As firefighters we constantly face challenges, however not all of them are at an emergency scene. Many of these challenges occur every day; often before we ever leave the station. And many of those challenges deal with our attitudes. You might be surprised at the toll that a wrong attitude can have.

My guests for this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” are Sean Duffy and Pablo Gener, of the “Build Your Culture,” training group. As with most choices we face in life, there is a…

••Revised due to expected weather.••

The volunteer members of the North Patchogue Fire Department will be escorting Santa Claus throughout our entire district beginning at 10:00 am **Saturday, December 21st**. Keep your eyes and ears open, be on the look out! If…

What Type of Fire Can Be Put Out Safely with Water?

There are five classes of fires, and they are classified according to that fuels them. Extinguishing a fire successfully depends on the fuel. A fire needs fuel, oxygen, and heat. To effectively put out a fire you need to remove one of these elements. Knowing the difference between fires and how to extinguish them is life-saving knowledge.

What are the different types of fires or…

As long as we have had two-way radios in the fire service, the first arriving officer (or whomever was in a “right seat”) would provide some sort of report upon arrival. In my active years in two different departments from ’77-’85, the FAO might give a 15-30 “quick view” to dispatch. I remember being assigned to “recon” a structure file, a few times and report back to the ranking officer on scene. And mind you, in those days we had two radios: one fixed in the apparatus and one for the…

Many of us in the fire service believe that, for the most part, most fire departments in North America are the same, other than size and run numbers, with some being career and others volunteer. Part of that broad statement is that many of us still face major organizational problems. How we deal with them might make a difference.

Chief Stan…

     Today I sat at a local bar slightly overwhelmed at all the choices I had. 12 different beers, 30 different liquors, a wonderful bar food selection. A nice climate controlled facility and a theoretically infinite tap water supply to refill drinks and wash the dishes. For the last 15 days I was in the East African Country of Kenya. A country that presents with a population of 47.5 million people and a land area that could fit inside of the state of Texas.



     Our first night…