OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTER
NOVEMBER, 1989 Page 3
VBR
C
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Chief of Fire Protection:
<
Deputy Fire Chief:
Oct 29
Australia
Nov 1-3
Stillwater
Nov 3-5
Nov 4-5
Assistant Fire Chief Training:
Assistant Fire Chief Operations:
Nov 14-16
Stillwater
Nov 15
EENET
Nov 23-24
Stillwater
Dec 11-13
Tulsa
Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/V/H
Dec 11-13
Stillwater
08/17/89
Dec 25
Stillwater
Broken Bow
Okla. City
Stillwater
Stillwater
OVERSEAS
EMPLOYMENT
suppression. rescue and
Associate Degree in Fire
Aircraft Firefighting and
OCTOBER
Oct 27
Oct 28-29
Oct 28-29
Stillwater
Tulsa
Nov 15-16
Nov 17
Nov 20-22
DECEMBER
Dec 7-8
North Babylon
New York
1
>
Nov 4-5
Nov 4-5
& 11
Nov 10
Nov 13-14
Nov 13-15
S
Okla. City
Okla. City
Ada
NOVEMBER
Nov 1-3
VBR
P.O. Box 3 (Bldg. 01, Rm. 503)
Houston, TX 77001-0003
Attn: W. G. Rogers
Assistant Fire Chief for Technical Se. .ices:
a major airport or similar facility.
I got my wish
Sam Oruch’s dream to be a firefighter
Fire Service Institute of Oklahoma
Conference
FST: Fire Cause Determination &
Investigation
FST: Hazardous Materials Technician
(continued)
Holiday - Office Closed
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Fire Marshal Commission Meeting
FST: Trench Rescue
NFA: Tactical Operation for
Company Officer I
Change Your Clock, Change Your
Battery
A JOINT VENTURE OF
VINNELL CORPORATION AND
BROWN AND ROOT SERVICES CORPORATION
NFA: Tactical Operations for Company Stillwater
Officer II
All positions are in Turkey, some are family status position. U.S. citizen-
ship required. Qualified personnel should rush their resume in confidence
to:
FST: Trench Rescue
Fire Service Instructors Training -
Level 1
Holiday - Office Closed
FST: Trench Rescue
FST: Seg. Ill Fire Cause Determination
and Investigation
FST: Hazardous Materials Technician
(continued)
FEMA: Computer Use in Disaster &
Emergency Mgt. Decision Making
NFA: Incident Command System
OSFA & Pension Board Meeting
Fire Service Instructors Training -
Level 1
OSFA & Pension Offices Closed
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
1 Ians and schedules training, conducts training (lasses. both classroom
and practical. Conducts unannounced structural and crash rescue exer-
cises. Must have an Associate Degree in Fire Science and six (6) years ex-
perience in Fire Fighting in an organized fire protection function. One year
in Aircraft Crash and Rescue Services.
or strongest. They always fed me
lunch and gave me a ride back to my
house on an engine. The would drop
me off right in front of my house and
they even let me ring the bell as we
pulled up. All the kids would run out
to see the engine, you should have
seen their faces. Let me tell you, no
one messed with me. The firefighters
were my buds and in those days, fire-
fighters were looked up to. I guess
they still are today."
Rescue for a period of eight (8) years, at
Must know the characteristics of aircraft fuel propellants, oxidizers
missiles and weapons of both special and conventional types. High school
graduate is required, six (6) years experience plus one (1) year in Aircraft
Crash, Fire and Rescue Services.
"When I was little, five or six, I ran
away from home all the time. I guess I
wasn’t running away because I
! always knew where I was going, to
the fire station," said Sam Oruch,
retired Oklahoma City firefighter.
"My mother would get a call from the
firefighters at station No. 10 telling
her I was there. I liked to go to the
fire station and polish the trucks and
listen to the firefighters as they told
their stories about who was the best
Must be well-versed in the direction of fire
emergency incident operations. Must have an
Science and have directed functions such as
NFPA: Twelfth National Conference on
Fire
Fire Service Instructors Training -
Level 1
National Symposium on Implementing
NFPA 1403: Fhe Life Fire Training
Standard - ISFSI
Will be responsible lor developing Fire Prevention Training Programs.
Must have an Associate Degree in Fire Science, plus six (6) years ex-
perience in Aircraft Firefighting and Rescue.
A major Operations and Maintenance Contractor currently providing ser-
vice to the USAF/USA Military Bases in Turkey is looking for qualified per-
sonnel in the following areas:
Must have an Associate Degree in Fire Science and have directed rescue
functions, for a period of at least eight (8) years, at a major airport or
similar facility.
This is the reason Gene Oruch,
known to his friends as Sam, wanted
to be a firefighter when he grew up.
June 1, 1950. when Sam was 21-
years old, he was hired onto the OKC
Fire Department and assigned to sta-
tion No. 5, then located at S.W. 23rd
and Walker.
"I reported to the station at 8 a.m.
that morning. The captain at the sta-
tion asked me if I would report to sta-
tion No. 12 instead because they
were a man short. That afternoon, at
1 p.m., it was announced on the radio
the 45th infantry division, which I
was a member of, was activated."
Sam then went to Fort Polk, Loui-
siana. Sam was then sent to the
Korean War.
Nineteen months and sixteen days
later. Sam came home from the war
and reported back to station No. 5.
He spent 28 years with the Oklahoma
City Fire Department before retiring.
Now. Sam works to serve the fire
service in a different capacity. He is
Curator of the Oklahoma State Fire-
fighters Museum.
In 1970, Andy T. Miller, then Okla-
homa State Firefighters Association
Director, made plans for a fire-
fighters museum. In June of that same
year, it was opened to the public. The
only problem was there was no one to
give tours and maintain the facility.
"Andy approached me when the
museum opened and asked me if I
would like to be a tour-guide. I
showed children how we fought fires
and gave them a brief history of the
progression of the fire service." Sam
accepted Andy’s offer and took care
of the museum while he wasn’t
fighting fires.
In May of 1978, Louis Bunch, OSFA
Director, asked Sam to retire from
the fire department and assume the
position of full-time curator of the
museum. On June 25, 1978, Sam
retired from the OKC Fire Depart-
ment and took the job.
I m really proud the museum has
grown the way it has. It’s one of a
kind. We have 35 pieces of rolling
stock and over $3 million dollars
worth of equipment."
"My favorite part of being curator
is the children. I remember when I
was a child and would wander to the
station. The firefighters there stood
for something and were a great in-
fluence on me. I’m glad to have the
opportunity to do the same, through
the museum. I always wished I could
be a firefighter: and I got my wish.”
By Blake Kelso