Featured Blog Posts (1,722)

TAKE THE POLL: What's Your biggest recruitment and retention challenge?

Recruiting New Members?
Retaining Existing Members?
Getting our Leaders to Realize that We Need to Do Something about our Recruitment and Retention Challenges?

Take this poll at www.firerecruiter.com:
http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/whats-your-biggest-challenge

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 27, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Do You Know the Letters of Leadership?

The Letters of Leadership

You don’t have to be born a leader; you can learn these valuable skills

By Battalion Chief Jonathan L. Pennington

I was standing in a burned-out kitchen at one of our housing projects, giving advice to an acting captain on the hazards of not performing a thorough overhaul. My shift has had a captain’s vacancy for some time, and this acting captain had been filling the slot. Tests had already been given, interviews were scheduled,… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 25, 2009 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

S.W.O.R.D. Checklist for Helicopter Landing Zones

Attached is a checklist I use when flying. I believe it could be useful for air or ground operations. Any comments, suggestions or additions to the checklist based on a firefighter or landing zone coordinator perspective would be greatly appreciated.

S - Size, Surface, Slope.

Size matters when it comes to landing zones, and in all cases, bigger is better.

Surface - what type? grass,…

Continue

Added by Troy Shaffer on November 25, 2009 at 12:46pm — 2 Comments

Fire in the Hole! Transformer vault explosions & carbon monoxide are a dangerous mix

Fire in the Hole!

Transformer vault explosions involving carbon monoxide require specific size-up & tactics

By Freddie LaFemina

We all understand the major difference between transformer vaults and manholes: Manholes can have multiple types of utilities inside their spaces: gas, water, steam, etc. Underground transformer vaults store electrical equipment.

But when there’s a fire in either one, which occurs quite frequently, things can… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 23, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Firefighter Locating Systems Not Yet Ready for Real Time

Review of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's fourth annual Precision Indoor Personnel Location and Tracking for Emergency Responders workshop

By John Sullivan

The fourth annual Precision Indoor Personnel Location and Tracking for Emergency Responders workshop was held Aug. 3–4 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. This workshop is the only national opportunity for researchers and developers of various tracking technologies to come… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 12, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

If we do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten

I see that NIOSH reports have popped up on the radar of the blogosphere recently. Frankly, I’m surprised at the heat a few have been giving them. Maybe I’ve been missing something (it’s happened before). So I took a closer look.

We already know that heart attacks and traffic accidents are the main murderers of us firefighters, so I’m sure we’ve already dedicated the necessary resources to firefighter health and safety initiatives and…

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Added by FireDaily.com on November 22, 2009 at 2:30pm — 5 Comments

Is this our best approach?

From: www.tigerschmittendorf.com

I’ve read and watched this news clip from the NY Daily Dispatch about how training requirements in New York State are hurting the volunteer fire service: http://www.weny.com/News-Local.asp?ARTICLE3864=9148872

Unfortunately, I think it follows a growing pattern of articles and news pieces that focus on the problems – and not… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on November 21, 2009 at 3:18pm — 16 Comments

How USAR Started, Part 1

FireRescue's Technical Rescue Web column

How It All Started

The history of the national Urban Search & Rescue program, part 1

By Harold Schapelhouman

During this current economic crisis, as many agencies struggle for survival and all of us look for answers, it’s easy to lose focus on the future. Where we are and where we need to go are often not the same place— and that applies to the nation’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 20, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Hydraulic Ram: The Forgotten Tool

THE CUTTING EDGE

Hydraulic Ram: The Forgotten Tool

Use the hydraulic ram to create more space in the passenger compartment

By Brad Havrilla

During extrications, the hydraulic ram seems to be the third tool of choice, following cutters and spreaders. This is only natural, I suppose, as we’re taught to spread the doors and cut the roof pillars and the hinges. The only use for rams has been to push the dash.

I’ve watched European rescuers use rams… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 19, 2009 at 1:00pm — 2 Comments

Challenges of Wind-Driven High-Rise Fires

Blowin’ In the Wind, Part 5

The challenges of working in wind-driven high-rise fires

By Fred LaFemina

Editor's Note: This article is part of a series on high-rise fires. Read the other posts:

Part 1: Understanding conditions behind wind-driven fires…

Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 16, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

When “Through the Lock” Won’t Work: Tips for forcing entry without the usual tools

When “Through the Lock” Won’t Work

Tips for forcing entry without the usual tools

Story & Photos by Steve Shupert

Figure 1a & 1b…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 16, 2009 at 8:00am — 6 Comments

FireEMSBlogs.com, Firehouse Zen and You

If you haven't checked out FireEMSBlogs.com yet, here's an invite over to see what the WebChief and others hath wrought. We've got a few of the old gang from over here on FFN blogging as well as some others, but there's some real quality information, especially from old pros like Dave Statter,… Continue

Added by Mick Mayers on November 19, 2009 at 9:42pm — 9 Comments

3 Hot New Products from Fire Research Corp.

One Proactive Manufacturer: Fire Research Corp. pumps out 3 new innovative products

By Bob Vaccaro

Long Island, where I hail from, is not really known as a hotbed of fire industry manufacturers. However, one company that calls this place home is actually a major player in the game—a player that may sometimes get overlooked: Fire Research Corp. (FRC).

If you attend the various fire service shows around the country like I do, it would be really unusual if you… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 15, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Know Who You Should Thank for Their Work--& How to Thank Them

LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Giving Thanks: Know who you should thank for their work—and how to thank them

By Jim Broman

The mayor stood and walked to the podium, pulling a small set of speaking notes from his jacket. He glanced across the banquet tables filled with city employees, volunteers and family members. After noting several challenges of the previous year, he ticked off an impressive list of accomplishments.

“We could not have realized these… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 11, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Who's The Moron? Firefighter arrested for speeding to call

Firefighter arrested for speeding to fire call in NC screams the headline on FireRescue1 at http://www.firerescue1.com/volunteer/articles/602445-Firefighter-arrested-for-speeding-to-fire-call-in-NC/

GIBSONVILLE, N.C. — A Gibsonville firefighter arrested last month on his way to an apartment fire no longer faces felony charges, but the district attorney's… Continue

Added by lutan1 on November 10, 2009 at 2:30am — 11 Comments

The First Line Determines the Result

A fundamental basic to any successful fireground operation is a successful initial hoseline stretch. It seems simple enough, so why should we drill on it so much? Three main reasons:

Errors in the initial stretch have resulted in firefighter injuries and fatalities

We go to fewer fires…

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Added by Bill Carey on November 9, 2009 at 10:45pm — 3 Comments

Approaches to more effectively & safely attacking high-rise fires

High in the Sky

Approaches to more effectively & safely attacking high-rise fires

Editor’s note: Over the years, complex high-rise fires have challenged some of our most seasoned firefighters; these fires include the First Interstate Bank of Los Angeles, Four Leaf Towers in Houston and The One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia. Some of the most extreme issues deal with wind-driven fires, limited access for civilian rescues, complex air management requirements and… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 9, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

The best advice I got from an old firefighter was:

We have such a wide variety of ages in the membership here at FirefighterNation.com. Such diversity offers the great opportunity to pass along nuggets of knowledge from the old, grizzled, sometimes cranky old veterans down to the younger firefighters who represent the future of the fire service.

Some are good, some are just plain funny. But, I've found that I can learn more from just listening to an old Chief talking then I can learn in any… Continue

Added by FireDaily.com on November 7, 2009 at 4:08am — 4 Comments

Class A Foam Makes for Speedy Attack on Vehicle Fires

RURAL FIRE COMMAND

Quick Knockdown: Class A foam can make for a speedy attack on vehicle fires in rural areas

Story & Photos by Keith Klassen

Although vehicle fires are a common response for any department, they can be more challenging for rural departments where longer response times and distant water sources are common. In those situations, Class A foam can be an extremely helpful fire attack option.

Class A… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on November 5, 2009 at 12:00pm — 7 Comments

Candlemoth Syndrome

How many firefighters have experienced Candlemoth Syndrome? I know I have, particularly when I was younger and less experienced. Candlemoth Syndrome is a firefighting cousin of Target Fixation, where firefighters are drawn closely to the fire in disregard for proper firefighting tactics and for firefighter safety.

The definition of "… Continue

Added by Ben Waller on November 4, 2009 at 7:33pm — 7 Comments