February 2008 Blog Posts (238)

certified

it's official ladies and gentlemen, i am a certified EMT/firefighter

Added by Dustin on February 29, 2008 at 11:54pm — 2 Comments

bet ya thought i had forgotten about y'all. my neice moved here from texas. haven't see lainey for a very long time . and have been catching up on old times . my department manager has been out of sick leave . so i am acting manager . and been up to my ear's in work . and the going on's at work. today was my day off and i had planned on getting some dirty hauled in and start building the cat kennal. but that didn't happen . had to run to hayes america . and take my x husband to the doctor . .… Continue

Added by evon on February 29, 2008 at 10:09pm — No Comments

Seat Belt Pledge Blog site (for those who want to comment/discuss)

Hey folks. As we can tell we are stalemated with 73 or so signatures and it's been 20 hours since the last posting. I figured this would be a great spot to have our "discussion" since it is more adventageous to only have signatures with a small comment on the forum.

Please try to help me and the politicians see that we care about our lives and think that seat belt useage shouldn't be a choice, it should be LAW. Forward the link to the forum to your friends and get them to sign. We… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on February 29, 2008 at 9:37pm — 8 Comments

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

If you weren't aware of it, that spells "respect", just like Aretha Franklin said so many years ago. So what is it? Why is it so elusive in emergency services? When you read the blogs and posts here on the Nation, so much of what is bandied about is the need for respect or the apparent lack of respect. Some of it is directed at respecting your elders (the crusty officer in your crew), respect for the youngsters (those probies you endure), respect for the opposite gender, and the public's… Continue

Added by Mick Mayers on February 29, 2008 at 9:36pm — 7 Comments

WAUKEGAN EXPLOSION 2/28/08

Building May Be Demolished After Blast That Hurt 8

Cause Of Blast Still Unknown; One Woman Sustained Serious Back Injuries

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) ― An explosion caused a building to collapse and destroyed several businesses in Waukegan Thursday afternoon, and eight people are injured.

Grand Avenue, which was closed after the blast and fire, was reopened Thursday night. Traffic was slow as gawkers stared at the damage.

Even in the dark, a close-up look at the… Continue

Added by DAVE on February 29, 2008 at 10:48am — No Comments

Raw Video: Firefighter Escapes Burning Building via Third Floor Window

A firefighter escaped a burning building through a third-story window at a Peabody, MA apartment, climbing head-first down a ladder.

Also See: Slide Show - Boston Channel Coverage

BOSTON CHANNEL -- A firefighter trapped in a smoky apartment fire was rescued by several fire chiefs from surrounding towns on… Continue

Added by Firefighter Nation WebChief on February 29, 2008 at 12:02am — 17 Comments

FDNY - Queens Fire on February 25, 2008

FDNY firefighters went to work on a house fire in the Holden Section of Queens, NY on February 25, 2008. The fire took place at 183-48 Babylon Avenue between Dunkirk Avenue and Liberty Avenue. Early reports place a fire on the first floor of a 2 1/2 story residence with a peaked roof and window bars. Firefighters found heavy fire pushing out of the rear of the second floor. Firefighters pushed thru the heavy fire, collyers style (clutter), and smoke to knock the blaze down, while search teams… Continue

Added by Firefighter Spot on February 28, 2008 at 7:52pm — No Comments

Firefighters Trapped in Madrid High-rise Fire 2005 - Inside Story

Madrid High-rise Fire 2005

Fire came heading directly at Milara’s crew as the fire gases above their heads ignited. He took the nozzle himself and applied a series of nozzle pulsations into the flaming gases. This had no effect on the fire so he resorted to a series of long bursts of water-fog, trying to reach the entire volume of flaming combustion gases that filled the overhead. There were desperate attempts to halt the fire at this point in an effort to stop flaming gases from… Continue

Added by EuroFirefighter on February 28, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

shaving my head for money and child cancer awareness

I just registered to have my head shaved on march 9th 2008. Go to http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/index.html and type in justin marsh.Once you get to my page, please click donate. I set me goal at $50.00,but i would like to raise as much as possible. thanks.

Added by Justin Marsh on February 28, 2008 at 1:33pm — 1 Comment

Priceless

Ok, this is definitely one for the priceless books...

We get dispatched out on a possible structure fire, detached garage near a residence. It is almost 0100 hrs and about -5 degrees outside. Our chief and fire marshal(shift commander) go enroute, as do our engine and squad. I go enroute driving our pumper tanker with my partner and a rookie. Mutual aid companies also answer up that they are enroute. The chief and FM get in the area and ask for a confirmation on the address as that is not… Continue

Added by Jay on February 28, 2008 at 11:44am — 3 Comments

~Can't Deny

We give of our hearts,

we give of our soul,

We put our bodies on the line

yet no one will know.

We look in there face

and we watch as

they die.

We ask WHY, WHY CHRIST, WHY?

My Brothers and Sisters

we are a family,

a family with the strongest of ties,

Not a one of us could ever deny.

Jim Rogers 2/22/08

Added by Jim on February 28, 2008 at 11:29am — No Comments

Worst Day

Its there worst possible day,

yet its as if our smiles

are made of clay.

We have sworn to

help never to

Betray.

We pick them up

from the spot

where they

Lay.

We direct the family

and friends to

Stay,

as we pull away

we drive through traffic

we make our own

Way.

Cause we don't have time

to Stay… Continue

Added by Jim on February 28, 2008 at 11:28am — No Comments

Firefighters Have the Sexiest Job

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Firefighters everywhere, rejoice. You have the sexiest job title, according to a survey conducted by Salary.com.

The survey's participants chose firefighters because of their "ability to stare down danger, maintain top physical fitness and demonstrate compassion for others."

"One of the most refreshing aspects of our fun and informal survey is the high value consumers put on the job titles of firefighter's, nurse's, surgeon's and soldiers, where individual's… Continue

Added by Da Chief - Jim O'Neill on February 28, 2008 at 7:31am — 4 Comments

so sad

For the longest time since i moved from California in 1999 I had been trying to find my best friend that i was in kindergarten all the way up until i moved well about a few weeks ago i found a girl i went to school with at Conyer Elementary and i was talkin to her about my friend amy meek and asked her how she was and what not and she told me that in the 8th grade she died in a car accident with her grandpa I was completely devastated i still am i still cant believe she is gone i wish i… Continue

Added by Brittany Jean Travis on February 28, 2008 at 5:40am — No Comments

Some worthwhile information (thanks FirefighterCloseCall.com)

I was poking around for some research and ended up spending the better part of the evening surfing the FirefighterCloseCall.com website. Thank goodness I was alone at home because I spent a good deal of time yelling at the computer while watching some of the videos on the website. To be honest, I wasn't completely alone and I am still apologizing to the four cats who were trying to sleep during this endeavor.

At any rate, I know that I am capable of doing some damn stupid things.… Continue

Added by Heather Langston on February 27, 2008 at 8:54pm — No Comments

Gods Country

THE GOLDEN PHONE.

A man in Topeka , Kansas decided to write a book about Churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there.

Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read 'Calls: $10,000 a minute.'

Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that… Continue

Added by Da Chief - Jim O'Neill on February 27, 2008 at 3:18pm — No Comments

Outstanding Media Coverage for Edmond, OK, Recruits

Joe Elam, Ass't Training Director for the Edmond (OK) Fire Dept, was quoted in an article by reporter Diana Baldwin in today's Daily Oklahoman, about the current 24 week Edmond fire academy which wraps up next month. The recruits rebuilt a house they burned during training. "This way," Elam said, "they will be able to hit the ground running." The house will now be available for further training exercises. The newspaper article was complete with two large full color photographs of the recruits… Continue

Added by Duane Monkres on February 27, 2008 at 1:53pm — No Comments

LONDON FIRE 1972

03:08am As we climbed the 50ft wooden escape ladder the fire flashed over from a window below us. Flames came belching out onto the ladder, which had just transported us to the third floor level. My hands felt slightly ‘crisp’ but we had arrived safely. I watched out the window as the ladder was suddenly removed and wheeled away for urgent use elsewhere. The ladder itself was still on fire!

03:11am There we all were, the five of us huddled together on the filthy floor of a derelict… Continue

Added by EuroFirefighter on February 27, 2008 at 5:30am — No Comments

CHICAGO FIRE PHOTOS

My good friend, Tim Olk, gets around the Chicago area and takes some great photos. Check out his site at http://www.olkee.smugmug.com

Added by DAVE on February 26, 2008 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Penny-wise and Pound-foolish? NYS OFPC budget and training class cuts

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

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on February 26, 2008 at 10:00pm — 23 Comments