Featured Blog Posts (1,722)

Tragic Structural Collapse: The Cardinal Lanes Bowling Alley Fire

On Oct. 16, 1967, the Cardinal Lanes Bowling Alley, located at 515 Anderson Ave. in Cliffside Park, N.J., was involved in a fire. Several crews from neighboring towns responded to the blaze, including five firefighters from the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, which was called on mutual aid. Several firefighters entered the building that day; tragically, the responding crew of volunteers never made it back out.

Today we remember Chief Gustave A. Genschow, 43, a 27-year…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 16, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

More for Their Money: If we expect a pay raise, we have to do more than just show up when called

More for Their Money

If we expect a pay raise, we have to do more than just show up when called

By Scott Cook

I’ll be the first to say that fire and EMS personnel generally aren’t paid nearly enough. I’ll also be the first to say that we knew what the job paid when we took it—practically begged… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 15, 2010 at 8:00am — 5 Comments

More Power to Ya: 2 lifts that develop strength & integrate muscle groups

More Power to Ya

2 lifts that develop strength & integrate muscle groups

Story & Photos by Jeff and Martha Ellis

Editor's Note: This article originally ran in the July 2007 issue of FireRescue magazine.

There are many benefits to performing lifts that… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 14, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

Helicopter Maneuvers Below Bridge to Complete Challenging Rescue

RESCUE REPORT

By Tom Vines

Photos Courtesy Deputy Eric Heilman/Mason County Sheriff's Office

On Aug. 17, six teenagers were hiking in a canyon in the Olympic National Forest in Washington state—specifically, an area that had been closed to the public due to its hazardous terrain—when their expedition took a scary turn. The subsequent rescue… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 13, 2010 at 6:00am — No Comments

Triple Threat: Howard County (Md.) Fire Rescue takes delivery of 2 pumper/tankers & a water-delivery unit

Triple Threat

Howard County (Md.) Fire Rescue takes delivery of 2 pumper/tankers & a water-delivery unit

By Bob Vaccaro

Howard County, Md., has seen significant growth in the last several years. As a result, the Howard County Department of Fire & Rescue Services (HCDFRS) is currently going through some growing… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 12, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

Training Exercise Test Illinois Public/Private Partnership

Putting the Partnership to the Test

A full-scale training exercise provides an opportunity for public- & private-sector leaders to learn from one another

By Rob Ugaste

Photos courtesy Lake-Cook Regional Critical Incident Partnership…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 11, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

The Forgotten Fire: On the same day Chicago burned, disaster of even greater proportion struck in Peshtigo, Wis.

The Forgotten Fire

On the same day Chicago burned, disaster of even greater proportion struck in Peshtigo, Wis.

By FireRescue Magazine staff

Most people remember Oct. 8, 1871, for the Great Chicago Fire, and the devastation and destruction that it caused. But on that same day, a fire of even greater destruction took the lives… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 8, 2010 at 8:00am — 4 Comments

A Look Back: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

FireRescue recalls the monumental tragedy that spurred the creation of Fire Prevention Week

Note: This article was originally printed in the October 2006 issue of FireRescue magazine.

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Editor’s Note: In honor of Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 8–14, we at FireRescue would like to present our readers with a historical account of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the incident that…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 8, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

10 Tips for Conducting Tunneling Operations at Extrication Scenes

Story & Photos by Les Baker

Tunneling is a tactic that we’re rarely required to perform at extrication incidents. However, when it is the most practical plan, it’s usually the only tactic that will work, so rescuers need to have the expertise to get the job done.

Further, tunneling may become more common for responders in the future, with the increased number of sport utility vehicles and minivans on the road. It’s often a… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 5, 2010 at 6:00am — No Comments

I really may have saved a life

I will not mention the name of the officer or the department, but I wanted to share this experience with any other officers and especially dispatchers out there who may encounter that same issue.

Today, about a half hour ago, I was sitting our data channel (where the officers without computers call to get driver licenses, registrations, criminal histories, etc). The officer called me on the air and asked for operator license information. He gave me OLN and…

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Added by John Karl Ambrusch, III on October 4, 2010 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

Embrace Diversity: How to Create an Inclusive Work Environment

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

From the October issue of FireRescue magazine

By Chief Jack Parow, MA, EFO, CFO, MIFireE

Today’s fire department workforce is very different from the one I entered 35 years ago. In my experience, personnel don’t seem to act, think or look like the workforce of the past, and they seem to have different expectations,… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 4, 2010 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

Nothing Good Happens At 3 A.M.

"Combat Ready" is not a slick ad slogan or an "aggressive" cliche. That call for bells at 0300 may be the only jump you get. How prepared will you be?

This week members of the District of Columbia Fire Department responded to a fire on the fifth floor of the eight-story Sarbin Towers in Northwest. First due companies arrived to find that two occupants had jumped from the fifth floor and others were in the windows. Some occupants had… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on October 2, 2010 at 9:59am — No Comments

I did it!

Well, all of my hard work at school is starting to pay off. I've maintained a GPA of 3.673 for the past year and this morning, I received a letter from school inviting me to be inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the National Honors Society! Not only does that look great to any fire department attached to a Fire Sciences degree, but great way to get a $3000.00 scholarship for my B.S. Add that to 2 Dean's Commendations and I have a pretty good education career going!

It's a great…

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Added by John Karl Ambrusch, III on October 1, 2010 at 1:30pm — 8 Comments

Fully Involved? 2 drills to practice the age-old fireground size-up question, “What do I have?”

Fully Involved?

2 drills to practice the age-old fireground size-up question, “What do I have?”

By Homer Robertson

The other morning while I was getting ready to go to work, the news caught my attention, as it always does when there’s a report about a fire. The young reporter told of a fatal overnight house fire, saying… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 1, 2010 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

Boston’s Trumbull Street Fire: 46 Years Later

5 firefighters were killed & 12 were injured when part of a vacant factory collapsed

On Oct. 1, 1964, an abandoned four-story factory caught fire in the South End of Boston. The building collapsed, resulting in the death of five Boston Fire Department firefighters: Lt. John J. McCorkle (Engine 24), Lt. John J. Geswell (Ladder 26), Firefighter Robert J. Clougherty (Engine 3), Firefighter Francis L. Murphy (Engine 24) and Firefighter James B.… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on October 1, 2010 at 4:30am — No Comments

2010 NFFF Memorial Weekend - Live!

RETURN TO THIS PAGE FOR THE LIVE SUNDAY BROADCAST

Memorial Service Broadcast: Sunday, October 3, 2010 9:00 am - 12:30 p.m. EST

(Telecast Begins at 9:30 a.m.; Service Begins at 10 a.m. Eastern Time)

This year if you are unable to travel to Emmitsburg you can still take part in the NFFF 2010 Memorial… Continue

Added by FFN WebTeam on September 30, 2010 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Rural Command: Tips for measuring both water & foam concentrate flow volumes

OCTOBER RURAL COMMAND

Calibrating the Proportioner: Tips for measuring both water & foam concentrate flow volumes

Story & Photos by Keith Klassen

Today’s electronic direct-injection foam proportioners are highly sophisticated machines. They’ve been through approximately 20 years of development, and countless incidents have proven their… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 30, 2010 at 6:00am — 1 Comment

Pittsburgh Area Firefighters Tackle Complex Bridge Rescue

By Tom Vines

On the afternoon of Aug. 2, Pittsburgh (Pa.) area firefighters were presented with a complex and challenging high-angle bridge rescue. The initial call came in at 1620 HRS to the Washington County 911 Center with the report of a man who had fallen 50–75 feet at the Donora-Monessen Bridge. The first units dispatched at 1624 HRS included Mon Valley EMS, and Donora Fire Department (DFD) Ladder 66 and Chief 66.… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 29, 2010 at 3:00am — 1 Comment

Innovative Recruit Training: How Anne Arundel County made it happen

By Michael E. Cox, Jr.

Training a large number of career recruit firefighters can be a daunting task for any department; however, when a department is faced with a skyrocketing number of vacancies due to attrition, increased overtime costs, a year-long delay in the hiring process, plus one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, the difficulty level of such an undertaking grows exponentially.

In November 2008, Anne Arundel County Executive John…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 28, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

GIS: The tool you can't afford to overlook

By Joseph A. Masington & Guy Seeley

Today’s challenging economic climate has had a substantial impact on fire services across the country, forcing many communities to slash budgets, and forcing even the most fiscally minded fire department leaders to make tough choices regarding available resources, from closing fire stations on a rolling or permanent basis to reducing the number of firefighters on duty during a given shift.

As a result, the amount of…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on September 27, 2010 at 8:00am — 1 Comment