Featured Blog Posts (1,722)

How the Apparatus Industry Is Weathering the Economic Storm

Inside the Apparatus Industry

Weathering the Economic Storm: The apparatus industry seems to be doing well despite the economy’s effect on other parts of the fire service

Story & Photos by Bob Vaccaro

The economy has been wreaking havoc on the fire service all around the country.… Continue

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

"The Charleston 43"

On Friday, June 18, we mark the third anniversary of an enormously tragic incident in which nine Charleston, SC firefighters lost their lives battling a furniture store fire.

To mark the incident, there will be no shortage of written and video tributes to experience, no shortage of “ALWAYS REMEMBER”s and… Continue

Added by FireDaily.com on June 15, 2010 at 6:24pm — 4 Comments

North Carolina Firefighters Save Brother Firefighter Experiencing Cardiac Event

Story & Photos by Bob Bartosz

From left to right: West Edgecombe Paramedic Daniel Walker, Paramedic Kenneth Campbell, Rocky Mount Firefighter James Bridgers, Kevin Farmer, Rocky Mount Fire Engineer Todd Joyner, Fire Captain Michael Roupp and Senior Firefighter Steven…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 15, 2010 at 4:59pm — No Comments

Canines to the Rescue, Part 3: Can that dog hunt?

Canines to the Rescue, Part 3: Can that dog hunt?

By Brett Martinez

Author Note: This the third article in FireRescue magazine’s rescue canine Web series. Part 1 discussed the type of K-9 teams currently deployed in the field, while…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 14, 2010 at 9:00am — 1 Comment

What Happens Online…Goes Everywhere

What Happens Online…Goes Everywhere

Be conscious of what you post online as it may affect your career

By Scott Cook

I’ve written about this before, but it’s becoming a bigger issue. In fact, you’ll recall that around Feb. 11, Firefighter Jason Brown from Colleton County (S.C.) Fire-Rescue was fired for something he posted on his personal Facebook page. According to Brown’s termination letter, he was fired for…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 11, 2010 at 8:00am — 3 Comments

Rescue Report: Woman Crashes Car into LA Flood Channel

By Tom Vines

Los Angeles-area rescuers arrived on scene to find a station-wagon down about 10 feet in a flood channel with high vertical walls but, fortunately, no flowing water. After a quick assessment, paramedics applied spinal…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 9, 2010 at 4:30am — No Comments

Why Thinking Inside the Box Keeps Us Safe -- & When It's OK to Think Outside the Box

What’s Good About the Box?

Before thinking “outside the box” related to a new tactic, strategy or piece of equipment, we must first test the theory against 6 fire service principles

By Jim Baird…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 8, 2010 at 8:30am — 1 Comment

Ganging Up: To deliver effective flow from a fill site, you may need to join several portable pumps together

RURAL FIRE COMMAND

Ganging Up

To deliver effective flow from a fill site, you may need to join several portable pumps together

By Patrick Pauly

I had the opportunity recently to review pictures from several rural fires in which portable pumps were… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 11, 2010 at 11:30am — 3 Comments

Run-to-the-Curb is Top Story

It's been more than a month since my presentation at FDIC and my live Internet radio talk show on FirefighterNetcast from the show floor, but a lot of exciting things have…

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Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on June 7, 2010 at 12:30am — 2 Comments

Cultivating Leaders: How to encourage the development of well-rounded leaders in our department

By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, EFO, CFO, MIFireE

From the June 2010 issue of FireRescue magazine

Leadership development” has to be one of the three most common topics on any fire service conference program. Although that’s appropriate, I wonder if our leadership programs back home are intentional and integrated into the daily work of our organizations?

As chief officers, one… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 5, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

Structure Fire in Clarendon, VT

Busy day for Rutland County, VT area fire departments.

A reported structure fire in the Mill River condominium apartments in Clarendon Vermont was reported at 9:58 am. The fire was ruled under control at about 11:30 am. Firefighters and equipment remained on the scene until after 1 pm.

My new young LT requested Mutual Aid immediately based upon not knowing how many firefighters would show up, being it was a week day and the time of the day. That is a very big factor in… Continue

Added by Norman E. Flanders on June 3, 2010 at 10:30pm — 5 Comments

Popping Doors: Tips for removing doors during extrication incidents

QUICK DRILLS

Popping Doors: Tips for removing doors during extrication incidents

By Homer Robertson

Extrication has made some huge strides since the introduction of the Jaws of Life to the fire service in the 1970s. The types of vehicles we encounter are constantly changing; in turn, we must keep up with the changes.

Most fire departments today perform a huge range of tasks,… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 2, 2010 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

In Search of Restitution: 9/11 responders look to litigation, medical monitoring, legislation

FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

In Search of Restitution: 9/11 responders look to litigation, medical monitoring, legislation

By Harold Schapelhouman

Recently, someone from the news media contacted me to see if I was involved with litigation surrounding the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) response. Like many responders, I had been approached by a group of attorneys who were… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on June 2, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

Reinventing Fire Prevention: Creative ways to enhance efficiency are welcome, but we can’t take it too far

Reinventing Fire Prevention

Creative ways to enhance efficiency are welcome, but we can’t take it too far

By Jim Crawford

The current economic crisis has put a great deal of pressure on local governments to stop doing business as usual. Costs of doing that business continue to rise, when most government revenues are shrinking. As a result, we’ve been challenged to reinvent ourselves. How do we balance the fact that we can only do so much with… Continue

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

But They'll Die as "Valiant Heroes"

A slight observation commentary

Earlier this week some of us were shocked and surprised with the confined space close call in Indiana. Two men were found unconscious at the bottom of a well. Two firefighters went down to rescue and them and became incapacitated as…

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Added by Bill Carey on May 29, 2010 at 8:00pm — 3 Comments

Recalling One of America's Worst Tragedies: The Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

One of America’s Worst Tragedies: The Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

By FireRescue magazine editor-in-chief Tim Sendelbach

On the night of May 28, 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., was the scene of one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history. Today marks the 33rd anniversary of that tragedy. Here, we look back at the incident and pay tribute to the firefighters who bravely battled the flames and pulled victims from the burning…

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

Safe on the Shore: Performing a shore-based water-rescue operation

Safe on the Shore

What you need to know to successfully perform a shore-based water-rescue operation

By Andy Speier

Consider this scenario: You’re the battalion chief on duty during a summer afternoon, and you’re dispatched to a call involving a “car in the river with possible victim trapped.” As is most often the case, the address is vague; all you know is… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on May 27, 2010 at 7:50pm — 1 Comment

But Wait, There’s More! The Ginsu phenomenon & the fire service

By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, EFO, CFO, MIFireE

From the May 2010 issue of FireRescue magazine

If you’ve ever watched TV, you’ve likely seen a commercial that sounds something like this:

“For three easy payments of $29.95, this limited edition set of elevator music greatest hits can be yours. But wait, there’s more! If you call in the next… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on May 27, 2010 at 12:34pm — No Comments

Learn the Hand Method for Rope Rescues

In Good Hands: The Hand Method is a way to estimate weight & force applied to anchors during rope rescues

Story & Photos by William Burns

The rescue company has just rigged the anchors for a rope-rescue pick-off. As the rescue safety officer, you ask yourself a series of questions about the anchor system: How much weight can the anchor points hold? How much weight will be applied to the various… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on May 26, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments