Cooking in the firehouse is pretty difficult.  One of the biggest fears of every firehouse chef is not preparing enough food for the crew.  This fear usually leads to an excess of available food and larger portions around the table.  So, today I wanted to give you a quick and easy “trick” you can use to get your crew to take smaller servings.

Answer this question:  Which is the larger black circle – the left or the right?…

If your firehouse (or house) is anything like the one I work in its full of leftover candy and sweets. Now I must admit, I like a good treat now and then but often I have a very difficult time stopping with just one.  Why?  Sugar.  Its everywhere in almost everything and too much of it can cause some serious health issues. Some foods, such as fruits and carrots, naturally contain sugar, but watch out for foods with added sugars, such as baked goods, cereals, crackers, even sauces and many…

October FireRescue Magazine cartoon. Be careful out there... because you just never know!

Harvest season has been in full swing across much of the Corn Belt for several weeks. And with this surge of activity, typically comes an increase in the number of fires we see in harvesting equipment and grain handling facilities. This year has been no exception. In the past few weeks, many fires relating to harvest operations have been reported in these farming communities.

In Iowa last week, firefighters responded to a fire in a tower grain dryer, and high winds…

Scottsdale AZ – Interesting call worth sharing to keep everyone safe.  Jeff Zientek, HazMat Captain and author of the very easy to use HazMat Field Operations Guide  shared the following information. The dispatch was for a hazardous situation and this is what the Engine Company found. - See…

Honor our nation’s fallen firefighters with a simple act. Ring bells in your community during the weekend of October 3-4, the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. Join Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters by holding a small ceremony in your community to recognize heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting us.

Fire departments,…

Join the U.S. Fire Service in honoring the lives of 84 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2014 and three firefighters who died in previous years during the 34th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service on Sunday, October 4.

The service begins…

Every year around September 11th I like to take a moment and reflect on the significance of the day and honor those that sacrificed (and continue to sacrifice to this day).  I encourage you to do this workout, share your results and challenge others to do the same, at least once a year (on September 11th).    This "tribute" workout is difficult but has a…

With all of the debate about exterior versus interior, I wanted to share a video that I use in many of the tactical classes that I teach and offer a few observations.  First, this is a video that is used for learning, not to critique the methods or tactics that were or were not deployed during this fire.  Second, we were not there and do not know all of the circumstances surrounding why they made their decisions.

Overall, I think they did a pretty good job in the end.

When I…

The RIT/RIC dilemma raised its ugly head again last week when my friend Doug Mitchell (25 to Survive) posted a chart of FDNY’s RIT statistics from 1989 to 2008.  The stats that really grabbed my attention were 1. The elapsed time from the working fire declaration (10-75) until the Mayday, 19 minutes, and 2. Who found the Mayday firefighter.  First alarm units, excluding the F.A.S.T. or RIT team, found the Mayday firefighter 76.47% of the…

Do you workout on shift?  Should you workout on shift and what is the best workout to perform?  How do you schedule your workouts around your shifts or calls?

This is a major concern for the fire rescue athlete.  On one hand we know we should be working out to stay and get fit for duty. Yet , if we burn out in the gym we won't be able to perform when it…

        Whether it’s halligans, hooks or hoses, the unfortunate truth is that too many firefighters are using inferior tools and equipment on the fireground…and this needs to stop. To most of the brothers and sisters that will take the time to read (and watch) this, this is old news; but to many of our brethren, this is the first they’re hearing of this.

 …

What does it take to become the go to guy in the firehouse?  What does it take to step beyond the go to guy and become an "elite" firefighter?  Well, elite firefighters have invested a tremendous amount of time and effort mastering his or her skill set through thousands of hours of training and life experiences. Looking at experience alone, the elite firefighter has often been provided opportunities to succeed from many people who have invested time in said development.  The author Malcomb…

“If everyone on the Team was like me, what kind of Team would it be?”

The above quote is attributed to the Navy SEALs. The question it asks is an important one. Would the Team succeed if everyone was like you? Are you putting your best effort in?

Imagine if there was a sign above the door to your dayroom that said, “If everyone on…

The musings of a confused fireman firefighter

Disclaimer: I am not, have never been, will not be, against any research that can be used to make our job safer. We all know firefighting is ‘inherently dangerous’ because it says so on every piece of equipment we wear. Anything we can do to improve our ability to…

It's great to say you take responsibility for a mistake or to say that you need to improve or make changes.  That's only half the battle though.  You must take meaningful steps and actions to actually correct the mistakes, make the improvements and changes that are needed.  Taking action is the part of taking responsibility and ownership that is hard, not verbalizing them.

I was lucky to have some great officers and leaders influence my career path in the fire service, and in life.  They were always offering sound advice and sharing their experiences. Some I heeded right away and others I had to learn the hard way.  Either way, their words and actions provided me a template to use to work to be a good firefighter and, later on, officer.

Now I have the opportunity to pass along the valuable bits of information that was passed to me along with my own…

I was at an EMS conference this weekend that promoted multi-agency training during different types of emergencis but focused more on mass-casualty incidents and the challenges of limited resources in rural areas. This was a great first step in training and communicating between multi-agencies and will hopefully continue and grow.

What do other fire departments do for multi-agency training especially in rural areas?

Hello Guillaume;

My name is Bob Dubbert, and I am a Captain with Vancouver Fire Rescue. I am also the President of Firefighters Without Borders Canada. We are a nationally registered non-profit charity that delivers equipment, apparatus and training to firefighters and other responders in less developed countries. To date we have embarked on 17 overseas training missions and delivered over 700 tons of equipment and 49 emergency vehicles to 16 countries. Our website is…

Before you go Hog wild (sorry, had to say it) on bacon please read the following disclaimer.  Let me state up front that saying bacon is “healthy” does not mean it’s healthy to eat it in huge quantities nor does it mean it’s healthy to eat large amounts seven days a week. Try to stick to small servings, blot extra bacon grease off to lower fat intake, and avoid adding extra salt or other high sodium seasonings.  I suggest to consume only 2 or 3 slices and only once a week.  Also,…