Some of you may remember my blog about not knowing when I became the one that the new kids looked to for answers to their questions about fire fighting, but that over the years I had gone from being the one asking all the questions to the one being asked. It was recently brought home to me that I am the one with the experience, when in a class we were asked to give our names and how long ago we started in the fire service. When it was my turn I gave my name and when I said I started in 1982,… Continue

With the recent events with the state troopers and emts, it got me to thinking about how often we in the fire service make jokes at the expense of law enforcement. How many of have heard of using the" cop o' meter"to check for haz-mat, or one of the many jokes about fire fighters being better than police officers? I have been on both sides of the issue, I am a retired law enforcement officer, and I can see both sides. We need to stop setting ourselves apart and start trying to remove the walls… Continue

I turned 45 this year and I got to wondering, when did I go from being the young eager kid who wanted to know everything I could about fire and rescue work, to the one that the young kids look to for answers to their questions. I don't really recall a point where I knew that I was no longer the young wide eyed kid, it just happened gradualy. I started learning more and eventualy there was someone asking me the same questions that I had asked. I went through FFI and FFII, the haz-mat, and… Continue