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…

    While shiny new pumpers, ladders and rescues grab most of the headlines, the Shift Commander's Buggy, looks almost like another SUV. However, the person driving this vehicle has paid his/her "dues" and has been promoted to the position of Shift Commander.

    This interview with Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the City of Framingham MA, is special to me, because I grew up in Framingham. And it was my exposure to the wonderful firefighters in my community as a child that planted…

    While shiny new pumpers, ladders and rescues grab most of the headlines, the Shift Commander's Buggy, looks almost like another SUV. However, the person driving this vehicle has paid his/her "dues" and has been promoted to the position of Shift Commander.

    This interview with Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the City of Framingham MA, is special to me, because I grew up in Framingham. And it was my exposure to the wonderful firefighters in my community as a child that planted…

5/17/2018

One of the simplest and most advantageous modifications to a Halligan Bar is to GAP the forks. 

Gapping the fork of the halligan makes a conventional forcible entry tool into a THRU-THE-LOCK tool.  

Thru-the-Knob Technique:

This technique…

We now know, with certainty, that fire is not necessarily our worst enemy on the fireground. Its by-products are! Whether you’re a career, volunteer or paid-on-call firefighter, means that you can no longer approach what you do as a casual job or hobby.

In this, our 51^st episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” Chief Anthony Correia joins us to discuss the specific physiological and mental stressors of fighting fire. His explanation begins with your visceral and mental response to…

Being former military I have a deeply ingrained sense of duty and commitment so I hope this doesn't drive people away, I have seen discord in different departments and jobs caused by drama llamas and the Im special attitudes! (and if anything sours my temper it's that type of Bull crap)

As far as being in a fire department you take an oath to serve and protect your department and its members, and contention in the ranks has no place there

we are better than that

For me…

The fire service culture of an “aggressive” nature in its current form may be attributed to dominant ideologies and the subsequent societies that have developed. In order to further identify best practices we must first investigate cultural diffusion and the elements that are allowed to reside within the profession. In taking a deeper look into formal and informal…

Listen to our latest podcast with Chief Emeritus Charles Werner of the Charlottesville VA Fire Dept., as he discusses the use of UAS - Unmanned Aerial Systems or drones in public safety. Even if your agency is already using one, make sure it is following all federal regulations. They can literally be a lifesaver! Go to our Dalmatian Productions website

2008 Toyota  Prius small battery episode!

After dinner at 7:00 PM, I jumped in my 2008  Toyota  Prius car and pushed start button. Felt  that I did not push brake enough to start car so pushed start button second time and pushed again with brake pushed. All dash board light illuminated and stayed on with engine check light, as usual they go away immediately and engine runs in another 40 seconds. So I pressed start button to shut down and repeat start three four times.…

Just finished the first of two very interesting interviews with Chief (ret) Charles Werner of the Charlottesville Fire Dept. regarding new technology for first responders. Today's episode is about UAS, aka drones. There is no doubt that these units will be a "game changer" for all first responder agencies.

On Thursday, Chief Werner will join us again to discuss new 3-D technology that will allow an IC to see exactly where in a structure firefighters are.

The first episode will be…