Featured Blog Posts (1,722)

TNT: The Accidental Runner: Of Pancakes and Concrete Shoes

Another “brisk” morning run…it was 22 degrees at 7 a.m., but factor in the gusty winds and “Lake Effect Snow” (what lake would that be in Albany, exactly.. ? )it made heading out kind of sucky, for lack of a better word.

We always start out enthusiastically, all chatty and chipper, feeling like we could run forever, until that first blast of icy wind smacks you right in the grill and suddenly the fun factor drops. That’s when you have to dig down and remember why you’re doing this in… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on February 21, 2009 at 10:38am — 10 Comments

ABC Looking for Firefighters Seeking to Reunite with Victims, Colleagues & Motivators

Are you searching for a victim, fellow firefighter, lost family member, or someone else from your past that had a great impact on your life? Share your story on a new TV show from the creators of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Secret Millionaire."

If yours is a story of separation and a desire to meet up again, then we want to talk to you! Are you a firefighter whose own life was saved by… Continue

Added by FFN WebTeam on February 20, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

The Greatest Ambition - The true test of a fire officer’s greatness is their devotion to instructing others

The late Edward F. Croker, who served as FDNY chief of department from 1899 to 1911, will forever be remembered for his saying: “I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a fireman.” Chief Croker’s words epitomize the thoughts of many men and women within our ranks and many more who will soon follow.

What drives us to be firefighters is something we may never truly understand. To the ordinary citizen, we are presumed to be a little left of center, a card shy of a… Continue

Added by Timothy Sendelbach on February 20, 2009 at 9:30am — 10 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...February 19, 2009

A few nights ago I got to try the thermal imaging camera. When you go to the Academy, they mention the camera when you hit the chapter in the book but the only way you get to try certain pieces of equipment is in the firehouse or at a scene. At a scene is not necessarily the best way to learn something but if it's not busy, it's a good way you can pick up some practical knowledge.

I was lucky enough to be with a volunteer… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on February 19, 2009 at 9:27am — 6 Comments

Stimulus Bill Signed Today: What you need to do next

President Obama is set to sign the economic stimulus law today. As detailed in a previous post, the law includes significant funds for public safety. A new report from Galain Solutions indicates that the range of total funds available is anywhere from $4 billion to $13.8 billion for local public safety. The range is so large because of the State Fiscal… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 17, 2009 at 12:37pm — 34 Comments

Emergency Twitters: How Is Your Department Using It?

This is the first in a series of occasional articles from FireGeezer.com about how some fire and rescue departments are using Twitter to enhance their operations.

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR THE ENTIRE AREA AROUND GALVESTON BAY, TEXAS, was girding up for what was looking like a certain hit from Hurricane Ike that was heading their way.

Tracking models showed that it was likely to make landfall at… Continue

Added by FireGeezer on February 17, 2009 at 8:30pm — 11 Comments

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter

Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...February 16, 2009

A week in the life of Denise Broesler, Rookie Firefighter, RE/MAX agent and humanitarian.

People ask me when do I plan to consistently write on this blog. Writing this column has become a very safe outlet for me, and since I haven't publicized it to more than firefighters and EMS workers, I know what I say will not be admonished nor ignored.

After all the months it has taken me to get my daughter to the proper… Continue

Added by Denise Imperiale on February 16, 2009 at 1:37pm — No Comments

My Top 16: Rethinking the Life Safety Initiatives

In a couple weeks, I’ll be attending the Everyone Goes Home Safety Summit. I’m pretty excited about it because I support the Life Safety Initiatives and what the program’s trying to do. To prepare for the event, I’ve been studying up on the LSIs and it occurred to me that despite how many times I’ve read them, I don’t really remember them. Of course I remember something about changing to a safety-based culture, and I know there’s… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 15, 2009 at 5:50pm — No Comments

It CAN Happen Here: The Crash of Continental Flight 3407

Thursday night, Continental Communter Flight 3407 crashed into a house less than two blocks from the firehouse in Clarence Center, New York. This incident killed 50 people and injured several others. It also destroyed a Dash 8 aircraft and the home into which it crashed.

How many of us have heard the phrase "It can't happen here"? This can be heard when firefighters and medics don't want to take NIMS training or to consider EOC or logistics roles because "That's… Continue

Added by Ben Waller on February 14, 2009 at 10:34am — 1 Comment

Anamosity amongst ourselves

It seems as if the good old boys club has taken a turn for the worst, we are a small dept. with a lot of testosterone and not to mention a slight amount of estrogen (that would be me)!! Their' s so much animosity amongst our people. We are supposed to be a family yet at every turn someone amongst us is cutting someone else down. What happened to the good old days when " i got your back meant something". Our dept. is divided by some invisible line that needs to be relinquished. Let go of the… Continue

Added by Angela K Sjogren on February 12, 2009 at 12:51pm — 4 Comments

NIOSH Releases Vacant Structures Alert

NIOSH just released a draft alert on the dangers of fighting fires in vacant/unoccupied structures. The alert includes case studies of four incidents where firefighters died and were injured fighting fires in unoccupied structures.

Many of the recommendations in the alert are unsurprising, if important. In a quick scan, two stood out in my mind:

• Establish, clearly mark,… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 12, 2009 at 3:14pm — No Comments

How to deal with people who set the standards too high for themselves

So my latest question through my mind that hopefully somebody can shed some light on: I have a particular individual at the station that I am in charge of that consistently talks a big game, as if he were the cats meow when it comes to the fire service. However he is consistently setting the bar for himself so high that he can never attain the level he wants to achieve, and then when he fails he takes it out on himself and everybody around him. Training with this particular individual can be… Continue

Added by Jacob Fouts on February 12, 2009 at 6:44pm — 4 Comments

Crash Site IC: “One of the Biggest, Hottest Fires I’ve Ever Seen”

I just spoke with Clarence Center Volunteer Fire Company (CCVFC) Chief Dave Case, who was the incident commander at the scene of the Continental commuter plane crash near Buffalo, N.Y. Despite it being difficult to digest everything that has happened in the past 12 hours, Case was able to offer FireRescue and FirefighterNation.com some initial reflections on the event as well as a play by play of the… Continue

Added by Janelle Foskett, FireRescue on February 13, 2009 at 5:00pm — 11 Comments

Final Stimulus Package: $210 million for fire station construction

The full text of the compromise stimulus bill was finally released today, and the House has already passed it; Senate voting starts at 5:30 eastern and the bill is expected to pass. As reported by the IAFC, the compromise bill includes several items of interest to the fire service:

• $210 million for fire station construction via the firefighter assistance grants program, with no grant exceeding $15 million.… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 13, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Crash Responder: "We Knew It Wasn't Going To Be a Rescue Mission"

I had the opportunity to speak with Chief Jim Quigley of the East Amherst Fire Department, a 100 percent volunteer department, which responded as mutual aid to the scene of the Continental Airlines commuter plane crash last night. He recalls his first thoughts upon arrival at the scene and discusses some of the fire-suppression effort during his 6 hours on… Continue

Added by Janelle Foskett, FireRescue on February 13, 2009 at 1:30pm — 11 Comments

Goldfeder Comments on NIOSH Vacant Structures Draft Alert

(See my earlier post on the draft alert.)

Firefighter Nation had a chance to talk with Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder about the recently released draft alert on vacant structures. Chief Goldfeder, who served as a technical reviewer on the document, and is Chair of IAFC Safey, Health and Survival Section,… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 12, 2009 at 10:13pm — 1 Comment

Stimulus Package Update

The full text of the Senate-passed stimulus bill has been posted. Couple notes about fire/EMS funding:

FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE GRANTS

For an additional amount for competitive grants, $500,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2010, for modifying, upgrading, or constructing State and local fire stations: Provided, That up to 5 percent shall be for program administration: Provided further, That no… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 10, 2009 at 5:22pm — 24 Comments

Continuation of "When are WE gonna learn"

First off, let me start off by saying I am not a writer or a typer and I make mistakes. I try to correct as many of them as I can find, but I am not perfect and I am continuously finding errors and correcting them so please forgive me if you see an error.

Second, I am open to any criticism, discussions or whatever you want to call it based on my writings. I have been in the fire service for over 20 years and have very round shoulders and will let the crap flow on by and take the… Continue

Added by Brady Matthew Grim on February 8, 2009 at 4:30pm — 3 Comments

Ghosts at the Firehouse

Every fire department has a history that is capable of going back hundreds of years.

Our firehouse has been standing for a long time... long before I was even born. They say that a ghost is nothing but a memory preserved in time. The people at the firehouse are torn between those who truly believe it is haunted, those who have seen things but ignore it, and those who have never seen anything and are totally skeptic. Based on my own experiences, I fall into the first category I named. I… Continue

Added by BTFD604 on February 9, 2009 at 2:31am — 11 Comments

The Good of the Whole

Recently I was talking with one of my fire service colleagues about the economic problems it seems nearly all departments are facing. He said he was happy because at least for the time being, his department had managed to avoid position eliminations or other drastic measures in exchange for all members agreeing to a 4 percent pay cut across the board.

Now it’s surely a sign of the times that taking a 4 percent pay cut seems like a good thing, but his comment got me thinking. In my… Continue

Added by Shannon Pieper, FireRescue Magazine on February 10, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments