News from The Rookie Sidekick: Missoula Smokejumpers, DRM & TSI @ TEEX, First Overseas Customer

I'll spare the bad puns about inventor David Johnston's product catching fire . . . Here's a round-up of news from Deschutes River Manufacturing, the Bend, Oregon-based maker of the go-anywhere power fire hose roller, The Rookie Sidekick. -hoc
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Wildland Season Kick-Off: Six New Rookies for Missoula Smokejumpers

To prepare for wildland season in the West, the famed Missoula Smokejumpers recently purchased a half-dozen new Rookie fire hose rollers. The Missoula Smokejumper Base is located at the Aerial Fire Depot by Missoula International Airport in Missoula, Montana. The base is situated adjacent to the Region One Fire Cache, the Interagency Fire Science laboratory, and the Northern Region Training Center.

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DRM Goes to Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)
Firefighter Training with Training Specialties Inc.

Deschutes River Manufacturing returns to TEEX in July to assist with firefighting instruction in conjunction with Training Specialities Inc. Part of the Texas A&M University system, TEEX's Emergency Services Training Institute instructs more than 81,000 emergency responders from all 50 states and 45 countries each year. Rookie Sidekicks we donated to TEEX are used every day at their Brayton Fire Training Field, the largest live-fueled firefighter training facility in the world.

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First Rookie Sidekick Shipped Overseas
Singapore Company Supplies Malaysian Oil Industry

Although we have a distributor in Canada and several customers there, we recently shipped our first Rookie Sidekick All-In-One Electric to a customer outside of North America - an engineering supply company based in Singapore that serves oil company customers in Malaysia.

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New Training DVD Available, Video On Web

With invaluable assistance from the Crooked River Ranch Fire Department, we recently produced a training DVD covering basic operation for each model of the Rookie Sidekick, plus the Rookie Reloader. Deschutes River Manufacturing donated a Rookie Sidekick gas (rolls up to 3" dia. fire hose) to the CRR FD, which also purchased a Rookie Reloader to complete its hose management system.

Click here to view an excerpt from the DVD - and to see other videos of the Rookie Sidekick in action.

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New Customers: Industrial, Municipal, Wildland
From North Carolina to British Columbia

• Anderson Township Fire & Rescue (near Cincinnati, Ohio) purchased a Rookie Sidekick after a 30-day trial.

• At the Northwest Fire & Rescue Exposition, Kittitas County Fire & Rescue in central Washington bought a Rookie Sidekick on the spot and wheeled it out of our booth. Our distributor Type One made the sale.

• Department of Energy contractor Fluor-Hanford in Richland, Washington recently purchased a Rookie Sidekick Gas for the DOE's Hanford Site.

• The Canadian Department of Energy in British Columbia bought an All-In-One Electric and portable stand. Our distributor in the Great White North, Columbia Fire & Safety, made the sale.

• Georgia-Pacific in Alabama joined our customer list with a unit sold by HC Services in Laurel, Mississippi.

• Cramerton Volunteer Fire Department (near Charlotte, North Carolina) added a Rookie Sidekick All-In-One Gas to its essential firefighting gear.

New Rookie Fire Hose Roller Video by Wahoo Films

(Bend, OR) "We're helping firefighters enjoy their retirement," is how David Johnston, inventor of the Rookie Sidekick go-anywhere motorized fire hose rollers, recently described his company Deschutes River Manufacturing's mission. By eliminating some of the grunt work from this already physically demanding profession, the Rookie Sidekick helps save wear-and-tear on firefighters' bodies and prevent injuries that can mean the difference between retiring with debilitating chronic pain or actually enjoying an active retired life.



Michelle Alvarado of Wahoo Films in Bend produced this video, which is an excerpt from a training DVD demonstrating the use of every Rookie Sidekick fire hose roller model and the Rookie Reloader for transporting and re-decking hose. Alvarado donned the turnouts and got as close to this large live fire training exercise as the fire marshal would allow.

-hoc

Live Fire Training in Redmond, OR

Deschutes River Manufacturing donated time to roll fire hose after the live fire training in Redmond, Oregon on Saturday, April 12. After wearing heavy fire-proof turn-outs all day and breathing through full-face respirators in scorching heat, these firefighters were grateful not to have to roll wet, heavy hose (up to 5-inch LDH) by hand at the end of the day.

Fire departments from throughout Central Oregon participated: Redmond, Sunriver, Crooked River Ranch, La Pine and others. Michelle Alvarado from Wahoo Films documented the training on video, while photographer David Morris shot stills.

These are the photos I took, thanks to the loan of a really nice camera from Carlos Perez of Perez design. These images are available for use with permission and credit. Contact me: Harold Olaf Cecil, Ad HOC : Words + Ideas

Click here to view album.

Rolling LDH Fire Hose at the Deschutes River Manufacturing HQ & Ranch

(Bend, OR) Inventor and entrepreneur David Johnston of Deschutes River Manufacturing demonstrates the Rookie Sidekick fire hose roller with the help of his daughter. His company's Rookie Sidekick line of fire hose rollers eliminates the grunt work of rolling fire hose of all sizes, up to 7.25" LDH. Wildland, industrial, municipal and volunteer fire departments throughout the U.S. and Canada use the Rookie Sidekick and Rookie Reloader, for re-decking rolled fire hose.



Customers include Union Carbide-Dow Chemical, Marathon Oil, Conoco-Phillips, Exxon-Mobil, Suncor, Valero Oil Refinery, Nebraska Power, Los Alamos National Laboratory, British Columbia Dept. of Energy, Fluor Hanford, Georgia Pacific, USFS, BLM, BIA, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, TEEX, CAL-FIRE Academy, Washington State Fire Academy and volunteer and municipal fire departments of all sizes. The fully portable design mounts on any vehicle hitch receiver or ATV. The Rookie Sidekick is available with either Honda gas or Baldor electric motor. Video by Wahoo Films and Ad HOC.

Deschutes River Manufacturing's David Johnston Radio Interview

photo: David Johnston (left) trains Crooked River Ranch Fire Department Capt. Tim McLaren with Rookie Sidekick fire hose roller.

David Johnston, owner of Deschutes River Manufacturing and inventor of the Rookie Sidekick fully portable motorized fire hose rollers, was interviewed by Bend news-talk radio station KBND yesterday. Although he's characteristically humble about his accomplishments, the fact is the Rookie Sidekick is really gaining traction and is now being used across North America by fire departments of all types and sizes. Click here for the interview. (If the MP3 does not play in the browser window, right click - or CTRL + click for Mac users - and select Save Target As or Save Link As to download.) -hoc

Continental Fire & Safety Distributes Rookie Sidekick

New Distributor: New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania

Continental Fire & Safety Now Represents Rookie Sidekick
Fire Hose Rollers by Deschutes River Mfg.

BEND, Ore. (March 2008) -- Deschutes River Manufacturing’s Rookie Sidekick line of portable motorized fire hose rollers will now be available in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania from Continental Fire and Safety. Based in Trenton, New Jersey, Continental Fire and Safety provides innovative and advanced fire, safety and suppression equipment. The company also distributes the Rookie Reloader, for transporting and re-decking rolled fire hose.

For inquiries or to request a demonstration, contact:
Gregory Gore
Continental Fire and Safety Inc.
180 Volusia Ave
Trenton, NJ 08610-0405
Toll Free: 800-313-1846
Phone: 609-588-0096
Web: continentalfireandsafety.com

In its September/October 2007 issue, Canadian magazine Oil & Gas Product News wrote that the Rookie Sidekick and Reloader system "allows firefighters to effortlessly transport rolled hoses, and it reduces the labour needed to re-load hose back on to the engines."

The Rookie SideKick fire hose rollers recently have been purchased by wildland, municipal and industrial customers, including the Valero Refining in NJ and DE; Sunoco in NJ; Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fire Dept. in Palmer Alaska; Bureau of Land Management in Shoshone and Burley, Idaho; Kenai Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska; and US Forest Service Columbia River Scenic Gorge in Oregon.

The Rookie Sidekick hose rollers and The Rookie Reloader re-decking system are available to put through the paces without obligation to buy through a 30-day trial program. All Sidekick models are equipped with either a Honda gas engine or Baldor electric motor for years of virtually maintenance-free operation.

The Rookie products are OHSA-inspected. The original Rookie units are available through the GSA system (GSA orders do not qualify for the 30-day trial). For more information, visit www.the-rookie.com or call 541-480-5967 or 877-868-1951.