Hello everyone.

I have a question for everyone. My nephew he is a patch collector and he is turning 10 yrs old on August 23. And for his birthday id like to get him some patches. If anyone is willing to send him patches. please get with me...

thank you

Eugene

Good afternoon my fellow Firefighters!

As we all know by now, on June 30th, 19 of our FINEST Firefighters laid down their lives in the line of duty, giving their last full measure of devotion and service.



They have made a Memorial T-Shirt for our fallen brothers; please EVERYONE consider purchasing one. A portion of all proceeds are going to the Burn Institute.



Thank you for sharing with all of your coworkers, friends, and family!…

Wow...19 deaths of the Hot Shots in Arizona! On the ten year commemoration of The Thirtymile Fire, a New Safety Structure with Accountability was passed. Of the four of us, it was aid that it was "Our Legacy."  Now this!  Fires, like the recent one in Arizona, should be fought only from the air with water and fire retardent, not live crew! It's too risky! Fire often creates it's own weather, so all it takes is for the wind to come up to create conditions for a burnover. On accountability,…

Not long ago, I read an article suggesting firefighters should slow down during training sessions to increase duplication of the skills presented.  This seems like a valid argument to ensure basic and advanced skills are learned and mastered.  We can look at this type of training as practice, where more time is needed to focus on the subject.  While I agree we must take more time when learning new skills and reinforcing important information, our training must also include high intensity and…

  To All FirefighterNation Members:

  The current Fire Weather forecast reports the Heat Wave that's dominated the Western United States is expected to be around for another couple of days. Today's supposed to be the hottest of it all with a gradual cooling trend coming in later on this week.

  It's extremely important that EVERYONE KEEP/STAY HYDRATED, wear a HAT, use SUNSCREEN and SUNGLASSES. If you're planning outdoor activities,…

by: Lou Angeli



During my career, I’ve covered a number of wildland fire campaigns as a video and photojournalist.  One thing I’ve learned is that when Mother Nature whips a firestorm, she does so with a vengeance. 

To All FirefighterNation Members:

  Today was a very tragic and unfortunate day for all Firefighters Nationwide in Prescott, Arizona where 19 Firefighters from a 20 man Hot Shot Crew were killed in the line of duty battling a fast-moving wildfire that has forced the evacuation of two small towns in central Arizona on Sunday, fire officials said.…

18 firefighters working the Yarnell Hill Fire confirmed dead. Under these circumstances most people will…

Sample from current post at pipenozzle.com reprinted with permission: 

"I’d say it’s fair to conclude, based on my two decades of teaching experience and thirty years as a writer, that most Americans can not tell if they have been victims of propaganda or not until some obnoxious retired educator/writer like me starts asking for fact. I did so with Kaitlyn and easily established that she had no basis in fact for supporting Ackley and for voting to slash the PBFD budget.…

Excerpt posted here with permission of pipenozzle dot com.  For the full post, visit the site. 

For alcoholics to seek a cure, they have to hit bottom first.

Before serious leadership emerges to cure the fire protection mess in the Town of Groton, Connecticut, Alan Ackley will take the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District, which provides fire protection for half of the town, to the bottom first.…

I have a question. Why is it that most firefighter shifts start around 7:00 am? Why are firefighters forced to deal with rush hour traffic and add to the rush hour mess? After all we work a 24 hour shift, why couldn’t we begin our day at say 10:00am or 11:00am?…

Earlier this year I wrote about the Turning Tide in Police and Firefighter Hiring. As we reach the midyear point, police and firefighter hiring trend appears to be accelerating along with a couple of interesting twists. Click the link below o read the full article:…

Except reprinted with permission of pipenozzle dot com. Visit site for complete entry.

At the end of a hot, muggy southern Michigan May day, I pulled my truck into the Coca Cola warehouse lot and glanced up at sky blue everywhere but over downtown Kalamazoo where a black thunderhead passed over as they tended to do on hot, muggy spring afternoons.  The only thought I had concerned turning in my paperwork at the front office, and then getting in…

PHMSA asks fire chiefs to promote 811 in their response areas “August 11 [811] as “National 811 Day.””

PHMSA | Fire Chief

Learn more about the 811 call process

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is members of the International Associations of Fire Chiefs for their assistance in promoting the national “811— Call Before…

More and more of my firemen friends are retiring, this is the result of hiring large recruit academies in the early 80’s. I have gone to a few retirement parties to wish my friends well in retirement land and to see other retirees.…

In every AAR (after action review) that I have ever been to, problems with communication ranks in the top three of “what went wrong”.  Often the source of frustration is blamed on equipment or new technology or both.  Despite all contributing factors, the question remains: Is the message ‘sent’ the message ‘received’ as intended?

Training gives us the…

An estimated 90% of the people that die in confined spaces die because of a toxic environment. Understanding that a 1/2 percent of a drop in Oxygen doesn’t sound like much but it’s 5000 PPM of something. How much of a chemical do you need to be toxic or fatal? Bill Bennett from Safety Systems Inc. in Northern VA reinforces what he teaches in the…

Under active fire conditions the dangers are extreme and the stakes are high. Upon the declaration of knock-down the fire should be out, victims saved, and acute hazards controlled.

The game is not over. The long term carcinogenic by-products of combustion remain and may even be worse than under active fire conditions. When overhaul begins think of it…