Featured Blog Posts (1,722)

Living Will ---My way.....

New Living Will Form

I, __________________________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead partisan politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it or lawyers/doctors/hospitals interested in simply running up the bills.

If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 14, 2008 at 10:42am — 6 Comments

Disbanded fire stations and companies - a sad part of fire service history

I've moved around quite a bit in my career, and it's sad to see how many stations and units have been disbanded throughout the history of various fire departments. FDNY, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and quite a few others have some pretty good historical photos and records of old fire stations and disbanded fire companies.

Some of the ones from my past that I really miss...

Hagerstown Community Rescue Service Squad 75A - I hated the slime… Continue

Added by Ben Waller on May 14, 2008 at 10:26pm — No Comments

Sister Needs Help

Hello fellow FFN Brothers and Sisters,

i didn't really know how to send this so I decided to use the "blog". This sister, Stephanie Smith, one of my friends, needs some help in winning a contest. If you would go to the link below and vote for her I would be greatly appreciative. If you would pass this on and ask YOUR friends to vote I will, well, never mind. Vote for photo #30 - P1, etc.... I thank you in advance and Steph thanks you as well. Stay safe out there… Continue

Added by Da Chief - Jim O'Neill on May 15, 2008 at 4:13am — 1 Comment

Going to see the Cubbies today

Today is the Cubs game and i am all fired-up. We went to Harry Caray's last night for dinner and it was fantastic. I hung out yesterday afternoon with the 'fellas at Truck 3 Engine 42 Squad 1. I always have a great time while here in Chicago. We are going to Howl at the Moon tonight mainly because it is right across the street from the Marriott.
Take care all.

Added by firegirl1 on May 15, 2008 at 10:55am — 1 Comment

The Good Ol Boys 2

So it sounded like a maybe upset a few of the readers of The Good Ol Boys of the Firehouse, I apoligize right now for doing this, that was not my intent at all. After reading some of the comments on the post i decided maybe I should answer some of the questions that were posed to me about the post. First of all, Idk why we would tear down a wall during a defensive attack on the structure, I didnt even think about that until it was brought to my attention. Secondly, nothing upsets me about my… Continue

Added by Dustin J. Millis on May 10, 2008 at 9:00am — 3 Comments

ITS A SAD DAY TODAY

ITS A SAD DAY TODAY AT THE RHODESTOWN VOL. FIRE DEPT MRS.RITA ZIMMER #1337 WENT TO BE WITH THE LORD TODAY 5-11-08 AT 3:30 AM.. OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND THE FAMILY . YOU WILL BE DEARLY MISSED.... WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU AND ALL THE GREAT THING YOU HAVE DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND COUNTY.. YOU TAUGHT US ALL ALOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS AND SHOWED US WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT.. YOU WERE ALWAYS THERE WHENEVER ANYONE NEEDED YOU.. YOU NEVER SAID NO IF SOMEONE HAS ASKED FOR YOUR HELP... WE… Continue

Added by Michael Bird SR on May 11, 2008 at 5:38pm — 1 Comment

Critical Incident Safety Debriefing

Hello all! I hope everyone is safe and well. Today I would like to open up a topic about Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). As we watch the news for changing conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan and to possibly catch a glimpse of our dear friends and family members who are serving overseas, we do not see how some of the soldiers are returning home. Can you imagine how tired the soldiers are with the war now into it's 7th year? You can see in their eyes the fatigue, you can hear it when… Continue

Added by M Clark on May 11, 2008 at 11:40pm — 2 Comments

Why are we Firefighters

Many years ago a great President asked “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what can you do for your country.” Although many of todays firefighters are too young to remember these famous words spoken more than a few years ago by President John F. Kennedy. The word still ring true, even in a small village like Eastlake where our great country begins there are a group of people who dedicate themselves to serving their fellow man. They do not do it for money, fame or personal gains, they… Continue

Added by Eastlake Fire Department on May 10, 2008 at 10:01am — 1 Comment

Back Again

I haven't had a chance to be real active on the boards lately because we just got back from China where we adopted our first daughter. It's been a whirlwind experience. I tried to visit a fire station while we were there but it's government controlled, so we weren't able to visit or take pictures. I was pretty bummed. I guess they probably wouldn't trade patches either?

I have managed to get Firefighter Ministries website updated with… Continue

Added by Wendy Norris on May 8, 2008 at 11:41am — 2 Comments

Then, and Now

cattaraugus 2.jpg

On a late summer day in 1949, the members of the Cattaraugus Fire Department are putting their new pumper through its paces. A drafting operation has been established at an unknown location in Cattaraugus County, New York.

The truck has just arrived from Young Fire Equipment in Buffalo, and is equipped with a 500 GPM… Continue

Added by Joe Stoltz on February 1, 2009 at 12:00pm — 9 Comments

The Good Ol Boys of the Firehouse

I havent been around the fire service for a very long time, just about a year now. Ive been through mandatory training, Firefigher 1 and 2, and EMS Academy. Being surronded by all of this training makes me realize all of things that some of my officers do that really arent that safe. Now don't get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for these guys, they have definatly put in their share of time, some of them 30 years or more. Normally I don't say anything to them and just kinda let… Continue

Added by Dustin J. Millis on May 8, 2008 at 12:46pm — 8 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Zippers and Velcro and Vents....Oh My

This isn't going to be one of my longer ramblings......not that I COULDN'T bore you to tears with 20 paragraphs about what I had for breakfast today... and one of these days I just might, but this is just an equipment quickie today. (However.....I was contemplating some grapefruit and a bowl of---oh never mind. )

In a stunning turn of events, I was selected, along with nine other members of my department, to be fitted for brand-spankin new turnout gear!! I'm not sure how or why I… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 7, 2008 at 7:02am — 13 Comments

The Show goes on

Well its been another month for on the dept. Things are awesome i am learning alot and have been able too see quite a bit of calls to learn off of. I just completed my basic esstintals class over the weekend and boy let me tell ya what it wore me out lol, but i had a lot of fun and learned alot from the class as well as myself and what i can do. im still waiting for my frist major structure fire, have seen two barn fires but no house or ect... anyways just thought i give a quick update as to my… Continue

Added by Mike Yocom on May 5, 2008 at 1:21pm — 1 Comment

Motivation- It's What Moves Us

So if you think I haven't been motivated lately, and thus no recent blogs, you are wrong; just busy, is all. Motivation is all around us; like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder. if you aren't feeling motivated by something, you probably aren't looking.

Motivation is what differentiates us sentient beings from ameobas, but even then, some painful stimuli from time to time will get even the lowest form of life to do something relatively modest and therefore, if we are just… Continue

Added by Mick Mayers on May 5, 2008 at 10:58pm — 10 Comments

Recruitment Clearinghouse - ERIE COUNTY NY

Recruitment & Retention Toolkit: The Recruitment Clearinghouse - Samples of Success: Erie County NY

By: TIGER SCHMITTENDORF

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership. It first appearing in the May-2008 edition of FASNY's The Volunteer Firefighter magazine.

In Part 1 of… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 7, 2008 at 11:19pm — 10 Comments

SC-TF1 at South Carolina Vigilant Guard Exercise

From NATIONAL GUARD MEDIA RELEASE: FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE

Release Date: April 30, 2008

Release Number: VG-042908

Local, regional, state and military emergency crews conducted a full-scale disaster response simulation in Beaufort County. This five-day-long exercise involved nearly 2,345 military and civilian personnel responding to a mock earthquake scenario with partially collapsed… Continue

Added by Mick Mayers on May 6, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments

What Are YOU Doing to Prevent Another Station Nightclub Tragedy?

There's been a lot of stuff written and said about the Station Nighclub fire and tragedy in which saw the loss of 100 lives and a further 200 injured.

I'm not here to call into question the response of the emergency services to this event.

But we MUST use events like this and 9/11 and Worcester and others to learn from.

What can we do better?

What worked?

What didn't?

What needs… Continue

Added by lutan1 on May 3, 2008 at 11:00pm — 17 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner: Courage in the Face of the Unimaginable

We had our group run yesterday (Saturday)10 miles, which is the second to longest run in the prep for the half marathon. After next weekend (which I have to run by myself again because I have to work yet another Saturday for FASNY) we start the "taper" process; meaning that we start scaling back the mileage so that everyone is rested, uninjured (with me? You never know....four years ago I almost knocked myself out of my first half-marathon after I fell down a flight of stairs at work. I know… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 4, 2008 at 12:31pm — 8 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Lather, Rinse, Repeat

We had drill this week that I knew was coming down the pike from our disgruntled Chief (if someone's disgruntled, then why isn't "gruntled" a word too?) . We had a drill two weeks ago with an outdoor live burn that didn't go as hoped. The hydrant tapping process was, for lack of a better word, complete and utter chaos. As our chief stated at the end of the training drill..."If this had been an actual fire, we'd be doing nothing but raking up ashes, and I'd be turning in my white helmet out of… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 4, 2008 at 1:00pm — 15 Comments

Three Montgomery County, MD Firefighters in Close Call Collapse

Source: Scene Reports & MCFRS Press Report

Three Montgomery County, Maryland firefighters were injured when a catastrophic floor collapse occurred while fighting an apartment fire that also claimed the life of a civilian.

Firefighters from Rockville and the surrounding area were dispatched to the 12800 block of Twinbrook Parkway shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday and arrived with heavy fire showing from the second and third floors of the building,… Continue

Added by Firefighter Nation WebChief on May 3, 2008 at 11:30am — 10 Comments