Apparently the state-budgeted salad days for training new firefighter recruits are over for now in New York State.

Not only has the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control canceled a slew of classes state-wide due to overestimating the funds available to provide the instructors for these programs, county training coordinators in some locations have been told that the number of training hours they are normally allotted have been significantly reduced.



We ALL need to speak up,… Continue

Also known as “Mel’s Big Humiliating Day”.



We had an OSHA refresher class at my department today. We had great attendance and two other departments were also invited.

The morning started out innocently enough; we covered our SOP’s and the newly mandated Rehab Standard, then moved on to Blood borne pathogens, and finished up the chalk and talk portion with an overview of PPE and SCBA’s.



The OFPC officer then announced that we would be heading out to the apparatus bay… Continue

When you're training for an endurance event such as a marathon, or in my case, a half-marathon, the running coaches go on, and on, and on about the importance of having the right shoes, not only for training, but for the actual race.



You would think that your training shoes and your race day shoes will be the same, but according to the experts in the field, running shoes are good up to about 300-400 miles. After that, according to "them" , if you insist on continuing to wear them,… Continue

Driving snow?

Check.

Visibility Zero?

Check.

Icy Roads?

Check.

Arctic Temperatures?

Check.

Drill Night Game Plan...tapping hydrants in the village?

Check....brrrrrrrrrrrr........



"Drop your ____ and grab your socks newbies....we're going out to practice tapping hydrants....right NOW...you've got two minutes to get your turnouts on"....



And thus began my first drill night. Trial by fire? Yup. Worth it? Oh hell yup. Did I love it?… Continue

I'll be using this space periodically to update my friends and others on this site about my participation in the Lake Placid Half Marathon on June 15, 2008, in, amazingly enough, Lake Placid, NY. I'm running 13.1 miles with Team in Training to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Donors (Heroes) so far:

• LadyChaplain
• Sean Crotty
• Dave Blank and family
• Donna…

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It was a little daunting for me at first, because I was being sworn in at the monthly business meeting, and other than the chief, didn't really know too many others, and the room (apparatus bay) was PACKED to the rafters with the members.

Here's what I can tell you about my department....everyone is named Frank, Bill or Ernie. I figure I have a 35% chance of getting it right. Oh, and I'm old enough to be my Lieutenant's mother. They also take their Sunshine Fund 50/50 raffle very…

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