Today, I would like you all to take a moment and hear what I give thanks for. Continue

On Veterans’ Day morning, just before 8:00 AM, the Gilbertsville Fire & Rescue Company, along with several other companies from the surrounding area to include Berks county, was dispatched to the scene of a…

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This past weekend, I completed my National Pro-Board certification for Firefighter II. It was one of the bigger certifications that I needed to make it a little closer to being eligible for most of the paid municipal firefighting jobs here in the area. Since the perfect time came up to take it, I did.



Now, I have a big decision to make. Being that I’m in school for my fire sciences degree and need to keep at least 3 classes each semester to keep getting paid by the VA,… Continue

Over the past few years, I have been doing those independent study courses with FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute. As you can see on my training page, I have been working my butt off trying to accomplish as much as I can to make myself as marketable and as adaptable as I possibly can. Apparently, the Frederick Community College in Frederick, MD, has quite a comprehensive program that allows FEMA ISP students to apply their courseware for college credits! Continue

As part of my own professional development, and because I have such an interest in the subject matter, I’ve decided to take a long shot and start writing a training course on basement firefighting. Continue

I will not mention the name of the officer or the department, but I wanted to share this experience with any other officers and especially dispatchers out there who may encounter that same issue. Continue

Well, all of my hard work at school is starting to pay off. I've maintained a GPA of 3.673 for the past year and this morning, I received a letter from school inviting me to be inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the National Honors Society! Not only does that look great to any fire department attached to a Fire Sciences degree, but great way to get a $3000.00 scholarship for my B.S. Add that to 2 Dean's Commendations and I have a pretty good education career going! Continue

Last night, I had my anthropology class at the college. I dropped my son off at the YMCA at 5:30 PM and headed over. I knew there were some storms rolling in, but didn’t think it would be that bad. It started raining horribly at around 8:00 PM. My station got dispatched to a building fire which actually turned out to be nothing, so they were eventually recalled. Continue

Nine years ago, 343 FDNY firefighters & medics, 37 Port Authority Police Officers & 23 NYPD Officers gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to rescue 2,977 innocent civilians before perishing in the single most horrific act of terrorism in history. It is equally important to remember our severe losses from the Pentagon attack as well. Continue