January 2011 Blog Posts (61)

Protectives Banquet

Here are some photos of the Rochester Protectives Banquet which was held this past weekend.

- Laurie Kingsley-Henry received　the 2011 Harry B. Austin Award.

- Joel Lee EMS Response Award.

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Added by Davin Eshelman on January 13, 2011 at 3:49pm — No Comments

ICS 201: How to Create Order from Chaos

ICS 201: How to Create Order from Chaos

By Brett Martinez

Sometime in the last few years, your eyes probably glazed over while attending a mandated course on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS). If you’re an officer, or a firefighter hoping to promote (or just someone with masochistic tendencies), you may also have attended additional courses, such… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 13, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

The Truth About Smoke Detectors

There are two TYPES:

Ionization (ion) - in almost all homes, and

Photoelectric (photo) - in most commercial buildings.

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"But Mine Go Off When I'm Cooking?"

If you have smoke alarms in YOUR home, chances are almost 100% they are the Ionization type (whether they are new or old, battery… Continue

Added by The World Fire Safety Foundation on January 13, 2011 at 6:32am — No Comments

A Few Extra Hands

Let’s face the facts; in today’s fire service, career and volunteer departments are dealing with understaffed box alarm assignments. On paper; a 4 man company is “NFPA” compliant. We all know that the more manpower, the better. See the study that NIST did to see just how much more a few hands can improve operations.…

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Added by Charles Snow on January 12, 2011 at 12:16pm — 1 Comment

Twitter: a new firefighting tool?

During the San Bruno fire, I found Twitter to be the best source of live and up to date information. Hundreds of people posted updates by the second, like “horrific fireball continues to burn”. There were also

accurate updates of the location of the rapidly spreading fire. Could

this be the fastest form of emergency communication?

There are limitations to an emergency dispatch system that relies on transferring vocal information. On average, it takes 60 seconds for a 9-11…

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Added by Jeremy Orozco on January 11, 2011 at 11:16pm — No Comments

Recruitment Effort Goes Statewide in NY

The Recruitment and Retention Committee of FASNY is promoting the concept that every volunteer fire department in New York State open its doors to prospective members on April 9 and 10, 2011.

More than just a plea for common sense collaboration among departments, FASNY put their money where their mouth is by creating planning and marketing tools to help FDs leverage the impact of the statewide campaign and make their local efforts…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on January 11, 2011 at 10:00am — No Comments

Near-Miss Reports: A Tool Chest for Fire Officers

Georgia Fire Academy enhances officer development training by incorporating the Near-Miss Reporting System

By David Wall & Tommy Bishop

Company officers use tools from the near-miss website…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 11, 2011 at 7:00am — 2 Comments

Not Your Typical "Truckie"

Glenn Usdin was a Run-to-the-Curb kid, growing up in the Long Island New York fire service and rising to the rank of fire chief in Lancaster PA. Like many in the fire service, his career path has taken him in several different directions including a tenure as associate publisher of Fire Engineering Magazine, president of American-LaFrance Used…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on January 11, 2011 at 12:24am — No Comments

2 Plans in 1: Creating a training action plan

By Kevin Milan

A fireground mentor once told me, “It’s OK to vary your plan, as long as you have one.” As a young fire officer, I understood the message: We can change ventilation tactics so long as we plan to vent. A secondary water supply can come from either direction, so long as it arrives. Little did I know that this mentor imparted wisdom about things far beyond commanding the initial fire…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 10, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

I lost my brother on December 28th. He was a firefighter and a member of ffn. I am looking for ideas for his head stone. I would really like for it to be fire department related, if u have any ideas …

I lost my brother on December 28th. He was a firefighter and a member of ffn. I am looking for ideas for his head stone. I would really like for it to be fire department related, if u have any ideas please let me kno. You can email them to me at jlord5134@yahoo.com.

Thanks,

John Lord 5134

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Added by John Lord on January 8, 2011 at 5:41pm — 4 Comments

Steps for Conducting a Rear Roof Rail Displacement

Story & Photos by Les Baker

A quick and easy method for extracting patients from a roof-resting vehicle involves the displacement of the rear roof rail.…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 7, 2011 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

INternal Candidiates Passed Over for Captains Test, is this right?

ATTENTION PLEASE POST — DO NOT APPLY REQUEST FROM REDLANDS FIREFIGHTERS

Internal Candidates Again Being Passed Over in Captain's Test

Redlands Professional Firefighters Local 1354 has forwarded the following message, urging CPF members not to apply for a captain’s position being offered in Redlands in solidarity with Redlands firefighters:

For the second time in less than two years, the City of Redlands has opened up a promotional process for Captain to the outside. This is… Continue

Added by Chris Adams on January 6, 2011 at 10:12pm — No Comments

Back from Haiti!!

Just came back from doing a mission trip in Haiti and it
was AWESOME!
One thing I love about Haiti is that you can ride standing up in the
back of a truck for 15 miles like I did or go up a mountain sitting up on the cab.

It was great.

Added by Jonny Gordon on January 6, 2011 at 1:56pm — No Comments

Old Fire Lookout Gets New Life as a Radio Tower

By Jane Jerrard

A Maine mountaintop is slated to be the site of a unique communications tower that combines a 1944-style structure with modern-day microwave technology.

The Maine Office of Information Technology (OIT) is…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 6, 2011 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

A Work in Progress: Tips for fighting fires in buildings under construction

QUICK DRILLS

A Work in Progress

Tips for fighting fires in buildings under construction

By Homer Robertson

Just like people, buildings have a life cycle, from the time they’re “born” (built) until they “die,” which can come in a number of ways,… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 4, 2011 at 5:27pm — No Comments

Remembering a Great Chief; Houston DC Lonnie Franklin 1/4/1983

Remembering District Chief Lonnie L. Franklin

Killed in The Line of Duty January 4, 1983

When I close my eyes and think about it, it is hard to imagine that 28 years have passed since the tragic morning of January 4, 1983 when District Chief Lonnie Franklin was killed while enroute to an arson fire on Dowling near Drew in the Third Ward. Chief Franklin was a brother-in-law to the Jahnke HFD family (Roe, Claude,Val, and Duke) and uncle to our late fallen brothers Steve and… Continue

Added by Robert G. Parry on January 4, 2011 at 10:03am — No Comments

How Fire Departments Can Influence State & Local Politics

How Fire Departments Can Influence State & Local Politics

By James L. Cubbage Jr.

During one of the Annual Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) dinners in Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. (then the junior Senator from Delaware)—or as we call him, Joe—made the following statement: “There are three political parties in Delaware: the Republicans, the… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 4, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

Firefighter Sets Firefighter On Fire, Charged With Arson

We are getting word this evening that an Apopka Florida firefighter has resigned from his department after being charged with setting a co-worker on fire.

Police say that 44 year old Jason Leblanc has been charged with arson and arson resulting in the injury of another.

It all started at a Christmas party back on December 18 when Leblanc poured lighter fluid on rookie firefighter Jack Shumate's leg and then lit him on fire. Shumate suffered… Continue

Added by SideCharlie on January 3, 2011 at 7:12pm — 5 Comments

Recent Fitness Trends: Which one is the best?

By Michael Ong

Fitness is a big industry these days. Companies spend millions of dollars competing for consumers while nutritional supplements, fitness equipment and various workout programs flood the market with the endorsements from big-name athletes. Advertisements even include testimonials from firefighters and their success stories that came about as a result of using the products. Video workouts, Web-based workouts and “boot camps” are all the rage at the firehouse…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on January 3, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

Tales from a tailboard fireman: clam chowder

Tonight I made clam chowder for the family. It is a firehouse recipe I learned from my first Captain 37 years ago at Station 10 T10. In those days the light unit took all the EMS and the hose wagon took all the small fires. Being a Captain at a big 4 unit house was a good deal.This was before 911 came into use and people only called for an emergency. Claire Evans was my clam chowder teacher, he was anal about how the potatoes had to be cut all the same size. In those days the cooks always had… Continue

Added by mike simms on January 1, 2011 at 9:17pm — 2 Comments