The Effects of Inbred Training

 

            When we picture the word inbreeding we imagine movies such as, “Wrong Turn” with mutated and deformed humans that are cannibals. Thoughts of some mountain shack with a family that has never seen the outside world speaking in an unknown dialect that only they can understand. Inbreeding can lead to mental and physical mutations that limit a person’s ability to grow properly…

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    While shiny new pumpers, ladders and rescues grab most of the headlines, the Shift Commander's Buggy, looks almost like another SUV. However, the person driving this vehicle has paid his/her "dues" and has been promoted to the position of Shift Commander.

    This interview with Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the City of Framingham MA, is special to me, because I grew up in Framingham. And it was my exposure to the wonderful firefighters in my community as a child that planted…

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    While shiny new pumpers, ladders and rescues grab most of the headlines, the Shift Commander's Buggy, looks almost like another SUV. However, the person driving this vehicle has paid his/her "dues" and has been promoted to the position of Shift Commander.

    This interview with Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the City of Framingham MA, is special to me, because I grew up in Framingham. And it was my exposure to the wonderful firefighters in my community as a child that planted…

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FDNY

“As first responders to fires, public safety and medical emergencies, disasters and terrorist acts, FDNY protects the lives and property of New York City residents and visitors. “

Los Angeles Fire Department…

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Fresh out of the oven, some humble pie.  Served with the right amount of self-critique, this can be a tasty dish. Latest post at Firehouse Zen.

QUICK DRILLS

Know Your Consumption Rate

2 drills for better understanding how you breathe when wearing an SCBA

By Homer Robertson



How often do you conduct SCBA drills? Even if you went through an SCBA drill on your last shift or on your last drill night, it’s time to have another one. You just can’t emphasize enough how important this one piece of equipment is to the health and safety of every firefighter. Regardless of your level of experience… Continue

Back in the day – I had the opportunity to do a fellowship that took me to the Ames Research Center of NASA. There, tucked in a small corner office, off of a typically bureaucratic hall was the cluttered office of an aging gentle man, who toiled in near obscurity, surrounded by small mementos of his life – autographed pictures of he and President Johnson, personalized memorabilia from Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and memorial tokens of Gus Grissom – who was a personal friend, lost in the… Continue

FEMA's trailers have become a symbol of FEMA's potential disorganization. Many remember the photos of FEMA trailers standing unused in parking lots, while citizens are in need of homes. Last year's fermalgyheide incident, involving FEMA trailers, did not help reduce this stigma. FEMA's trailer program has once again been thrust into the spotlight.



After last year's flooding, many Iowans were left either with homes in disrepair, or without home altogether. Many of these citizens were… Continue

Come Up for Air: Exit the building before the low-air alarm activates

By Chief Gary Morris



Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the July 2009 issue of FireRescue magazine. Read a letter to the editor, and Chief Morris' response, about this article.



Since 2001, as I have lectured about firefighter safety and… Continue

Letter to the Editor



Editor's note: This letter is in response to the article "Come Up for Air: Exit the building before the low-air alarm activates" (FireRescue, July 2009, p. 66). Chief Morris' response follows the letter.





I would like to respond to the article “Come up for Air” in the July 2009 FireRescue magazine. The author, Chief… Continue

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...February 1, 2009



Usually when my blog is silent for awhile it means I have a lot of things happening with my daughter, and for those of you keeping up with what's happening, I want to tell you how successfully the planets lined up yesterday.



It started with Friday not being a good day, and the end of a very long week. I so feel like I am in this all alone, and still have not taken that step to join a support group or other group to try to… Continue

I’ve just returned from Syracuse, NY where I was assisting with running the FASNY Fire Service Leadership Conference. This was an eight hour, one-day program focusing on the needs of our current and future fire service leaders in terms of risk management decisions, the tactics and strategies used effectively by true leaders, and mindful strategic thinking on the fire ground.



The day started significantly earlier for me and the FASNY Chiefs Committee than it did for most, as we had… Continue

With all of the change going on in the atmosphere, I was contemplating the difference between being a rebel and a revolutionary. It seems to me that there are plenty of firefighters who are a little mixed up and don't understand the difference. The problem is that while revolutionaries effect change in a situation, rebels simply refuse to obey.



Why should that matter? When we… Continue

Today I read two posts on FFN that made me think about CISM - Critical Incident Stress MANAGEMENT.



One was the death of a Chief which is often devestating for the members. My 1st Chief was my uncle when he passed in 1988 it killed me in more ways than one. After that MY CHIEF was a man I had known since I was a child playing @ the fire station with his kids. He taught me a lot about being a PERSON as well as an abundance of things they don't teach you in class about fire fighting. He… Continue

Well, I'm glad that there's been a lot of discussion about the terminology issue, but my point wasn't just about terminology and communications standardization being a problem for the fire service. Without digressing, despite some of the very considerate and well expressed views pointed out by readers in the Terminology blog I wrote, it is a problem- go back and look at the reports of any disaster… Continue

I was thinking the other day after I wrestled with posting my blog that there are probably a dozen guys at work I could call to answer my question as to what was up with my computer. In my frustration, I was thinking, I am pretty competent with a computer for a 44-year old guy who still types with two or three fingers, yet it seems like some of the people I work with run circles around me when it comes to troubleshooting this stuff.



The first computer I was assigned at work was an… Continue

Editor's Note: If you only knew what WebChief and I have been through for the past day trying to post this. Talk about issues- for some reason the computer I was using wasn't allowing my post to save (which resulted in my first version disappearing) and luckily I learned from my mistakes. As Staind sings: "Falling is easy, its the getting back up that's hard". Well, special thanks to Dave for saving my sanity. And with that...



I have often heard it said, “Love means never… Continue

If you weren't aware of it, that spells "respect", just like Aretha Franklin said so many years ago. So what is it? Why is it so elusive in emergency services? When you read the blogs and posts here on the Nation, so much of what is bandied about is the need for respect or the apparent lack of respect. Some of it is directed at respecting your elders (the crusty officer in your crew), respect for the youngsters (those probies you endure), respect for the opposite gender, and the public's… Continue