I have a question. Why is it that most firefighter shifts start around 7:00 am? Why are firefighters forced to deal with rush hour traffic and add to the rush hour mess? After all we work a 24 hour shift, why couldn’t we begin our day at say 10:00am or 11:00am?…

Earlier this year I wrote about the Turning Tide in Police and Firefighter Hiring. As we reach the midyear point, police and firefighter hiring trend appears to be accelerating along with a couple of interesting twists. Click the link below o read the full article:…

Except reprinted with permission of pipenozzle dot com. Visit site for complete entry.

At the end of a hot, muggy southern Michigan May day, I pulled my truck into the Coca Cola warehouse lot and glanced up at sky blue everywhere but over downtown Kalamazoo where a black thunderhead passed over as they tended to do on hot, muggy spring afternoons.  The only thought I had concerned turning in my paperwork at the front office, and then getting in…

In every AAR (after action review) that I have ever been to, problems with communication ranks in the top three of “what went wrong”.  Often the source of frustration is blamed on equipment or new technology or both.  Despite all contributing factors, the question remains: Is the message ‘sent’ the message ‘received’ as intended?

Training gives us the…

An estimated 90% of the people that die in confined spaces die because of a toxic environment. Understanding that a 1/2 percent of a drop in Oxygen doesn’t sound like much but it’s 5000 PPM of something. How much of a chemical do you need to be toxic or fatal? Bill Bennett from Safety Systems Inc. in Northern VA reinforces what he teaches in the…

Under active fire conditions the dangers are extreme and the stakes are high. Upon the declaration of knock-down the fire should be out, victims saved, and acute hazards controlled.

The game is not over. The long term carcinogenic by-products of combustion remain and may even be worse than under active fire conditions. When overhaul begins think of it…

I posted about Brotherhood in the Fire Service and would like to give some more of my views. I have been a firefighter for 15 years. A volunteer for 15 and a full career firefighter for the last 8 years. I grew up in a Fire Department my father was an Assistant Chief and Chief when I was a kid and was a Captain when I joined. It is what I have known and I love it and would not change it for anything in the world. Now a little twist to my career and how I am dealing with it. As I said I have…

What does the Fire Service mean to you? I have asked this question many times to people who have just begun their careers in the Fire Service and you get a lot of different answers anywhere from I have always wanted to be a firefighter. This could be because they grew up in the Fire Service as one of their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. was a firefighter and they loved what they saw growing up to the answer of well I saw the fire department was giving a test and I figured that…

From my blog at FireGroundWorks.

We often talk of the challenges we face in the field; the ambiguous, complex, and confusing incidents that attack our senses and tax our ability to beat them. Instead of all the talk about “what” we face, why not focus on “how” we can successfully win against it.…

I have been asked if Firefighters are good in bed and since I’ve only slept with one, my ex-wife, I have a very limited data base on the subject. I won’t discuss my ex-wife in this post as that is far too private for a blog. I will offer some stories about firefighters in bed that I do know all too well.…

Local newspaper headlines report the sad news of another fallen hero. The tragic death of a brave firefighter who has died in the line of duty. A dedicated professional who sacrificed his or her life that others may live or that homes and property would be saved from the ravages of fire. Most people halfheartedly acknowledge the event while searching for more…

I have had a lot of friends ask me how do firefighters feel about all the things that have happened this week in America, from the Boston Marathon to West, Texas and the many other tragic events less reported. I can’t speak for all firefighters and would never attempt something so arrogant as to try and express how it feels to lose a…

Excerpt with permission of blog posted at pipenozzle.com

Firehouse.com reprinted a New London Day article reporting that Poquonnock Bridge Fire District czar Alan Ackley wants to take PBFD into the future by returning to the past, a vague romanticized past where PBFD property owners were protected by volunteer firefighters. You might ask him to first read …

There is a life cycle for a firefighter. Some people say as a child, I want to be a firefighter when I grow up and they do. Some like me fall into it and now a days there is a new type of firefighter, the well educated-advanced-degree-holding-uncommitted-I-need-a-job-for-now kind.…

Follow the link below to my article on ensuring our basic life-saving equipment is checked often.  Essentially these are the tools that take care of us!

http://openthenozzle.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/take-care-of-the-tools-that-take-care-of-you/

Follow the link below to an article I posted on my webpage.  It identifies what our RIT companies should be doing on the fireground.  Just because we have caught the RIT assignment doesn't mean we have to just stand around grumbling because we didn't catch the first line.  Click the link below to continue reading.…

Follow the link below to an article I posted on my webpage about developing a training program for your fire department.  The information provided can be very helpful to new and old training officers or just anyone assigned to cover a drill night. 

http://openthenozzle.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/developing-an-annual-training-program/#more-79

Author’s Note: I address firefighters in this article, but the information provided applies to any and all emergency response professionals.

Suicide is a very serious topic that we rarely discuss. Each year, thousands of adults and children either attempt or complete suicide to resolve problems or put an end to emotional pain. As a result of their deaths, surviving family members and friends not only grieve, but must cope with feelings of guilt, anger,…