Never get a tattoo you can’t see. Seems like good advice to me!

STAY FIRED UP, and smile!

Although Tim Casey and I had never met in person, we had a long-standing friendship through emails and phone calls. Several years ago, I received his first email. He had attached an article he wrote about his struggles as a firefighter; the nightmares, his addiction to alcohol, and his suicide attempt. He wanted to share his story in an effort to…

So many acronyms, so little time. Show me. Teach me. Tell me. Then get out of my way and trust that I know how to do it.

STAY FIRED UP!

“What are you going to do at 3:00 in the morning when you get that call with people hanging out of windows with an active fire?”

We’ve all heard or said that in regards to our training and preparation at some point in our career. It’s safe to say that it can be considered cliché because it is mentioned so often. But, without a doubt and with no debate, it is true!

On July 20, 2016 my department responded to a report of smoke in…

Link to Podcast HERE

In the last few weeks I posted about being aggressive. In that post I mentioned that we, our department, will search without a hose line.  This seemed to raise some eyebrows and concern about what I…

1993 International E-One Pumper.pdf    Specs and Details.docx

For Sale

1993 International E-One Pumper 1000 gal. 1250 GPM Hale Pump

Asking $25.000

Available immediately

See above links for details and photos.

Any…

Rope access reference book and visual materials.

Get it: Rope Access Pro

Current contents:

- Mechanical advantage systems reference book;

- Mechanical advantage systems builder. Allows to construct mechanical advantage systems used in rope access and high angle rescue. Builder allows to analyse gain, friction loss, devices and anchor loads;

- Deviation…

Training is not just for the bread and butter tasks, but to sharpen skills that we rarely use, too. This cartoon focuses on one of those tasks: standpipe training, tactics and operation. Are standpipes a resource that we use often? Most of us would probably say no. Is utilizing standpipe connections a real and present possibility? I think most would say…

Hello, my friends! My name is Igor Pojar and I am from Moldova, Orhei. Since 2008 I have been a Chief at the Rescue and Fire Department Orhei. Orhei region is situated in a picturesque area, with rich historical traditions that invites tourists to admire it! Orhei region is positioned in the heart of Moldova and it is formed out of 75 places organized into 38 city halls. The administrative center of the area is Orhei, situated at 48 km north from the capital of Moldova, Chisinau. The Orhei…

Hello, my friends! I am really happy that you have accessed my web- page Pompierul.md. My name is Igor and am the major of the rescue service, Head of the Firefighters and Rescue Unit from Orhei, Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova / I have been collecting firefighter patches since- 2011, so I am a young collector :D, but my collection is growing daily. If you are a firefighter patches’ collector, please, do help me…

firefighters bail out of windows and mayday was transmitted in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs6bXOT_iXg ;

I thought that some of the Brothers and Sisters here might be interested in this article I recently authored for a homeland security blog.

How to Be Calm During Chaos (in only 48 seconds)…

Do any of you remember Chief Reason?

Yeah; I used to be a regular here back in the day.

Fun fact; Tiger Schmittendorf and Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich were the very first bloggers signed to FIREEMSBlogs.com. That has been a while ago.

When I look at the list of bloggers there now, I see that my friends at My Own Worst Enemy and Firehouse Zen are the only ones left from days gone by.

I believe that with our time during the day being so constrained; more and more are…

Perhaps it's time for Smokey to get back to his carnivorous roots... natural knucklehead herd thinning in action.

STAY FIRED UP!



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Click here to see more of my work or to order prints:…

Please take our poll and let us know if today's public safety and emergency response departments are meeting the needs of its members following the death of one of their own.

When someone we love dies, family members, co-workers and friends are often at a loss as to how to cope with the devastating effects of grief. In the fire service and EMS…

Do you want to know how fit fire rescue athletes make nutritious meal choices?  Here are some shortcuts, go-to recipes, cooking suggestions and go-to snacks for making the life of a fire rescue athlete a little healthier.

Eating healthy with a demanding job can be difficult.  Add in the fact that the firehouse is usually full of non-nutritious choices like cakes and baked goods and its no wonder that obesity, diabetes and heart disease are huge concerns in the fire industry.  Yet, as…