I've worked in the fitness industry for over 20 years and have seen a lot of "fads" come and go.  Not to age myself but when I started in the industry step classes, leotards and zubaz where still popular.  Back in the day every health club focused on having the most updated machinery possible, today you see more minimalistic gyms pop up all the time.  Along with these fads have come the "next" best workout program.  I remember the day…

I had started drinking once again. It was a Friday night and I had gone to a sports bar just a few blocks from my house, a safe drive if I got bombed again.

I was lonely and told myself, as all real alcoholics do, that I’d just get something to eat have a couple of drinks and see what was shaking on a Friday night.

The little bar was run by friends, of course when you drink like me every bartender is a friend after the…

I have been asked what it is like to ride in a firetruck many times and all I can say is; it’s freaking cool, one of the coolest things I have ever done. Not the riding around doing the mundane activities of getting from point A to B.

No I’m talking about red lights and sirens balls to the walls blasting down a three lane road going against traffic at 50 miles per hour stuff. What a thrill, and you know what makes it so…

MILTON FIRE & RESCUE

P.O. BOX 256

11556 HWY 421 N

MILTON, KY 40045

502-268-3016

Date: March 10^th, 2012

          On March 2^nd 2012, Milton Fire & Rescue Station # 2 in Milton Kentucky was hit by an EF-3 tornado. We lost the…

I write this in gratitude of the response our local emergency services provided during a mass casualty shooting yesterday and also to the school my sons attend. I also write this to my colleagues in Public Safety as a gentle reminder that training does pay off.  

"It Happened Here"

Yesterday, March 8, 2012, a mass casualty incident occurred at the Western Psychiatric Institute Clinic.…

Large residential w/ HEAVY FIRE!  We'll call this one a rural firefighting operation.  Could your FD handle a water shuttle operation for this?  What resources would you use for it?  What may be some other issues to consider?  What does the RECEO VS profile look like for this one? Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE FOR MORE!

Thanks and Be Safe!

Here are some more pictures from my A Shift buddies, Jim, Bob and Dave at Florissant Valley Fire Protection District.  These photos show the challenges of just getting into some of our buildings.  It's a lot easier to get a good look at the working mechanisms and traits of these obstacles during daylight and in non-emergent situations.

Take time to know what is behind these doors and grates.  What are they protecting and how secure are they? Is just a…

Norwalk firefighter Charlie Hillman sent me this picture of some significant calcification in an old ductile iron main.  Think about the following questions:

• How does this effect our water supply?
• Besides the water department having a break in the line or a customer noticing a decrease in water, how can we discover this problem?
• Does the calcification increase or decrease pressure to hydrants?
• My guess is this is a 16″ main that is decreased down to…

To start the evolution, the apparatus moves 200 feet to location B.  The tanker is filled from a fill site engine.  When the water tank is full to overflow, the fill line(s) are disconnected (ensure all firefighters are seat belted in prior to moving apparatus), and the tanker moves 200 feet and stops (document your total time for later use with ISO).  Read…

Excerpt from new post at pipenozzle:

"Back in January overpaid management consultants released a report on the Philly Fire Department that got a few paragraphs attention by the Philadelphia Inquirer based on the executive summary–for one day.  And then, like all other expensive time-wasters, the study disappeared onto a dusty shelf from which it will be pulled for political cover by the local government to reduce fire service further in Philly with allegedly…

  This is an excerpt from my next book, love some feedback.

THE SCENARIO:  HEAVY FIRE from the attic w/ extension to TWO other houses!  If this one doesn't test the strength and discipline of your crews and alarm assignments, congratulations!   Give us the report and your RECEO VS considerations.  Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO!

It is with a heavy heart that I must report the following. The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Mobile Bay in Alabama has recovered the remain of two of the three missing crew members that perished in a helo crash this week. The remains of one crew member are still unaccounted for. Please keep them and their families in your prayers. Also please remember to keep the Coast Guard in your prayers. When a Coast Guardsmen passes all Coast Guardsmen whether active, reserve, retired or service completed,…

Here’s another moving water drill.  If you missed the portable pond set-up drill, click here.  Move the water as you would in a water shuttle operation.  (Record and document times for later use with ISO).…