Bill Carey's Blog – June 2011 Archive (7)

Lesson In Awareness: D.C. Rear Tenement

You never know what to expect downtown on Side Charlie.

Near the intersection of South Dakota Avenue and Buchanan Street Northeast, between Engines 17 and 14, lies a duplex. What makes it different from the duplex next door is the addition on Side Charlie. Local news station WJLA recently reported that the owner of 4605 South… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on June 30, 2011 at 7:53am — No Comments

Remain Calm, All is Well

Dave LeBlanc on how the smart firefighter keeps his head while everyone else is running around losing theirs.

Maintaining your calm on the fireground maybe be one of the most important skills you can acquire. There is enough excitement and confusion already, if we arrive and start screaming and yelling nothing will get done.

In December, Baltimore had a fire that claimed the lives of six people. In… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on June 25, 2011 at 11:40am — No Comments

The Floor Above. Why a game changer demands different training

Brian Brush on why we should - and shouldn't - rely on the stairway when going above.

If you review the statistics, multi-story single family and multi-family dwellings are our most common fire. They also present the greatest risk as the core of the life hazard occupies an upper floor and the bulk of where the fire starts will occur on a lower floor. The game changer in residential construction is the open stairwell. Identifying this game… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on June 21, 2011 at 8:01am — No Comments

Line Of Duty Deaths. Canadian Editorial Asks Why All The Fuss?

Editorial asks if we use LODDs to hype our profession and image.

An editorial in the Brantford Expositor by Christopher Brennan (no, not that Chris Brennan) takes up an issue with why aren't the deaths of people if other dangerous (or more dangerous) professions given the same heraldry as those of firefighter and police officer line of duty deaths.…

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Added by Bill Carey on June 21, 2011 at 7:57am — No Comments

Detroit's New Vacant Building Policy. All Flash, Little Substance and A Big Loophole

Why the same old risk analysis dressed up is no good compared to the wrecking ball.

While not exactly scientific it will be interesting to see where popular opinion lies in Detroit Fire's Facebook poll.

- Bill

First allow me three disclaimers on this subject.

1. I do not advocate the reckless abandon of safe, knowledgeable firefighting simply because a building is on fire and we must be… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on June 17, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

The Third 10

A look at the third 10 line of duty deaths in 2011

From 17 February to 18 April another 10 fire service personnel have died in the line of duty this year. The current total, as of 23 May rests at 36 dead. The statistics for this group reveal the gamut of the American fire service ranging from a young teen killed in personal vehicle collision to an octogenarian dieing from a fall injury. A west coast firefighter died in the most traditional… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on June 11, 2011 at 11:14am — No Comments

Go To The Funeral

Brian Brush shares a timely reminder before the San Francisco funerals.

The following is from Brian Brush (contributor to Backstep Firefighter), from a friend of his in the Denver area. If you're "in the job" then realize that this is part of "the job."

What, You Have Something Better to Do?

By Oren Bersagel-Briese

November 12, 2004

I don’t understand the fire service sometimes.… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on June 10, 2011 at 12:53pm — No Comments