Chris is the morning show DJ at MIX 96.9 in Phoenix, and he makes a big effort to give back to our community.  In Feburary, Chris served as a guest judge at the Firefighter Chili Cookoff – we really appreciated his participation in that fantastic event!

Chris’ latest endeavor has him working hard organizing a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Phoenix’s 1st Annual Rock & Roll Bike Run, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 16th.

This sure-to-be-a-blast event is a city-wide motorcycle tour that will make stops at several locations to listen to bands – including The Chris Parker Project.  If you’ve ever heard Chris’ band, you won’t want to miss this event.

The citywide stops will include Dirty Dogg Saloon, The Hideaway, and Flicka’s Bar & Grill. Each venue will feature live music, food, and more. It’s promising to be a blast and more importantly to help out a lot of people with Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that can cut life drastically short for people that have it. It’s not too late to join the fun! 

If you’d like some details, you can visit the event page, or the registration page. 

See you on Saturday!

Baskin-Robbins — in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters’ Foundation — is sponsoring 31 cent scoop night. The event will be held from 5-10 p.m…TONIGHT!

The Baskin-Robbins web site has more details, but I had some repeated issues trying to get their home page to load, so  I’m guessing plenty of folks will be out to support this event.

Firehouse.com made a post earlier today with this fantastic info:

In addition to the bargain scoops, Baskin-Robbins will support fallen heroes by making a donation of $100,000 to the NFFF. Also, local firefighters have been invited to the event to collect donations.

See you at 31 Flavors!

Over the years I’ve seen first responders bring forth some very creative solutions to challenging rescues, but I wish I’d been able to see this one in person!

A Thai firefighter dressed as Spider-Man to rescue an autistic boy who climbed onto a third-floor balcony and dangled his legs over the side because he was nervous on his first day of school.

You can catch all the details at AzCentral.com.  

Have you ever seen a creative rescue such as this one?  Or perhaps concocted one? We’d love to hear your comments!

Our video below overviews the entire event, from booth setup, to crowd comments, and finally, the results from the judges.   Please let us know what you thought of the event by commenting below.  Enjoy!

Congratulations, Station 10!

Did you hear the most powerful thing he said?

Last year, every fire fatality in the City of Phoenix did not have a working smoke detector.

Does your family have working smoke detectors?  What about your friends?  Or the homes your children visit?  When did you last check the batteries in them?  Please do it today, and mark your calendar to ensure you do it regularly!

This tragedy was preventable, as are many that I and my fellow firefighters see.  If you’d like to learn more about a simple, dynamic message that can safeguard lives and preserve families, visit Simple Awareness.

Earlier today, the Contreras family spoke out on this topic:  

Please, please, please. Make sure you have working smoke detectors in your home. Bill and I do not want your family to be the next story reported on this blog!

Want a sneak peek of the booth?  Check it out:

What’s your prediction?  You already know mine!

What do you think?

And I love chili even more when it can raise funds to benefit the United Phoenix Firefighters Association.

Last year, firefighters from all over Maricopa County and valley restaurants gathered to compete in the First Annual United Phoenix Firefighters Chili Challenge. The cookoff was created to bring firefighters from around the valley to cook up some great chili, have fun, and more importantly, raise money for the Firefighter Charities.

You – and all of your friends and family! – are invited to come out and enjoy live music and sample all of the chili. The event costs $10 to get in, and admission includes $10 worth of chili and drink tickets. 100% of the proceeds go to United Phoenix Firefighter Charities. Teams consist of firefighters from all over the county along with different local restaurants and other non profits eager to take home the gold.

Here’s the scoop:

2009 Chili Challenge
Saturday, February 28, 2009
11 am to 7 pm
Downtown Phoenix
Washington Street -between 1st and 4th Avenue

The firefighters from Fire Station #10 (my fire station!) are coming together to make the very best chili possible and we are sure to win the gold!  The theme of our display booth is the craps game “hard ten” so look for the booth with the dice!  We are confident that our red chili is the best!

So, if you like red, green or cowboy chili, music and beer…this is the place for you! Saturday will be a fun day to sample all the different chilis and enjoy yourself knowing that we are all supporting a great cause!

Please check out the United Phoenix Firefighters Association for more info on the fund raising event.

I look forward to seeing you!

Maybe you’re familiar with what we firefighters do each day because you’re one of us!  If that’s the case, feel free to share this link with a friend or acquaintance since they’re likely interested in these details but have never asked you about them!

What’s your firefighting family like?  I want to hear from you!