What makes a great firefighter? And who judges who is a “good” firefighter or a “great” firefighter? To be honest, it should e no one else but the image you see in the mirror. For that person in the mirror, never lies and more importantly, knows every one of your secrets.

It is my pleasure to welcome my dear friend, Nic Higgins, Co-Founder and Editor of “The Firehouse Tribune,” to discuss his newly published first book, “The 5-Tool Firefighter.” Nic put this together with…

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We are less than ONE week away from our webinar, "PFOS/PFAS How We Can and Will Move Ahead to a Safer Future," on Tuesday evening, August 31st at 6:30 PM EDT.

If you have concerns about these forever chemicals in our bunker gear, (both new and used, dating back to 1977!) them this webinar is for you! The presenters are each leaders in their field, including IAFF General President, Ed Kelly, Attorney Rob Bilott of the Taft Law Group, Graham Peaslee, PhD., Notre Dame Univ., Firefighter…

Today, we launched our sixth season of our podcast, "5-Alarm Task Force." My guest is Todd LeDuc, Executive Assistant Chief (ret) for Broward County Sheriff's Office Division of Fire-Rescue and Chief Strategy Officer for Lifescan Wellness Centers.Todd will explain how, more than a decade ago, he came to bring Lifescan Wellness Centers to Broward Fire Rescue and the lives that have been saved due to early detection of mostly, asymptomatic conditions!

We also announce what the First and…

Most people think of firefighting as a purely physical job, and it’s not hard to see why. Firefighters need to have the strength and stamina to carry heavy equipment, withstand brutal conditions and endure many hours in the field. However, the mental side of the job is just as important. The men and women of your local fire department have to bring a lot of specialized knowledge with them when they arrive on the scene of a call. They must be ready to recall their training for each situation…

Few professions command as much respect as first responders. First responders rush to help when others would flee; they put themselves in harm’s way to save lives; and they work tirelessly to respond to emergencies and prevent them from getting worse. Yet, the very nature of their work puts first responders at higher risk of physical and emotional health issues. Here is a closer look at some of the dangers these workers face, as well as how to minimize the…

 As a manufacturer of safety equipment manufacturer, our goal is to provide all firefighters with better equipment so that they can complete their work faster and safer.

Our large electronic flashing arrow panels afford for fire trucks, that can install on vehicle rear and roof to get warring effect.…

Firefighter health, wellness and fitness-for-duty – you have often heard us address these topics because they define our abilities as firefighters. If you do not take care of yourself, how do you expect to be able to care for others?

Our returning guests, Chief Dan Kerrigan and Capt. Jim Moss, have dedicated themselves to teaching just how important these topics are, not just by learning about them, but by embracing their values and making these values part of your life. If you want…

There have been any number of changes here at the “5-Alarm Task Force” podcast since we started in Fall of 2016. Our guest list is amazing, we have recorded over 150 episodes, we are on every major (and numerous, “minor”) podcast platforms and we have listeners in over 40 countries and, we moved to the Zoom platform! You might think we have attained all our goals. Nope!

If you are a regular listener, you know that we recently added a new monthly installment of the series,…

From the newest cadet to the 30-year firefighter, we have all become part of the “fire culture.” We enjoy hearing stories from the senior folk and cannot help but to juxtapose those stories to this fire service in 2020. Lots of changes and adaptations have occurred. For some we know the reason and for others, we have no idea. Most of those changes came about through the first person who thought about them. They shared that idea with others and, sometimes soon and sometimes much later, those…

We fight fire, we fight HAZMAT, we rescue the ill and injured. And we don’t think twice about doing so. This is who we are and what we do. However, imagine that your enemy is unseen, yet deadly. You have no way to protect yourself, not your gear, or SCBA! What do you do?

That is part of question raised by attorney Robert Bilott. If you saw the…