Chapter 3
Resignation
2/22/2010
23:47
…
…
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
My Fire Pager was going off. "Attention Sparrow Fire Rescue station 1 with Charlie 96, Bypass 70 and Montague Rd, on the overpass, Semi Fire." I jumped up and got my clothes on in less than a minute.
-TONE, BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-
"Attention Sparrow Fire Rescue station 1 with Charlie 96, Bypass 70 and Montague rd, on the overpass, Semi fire." I then got my keys, wallet,
phone and pager, ran out the door, which locked behind me, and started running down the stairs.
-TONE, BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-
"Attention Sparrow Station 1 Fire Rescue with Valley Ambulance Charlie 96, Bypass 70 and Montague Rd, on the Overpass, Tractor-trailer on fire,
Deputies en-route. Sparrow Fire clear, WSI 753 23:49."
I ran out of the building and got in my truck. I started the truck and turned on my Blue light bar and sped to the station, which I arrived two
minutes later and I heard over my pager, "Sparrow Fire from C1, Bypass and Montague for Tractor Trailer Fire." "C1, Sparrow Fire, you have a Semi
Tractor on fire, Driver advises to expedite. He says he is carrying paper products." "C1, 10-4, I am enroute." "10-4, C1." Fire Chief Taylor had been
the fire chief for twelve years. I walked into the station and got on my Bunker gear and by the time I was finished, Asst. Chief Young, Firefighters
Cawler, Morton, Keller, Shaffer, Scharler, and Gillings arrived and started getting their gear on. Asst. Chief Young keyed the Base station, "Sparrow
Fire, Station 1, Bypass and Montague for Tractor Trailer fire." "10-4 Station 1." "Sparrow Fire, Charlie 96 is enroute." "10-4 Charlie 96." I was
certified to drive and operate the Pumper truck so I opened the door and then I jumped on engine 12 and started the truck. I pulled the truck out
and once I stopped on the apron Lieutenant Flood, Firefighters Cawler, Morton, Keller and Schaffer jumped on the engine and I looked back and
saw that Firefighters Scharler and Gillings get Tender 15, the tender, out of its bay. I turned on Engine 12's Emergency Lights and Chief Young
called on the radio, "Sparrow Fire, Engine 12 is en route to Montague and the Bypass." "10-4 Engine 12." "Sparrow Fire, Tender 15 is enroute."
"10-4 15." I turned on the siren, and we were rolling. Just as we were getting on the bypass we heard, "Sparrow Fire, C1 is on scene with PD,
Engine compartment fully involved, C1 has command." "C1 arriving on scene, engine compartment fully involved, C1 has command." "Sparrow Fire
Rescue 13 is enroute." "10-4 13." "Sparrow Fire, Tender 16 is also enroute." "10-4 16." After another two minutes, we arrived and saw that half of
the tractor was on fire. "Sparrow Fire Engine 12 is on scene." "10-4 12." "Engine 12 from C1, park across the road from the truck and pull a the
trash line." Chief Young answered, "Engine 12 10-4." "Sparrow fire Tender 15 is on scene." "10-4 15." "15 from C1 deploy your portable tank next
12." "15 10-4." "Sparrow Fire C1, Please tone out Station 4 for another Tender." "10-4 C1." "Sparrow Fire, Rescue 13 is on Scene." "10-4 13."
"Sparrow Fire, Charlie 96 is on scene with Sparrow 1." "10-4 Charlie 96." Chief Young and everyone else jumped out and started grabbing
equipment, I parked the truck blocking the road so the right side of the truck was facing the tractor. I engaged the pump and got out and went to
the pump. I pulled the appropriate levers and goosed the throttle and at this time the others had gotten the hose out and were ready to shoot
water. I then charged the line and they started putting the fire out. "TONE" "Attention Sparrow Fire Rescue Station 4, Montague Rd and the
Bypass, on the overpass, Mutual Aid to Station 1 with a tender for a Truck Fire." "TONE" "Attention Sparrow Fire Rescue Station 4, Montague Rd
and the Bypass, on the overpass, Mutual Aid to Station 1 with a tender for a Truck Fire." "TONE" "Attention Sparrow Fire Rescue Station 4,
Montague Rd and the Bypass, on the overpass, Mutual Aid to Station 1 with a tender for a Truck Fire. Sparrow Fire Clear. WSI 753 00:03" "Sparrow
Fire, 16 on scene." "10-4 16." Firefighters Scharler and Gillings were backing up Tender 15 towards Engine 12 and then stopped about twenty feet
away and deployed the portable tank next to Engine 12. They then got the suction hose and connected to 12 and set it in the tank and then
Firefighter Scharler backed 15 to the tank and dumped all of its water. I then engaged the suction intake so I wasn't using the tank water. 13 set
up its light tower and lit up the whole scene. I then heard over the radio, "Sparrow Fire, Station 4." "Station 4?" "Montague and the Bypass." "10-4
Station 4." and then a minute later, "Sparrow Fire Tender 45 is enroute." "10-4 45." "Sparrow Fire C3 is also enroute." "10-4 C3." The flames were
still going but at least they were no longer spreading. Firefighters Keller and Schafer then got the other crosslay line and I charged that line and
they put more water on the fire. Tender 15 was done dumping water and then 16 backed up to the tank and started dumping its water. Three
minutes later I heard, "Sparrow Fire from Tender 15, opening hydrant at Montague and Billings." "10-4 15." "Sparrow Fire, Grass Rig 14 and Utility
18 are enroute to the Bypass." "10-4, 14 and 18." About two minutes later, "Sparrow Fire, Tender 45 on scene." "10-4 45." "C3 on Scene,
Sparrow." "10-4 C3." The fire was Finally dying down and I was saying in my mind, 'Great we'll be leaving in little while.' and then I heard, "Sparrow
Fire, Mike 709 is on scene." "10-4 Mike 709." Mike 709 was the radio designation for the County's Fire Marshall investigator. He stayed in his van in
case he was needed. A couple of minutes later the fire was out and Chief Taylor called, "Sparrow Fire from C1." "C1 Go Ahead." "This fire is under
control, all units enroute can return to quarters." "10-4 290, Fire at Montague and the Bypass is under control, all units enroute can return."
"Sparrow from 14, Returning." 10-4 14." "Sparrow Fire 18 also returning." "10-4 18." "Station 4 units from C1 you can return." "10-4 C1, Sparrow
Fire from C3." "C3?" "C3 and tender 45 are returning." "10-4 C3." The Station 4 units left without dumping water. After watching the truck for
several minutes we determined the fire was truly out and we found out from deputies that the driver was traveling along the road when smoke
began pouring out of the engine. So we had the investigator come over and see what he thought. Several minutes later he said he would have to
get it to a shop and just at that time a heavy tow truck arrived and after about thirty minutes the tow moved the truck and trailer off the over
pass. The trailer was left with deputies and waited for another truck to take the trailer, the tow and the tractor then left and we got all of our
equipment and the trucks, drained the portable tank and got it back on the tender. And then ten minutes later after everything was done Chief
Taylor called, "Sparrow Fire from C1." "C1?" "Montague command is terminated all Sparrow units are in service, returning." "10-4 C1." "Sparrow
Fire Charlie 96 is Returning." "10-4 96." "Mike 709 is returning." "10-4 709." It took us seven minutes to get back to the station to start the
paperwork and after an hour of getting the equipment ready for the next run we all spent about twenty minutes chatting and then we all went
home. I arrived at home at about 01:45 I took a quick shower and then went back to bed and max also went back to sleep.
2/23/2010
06:02
-ring-
-ring-
-ring-
-ring-
My phone was ringing. I picked it up. "who is calling me at this time of day?" "Hello?" "Is this Tom Radford?" "Yes." "Hello Tom, I am Cadet Robert
Dremel at West Point Military Academy. How are you today?" I was a little annoyed of him calling me at this time of day. So I decided to be a little
belligerent. "First of all, Cadet, you are calling at an inappropriate time of day because you woke me up. Now that out of the way, I am fine
otherwise." "I am sorry sir for waking you up sir. I am calling to tell you that Lieutenant Colonel Daniels has sent us your preliminary test results
and my superiors have decided to not give you the primary acceptance test and accepted your application to west point for this summer. The
Military Entrance Preparation Station will be sending you official orders through the mail to report to them. Okay?" "Okay. Is that all?" "Yes Sir,
Please have a nice day and we hope to see you here this summer." "Cadet, please let me talk to your commanding officer." "Uh, yes sir hold on
please." –Click-
…
…
-Click- "this is Captain Nelson, Recruiting commander at west point, how may I help you." "Captain, My name is Tom Radford." "Yes sir, cadet
Dremel said you wanted to talk to me?" "Yes, I am putting forth a minor complaint that you are calling me at an inappropriate time of day. I just
wanted to let you know." "Thank you for telling me, sir. I think what happened was he had forgotten that you were not in the same time zone as
us. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." "Thank you, Captain. Have a nice day." "Oh and sir, welcome to west point." "Thank You. Goodbye"
"Bye"
"Well time to get ready for the day." I got up and did my morning routine. And then at 8:00 I went to the Milanis offices to tell Jack about the test
and my acceptance in to west point.
2/24/2010
05:30
On Wednesday, while I was going out to my car, I saw that I had some mail in my mailbox. There was a single letter. I got it and went to work.
When I got there and relieved S/O Wilson who was the regular third shift officer on Tuesday and who has been there for two years, I looked at
whom the letter was from. It said United States Army MEPS of Chicago. I opened the letter and read it. In a nutshell, it read:
'Dear Tom Radford, Please report to the MEPS Station in Chicago on 03/06/2010 at 0800 for initial health, vision and hearing tests. Thank you.'
Okay well that was that. –Crackle- "Gallant Guard Shack, this is…
03/06/2010
05:00
I got up, did my morning routine, went to my car and drove to Chicago. Two days before I called Jack and told him that I needed a flex officer to
take over my shift. He said that he would take care of it.
It took me about two and a half hours to get to the MEPS. When I went in, I was told by the sergeant at the front desk to go to the US Army
offices in room 12 down the hall. I went down the hall and went in to room 12. I went up to the female SFC (Sergeant First Class), whose last
name was Ortega, and said, "Excuse me Sergeant, I was told to come here." She said, "Yes, what's your last name?" "Uh, Radford. R-A-D-F-O-R-D.
First name Thomas." "Thanks, let's see…" She shuffled through some files. She then took one that I presumed to be mine. "…whoa." "Something
wrong sergeant." "No. but there is a note on your file from the MEPS Commander. It says 'expedite on all tests for west point enrollment.' That's
rare." "Why?" "We usually take one month to get the tests done. They're asking us to get them done in one week." "Wow" "okay. Well follow me"
I followed her to the back of the room and we sat down at a computer. She opened a program and the asked, "please say your full name."
"Thomas Eugene Radford" She started typing. "Social Security Number" "311-90-0002" "date of birth" "08 31 1987" "Caucasian" she continued
typing and after two minutes she got up and said "this way please." "Okay" I followed her out the door and down the hall to the medical area.
After going thorough some double doors. She told me to sit down. She then went over to a nurse behind the desk and gave her the file and then
she left and went back to the US Army office. A few minutes later a doctor came out of the medical office. He said, "Mr. Radford, come with me."
"Yes sir" I went in to the office and followed the doctor. He led me to where the blood tests were taken. He drew my blood and then led me to the
eye room to take a vision test. After the test he took me to the hearing room. After the hearing test the doctor took me to get a physical. After that
he sent me back to the front waiting room and told me to wait. After about ten minutes The SFC from the Army office came out said that I could go
home and she or someone else from MEPS would give me a call of when to come back to MEPS. So I said thank you and left the station.
16:46
When I got home I was greeted by max and feed him. I then called jack and told him I was back in town and said I would be in to work tomorrow.
He said okay and to tell him when I knew anything about my acceptance. I then made dinner which was beef pot roast, garlic bread and salad.
After I got done I got on some workout clothes, went downstairs to the exercise room to work out. After an hour of exercising and sweating, I
went upstairs, got max, put on his leash and went down to the first floor to go out for a walk. After an hour walk from my apartment, to the YMCA
and back I was tired as hell, so I went back upstairs, took Max's leash off and gave him and myself some water. I then took a shower and then
went to bed. I needed to be up at five.
20:57
03/12/2010
13:47
I was taking a break and finishing my lunch when I got the call…
-Law and order theme ring tone-
"Hello?"
"Hello Tom, this is Staff Sergeant Anderson, How are you today?"
"I'm Fine, Sergeant. What's up?"
"Well we have you're orders here. You're to report to MEPS on the second of June at 0800, you'll stay there for two days and then on the fourth
you will be going to west point. What you should do is get a ride to the armory at 0500, and we will transport you to MEPS. They'll handle it from
there. Okay?"
"Sweet. See you on the second." "Okay see you then. Bye" "Bye"
I then called Jack and told him that I was leaving on the second of June. He told me that I could leave Milanis on the first of that month. I told
thanks, hung up, called my parents and told them the news and went back to work.
05/12/2010
14:12
-Crackle-"Gallant Guard Shack, Gallant Guard Shack, This is MPT 2112 at dock 23. 10-33, 10-33. Over." The driver was shouting over the radio.
"10-33. what the hell is going on?" I keyed the radio and said in a calm voice, "Attention all trucks at Gallant, hold traffic, MPT 2112 reports a 10-33.
MPT 2112, go ahead." I currently had eight trucks on the property. "The dropped long island trailer in door 21 is on fire. More specifically the refer
engine is on fire. Over" I then raised my voice. "10-4. you get out of there right now. I'm on my way. All trucks in the back evacuate the immediate
area. Abandon your trucks, abandon your trucks" I got the security cell phone and ran out of the guard shack. I got in my car and turned on the
amber and green emergency lights that I got installed seven months ago with the permission from jack, Gallant and the local police. On a regular
patrol it would have taken me two minutes to get around back. I got there in twenty seconds. Sure enough the long island trailer in door 21 was
on fire. I called the superintendent and told him to evacuate the receiving area. The MPT driver came over to the car from the perimeter fence
about twenty feet away from his rig. I unlocked the doors and he hopped in. As I drove away from I took out my personal phone and called 911.
"9-1-1 Emergency" "This Security Captain Tom Radford at Gallant Food Products, Security Department, 1 Gallant Drive in Belton, Wisconsin. We
have a Refrigerator trailer on fire. Diesel fuel is involved. Requesting police, fire and ambulance to respond code 3. The immediate area inside the
building has been evacuated." "Okay, sir we are sending help right now. You may hang up now." "Thank you." I then asked the driver, "You okay?"
"Yeah, it just suddenly went…" I stopped him, "Don't tell me, you'll lose it. Wait for the police then say what you saw." "Okay." I dropped the
trucker off at the truckers lounge and went to the front gate and started lockdown procedures. This meant locking the gate and calling all
supervisors to begin lockdown procedures. Lockdown was a procedure that involved no one leaving the property what so ever. They would then
pull them overand take them back to Gallant for investigation. After five minutes, a police unit arrived. I let him in and after he entered gate I
immediately locked it again. The officer then asked, "Where's the fire?" "It's around back. But right now I would like you to keep anyone from
leaving." "Okay" "Can you pick up CB?" "Yeah" "which channel?" "Channel 7." "Got it." "Let me know of any emergency vehicles that come in." he
nodded. I then unlocked and opened the gate. The officer then pulled his car in front of the gate and stopped all traffic. After another five minutes,
two fire engines, Belton Engine 2, Engine 6 and ambulance 91 came up to the gate. I then got in my car and signaled them to follow me. I led them
around back and by that time the fire had spread to about halfway down the trailer. I then moved out of the way and then the fire company went
and did there stuff. The police officer then called me on the radio, "Gallant Security, this is Belton police 82. Fire investigator and an additional
ambulance are coming in." "10-4" 30 seconds later the investigator and ambulance 84 came around back. I switched on the Public Address System
and said, "Ambulance 84 this Gallant security go back around front and see if anyone needs medical attention." They then called over their PA and
said, "Roger that, security." and then turned around to go to the front. I then called the police unit, "Belton PD 82, Security, has there been any out
bound traffic?" "Negative, another unit just showed up and I told them to block the south gate" "10-4." After about ten minutes the fire was finally
out. I surveyed the damage. Two thirds of the trailer was destroyed. I then talked to the fire captain and told him that before that before the
engines and ambulances left, I need to get some information from him to write an incident report. I than got on the radio and called the police,
"Belton PD 82, Fire has been contained. Lockdown is still in effect. Only Emergency Vehicles are allowed exit." "10-4" I then switched back to
channel 8, "Attention all trucks at Gallant, this is security, code 4 on the 10-33. A lockdown is in effect. No trucks are allowed to leave until further
notice. This pending an investigation. Please keep this frequency clear until further notice." I then looked up towards the highway; two state police
cars were watching the east side of the property. With that I went back to the guard shack to get the incident report. 'This is going to be a long day.'
While I got the report out of the cabinet I called the superintendent and told him the fire was contained but the lockdown was still in effect. He said
he would keep people inside.
14:42
After writing the initial report I told the fire captain his people could leave. I then went told the officer guarding the front gate to tell his partner he
can go. I then went to the back to talk to the investigator. When I got there he was at the front of the trailer. I got out, went up to him and asked,
"how is it going, sir?" he waited a couple of seconds before he picked up and looked something I didn't recognize. He then looked at me and then
back at the object. He waited a couple of seconds before saying, "Just another day of determining the cause of fires." "What is that you got?" "Oil
pump." He had an old Chicago Accent, like the investigator from the movie 'Backdraft.' He waited a couple of seconds before he said the words that
I did not want to hear, "the impeller has been welded to the pump body. What got here is sabotage. In other words, Arson." 'Crap' "how long ago
do you think it was committed." "Within two to four days, depending on how often it ran. We're lucky it didn't spread to the building." I heard the
police over the radio, "security, I have person here at the front gate in a Milanis security uniform, over." I went and grabbed the Radio Mic and said,
"10-4, I'm on my way." I then told the investigator, "Let me know what you turn up." "Okay" I then went back to the front gate, got out of the car
and went up to the car coming in. It was Sanderson. He asked me, "What the heck is going on, sir." "We had a trailer fire awhile ago. We're on
lockdown. Hang on." I waved to the police officer and he moved his car and Sanderson then drove to the security parking, I drove my car back to
the security parking as well and we both went back to the guard shack. We both didn't say any thing.
15:20
The inspector then came around from the back. He came up to the guard shack and said, "Captain, do you know any knowledge of welding." "No"
"okay, then your cleared to leave." "Alright. Sanderson, under no circumstance is anyone allowed to leave without the investigator's permission.
The reason is because we may be dealing with an arson case." I could tell he was shocked, but he kept his composure. "Got it sir" I then got my
lunch box and went to my car. The investigator went to the police officer and told him I could go. Before I left I told Sanderson to continue the
incident report. I then went home.
16:07
I opened my apartment door and everyday for the past two years Max has been right there to greet me. I was usually excited to see him; I would
grope and mess up his hair on his head. But today when I bent down, I just pet his head. I was thinking it is going to be different without seeing
him everyday while at West Point for four years. He then started to whimper as if asking what was wrong. I then said to him, "I'm just thinking
what's going to happen to you over the next four years while I'm at West Point." He then just looked at me with those eyes, normally full of life
they were now sad looking. It was almost as if he understood me. I then told him, "hey, don't give me that look. I'll make sure you'll be taken care
of. And when I come back I'll be a better man." He perked up a little bit. He still wasn't waging his tail. I then told him, "and I'll make sure we don't
get separated ever again, huh?" that's when he just jumped at me and started licking my face. He was like he was when he was a puppy. I told
him, "Hey take it easy." He then got off me and I went to the kitchen. I give him his dinner, which he devoured, and I went to the freezer to get a
microwave meal ready, because I didn't feel like cooking tonight. The meal was macaroni and cheese. I had a ginger ale with it.
After I finished my meal I turned on the news. It was pretty much old news. The weather for tomorrow was supposed to be warm and partly
cloudy. It was then I realized that I had not changed my clothes from work and it smelled of both smoke and sweat, not a good combination. So I
went to the bathroom, turned on the shower, ditched my clothes and got in the shower, it really felt good. After I was done I decided to turn in
early because it was a long day because of that fire. I went to the kitchen and opened my vitamin drawer. I grab the bottle of melatonin, which
was supposed to help the user to relax. I opened the bottle and popped two pills in my mouth. I then went to the bedroom and put on my
pajamas which consisted of a t-shirt and boxers. I read my book which was a sci-fi book named "Star Craft: Liberty's Crusade" by Jeff Grubb. After
twenty minutes I was sleepy, so my book up on my night stand, called max in who jumped up on the bed, and closed my eyes. Again, No dreams.
06/01/2010
15:45
I had just walked in to the Milanis office to get my severance pay check. When I walked into Jack's office, He told me to go to the conference room
because he hadn't finished the paper work and that someone was in there that would like to talk to me. So I walked out and went to the
conference room. When I opened the door, I was met with a "SURPRISE!" I just about crapped my pants because I wasn't expecting it. All of the
off duty officers from Hormel and all of the office staff were there. On the wall was a banner that said "happy retirement," even though I wasn't
retiring. They had punch and cake on the table. I had to laugh because I should have known that they would do something like this. Oh well, I
decided I would enjoy myself. The cake had "congratulations on your acceptance into West Point. We will miss you" written on it. I was glad that
this party was strictly non-alcoholic. I didn't want a hangover at MEPS.
