First, if I have to explain who Private Benjamin is, you're clearly up past your bed time....move along and find something else to read, because no explanation is forthcoming.



The drill du jour (is it wrong that Tuesday nights are fast becoming my favorite night of the week?) this week was not really a drill per se; we had a company rep come in and demo the Holy Grail of SCBA's. The MSA (may we have a moment of reverent silence for the MSA) is, to my inexperienced eyes, the Cadillac… Continue

I ambled into drill tonight fully expecting yet another evening of videotapes or chalk and talk.



Noticing that the projector and a/v system wasn't set up, I inquired "What are we doing tonight?"...



The 1st Asst. Chief grinned at me...."Hope you're feeling limber, we're playing with ladders and hoses tonight"



(Gulp)



Here's the gig....I have what I like to call a "situational" fear of heights. There are certain circumstances that inspire that ooogy… Continue

In response to the troubling prevailing trend of declining volunteerism in the Fire Service...oh the hell with that...let's call it what it is, we're in trouble folks....the numbers are bad, the kids aren't signing up and the current membership is aging at a rate that almost guarantees the death knell for Volunteer Fire Departments.

What to do? I've created and have almost completed writing a program that my organization (The Firemen's Association of the State of New York...aka FASNY)…

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I'm not a morning person. I never have been, I never will be. I like to roam with the creatures of the night.



Fact of the matter is that I do my best thinking,writing, meditating and brainstorming in the very wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately for me (or for my coworkers depending on your perspective) my nocturnal habits don't mesh so well with my work schedule.



In order to arrive at my desk on time ( I use airline schedules when I state that I was "on time"--that… Continue