It is your first shift back from a nice relaxing family vacation. You come into the station relaxed and ready to get back to your crew and the job you love.  You notify the firefighter you are relieving of your arrival and go to your locker and grab your equipment. You walk over to the engine as your assignment for the day is the Lead Off Nozzleman.

What is your first step? 

For myself, I start at the off going crew member. I ask about the prior shifts, what tools were used,…

had a little vehicle rescue refresher training today to give the new guys a little practice with the jaws of life.

our trainer was excellent in explaining the different methods and options for cutting a vehicle open.

our local salvage yard happily donates car bodies for training!1534893485377.jpg

Though an International Emergency Management Practitioner, I come from a developing Country Kenya, or if you may a third world Country for that matter. What is amazing in Kenya and I believe in most African Countries, is our fixation especially those in leadership positions, particular the finance decision makers on a myth.

They tend to believe that for a County or local Government Fire Service to be deemed efficient it all boils down to having new fire engines, which rather enforces…

I was like many of you. I had heard on the news or had read in one of the trade journals, that firefighters had been diagnosed with cancer. It often pointed to FDNY and these were firefighters who had worked, so determinedly, on the Pile left after the collapse of the WTC on 9|11. However, as I was about to learn, this was just the tip of the iceberg, as they say.

This “Out-of-the-Vault” episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” takes us back to March 2017. My guest was Bill Banks, a…

Physical Fitness Standards To Save Lives: Ours And Theirs

            Cardiac events are a leading cause of line of duty deaths among firefighters. The NFPA reports that in 2016 the leading cause of fire scene deaths for firefighters was sudden cardiac arrest at 38% of the total of firefighter fatalities (Firefighter Deaths, n.d.). While the cardiac impact that firefighting has on the heart does include aspects that we cannot…

While we're enjoying some time off, I've reposted my episode of "5-Alarm Task Force," with the late Chief Alan Brunacini and Chief Dennis Rubin, as they discuss the 2016 Wingspread VI conference.
Tune in at www.dalmatianproductions.tv

The word, “leadership,” especially in the ranks of first responders, is bandied about by many. And for all those that participate in this conversation, there are probably at least, twice or three times the number of definitions of what leadership is in emergency services. In this podcast, our guest, Asst. Chief John Luca of Boca Raton Fire-Rescue Services, provides us with a new and deeper definition of the term and strongly encourages us to look inward first, before we even think of leading…

Hi,

This is not your usual blog post. In this one, I'm reaching out to you, our listeners to help us win one of the upcoming Podcast Awards. From July 1st - 31st, you can go to the website, The Podcast Awards and nominate "5-Alarm Task Force" for one of the awards. You'll find us in the "Government & Organizations" category. If you want to either follow the Awards progress on Twitter or send a tweet out…

early morning fire in Eldred Pa Numerous companies and ems services responded, multiple patients transported to hospitals for smoke inhalation. traffic was routed to alternate routes due to main street being closed off completely.

no serious injuries but it was a long battle (over 4 hours) for the crews who responded!

Hats off to the guys and gals of Eldred, Port Allegany, Coudersport, Olean, Roulette. Knapps Creek, Smethport, Otto, and Portville

http://www.instagram.com/chief_miller

Today, almost everyone has a smart phone and endless opportunities to record life in real time, the good and the bad. Fire departments must now embrace the social media world in which we live. But what role does social media play in the fire service?…

Many of us are pretty damn excited when the dreams of little kids to be firefighters comes to fruition in our usually, young adult lives. We are usually in our late teens or early twenties. We may have had some experience by “buffing” until we were old enough to ride the apparatus. We’ve watched the experienced members do so many tactics, that we feel we’ll know exactly what…

When you spec a new piece of apparatus you have to look at your first due area. The first due area consists of your primary response area. The main thing you have to look at is weather the residence sits back off of the road or if its close. In example my first due response area in Elizabeth Township we have bridges we cannot get across with an engine or another big piece of apparatus. In conjunction with places that you cannot reach with a big apparatus its is nice to have a light engine or…

     Today is Memorial Day here in the U.S. In my family and our community, it was always a special day. The last day of school before Memorial Day was made very poignant, even for those of is in elementary school. We learned a little about World War II and about the soldiers who fought there...and those who died there. There would be a patriotic play that we'd put on and often, a speaker would come to our assembly. Each student went home that day with a small…