging fleet of fire trucks. So far, we have made good pro-gress in these tough economic times. A total of four 105’ foot quints, two, 75’ qu in t s , two heavy rescues, and one class A pumper/engine have been placed into service within the last few months. After much

discussion and few ad-justments a tenth truck is now on order; an-other class A pumper/engine.

The funding available this fiscal year is less than in previous years. Our aim is to purchase at least two more class

A pumpers/engines this year. We are at present evaluating other op-tions for making this purchase. My goal is

to have a purchas-ing solution by the fall of 2012.

Obviously, the shift toward pur-chas ing more pumpers/engines represents a change in direction for the department. Look

for more information in future Newsletters.

New Fleet Purchases

Addressing Your Safety Concerns

Our seatbelts do not fit all of our firefighters! That has been an ongoing problem for Midi – Pumpers. Poten-tial resolutions included – using non-DOT approved extensions, removal of the cage and the installation of a metal backing to protect the rear window, complete removal of the rear win-dow, and changing out seats and removal of the SCBA bracket. Not one of these solutions seemed fea-sible. Fortunately, after months of being told there is no apparent solution,

Captain Jewell and AES finally found the resolu-tion that we have been looking for – changing out the seatbelt and using one designed for the Pierce Quantum cab. With that being said, both Engine 14 and Engine 18 are located at AES getting seat belts retrofitted to allow free-dom of movement for our larger Firefighters. AES will install the new belts by the end of the month.

Addressing the need for hose restraint systems has also taken longer than

expected. The resolution to unintentional hose de-ployments will vary based on apparatus type. FRV’s will be receiving canvas hose covers; Seagraves will have hose covers and cross lay webbing; Quints will receive cross lay webbing and Foam/Tanker units will receive hose covers. The ex-pected cost will be close to $25,000.

Building Bridges CITY OF RICHMOND - F IRE & EMERGENCY SERVICES

New Fleet Purchases 1

New Laptops Delivered 2

Children’s Hospital Safety Day

3

Apparatus Housing Cere-monies

4

Fitch and Associates 5

Fire Station Alerting 6

“Leadership - The Rich-mond Way”

9

INS IDE THIS ISSUE:

JULY 2012

Editorial Staff:

Kimberly Wilson-Cho

Elmond D. Taylor

Nancy Hall

Robert Hagaman

Bailey Martin

Christina Smith

Lauren Bonneville

Laura Nunnally

Elmond Taylor

Christina Smith

JULY 2012 PAGE 2

Scary Movies or Happy End-ings? Scary

Do you cry at movies? If so, which movies make you cry? No, except maybe “Brian’s Song” What would you do if you had a million dollars? You would have to be asking these questions of somebody else. Are you a good dancer? Great Dancer – I’m trying to get on that show Favorite Dessert? Vanilla Ice cream

If your life was a song, what would the title be? “My Way” by Elvis What was your most embar-

rassing moment? This survey…

What is your favorite part

about working at The Rich-

mond Fire Dept? My co-

workers, good friends

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? Probably still here

How would your co-workers describe you? Hard headed, sarcastic

What is your proudest accom-plishment while working at The Fire Department? Riding the Battalion car for the first time. Never thought that would happen.

Full Name: Timothy S. Brandon Hometown: Highland Springs

Current City: Powhatan

Education: B.S. from VCU

Marital Status: Married – Wife Tracey – 21 years

Pet (s): 1cat, my dog died in March

Do you have any children? Four – Travis, Taylor, Tanner, Trent

Position at the Fire Department:

Captain – Q-15

Movies: Action, Westerns

Music: Classic Country

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Quote: “Some people are born on 3rd base and go through life thinking they hit a triple”

Jobs before the Fire Depart-ment: Lifeguard, bartender, painter

What do you enjoy doing with your family? Going to the beach, usually Nags Head

Employee Spotlight: Timothy S. Brandon

New Laptops Delivered to the Fire Stations

Elmond Taylor

Kimberly Wilson-Cho

Recently the Department pur-chased laptop computers for each of the 20 fire houses . I have stopped by several houses and inquired as to how these have been accepted. Most have expressed appreciation for the added benefit of having another computer at the fire station to train on.

John Birchfield also provided the means to connect to the TV monitors at the fire stations so that crews can also benefit from

group learning activities. If you have not yet taken advan-tage of the opportunity to use one of these computers please do so. Of course all users must comply with the requirements of Administrative Regulations 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.9. Addi-tionally, no computer may be removed from the fire station as these are for in-station use only.

The computers are outfitted with software and internet ca-

pability. It is our hope that eve-ryone will make good use of the technology to stay up to speed on EMS training.

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 3

Children's Hospital Health and Safety Day

PAGE 4

The week of May 28th, 2012, the Richmond Fire Department joined together with members of the com-munity to recognize the placing into service and housing of six newly purchased fire apparatus. The time honored tradition of hosting a “Housing Ceremony” for new apparatus dates back to the 19th cen-tury and serves to embody the value that the men and women of the Fire Department place on those citizens who live and work within the City of Richmond. Traditions such as this one help us bring the community together and allow our Department to reiterate our dedication to fire and life safety. Ceremonies for the following new rigs were held during the week:

Engine 11 May 29th, 2012

Quint 1 June 1st, 2012

Quint 21 June 1st, 2012

Quint 22 May 30th, 2012

Rescue 1 June 1st, 2012

Apparatus Housing Ceremonies

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 5

As you are aware, the department contracted with Fitch and Associ-ates to evaluate the department and produce a comprehensive master plan based on that assessment. Fitch representatives continue to work on the deliverables with the expectation that the department receive a draft report in early July. Fitch & Associates was tasked with the development of a master plan for the department that spans from the immediate to a 10-15 year vi-sion. As reported previously, the plan will address service delivery, stations/station boundaries, staffing – both sworn and civilian, evalua-tion of facilities/apparatus, evalua-tion of reporting relationships, analysis of efficiency and effective-ness of the department and depart-ment programs. Additionally, the

report will provide the department with ‘best practice’ models and key performance benchmarks for critical services.

As a part of that report preparation, Fitch representatives met with just over 75% of the organization. All department members had the oppor-tunity to participate in either a one-on-one meeting, focus groups and/or discipline specific groups (i.e., Fire Prevention, Fire Training, Ap-paratus committee, etc.); and some departmental members attended multiple focus sessions based on composition of membership. The department supplied just over five years worth of run and financial data for analysis and is in the proc-ess of obtaining and supplying ear-lier data from the CAD preceding

Neighbor-To-Neighbor

Fitch and Associates

Intergraph for trended activity analysis. Simultaneously, Fitch and Associates are evaluating DEC and RAA data to gain a composite pic-ture of Richmond public safety. Additionally, Fitch representatives met with City administration and economic development to ensure their master plan addresses future growth models and economic vital-ity through neighborhood master planning.

Upon release of the draft report, senior leadership along with City administration will review the re-port and provide feedback on the draft. Fitch & Associates will then release the final report.

Tracy Thomas

In our efforts to “Build a Better Richmond,” the N e i g h b o r - T o -Neighbor (N2N) initiative has urged us to increase our civic engagement and volunteerism throughout the City of Richmond. Established in 2010, N2N has promoted over 50 volunteer opportu-nities for employees and citizens. Additionally, the Neighbor-To-Neighbor program organized the City’s first “Give Thanks, Give Food” Food Drive which brought in over 2,000 pounds of food that was then donated to the Central VA Food Bank.

To continue the success of the N2N program, Mayor Dwight C. Jones has thrown down the gauntlet with the “100,000 Service Hour Challenge.” The chal-lenge will be managed by each individual depart-ment and will log the amount of service/volunteer hours each department contributes. All employees were asked to register with N2N. Each registered

employee will be responsible for logging their own volunteer hours. Updates on volunteer hours will be given by the 5th day of each month. Total hours re-ported per department will be showcased in The Mayor’s Newsletter, the N2N newsletter, and on Star-net.

Additionally, each department will develop a N2N 3x3 Service Plan. This department specific plan will consist of (1) 3 National Service Projects, (2) 3 Coun-cil-led Service Projects, and (3) 3 High Impact Part-nering Agency Service Projects. The N2N 3x3 Ser-vice Plans will begin their designated projects in April 2012. This plan will provide each department with a minimum of nine service projects for each fiscal year, and will support the alignment with the City’s Balance Scorecard and the Human Services Workplan.

All employees are encouraged to participate in the Neighbor-To-Neighbor initiative! Should you have any questions or need more information, please visit www.richmondgov.com/neighbortoneighbor, call the Neighbor-To-Neighbor office at 804-646-6528, or contact Fire Headquarters at 804-646-2500.

JULY 2012 PAGE 6

As everyone may be aware, the fire department (FD) is currently in-volved in a replacement project for our Fire Station Alerting System (FSA). The city has recently an-nounced its intent to award, based on voting and feedback from the committee, to U.S. Digital Designs in Tempe, AZ. http://stationalerting.com/

This replacement system (Phoenix G2) will cost approximately 1.2 million dollars and will be installed in all 20 fire stations. Some of the features it will offer are:

Recessed illuminated speakers with ramped LED lighting

LED message signs

Automated dispatching (computerized voice)

It was extremely important to the committee to include end-user feedback in the overall design of this system. First, a short survey was emailed to department line officers (114), asking five ques-tions. Taking exceptions for any system limitations, the majority answers will be used for the over-all design.

1.Station alert tones should dif-ferentiate based on? Event Na-ture (EMS vs. FIRE) 2.A reader / message board dis-plays information related to a dispatched event. Of the follow-ing, select your top THREE choices for the event information that should be displayed on these boards: Unit Dispatched, Event Type (EMS, Brush Fire, Structure Fire), Address

(Continued on page 13)

Fire Station Alerting

Full Name: Captain Sylvester I. Hen-derson, I, Q-6

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

Marital Status: Married to Natasha N. Henderson for nine years; dated for nine years before marriage.

Do you have any children: Son, Syl-vester I. Henderson, II(Lil’Vess) and Lauren Nicole Henderson (Princess Lauryn the Diva). They are my heroes and my angels.

Hobbies: I love to travel, fish and creat-ing a culinary indulgence.

How do you relax away from the fire station? Away from the station I relax by enjoying family time and the diverse Richmond attractions.

Jobs before the Fire Department: Prior to RFD, I worked at C&E Associ-ates(family business), Kings Dominion and Word Access (Access America), all great companies.

When and how did you first become interested in becoming a firefighter? I became a firefighter by wanting a ca-reer change that offered active opportu-nities and growth. While on lunch break from Access America, with three dollars in cash

(bills and change combined), I ran into

now Retired Firefighter Randy Emer-son at a McDonalds. Randy has al-ways been happy to be Randy and was headed to the river with his jet ski. I thought he was excessively happy for McDonalds so I kept an eye on him. He was talking about what a great day it was and explained the Fire Depart-ment schedule to me (remember the four day breaks). He told me they were accepting applications right then at the Ashe Center. I skipped McDonalds and was the last person to complete an application that day. I wanted to be as happy with employ-ment as Randy, but without being Randy. I was 1/12th of Class 93-1. Thanks Randy!

What is your favorite part about working with the Fire Department? My favorite part of working here is being a part of the synergy that pro-vides life safety, hope and opportuni-ties for better living to the residents that have impacted my life the greatest.

What is your proudest accomplish-ment while working with the Fire Department? The relentless battle and commitment from every soul, Fire-fighters, Recruits, lay citizens and all hands that stood united to save Rich-mond from destruction on March 26,

2004, at 933 West Broad S t r e e t . P r o u d e s t moment in life: Wed-ding day, and the births of Lil’ Vess and L a u r y n . Thanks to Dr. Karen Jefferson (RFD Family).

How would your co-workers de-scribe you? Co-workers View of me: The perspective is too broad to imagine or limit to text. I guess somewhere at both extremities of a bell curve.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know:

What you don’t know about me: You probably shouldn’t know. Next.

Philosophy: If you are going to claim to support, trust and help one another in this department, industry and life; then do it while it can be appreciated. We live in the time of our Lord; not our own time.

Hi Mom!

Employee Spotlight: Sylvester I. Henderson

Nancy Hall

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 7

Members of the 2011-2 Recruit Class

David A. Abell

Brian M. Beatty

Joshua A. Bennett

Matthew T. Bricker

Jeffrey W. Dickens, Sr Christopher J. Ferguson

Sherard A. Glover Keith L. Graham

Daniel C. Minaert Anthony W. Montagno Michael G. Pileski John A. Pumphery

Mark D. Toub Mario D. Williams

JULY 2012 PAGE 8

Fire Station 17 Progress Report

JULY 2012 PAGE 9

"Leadership – The Richmond Way" As part of an ongoing strategy to continue to strive for Safety, Excellence, and Teamwork, members of our workforce will be attending regularly scheduled training that supports the spirit of the Building Bridges recommendations. Therefore, the following personnel have been selected to attend the City of Richmond, De-partment of Human Relations Supervisory Leadership, the Richmond Way May 17, 2012 – July 12, 2012.

Elmond Taylor

Steven Hall Jr.

Jody Moore

Menshian George

William Bullock

Sheldon Williams

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 10

LGBT Pride Month

Robin McCarter

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is celebrated each year in the month of June. Do you know its ori-gin? Gay pride, LGBT pride or simply pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward LGBT people to promote their self-affirmation, equality rights, increase their visibility as social groups, build community and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance. Its origins honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. The Stonewall riots were a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sun-day in June was initially celebrated as “Gay Pride Day,” but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the “day” soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride pa-rades, picnics, parties, workshops, marches, ral-lies, symposiums and concerts, and large festi-vals such as the Sydney Mardi Gras, which spans several weeks.

LGBT Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and interna-tionally. Common symbols of pride are the rain-bow or pride flag, the lowercase Greek letter

lambda (λ), the pink trian-gle and the black triangle, these latter two reclaimed from use as badges of shame in Nazi concentration camps.

LGBT History Month is also celebrated with annual month-long observances of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, along with the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. National Coming out Day (October 11), as well as the first “March on Washington” in 1979, is commemorated in the LGBT com-munity during LGBT History

Month. Gay and Lesbian History Month have been endorsed by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the Human Rights Campaign, The National Gay and Les-bian Task Force, the National Education Asso-ciation, and other national organizations. In 2006, Equality Forum assumed responsibility for providing content, promotion and resources for LGBT History Month.

We are in a global pivotal moment for LGBT identity-both in how individuals are identified, and how individuals self identify. We are in an era that dismissed “Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell, and legalization of same-sex marriage in six states and various countries around the world. As we continue to move from rules driven to values based organization, introspectively we will have to assess where are we on the comfort contin-uum? In recognition of LGBT month, I chal-lenge you to lead discussion or introspectively evaluate in private thought what LGBT means to you and your community. Finally, I thank you for all you do and all you will do.

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 11

Employee Spotlight: Keith Andes Hometown: Born and raised in Rich-mond, attended Westover Hills Elemen-tary and George Wythe High School.

Marital Status, Children, Grandchil-dren: Married for 34 years. Four chil-dren, three girls, one boy. Two and a half grandchildren. I say one half because my oldest daughter is expecting a baby girl in September.

Hobbies/Activities you enjoy with your family: I enjoy walking; jogging and I’ve just recently started biking. I like to read and keep up with the political fronts both locally and nationally. I also enjoy play-ing drums.

I enjoy being with my family but due to all our schedules I find it harder to do things together as a whole. This makes the times we spend together as a family even more special. We do go on a family vacation to Nags Head each year. I look forward to that time to catch up on what each is doing in their life. I am lucky that all of my children and grandchildren live in the Richmond area so I get to see them individually on a regular basis.

How long have you worked for the City? Briefly describe what you do in your position in the Fire Department: I have been with the Department for 34 years. I came in January 30, 1978, two days after getting married. I went through eight weeks of training at the Training Academy before being assigned to Engine Company 1 where I spent 23 years. I transferred to Station 11 for two years until being promoted to Lieutenant. As a Lieutenant I went to Station 5 for three years before being assigned as a Safety Officer. I was promoted to Captain and stationed at Quint 5 for three years until I was reassigned to Station 8 where I have been for the last two years.

What were your jobs before joining the Fire Department? I worked for two years with City of Richmond Gas and Water Department as a crew member working on gas and water main repairs. I played drums with a band that traveled the East Coast for a time before joining the Fire Department.

How did you become interested in working for the Fire Department and what is your favorite part about working here? I knew at an early age what I wanted to do for a career. It was always a dream to work for the City Fire Department. As a kid I would at-tend the annual Fire Show at City Sta-dium and was in awe of what they could do. Growing up in Westover Hills I walked past Station 20 daily. If I saw guys sitting on the bench out front I would stop to talk. They always seemed so happy, laughing and joking with each other, that I knew they en-joyed what they did. I applied and was blown away when over 2000 people showed up to take the test. I figured there would be maybe 50 because I thought very few people wanted to do this job! At the age of 21 I became a member of the department and, the rest as they say, is history!

My favorite part about working with RFD is the men and women. Though we face many challenges and more is being asked of us, it amazes me the enthusiasm that is on display each and every day.

How would your co-workers describe you? I’ve never been comfortable talk-ing about myself. I’m going to let this question be answered by those that I have been blessed to work with. I have learned from some of the best and seen first-hand what it takes to perform this job the right. I will continue to have the utmost respect for the people who taught me how to treat this job and the traditions that it so deserves.

What is your proudest accomplish-ment while working here? I have two. The first is one I didn’t see coming. In a firefighter’s career there are good days and no-so-good days in which you may share stories of joy and some of sadness with those closest to you. This is a kind of stress debriefer, so to speak. In the short amount of time you have on this earth to influence people, unbe-knownst to me, I was becoming a re-cruiter of the department to a special person in my life. While the fire service

has a history of sons following the path their fathers, few females have followed their dads. I am so proud to say my daughter, Kellie, chose the fire service for her career path.

The second was to be voted by the Brothers and Sisters of Local 995 as their president. In following a person of the stature of Dave Pulliam, Sr., and all he did for us, I knew I would have big shoes o fill. I take the responsibility very seriously and will always serve the position with the honor of knowing that I represent a group of people committed to making the department and the Inter-national Association of Firefighters all they stand for.

What do you see as the biggest chal-lenge facing the department and the City of Richmond today? I can see why this is the last question. It truly is the hardest to answer. While there are many challenges to us I believe we have to challenge ourselves to become an even bigger asset to the citizens of Richmond. While we all hear and read of the trends that are sweeping across our country on our benefit packages, we have to continue to show the profes-sionalism that has taken us through tough times before. In your careers you will see cycles like these. Continue to do your job and they will pass. What will remain is why we come in every day; each other. When we don’t have each other’s back, we will fail. It’s up to all of us! Stay safe and thank each of you for what you do!

Nancy Hall

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 12

Richmond Regional Fire School

BUILDING BRIDGES PAGE 13

Full Name: James Adam McCain Hometown: Richmond, VA

Current City: Goochland , VA

Education: Graduated from Hamp-ton University with Bachelors of Sci-ence (Biology)

Marital Status: Married

Pet (s): Dog (Dasani)

Do you have any children? Bryce 6, Aiden 4, Riley 2

Position at the Fire Department:

Firefighter III

Movies: Coming to America, Five

Heartbeats, Heat, Lean on Me, Belly,

Bad Boys 2

Music: HipHop, R&B and Neo Soul

Favorite Color: Black

Jobs before the Fire Department: Personal Trainer, Physical Therapist Tech, Lifegaurd

How long have you worked for the city and briefly describe what you

do in your position with the de-partment:

I have worked for the city for 4 ½ years and I am firefighter

What do you enjoy doing with your family?

I enjoy playing outside and going to

Captains to review the system layout in each firehouse. This includes loca-tions of speakers, lighting, message signs, and zoning (multi-company / Battalion stations). Finally, in the up-coming months, additional surveys will be sent out to the department ask-ing for feedback on street pronuncia-tion, dispatch order, and or other spe-cific criteria. It is important that you participate in these surveys so that this can be a ‘department specific’ vs. ‘off-the-shelf’ system.

System design and installation will take approximately 12 months from contact implementation. This system will completely change fire dispatch operations from what we currently are accustomed to. It is the committee’s intention to implement TAC channel dispatching upon the FSA ‘go-live’. In layman’s terms this means every event dispatched will be assigned a TAC channel (on dispatch). There will be a

3.Select TWO locations that reader / message boards should be installed within the station: Apparatus Bay, Kitchen / Day-

room 4.What do you consider is the MOST crucial piece of informa-tion, that needs to be clearly heard over the speakers, during the initial dispatch? Address 5.**BC'S ONLY** In addition to the battalion office and quarters, what are TWO common areas you would like to see alert (speakers open up) for a battalion dispatch? ApparatusBay, Kitchen Day-

room [Detailed survey results may be found on the ‘L drive’ under the Communications/Fire Station Alert-ing folder.]

Second, committee members are in the process of meeting with station

Fire Station Alerting

Employee Spotlight: James Adam McCain

designated TAC Fire Communications Officer assigned at DEC 24/7/365. This would eliminate the process of Battal-ion Chief’s and/or Incident Command-ers being required to monitor two ra-dios.

As a reminder, when our current system (FRAP), goes down, DEC will make an announcement over the air as well as contact each Battalion Chief by phone. Each Battalion Chief (or designee) is responsible for notifying the stations within their battalion of the failure. There is a policy in place (final draft pending PPG approval) for FRAP fail-ures. You may refer to this policy on the ‘L drive’ under the Communica-tions/Fire Station Alerting folder.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or input, please contact a member of the Communications Com-mittee. 

the pool with the kids and taking fam-ily trips

If your life was a song, what would the title be?

Life is what you make it

Do you cry at movies? If so, which movies make you cry? No

What would you do if you had a million dollars? Buy a new car and do some traveling with the family. Are you a good dancer? I think so What was your most embarrassing moment? It’s too embarrassing to discuss What is your favorite part about working at The Richmond Fire Dept?

Being able to be a positive role model to the kids were I am stationed (Station 11)

How would your co-workers de-scribe you?

Eager to learn, outgoing, and always ready to help.

John Spanbauer

Lauren Bonneville

PAGE 14

that the cost esti-

mations have

been completed

our project team

is looking at the

next phase of the

project, namely

Invitation for

Bid (IFB).

We are anticipat-

ing that work

will begin on the first of these

two stations sometime shortly

after the opening of new 17.

Fire station 10 will benefit from a

completed redesigned bathroom

plan that affords greater privacy

of members for the workforce by

using single use bathroom. Also,

an addition for storage has been

programmed into the project.

Attention will also be given to

the kitchen and work out areas.

Fire station 13 will be enhanced

by moving all of the living func-

tions to one side of the house.

This will be accomplished by

adding a new

bunk room to

the rear of the

fire station.

Like 10, this

station will also

transition to

single use bath-

room facilities.

‘Why fire stations 10 & 13?’

many have asked. The short

answer is that these are two of

our two company houses.

More people are assigned to

the two company houses.

Therefore more people will

benefit from these renovations.

Please keep in mind though

that this presents a start, not a

conclusion. It is our aim to

renovate of replace many of

our aged and worn fire stations.

In both of these projects elec-

trical, water, and perhaps gas

will be interrupted temporarily.

We are evaluating ideas for

housing the companies during

demolition and construction.

We have also been in conversa-

tion with the RFD Credit Un-

ion.

When work begins I will once

again send out regular updates

on the project progress.

We have been providing regular

updates on the progress seen at

new fire station 17. But news of

the proposed renovations at fire

stations 10 and 13 evaporated

over time. Well I am happy to

announce that the project is back

on track.

As a quick summary, please allow

me to review the efforts made

thus far. The City of Richmond

awarded the design of the renova-

tion of these two stations to the

Dewberry architect group. Dew-

berry arranged a series of design

charettes held at these respective

fire stations with the operations

crews, facilities management

staff, and representatives from

Fire HQ.

Following these meetings Dew-

berry presented designs that were

based upon the comments and

observations made. Once final

designs were agreed upon, Dew-

berry handed over design docu-

ments to cost estimators. Now

Renovation of Fire Stations 10 & 13

Elmond Taylor

Recipe By:

Eddy L. Moore, Captain CAL Fire, City of Rancho Mirage

January Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Janu-

ary 17

February African-American History Month

March

Women's History Month Irish American Heritage Month

St. Patrick's Day - March 17

April Celebrate Diversity Month

May

Jewish Heritage Month Asian/Pacific American Heritage

Month Senior Americans Month Cinco de Mayo – May 5

June

Gay and Lesbian Pride Month

July Anniversary of Americans with

Disabilities Act - July 26 August

Women’s Equality Day – August 26

September

Hispanic Heritage Month –September 15 to October 15

German American Heritage Day – September 15 to October 15

October

Disability Employment Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Polish American Heritage Month

November

American Indian/Alaska Native Heri-tage Month

Veterans Day - November 11

Inclusion & Diversity Calendar

Carne Asada Tortas (Mexican Steak Sandwiches) Tortas are a delicious Mexican sandwich that can be made with steak, chicken, or pork. Here is the steak version of the sand-wich. A torta is a meal by itself, and it's also great with grilled sea-sonal veggies, Spanish rice & beans, or a small side salad. Especially delicious with salsa and two of my signature pepper-based dishes: Chipotle Guaca-mole and Chipotle Sour Cream. Serves: 4-6 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15-20 minutes Total Time: 35-40 minutes

4 lbs. whole pieces of beef flap meat 2 cups soy sauce 2 cups orange juice 1 onion, diced 4 garlic cloves, chopped 3 limes, juiced 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 4-6 tablespoons hot sauce (more if you like it spicy!) Salt & cracked black pepper 3 cups refried beans (canned or homemade) 1 head of lettuce, rinsed & cut into strips (taco-style) 4 tomatoes, sliced 2 cups cheese shredded: Jack, Cheddar, Queso Fresco (Mexican Cheese) and/or Co-

tija - any alone, or in combination 4-6 bolillos (Mexican bread), sliced in half horizontally

1. In a large bowl or large Ziploc bag, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, onion, gar-lic, lime juice, and the spices. Add the meat to the marinade and marinate in the re-frigerator for 30-60 minutes.

2. Pull meat from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature an additional 15 minutes prior to grilling.

3. Grill the meat on each side for 3-5 minutes - flap meat is a thin cut, so watch the meat and check often for desired doneness.

4. Once the meat is grilled, allow it to rest for 10 minutes to lock in all of the juices. Cut into thin strips against the grain.

5. Butter the bolillos and warm them on the grill, being mindful not to let them burn.