When you spec a new piece of apparatus you have to look at your first due area. The first due area consists of your primary response area. The main thing you have to look at is weather the residence sits back off of the road or if its close. In example my first due response area in Elizabeth Township we have bridges we cannot get across with an engine or another big piece of apparatus. In conjunction with places that you cannot reach with a big apparatus its is nice to have a light engine or…

     Today is Memorial Day here in the U.S. In my family and our community, it was always a special day. The last day of school before Memorial Day was made very poignant, even for those of is in elementary school. We learned a little about World War II and about the soldiers who fought there...and those who died there. There would be a patriotic play that we'd put on and often, a speaker would come to our assembly. Each student went home that day with a small…

While some firefighters take fitness-for-duty seriously, they often run into the "hard wall" of those who either don't think it's necessary of afraid of punitive actions if the do participate.

Well-known fire officers and fitness "gurus," Dan Kerrigan and Jim Moss return to "5-Alarm Task Force" with a concise summary of their successful class taught at this year's FDIC 2018: "10 Steps to Cultivate a Culture of Firefighter Fitness in Your Department." This podcast only runs about…

    While shiny new pumpers, ladders and rescues grab most of the headlines, the Shift Commander's Buggy, looks almost like another SUV. However, the person driving this vehicle has paid his/her "dues" and has been promoted to the position of Shift Commander.

    This interview with Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the City of Framingham MA, is special to me, because I grew up in Framingham. And it was my exposure to the wonderful firefighters in my community as a child that planted…

    While shiny new pumpers, ladders and rescues grab most of the headlines, the Shift Commander's Buggy, looks almost like another SUV. However, the person driving this vehicle has paid his/her "dues" and has been promoted to the position of Shift Commander.

    This interview with Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the City of Framingham MA, is special to me, because I grew up in Framingham. And it was my exposure to the wonderful firefighters in my community as a child that planted…

5/17/2018

The creative team at our host, Podomatic, offered to help create a new logo for "5-Alarm Task Force." That was the good news!

However, they did such a great job that we're having a difficult time choosing the one we like best. So, we decided to let …

One of the simplest and most advantageous modifications to a Halligan Bar is to GAP the forks. 

Gapping the fork of the halligan makes a conventional forcible entry tool into a THRU-THE-LOCK tool.  

Thru-the-Knob Technique:

This technique…

With thanks to the Beatles (OK, Ringo) and the late, great Joe Cocker, that song has moved "mountains" when some couldn't even move "mole hills!" And that title rings true for many, if not most of us.  Of course, it also depends on our ability to discern those who are true friends from those people who are more acquaintances than friends. Often times though, that is difficult to do and it's not unusual for us not to want to make that distinction.

   We wanted to…

We have the great Bob Dylan to thank for those words. Funny how just six words can convey such a strong meaning across so many aspects of life. And for first responders in general and firefighters in particular, times are changing for us at a very rapid pace.

   Even if you've only been on the job for, let's say, five years, you'd got to admit that a great deal about the fire service has changed since 2013! For example, we've seen a great evolution of one of our…

We now know, with certainty, that fire is not necessarily our worst enemy on the fireground. Its by-products are! Whether you’re a career, volunteer or paid-on-call firefighter, means that you can no longer approach what you do as a casual job or hobby.

In this, our 51^st episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” Chief Anthony Correia joins us to discuss the specific physiological and mental stressors of fighting fire. His explanation begins with your visceral and mental response to…

Being former military I have a deeply ingrained sense of duty and commitment so I hope this doesn't drive people away, I have seen discord in different departments and jobs caused by drama llamas and the Im special attitudes! (and if anything sours my temper it's that type of Bull crap)

As far as being in a fire department you take an oath to serve and protect your department and its members, and contention in the ranks has no place there

we are better than that

For me…