Hello from Connecticut,

I am new to the FirefighterNation, and I just thought I would say hello. I am a former Captain of a small volunteer Fire Department here in Connecticut. I have been volunteering with my Department for over 22 years. I always tell people that besides marrying my wife and raising my family, joining the Fire Department was the best thing I ever did. I have met the most wonderful people through this organization, and I treasure every year I have had the opportunity to help the Department and my community.

There are just no better organizations anywhere, than the fire service. The fire service has been very good to me. It actually created a job for me right out of thin air. About 14 years ago I was looking for some fire fighting study software online, and I could not find anything that was any good. So, just as a hobby I was messing around with Visual Basic and created this little testing software program, stuck some Fire One questions in, put a message about it up on an old UseNet board. To my surprise I sold 3 copies at 10 bucks apiece the first day. Over the last 13 years I improved the product, added a lot more titles and created a company that has helped thousands of Firefighters, EMTs, and Paramedics, become certified or promoted. If anyone is interested, the name of the company is Knightlite Software (shameless plug).

So, basically my entire life is surrounded by firefighting. I work 12 to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week running my company and the only break I get is when the tone goes off. My town is small, and volunteers available during the daytime hours are limited. Sometimes its just myself and a retired gentleman on the engine responding to calls. But, unfortunately, that is what the volunteer fire service is getting to be in some areas of the country.

In Connecticut they keep heaping on more training and increasing the hours needed to pass Fire Fighter I. I think its over 200 hours now. That is just going to hurt small departments. You have guys who want to help, want to come down, do what they can and jump on the truck, but when you tell them they have to take a course that is over 200 hours, they get second thoughts.

When I first started, IFSTA’s Essentials of Fire Fighting text was in its second edition and was 410 pages (1986). The 3rd edition came out in 1992 and was 596 pages. The 4th edition grew to 712 pages in 1998. The current 5th edition has skyrocketed to 1400 pages. That is a whole heck of a lot of information to take in.

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. The FirefighterNation looks like a great resource for probies as well as seasoned veterans. I look forward to following it.

Thanks for providing this great service.

James Redway
Founder/Owner Knightlite Software
Volunteer Firefighter Middlebury CT