Engineco913's Blog

Hello friends, brothers and sisters of Firefighter Nation. I'm not going to start this blog off like some I have read with the "sorry I haven't been around." Being busy is something that keeps me hap…

Hello friends, brothers and sisters of Firefighter Nation. I'm not going to start this blog off like some I have read with the "sorry I haven't been around." Being busy is something that keeps me happy. Work has been slow with the difficult economy and people not willing to spend money to get their homes redone, but I have managed to keep moving forward and finding work where I can when I can.

My basis for the blog is to announce my upcoming marriage on April 25th. I am blessed to… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on March 31, 2009 at 12:11am — 7 Comments

Asbestos Incidents

Taken from my response to Asbestos incidents on the forums. The firefighter safety section isn't viewed nor responded to enough so I figured the exposure on the blogs would assist in more people reading the information.

Asbestos, the almighty cancer causing bad crap. They have asbestos insulation, siding and a variety of other nasty stuff. Asbestos is a nasty creation that has caused numerous cases of Mesothelioma in people who have had very little exposure as well as… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on January 23, 2009 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments

The mistakes of yesterday are the answers to tomorrow

"Trial by error." What do these words mean to you? In the fire service is there room for error? What is gained by making mistakes and what is lost?

Trial by error is something that we all experience. We all learn from our own mistakes and through the mistakes of people throughout history. The fire service is marked by a large quantity of mistakes and the corrective measures are what helps us create a standard to learn and train from.

Lets look at 9-11. Without getting into… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on January 5, 2009 at 6:00am — 10 Comments

Christmas 2008

I know there have been a large volume of posts about the Christmas season. (My Christmas is your holiday, suck it up) I write a blog here and there to stir up some thought process.

I have read Art (ChiefReason) and Mel's (FASNYtraining or Mary Ellen Shea) fantastic blogs about the Christmas season and have enjoyed both. I agree whole heartedly that this season more than any other, it is time to help those in our communities around us who are (amazingly) less fortunate. At a time… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on December 24, 2008 at 1:30pm — 5 Comments

Extra reasons to be thankful

This Thanksgiving we all have something we are thankful for. Perhaps it's still having a job. Perhaps it's the addition to your family. Perhaps it's bringing your family together for a day of festivities. My family has been one that has been crunched by the economic issues we have all been facing. Construction has been a booming industry in my area and now we are all doing the law of the jungle theory. (survival of the fittest) The true companies with the best quality and good prices are the… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on November 27, 2008 at 1:37pm — 5 Comments

Don't forget what you have at home.

For those of you who know me, you know I have tried to keep the theme of firefighting as the premium on this website. This is one occasion where I am straying from the norm. I was given the occasion to review my life this past month. Without divulging into a gross amount of detail, I was given a massive reality check this past month. This reality check has opened my eyes to allow me to see beyond the box I created.

I have a beautiful fiance' and 3 beautiful children. My actions… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on September 14, 2008 at 1:30pm — 9 Comments

Junior/Explorer program help.

(posted on the forum as well. Some people blog, some people work the forums)

For those that have followed my discussions (and yes there are just a few of them) you will know I am extremely passionate in promoting Junior/explorer programs. I don't have the gift to outline phenominal programs as the likes of Tiger Schmittendorf (read his recruiting and retention blogs, they are amazing) but I do have some summer pointers to help promote our next generation of "young blood" and… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on June 18, 2008 at 7:16pm — 7 Comments

One of FFN's own has been kidnapped!!!!!

FirefighterNation.com Members,

Listen carefully! We are a group of individuals who represent a small but grammatically correct faction. At this time we have one of your fellow members and bloggers in our possession. Her member name is FASNYtraining, but many of you know her as the FNG(irl). She is currently safe and unharmed but if you want her to see the light of day and her computer keyboard again, you must follow our instructions to the letter.

Here are our… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on May 17, 2008 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Continued Success takes dedication.

Hey folks. I posted this to the Seat belt pledge I started, and since there will be more folks signing the pledge soon(hopefully) I assume it will become buried before some folks can read the letter. The last 2 letters I sent to Senator Kerry and Senator Brown I did so without thinking of adding them here to my blog or to the forum. I sent a letter to Senator Byrd today. (West Virginia)

The reason for me adding it to my blog is that I am looking for constructive criticism to ensure my… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on May 3, 2008 at 9:30am — 9 Comments

FRAUD Alert, please read.

Hey folks. I figured I would drop the story in my blog to help prevent anything bad from happening to any of you. Today in the mail(USPS) my fiance and I received a letter in the mail with a real check for $3,800. The $3800 was 10 % of the money we won in an online contest for "WalMart.com" customers. The check comes from a real and legit bank called Johnson Bank in Racine, Wisconsin. The company who is a fraud is called "Shoppers Lotto." (they use RJ Financial Services to top their letterhead)… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on May 2, 2008 at 2:45pm — 8 Comments

Keep your fingers crossed for me......

Ah blogging. Something I don't do nearly enough of. The reason for todays blog is I am taking the Mass Civil Service exam tomorrow. I am normally someone who doesn't get worried, or nervous, but this test is scaring the hell out of me. I am lucky in the fact that I learn rapidly. I brushed up on all the different aspects of the testing (even those damn manipulatives aka choose the best answer) and concentrated the hardest on the Math portion of the exam. Wow it is evident I have been out of… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on April 25, 2008 at 6:29pm — 7 Comments

My reason for commitment to safety

This Photo is one of My family taken right before Christmas in 2007. The reason I am posting the photo of my family is simple. They are the reason for my dedication to safety. If I operate safely than my chances of going home to my family are dramatically increased. Throughout a commitment to safety, my fellow firefighters can experience the same… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on April 20, 2008 at 11:00am — 7 Comments

Respect. Earned or Given?

I was surfing some blog posts and I thank Tiger and Lutan for their takes on the respect issue in the fire service. I am a firefighter who has been in the business (so to speak) for 15 years. I have not learned all there is to know, and I know I never will. I have taken strides to further educate myself through training in house, and also outsourcing for more technical programs my department may not offer. I have seen the fire service evolve in the short 15 years I have been a… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on March 24, 2008 at 4:45pm — 10 Comments

Friends list

Wow I just realized I clicked yes to accept way too many people as friends, and as a result I can't find the people who truely are willing to interact and network on the site. For those of you I speak with daily this doesn't pertain to you. For the others who are my "friends" if there is no interaction before the end of the weekend, You will be removed from the list. I don't need to have 10000 friends on the site to feel important, and I only think you should send a friends request if you… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on March 7, 2008 at 5:00pm — 13 Comments

Seat Belt Pledge Blog site (for those who want to comment/discuss)

Hey folks. As we can tell we are stalemated with 73 or so signatures and it's been 20 hours since the last posting. I figured this would be a great spot to have our "discussion" since it is more adventageous to only have signatures with a small comment on the forum.

Please try to help me and the politicians see that we care about our lives and think that seat belt useage shouldn't be a choice, it should be LAW. Forward the link to the forum to your friends and get them to sign. We… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on February 29, 2008 at 9:37pm — 8 Comments

Station Nightclub Fire Video (a must see for firefighters and rescue personnel)

I don't normally think reposting off the forum isn't right, but I don't feel this vital training tool has seen the light of the forum enough without being buried by a lot of crap and a few great posts. I am bringing it here in my blog for folks to watch this video and learn from it.

http://www.all4humor.com/videos/extreme-videos/the-station-nightclub.html

This is a serious video about the Station Nightclub fire (happened 5 years ago in West Warwick… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on February 23, 2008 at 2:00pm — 3 Comments

Helping a Firefighter who is helping others

A lot of people on FFN have had the pleasure of meeting some great folks from around the world. I have met and made friends on this site from day 1. I am touched by those who take the time outside of the professions we are in, and still are intrigued to help others. I happened upon a Blog Post from FASNY Training about her marathon running for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has set a goal of $1500 to raise the greater cause of more research to find a cure.

My reason for posting… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on February 16, 2008 at 9:00pm — 2 Comments

Motivational Line

When I became the Training Officer for my old fire department I used this line to open up Junior Member training and I think it applies to all new fire service members, so I figured I would share with you all :)

"Dreams are only achieved with hard work, perserverance, and a gritty determination. Keep Training, stay posative, excercise safety and your Fire Service Career will blossom out to realms only dreampt of." (Michael S. Deniger Sr addressing Jr… Continue

Added by Engineco913 on February 13, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

To clear up some apparent misconceptions

Hello everyone. This i my first blog ever on any site, so please be patient. My name is Mike Deniger. I have been a firefighter for almost 15 years with a couple of various companies in Southern RI and for a 1 year stint in Chester County PA. I joined FFN when the members were in the hundreds, not…

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Added by Engineco913 on February 11, 2008 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Blog 2 Breaking the barrier

Hello all again! This blog is going to be spent describing my quest to become hired as a paid firefighter. If you haven't read, I have been a firefighter for almost 15 years now. (500 calls a year no EMS) I became interested in becoming paid about 5 years ago, and promptly started to look for open…