Not sure it ever worked in the first place
We are in a fascinating period of time for the fire service. Never before have the resources (financial, physical and mental) been greater. We are finally looking at fires, how they burn, how conditions change. We are looking a fuel packages, flow paths. We are discussing heat release rates and polar…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on February 9, 2014 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments
Never before have we had the information we do now
FACE 2011-31 On December 23, 2011, a 42-year-old male career fire fighter died during fire-fighting operations on the 2nd floor of a three-story apartment building. The victim was assigned to Engine 5 (E5) with a lieutenant and driver/pump operator. E5 was the first-due engine company at this fire. The Incident Commander ordered E5 to take a 1¾"…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on December 3, 2013 at 7:00pm — No Comments
"Quid est veritas?"
In this classic scene from ‘A Few Good Men’, Danny Kaffee is questioning Lt. Col Nathan Jessop about the use of a ‘Code Red’ that resulted in the death of a Marine. Colonel Jessop’s…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on March 23, 2013 at 8:24pm — 1 Comment
Video bites, Facebook morsels continually shape our education
As we look at the evolution of training in the fire service, we must realize that we are at a time like never before experienced. Today there is the availability of information at a moment’s notice. Fires occur and are on YouTube before the companies finish making up. There are…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on March 22, 2013 at 6:24pm — No Comments
Protecting people’s lives will involve risk for us as firefighters
“A female occupant, in her 40’s, was unable to escape due to the intense heat and thick smoke and was quickly located by firefighters. She was removed out of the bedroom window and treated by paramedics on the scene.”…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on February 8, 2013 at 3:33pm — 1 Comment
It is imperative that you bring your mind to the fight.
For those that follow this blog and Backstep Firefighter, you are aware of our catch phrase. “Expect Fire”. This phrase, inspired by the words of Andy Fredericks, was developed by…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on October 12, 2012 at 7:54pm — No Comments
After reading the NIOSH Investigation report for the Line of Duty Death of Firefighter John Davies that occurred in Worcester, Massachusetts in December of 2011, a certain amount of confusion remains.
Based on the finding by the committee performing the Investigation, the Worcester should have used VSP (Victim Survivability Profiling)…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on August 7, 2012 at 7:11am — No Comments
All vacants are empty….
Fire through the roof means no entry….
We have 20 minutes interior before collapse happens…..
Victims can’t survive in burning buildings……
It is concerning that the fire service…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on June 7, 2012 at 3:30pm — 1 Comment
I think I finally put it all together….I understand it now. Call it an epiphany or a moment of clarity, but suddenly it all made sense. During a recent class the instructor made several references to the standard EGH ethos, “We come first” and “Risk a lot to save a lot”. As I listened though, I understood that while he spoke of these things, his perspective was different. …
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on January 28, 2012 at 2:00pm — No Comments
Many of you have taken Firefighter Survival Training. While it varies from place to place, depending on the instructors, the core information and intent is the same, to prepare firefighters to save themselves when things go wrong. From bailouts to low profile maneuvers to breathing control, all these things are taught to teach firefighters what to do when things gone wrong and they get…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on January 26, 2012 at 8:00am — No Comments
According to some, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. It would appear that this applies to Charleston, South Carolina based on a report based on a fire that occurred in 2010.
The Post and Courier published an article…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on December 14, 2011 at 7:15am — No Comments
Are you certain this is the job for you?
Depending on who you are speaking with, there seems to a gap when it comes to how to accomplish our goals and not get killed or injured in the process. Words like “cowboy”, “aggressive” and “sally” are all used when someone takes issue with how someone else is getting the job…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on November 4, 2011 at 7:05pm — No Comments
On Thursday September 29, 2011 a Vallejo, California firefighter was burned in the rescue of a paraplegic. The firefighter made entry into the man’s mobile home which was heavily involved in fire and dragged the man toward safety. During his attempt he was forced to bail out after suffering burns and a second crew knocked down the fire and completed the rescue.
On March 30, 2010 the Homewood, Illinois Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in a chair in a house. They were…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on October 22, 2011 at 7:11pm — No Comments
For you baseball fans out there, you may recognize this phrase. Usually it is used in discussion about a player that has been struggling and the team has been working with him to slow the game down, so they are better prepared and better able to react. As with many ideas and practices from Major League sports, there are applications in the fire service. This is another case of us being smart enough to learn from others.
At Backstep Firefighter and The Front Seat, we often use…
ContinueAdded by Dave LeBlanc on July 26, 2011 at 8:30pm — No Comments
Added by Dave LeBlanc on July 18, 2011 at 9:04pm — No Comments
Added by Bill Carey on June 25, 2011 at 11:40am — No Comments
Added by Dave LeBlanc on April 25, 2011 at 3:30pm — No Comments
Added by Dave LeBlanc on April 9, 2011 at 9:47am — No Comments
Added by Bill Carey on February 1, 2011 at 7:30am — No Comments
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
1999
1970
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief. Powered by