By Jay Dimoff
By Jen Deshon
GREETINGS FROM YOUR LOCAL 935 PIPES AND DRUMS!
First, our thanks to the membership of Local 935 for your
continued support of our mission. Once again, 2019 proved
to be a very busy year for your pipes and drums band. We
supported many events, including department-related and
of course St. Patty’s Day events. As always, the 935 Pipes
and Drums was developed to honor and pay respects to
all fallen firefighters, not only for our own department, but
any other department requesting such service.
So why are the pipes and drums a thing in the fire service?
Well, how about a little history to help explain…
The pipe bands we know today trace their lineage back to
their presence in the military, where drumming was used
to signal tactical movements and to help the soldiers keep
time during march. While drumming has been around
since ancient times as a means of communication, the presence of the bagpipes
in the military traces their origin back only to the 17th century. It is believed the
traditional Scottish pipe band modeled itself off the fife and drums bands which
originated in Switzerland in the 15th century, while the first civilian organizations
to start up such outfits were the police and fire brigade.
There are only four different instruments in any bagpipe band, and the number of
players depends on availability of personnel and the musical level of the ensem-
ble. First, there are the Great Highland bagpipes, featuring six to 30 players. The
lead percussion instrument is the Scottish snare drum with numbers anywhere
from one to twelve. The midsection (or bass section) has the Scottish tenor
drums with one to eight players plus the Scottish bass drum, where there is
always only one player. I specify “Scottish” for the percus-
sion instruments because they are quite different from the
make and models used in American drumming, let alone
the musical and technical style.
The Local 935 Pipes and Drums was established in 2012,
and in 2016 combined with the Local 891 Pipes and
Drums following the merger of San Bernardino Fire Depart-
ment with SBCoFD. The band currently has 16 active mem-
bers, and holds practice once or twice a month, depending
on upcoming events.
2020 is going to be a special year for us. We will be hon-
oring recently Captain Art King, who died last year shortly
after retirement, both in Colorado Springs at the National
Firefighters Memorial ceremony and in Sacramento at the California memorial.
We encourage all Local 935 members to attend one or both of the events. Each
is an opportunity to give respect for one of our very own 935 members who paid
the ultimate sacrifice. We will post dates and time several months prior to both
of the events so that you have plenty of time to plan your attendance. After both
of the events, there will be time for camaraderie, catching up with old friends,
possibly listening to your local 935 band play some pub party tunes, and just
hanging out. We would love to see you there.
FEELING LEFT OUT?
Are you receiving paper ballots in the mail from Local 935? If not,
your mailing address on file with the International Association of
Firefighters (IAFF) is probably outdated. Local 935 must use the IAFF
mailing list for official correspondence like ballots—so changing your
address on 935’s website alone will not help. If your mailing address
has changed, go online at www.iaff.org, select the “Member Resources”
tab on the dashboard and update your contact information there. If
you need help logging on to either the IAFF or Local 935 website,
please contact Secretary Jen Miescher.
While we’re on the subject of web pages, our updated and revamped
local site, iafflocal935.org, as well as IAFF.org, are each great sources
of information. Your local’s executive board also sends out short,
informative emails to keep union members in the loop. Unfortunately,
only about 50 percent of those emails are opened and read. We ask
that when you receive one of these emails, please take 30 seconds
out of your day to stay informed— don’t just click “delete.”
Still feeling left out?
If so, why not attend a union meeting? General meetings are open
to the entire membership and are held every other month. E-Board
meetings are closed sessions which give your union leadership a
forum to address the issues. Make it a goal to attend at least one
general meeting this year.
“Union Works” a regular feature of FIREWIRE. The goal of this column is to
educate the members of Local 935 about the inner workings of their union
so they can make informed decisions and effect positive change.
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Band member Jay Dimoff is a captain currently assigned to Station 36 in Joshua Tree.
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14 FIREWIRE • FALL 2019
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Follow our updates & videos:
San Bernardino Regional
Emergency Training Center
@ SBRETC_training
Web: www.sbretc.org • Ph: 909-382-3208
The activities of SBRETC
are based on the following values:
• Safety and Competency
• Quality and Integrity
• Customer Service and Technology
San Bernardino Regional Emergency Training Center (SBRETC) training programs are designed to expose students
to “real” life training exercises. Training is based on previous incidences, frequent, and common occurrences.
Training is conducted through the conveyance of theory (classroom), controlled scenario based manipulative
exercises (hands-on), and often under “live” fi re conditions with real life responses and mitigation expectations.
FALL 2019 • FIREWIRE 15