Most of you probably read the title of this post and are thinking to yourselves. "What is this lunatic talking about?  We train all the time!" and some of the volunteer firefighters are thinking that the training requirements of your fire department are already harsh enough and are extremely difficult to manage with your family and work.



I agree with you.  The current "training epidemic" that is sweeping the fire service nationwide is not a lack of training, but a lack of relevant,…

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As the title says, if your life is in the balance, you want to be sure that you are as prepared as possible right?

Then why is it that on fires in cities and towns big and small, you can find videos or pictures of firefighters getting off the rig without tools? Or worse... carrying a tool then not using it?

I work with some great firemen who you know will grab the same tool everytime they get off the rig because they are masters at using the tool efficiently and expertly. I…

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Every department trains.  Some departments train weekly, monthly, daily, etc.  My question for you is:



HOW do you train?



I already talked about practicing like you play and training hard, so lets talk about training CORRECTLY.



I, sadly, know of more than a few fire departments that are stuck in

their old ways.  They train using the same methods that the old salts

learned when they were in the academy.  This is not completely a bad

thing, as using… Continue

I'm sure that many of you have heard this saying, whether it was on the baseball field, basketball court, or maybe even on the training ground, but do you follow it?



If you lag behind and don't take your training seriously, how can you expect to do a job right on the fireground?  Especially at 3am.... you're not going to have time to think, normal people would be sleeping but the tones and bells just dropped and woke you up from a dream about being on a desert island with a horde of… Continue

Many of us have either seen firsthand or heard about the Pride and

Ownership series by Chief Rick Lasky of the Lewisville (TX) Fire

Department so I won't give you a synopsis but rather use it as a

building block to talk about some related issues.





Like I have posted before, do you check the rigs first thing in the

morning?  Do you get your chores done and then ask the officer what more

needs to be done? And if he doesn't have anything else for you, do… Continue

How many departments have requirements to ride the front seat and act as an officer?



At work we always have an officer on shift or at least a senior

firefighter as the acting for the day so its not an issue, but at the

vollie house, its anyone's guess as to who may be riding the seat to any

particular call.



We are a combination department and have a Captain on each shift who

rides the seat of the engine and is in command for the day but as far… Continue

-Outstanding Firemen (gender neutral! Outstanding firefighers just didn't sound right)



- Yardbreathers, etc.



Most of our departments have them or we know of places that do. Of course I am not referring

to smart, aggressive firefighters who love the job, but rather those

firefighters who can be found "out-standing" in the yard

while everyone else…

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- What time do you show up for your shift?  At work, the shift starts at

0700 and people show up at all kinds of different times.  Some will

show up around 0545 or 0600... most show up between 0615 and 0630... and

some will come in with 2 minutes to spare (if they are lucky).



- When do you do your daily rig check? As soon as you get in? At shift change?   After breakfast? After your first run?



 Despite fighting the urge to want to curl up in a… Continue