Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to chat with a nationally-known fire service legend.  How fortunate for me to be one of the two guys with over seventy combined years in the fire service– just shooting the shit. 

Eventually, the talk turned from how much our management of the emergency scene has changed over the decades our scene management has come over the years- to the importance of situational awareness in general.

Then he reminded me of a well-known story about…

Getting good at getting by can get you killed

The rookie sits in the jumpseat straightening out his SCBA straps, lost in thought. He thinks to himself, that the fire was nothing like what they taught at academy. He wonders if they are all like this. Nothing seemed to happen the way it was supposed to. He forgot to put on his hood, the Lieutenant…

A couple weeks ago I posted a cardio interval workoutthat can be performed at the firehouse with in about 15 to 25 minutes with minimal equipment.  Do to the great response (please keep the comments and emails coming) I put together another workout.   Once again this is an option for a firefighter/medic that has minimal equipment and time yet still…

On behalf of International Speak Like A Pirate Day, an account of the the Jolly Rogers of Rogers Avenue. Consider the items in bold; how do they measure up against your officer and company?

The members of Engine 255 were in the kitchen of their Flatbush firehouse participating in a late-evening drill conducted by “Captain Jack” Pritchard.…

We took a tour of the Humanetics Innovative Solutions factory, which is the only company worldwide making crash test dummies for the auto industry.  These dummies contain an unbelievable amount of technology that provides data about how passengers are affected in various collisions.   This technology really helps explain how…

From my blog at FireGroundWorks.

In a National Fire Academy Alumni blog, John Bierling asks, “Is command failure an acceptable incident outcome?” He continues with this:

Nearly every NIOSH Firefighter LOOD…

From by blog at FireGroundWorks.

While recently attending the Fire Rescue International Conference in Denver, I took some time one evening and toured the Da Vinci Machines Exhibition at the Denver Pavilions. On loan from the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, Italy the exhibit featured more than 60…

Do you workout on shift?  Should you workout on shift and what is the best workout to perform?

This is a major concern for the fire rescue athlete.  On one hand we know we should be working out to stay…

After seeing a couple variations of sleeves for high-lift jacks we made a few.  Brother Firefighter Stout helped with fabricating them and tracking down some steel.  You can read more about the “OJ Sleeves” from the brother’s in Michigan or view some pictures from Andrew Brassard’s variation here.…

 We are organizing a relief operation,I hope you and your friends could donate old clothes, blankets, anything that could be available so we could give it to the affected families by the recent flood incident here in the Philippines.Thank you.

Stephen Eric P. Chua
c/o Edalyn P. Chua 123-C 11th Ave.,
West Grace Park, Caloocan City,
Philippines
Tel. # (02) 441-86-38  

From by blog at FireGroundWorks.

How do you do it? How do you get through the chaos of daily social media? With the influence of email, texting, Twitter, and Facebook we are now caught…

We are organizing a relief operation,I hope you and your friends could donate old clothes, blankets, anything that could be available so we could give it to the affected families by the recent flood incident here in the Philippines.Thank you.

Whenever I have an opportunity to visit another area, whether on vacation or traveling for other reasons, I always enjoy meeting other firefighters.  I’ve learned so many things from visiting fire stations in other parts of the state and country, and I’ve also met a lot of great people.  Often, as a part of the first few minutes of conversation, the inevitable question comes up: “Are you a career firefighter, or a volunteer?” 

Being the passionate volunteer that I am, I…

My small very rural dept. is looking for hand tools and any thing that we can use.  We just recently got a new truck on a grant but do not have the funds to equpiment it with hose or the tools we need.   We are also looking for a good 3000 gallon tender.  If anyone can help or knows someone that can it would be a huge help to us.

thank you

Pinelog VFD, FL

When you are on a fire scene and communications become difficult due to the sound of everything around and/or heavy radio traffic, what is one way you communicate?   What about some hand signs?  If you had a chance to communicate without yelling or having to walk away from your assignment how would that help?  I am working on a lesson plan for just that.  Communications is a vital part of the job.  What type of equipment, or words would help?

Thanks!!

In preparation for annual house inspection, we are stripping and waxing the floors. I am reminded of a day over three decades ago: I was a very young produce clerk at Kroger. My father comes in to buy groceries for fire station #14 just down the street where he is assigned.

I am so proud to see him in his uniform and for him to see me working my first "real" job, but a little embarrassed that he happens in while I am mopping the floor.

"Ah, nothin' wrong with that," he tells…

After reading the NIOSH Investigation report for the Line of Duty Death of Firefighter John Davies that occurred in Worcester, Massachusetts in December of 2011, a certain amount of confusion remains.

Based on the finding by the committee performing the Investigation, the Worcester should have used VSP (Victim Survivability Profiling)…

My latest submission on Social Media, check out my piece on Twitter Olympics

http://www.fireengineering.com/blogs/feblognetwork/billy-greenwood.html

See the full blog entry at pipenozzle.com:

"There’s more, much more needed to win the political debate than touchy-feely, feel-good public relations, of course. Firefighters need to lock and load with cold, hard fact. Lots of them, and I don’t mean run stats. Even the busiest departments touch the daily lives of only a small percentage of the population, and that’s good. Fewer runs, safer city, and therein lies the political paradox for firefighters. The safer taxpayers feel,…