Featured Blog Posts (1,722)

Fire and EMS Recommended Literature

Prehospital Trauma Life Support by NAEMT

Air Management for the Fire Service, by Mike Gagliano, Casey Phillips, Phillip Jose, and Steve Bernocco

Firefighter Rescue and Survival , by Richard Kolomay and Robert Hoff

Rapid Intervention Company Operations by Michael R. Mason

Added by fire investigator 21 on December 15, 2009 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

IAFC Go-Team Application Deadline Extended to Dec. 18

Two-person Go Teams are highly skilled and equipped chief officers in each national FEMA region who will help in the organizational response and recovery after significant emergencies and catastrophic events. Visit the EMC webpage (see the Toolbox area) for details and to print the application documents. Department approval is required so be sure to give yourself time to fill out all documents and… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 14, 2009 at 6:30pm — 1 Comment

If you're worried about getting cancer -- you probably shouldn't be a firefighter!

That's what I overheard a certain young fire officer tell a probie recently.

"If you're worried about getting cancer -- you probably shouldn't be a firefighter!"

I didn't miss-hear or mis-understand him, nor did I take his comment out of context. That's exactly what he said.

I nearly blew my cork. What an immature, ignorant, uniformed, reckless thing to say.

Here's all I have to say to him, "This one's for… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 14, 2009 at 10:30am — 6 Comments

Tales from a tailboard firefighter, eyes wide open

In a good movie, in the first 15 minutes or so, there must be an inciting incident. This sets the theme.

In my career I had three in the first few months.

The first was an EMS call. The light unit was sent with me and a more experienced fireman: Code 3 to a nice house. A middle-of-the-night call to a difficulty breathing. At that time, we had not become EMTs yet and carried all our equipment in a small tackle box and a thing called a Flynn ventilator.

We were shown to… Continue

Added by mike simms on December 13, 2009 at 7:08pm — 2 Comments

Budget Time : Part 2

Well, Thursday night came and went. Basically, in my eyes, the entire budget process that the Commission I sit on worked on for almost 4 hours was a total waste of time. Yes, every department except 1 had a representative there to explain and justify their budget requuests, but some of the people the departments sent had no idea why they were there and had no clue what a line item buget is. To make matters worse, we did not even have enough Commission members there, according to our Bylaws, to… Continue

Added by Brady Matthew Grim on December 12, 2009 at 10:35pm — 2 Comments

Near Miss Receives Record-Breaking 1,000 Reports in 2009!

The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System reached a milestone this month when it posted the 1,000th report for 2009. This marks the first time in the program’s 4-year history that 1,000 reports were received in a single year. The total number of reports received since the program launched in 2005 is more than 3,100.

Chief Jeff Johnson, IAFC president and chairman of the board, credits the increase in report submissions to the growing acceptance of near-miss reporting at… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 15, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments

@FireRECRUITER.com: VFDs Get Creative About Attracting Recruits

This blog links to an article from the Post Star in Northern New York State which outlines some of the creative steps their fire departments are taking to attract new members.

http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/vfds-get-creative-about-recruiting/

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 15, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Bakersfield Firefighters Get to "Root" of Problem

RESCUE REPORT: Bakersfield Firefighters Get to "Root" of Problem

By Tom Vines

On Sept. 28, Bakersfield (Calif.) firefighters faced an unusual rescue call, one combining entrapment, confined space and some shoring challenges.

At 1037 HRS, a 911 caller reported hearing two men crying for help in a large hole in a neighbor’s yard. Two minutes later, the department dispatched a full rescue response, which included Truck 7 with paramedic, Engine 7,… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 6, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Find six for Six

An Education Prompt Honoring Fallen Firefighters

Each anniversary of a fire that killed a firefighter or firefighters there are many well wishes of support for the families and friends. Intermingled are various questions, some subtle, some disrespectfully blunt. They… Continue

Added by Bill Carey on December 5, 2009 at 4:00pm — 5 Comments

Illinois Firefighters Complete Challenging Trench Rescue

RESCUE REPORT: Illinois Firefighters Complete Challenging Trench Rescue

By Tom Vines

A June 2 trench rescue in northern Illinois illustrated common challenges associated with such incidents and how departments can work together for a successful outcome.

At 1238 HRS, a 911 caller reported a “man trapped in hole” at a construction site on North State Street in Belvidere. The Belvidere Fire Department (BFD) immediately dispatched Engine 101,… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 5, 2009 at 12:00pm — 2 Comments

The "Brotherhood" of Labeling Your Food...

We had just returned from a particularly gruesome call. Kids in our area like to go “hill-hopping”. That’s when they take daddy’s Beamer to the roller-coaster-like hills in the rural, wooded area of our district and go fast enough to grab some air. Sometimes they land back on the pavement, and sometimes they don’t. When they don’t, we get called.

Looking for a little respite, the boys trooped into the kitchen.

“Hey, check this out,” shouted Al as he peered into the… Continue

Added by FireDaily.com on December 9, 2009 at 10:59am — 1 Comment

Chump Change --- for Safety's Sake!

If you are a Fire/Rescue Chief, Commissioner, President, Fire Officer or in a leadership role of a Fire Department or Fire Company, you have the responsibility of ensuring firefighter safety.

With the holidays right around the corner, here’s a cool opportunity for your organization to provide something to your members, and support the work of the Safety, Health and Survival Section of the IAFC. By policy, the IAFC does not fund the section, the section must raise all of their own… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 9, 2009 at 2:12am — 1 Comment

How USAR Started, Part 2

FireRescue's Technical Rescue Web column

From the Ground Up: The history of the National Urban Search & Rescue Program, part 2

By Harold Schapelhouman

Editor's Note: This article is part of a series on the history of the national USAR program. Read the previous post:

Part 1: How It All Started

In 1990, the Federal… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 3, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

2 drills for better understanding how you breathe when wearing an SCBA

QUICK DRILLS

Know Your Consumption Rate

2 drills for better understanding how you breathe when wearing an SCBA

By Homer Robertson

How often do you conduct SCBA drills? Even if you went through an SCBA drill on your last shift or on your last drill night, it’s time to have another one. You just can’t emphasize enough how important this one piece of equipment is to the health and safety of every firefighter. Regardless of your level of experience… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 2, 2009 at 8:00am — 4 Comments

3 keys to managing the incident when things go wrong

Faced with the Unexpected

Company officers must be able to manage their crews when

the incident doesn’t go as planned

By Billy Schmidt

The best time to know emergency procedures—and the worst time to learn them—is in an actual emergency. Normal emergency scene confusion becomes even more complicated when something unexpected happens. Very rapidly, the familiar can become unrecognizable, as the incident becomes more complex. In such situations, a… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on December 1, 2009 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

Will fire prevention strategies used in other countries work in the U.S.?

FIRE PREVENTION

Foreign Concepts: Will fire prevention strategies used in other countries work in the U.S.?

By Jim Crawford

A great deal of attention is being given to the latest studies from Tri-Data and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on fire prevention efforts around the world (free download), and rightly so. But the results of the studies should be no surprise to the… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 30, 2009 at 8:00am — 3 Comments

Run to the Curb!

What kid doesn't want to be a firefighter? Every time they hear a siren or see a fire engine race by, they run to the curb to see what's going on. I call them "Run to the Curb" type kids.

I was one of those kids and I bet you were one too. It's something you never grow out of --- and many of us chose to grow into it.

"RuntotheCurb.com" is a work-in-progress blog and… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 29, 2009 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

RECRUITMENT TOOLKIT: The Value of the Prospective Member Guide

What kind of documentation did you receive when you joined your fire department? Was it thorough, clear, and concise? Did it answer all of your questions about what would be expected of you or did it leave you wondering with information unclear?

Was the information well organized and presented or was it scribbled on a bar napkin over a couple of “pops” at the firehouse.

Other than the application, was there any documentation at… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 28, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

IL firefighters ending stellar careers by leaving a legacy and showing us what brotherhood is all about

“…It's disheartening and hurtful to be portrayed as the economic destroyers of the community, the ones who work such a short career and live such a wonderfully long retirement at the expense of the people we served - portrayed as something bad, as if our work, lives, careers were some sort of scam we have perpetrated on the community. I guess on a line item in a budget or in a ledger, we are just another number.”

Earlier this year, the…

Continue

Added by FireDaily.com on November 28, 2009 at 11:47am — No Comments

Pilot Math Made Easy

If you love math and solve complex word problems to relax, this article is NOT for you.

If math is a four letter word you sometimes use in conjunction with other more colorful four letter words, keep reading.

One of the most repeated questions in the air medical industry is how long?

How long until the helicopter gets here?

Everybody wants to know; the landing zone officer, communications center, county… Continue

Added by Troy Shaffer on November 27, 2009 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment