All Blog Posts (7,007)

KME displays modern-looking Force 1500 ARFF vehicle

The Future of ARFF

KME displays modern-looking Force 1500 ARFF vehicle

Story & Photos by Bob Vaccaro

I’m sure that most of you who attended FDIC and the Harrisburg Fire Expo exhibit halls stopped by the KME booth and saw its new Force 1500 ARFF vehicle. It was definitely worth a look. At first glance it appeared quite futuristic in nature, and after taking a closer look, I can see that a lot of great engineering went into the design of this… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 30, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

What to Carry in Your Pockets

Pockets Aren't Just Hand Warmers

A brief rundown of essential tools to carry & where

By Robert L. James III

Often new firefighters are unaware of the things they need to carry in their pockets to do the job. Even experienced firefighters may be missing the opportunity to maximize their pocket space; I've run across firefighters who have no idea what's in their own pockets.

Ladies and gentlemen, pockets are not just hand warmers. And when you put your… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 30, 2009 at 8:00am — 21 Comments

From Multitasking to Task Overload

From Multitasking to Task Overload

For firefighters, the ability to do many things at once is crucial, but it’s easy to take it too far

By Billy Schmidt

Firefighting-360 (FF-360) is a continuing series of articles that takes a broad look into the concept of crew resource management (CRM) and how it can improve and enhance training and operations in the fire service. The purpose of the FF-360 column is to inform and encourage emergency responders to use a… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 30, 2009 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

BUNKER GEAR

Hey all,

My brother is on a vol. fire dept that is useing outdated bunker gear. My question to the fire fighting brother hood is does any one have extra gear for this dept before someone is seriously hurt. This is a tiny town the only money they really get is from fish fries and stuff. They have tried for a grant but get turned down. I spent 12 years on a vol. dept in Florida but not on a dept at this time. He can be reached at aliron1630@hotmail.com If any dept can help it would be… Continue

Added by Nathan Enyart on September 29, 2009 at 8:51pm — No Comments

Fire Service Leadership

What kind of Leader do you want to be?

In my 18 years in the fire service I have learned a lot of useful information. I had no formal leadership training yet made my way through the ranks to Captain. With that being said, I learned by observing what others did to learn what to do and most importantly what not to do. I remember my first Capt. lets call him Bill. He was a large burly guy who came across as a knowledgeable yet forceful fellow. At the… Continue

Added by Mike Walker on September 29, 2009 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

Quiet: Firefighters at Work

From Backstep Firefighter

Do you realize that it has been five months since the infamous “Shot Heard ‘Round the Firehouse”? In that time, there have been 14 articles written devoted to “Examining the process of firefighting to see if there is a better and safer way to operate”. Was this an employer directed punishment, an adult version of writing “I will not be… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on September 29, 2009 at 7:59am — 1 Comment

my friends

I joined because of my son all are kids ware out of high school and we need it some think to do so we went to volunteer at station 43 on monday night ware we meet for mondy night training we have met some good freinds at the fire station over the years my best friend at northwestfiredept.

Added by J.D.Williams on September 28, 2009 at 3:27pm — No Comments

Training Weekend for Female Firefighters

As a firefighter it is imperative that we train. However, state classes seldom fit into my schedule, and in my county, opportunities to take the classes I'm interested in are few and far between. Fortunately, I have been able to attend many classes I otherwise might have missed in recent years, by going to the annual Women Firefighters' weekend at the New York State Fire Academy in Montour Falls. This weekend was started by the Fire Service Women of New York State. This is a great organization… Continue

Added by Kimberly A Bownas on September 28, 2009 at 8:13am — 10 Comments

No Heroes as NBC's 'Trauma' Fails to Deliver - a Firefighter Nation Review

A.J. Heightman

Editor-in-Chief, JEMS & Firefighter Nation

The new series Trauma premiering Monday night is being billed by NBC as "the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field." The show's Website says it's "like an adrenaline shot to the heart, an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics." Unfortunately having had the… Continue

Added by Firefighter Nation WebChief on September 27, 2009 at 9:04pm — 5 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...September 28, 2009

Hi everyone! I had a great day yesterday at a CERT training seminar in Warren, NJ. I belong to the Office of Emergency Management and sometimes this organization and the fire department conflict. However, I had a free Saturday and thought I could benefit from any type of training offered.

I took a Disaster Triage class, a Communications… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on September 27, 2009 at 8:40pm — No Comments

home

WE ARE HOME!!!!!! finally able to relax in our own lil creature comforts of home..lol we now have a home nurse here for 8 hours a day to basically watch the girls and give us a break. i had to show her how the pumps worked since i had to use them for the first time yesterday and again at 4am. everyone is doing good here and the girls are glad to be home finally. now we just have to wait on the boys to come home tomarrow

Added by Trish Girard on September 26, 2009 at 3:26pm — 1 Comment

Cellar Fires

I am looking for information on cellar fires. Fire attack tactics, ventilation methods, overhauling and any other ideas, information or suggestions.

Added by Scott Sanders on September 26, 2009 at 1:48pm — No Comments

the girls update

hey all we are still in akron childrens. the past three days have been insane but we were told today that we may be going home tomarrow!!!! today both jimmy and i had to be trained on how to replace an NG tube in both girls and at first it was difficult but what do ya expect when they are fighting ya know..lol anyway the nurse said we both did excellent and didn't need any help. then once the guy bringin the feed pumps left the room the nurse showed us how to operate them (they had to mark the… Continue

Added by Trish Girard on September 24, 2009 at 6:48pm — 1 Comment

Marketing Within

After nearly two decades of being on my volunteer department I’ve started noticing a frightening trend amongst our members – low attendance. And I’m not just talking about the boring and mundane weekly truck / station maintenance. I’m talking about emergency incidents and training.

The same ten or so people out of a 30-person roster keep showing up for everything, while the others seem to show up periodically. Some I haven’t seen… Continue

Added by Chris Tomlinson on September 24, 2009 at 2:32pm — 7 Comments

Tools for the Fire Officer

The IAFC and NFPA have just released the Second Edition of Fire Officer: Principles and Practice. This updated publication is designed to help fire fighters make a smooth transition to fire officer.

Covering the entire scope of NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications, 2009 Edition, Fire Officer combines current content with dynamic features and interactive… Continue

Added by IAFC on September 23, 2009 at 1:40pm — No Comments

Here it is

Hellow all my brother and sisters here is just a peace of my mind.I have only been on the service for a year,and i have seen somethings and done a few things.And i hear a lot of deiscusions on which i fill strongly about, and some things i dont have a clue on cause i am soo new. The bigest discusion i hear the most is, the volies and full times battel that i hear a lot in the forums. This is what i think i think that we are all a united family, we all share a love and a pashion for what we do.… Continue

Added by willie plunk on September 23, 2009 at 2:05am — 2 Comments

here's the deal

hi everyone!!!

i know its been a long time but here is the buzz on whats going on in here. well first off-- jimmy and i are finally married. the boys have started back to school and are doing great. they are also in cub scouts for the first time and saturday they both launched rockets they made. also they are in awana at our church and is doing good there too. the girls are doing good and slowly growing but are ornery. zoey is 15 lbs now and mikayla is 10 lbs. they will be 2 in may.… Continue

Added by Trish Girard on September 21, 2009 at 5:25pm — No Comments

Ambulance Driving and Internet Credibility

Another FFN blogger recently posted this little gem "I Am Just An Ambulance Driver". I have several problems with this. For starters, the piece was obviously copied from somewhere with no attribution. I found a previous version of it with a minimal search at EMTLife forum board. Note that the comments… Continue

Added by Ben Waller on September 20, 2009 at 3:00pm — 11 Comments

ACORN.. YES ACORN ...GETS FIRE PREVENTION GRANTS THROUGH FEMA..

DID ANYONE EXCEPT ME NOTICE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO... THAT ACORN... YES THE CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE THATS CURRENTLY EMBROILED IN CONTROVERSY WITH ALMOST EVERONE... RECIEVE THE HIGHLY SOUGHT FIRE PREVENTION FUNDS TO SOME MORE COMMUNITY ORGANIZING!!!!

ITS A DAMN OUTRAGE.. BUT WITH THIS SOCIALIST LEFT WING BUNCH OF RADICALS RUNNING THINGS NOW.. WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING..

Added by TOMMY on September 20, 2009 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Firefighter Safety

When are we going to get serious about firefighter safety, education, and accident prevention?

I find it both ironic and sad that so few of our departments have a recognized safety program. Business and private industry have their own safety programs. Programs that are designed to both investigate, and prevent, employee accident and illness. Does your department have such a program?

Some questions, just to prompt some thought.

Does your fire department have a… Continue

Added by Coach on September 20, 2009 at 10:02am — No Comments