If your firehouse (or house) is anything like the one I work in its full of leftover candy and sweets. Now I must admit, I like a good treat now and then but often I have a very difficult time stopping with just one.  Why?  Sugar.  Its everywhere in almost everything and too much of it can cause some serious health issues. Some foods, such as fruits and carrots, naturally contain sugar, but watch out for foods with added sugars, such as baked goods, cereals, crackers, even sauces and many…

FINAL RESPONSE is the 1st Canadian firefighter thriller written by a firefighter.   I am a retired Fire Rescue officer and am letting you all know FINAL RESPONSE is getting 4 star reviews on Amazon

Not a police novel, not a lawyer story, not a PI book.  Mayhem and courage and murder and suspense.  …

October FireRescue Magazine cartoon. Be careful out there... because you just never know!

Harvest season has been in full swing across much of the Corn Belt for several weeks. And with this surge of activity, typically comes an increase in the number of fires we see in harvesting equipment and grain handling facilities. This year has been no exception. In the past few weeks, many fires relating to harvest operations have been reported in these farming communities.

In Iowa last week, firefighters responded to a fire in a tower grain dryer, and high winds…

Scottsdale AZ – Interesting call worth sharing to keep everyone safe.  Jeff Zientek, HazMat Captain and author of the very easy to use HazMat Field Operations Guide  shared the following information. The dispatch was for a hazardous situation and this is what the Engine Company found. - See…

Honor our nation’s fallen firefighters with a simple act. Ring bells in your community during the weekend of October 3-4, the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. Join Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters by holding a small ceremony in your community to recognize heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting us.

Fire departments,…

Join the U.S. Fire Service in honoring the lives of 84 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2014 and three firefighters who died in previous years during the 34th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service on Sunday, October 4.

The service begins…

An evening with MaryAnn The Medium will be an uplifting experience she will help you to connect with whomever you've come to cherish. While enlightening your evenings experience. It will be held at The North Patchogue Fire Department at 33 Davidson Avenue, North Patchogue N.Y. 11772. Here's a link to access map data; https://goo.gl/cDU779







The night will be October 17, 2015 and will start promptly at 7pm.

Tickets are…

http://www.averagejakefirefighter.com/2015/09/09/the-double-keyed-deadbolt/

Every year around September 11th I like to take a moment and reflect on the significance of the day and honor those that sacrificed (and continue to sacrifice to this day).  I encourage you to do this workout, share your results and challenge others to do the same, at least once a year (on September 11th).    This "tribute" workout is difficult but has a…

http://www.averagejakefirefighter.com/2015/06/23/the-bear-crawl/

http://www.averagejakefirefighter.com/2015/08/14/check-your-nozzles/

http://www.averagejakefirefighter.com/2015/09/09/the-double-keyed-deadbolt/

With all of the debate about exterior versus interior, I wanted to share a video that I use in many of the tactical classes that I teach and offer a few observations.  First, this is a video that is used for learning, not to critique the methods or tactics that were or were not deployed during this fire.  Second, we were not there and do not know all of the circumstances surrounding why they made their decisions.

Overall, I think they did a pretty good job in the end.

When I…

I passed my first rural firefighting exam on Monday night with flying colours; the next two will be occuring in the next month or so, and then I will be fully trained up go on the frontlines. 

I won't be able to enjoy summer like I used to, but the big plus side is that I will be serving my community during our lengthy fire season. 

The RIT/RIC dilemma raised its ugly head again last week when my friend Doug Mitchell (25 to Survive) posted a chart of FDNY’s RIT statistics from 1989 to 2008.  The stats that really grabbed my attention were 1. The elapsed time from the working fire declaration (10-75) until the Mayday, 19 minutes, and 2. Who found the Mayday firefighter.  First alarm units, excluding the F.A.S.T. or RIT team, found the Mayday firefighter 76.47% of the…

Do you workout on shift?  Should you workout on shift and what is the best workout to perform?  How do you schedule your workouts around your shifts or calls?

This is a major concern for the fire rescue athlete.  On one hand we know we should be working out to stay and get fit for duty. Yet , if we burn out in the gym we won't be able to perform when it…