I had planned two drills this week for the 2009 Fire and EMS Safety and Survival week. One was cancelled due to severe weather responses and the other should go on as planned today. A fellow instructor and friend of mine were discussing that as we were trying to promote the "Courage to be Safe" program, we were met with statements such as "Oh we had that class" or "We had that once". For us, it is disheartening to hear. For the fire service, it is much more than disheartening. A colleague of… Continue

Since I joined the fire service in 1980, well over 3000 firefighters have died in the line of duty. Some of our better years, if you can call them that, were in 1992,, 1993, 1996, and 1998 when we were below 100 lodds. Approximate numbers tell us that 50% are due to cardiovascular stresses, heart attacks and strokes, 25% are attributed to vehicle collisions, and the rest fall into categories of trauma due to collapses, gun shots and falls. So far in 2009, we are at 46 lodds. Sadly it looks like… Continue

Next week is the National Fire/EMS Safety and Survival Week. To my brothers and sisters in Emergency Services, let's focus on reducing line of duty injuries and deaths, and keep that focus ongoing throughout the year and always! I have always said, "Plan your work and work your plan". The work is in how to prevent these line of duty injuries and deaths. The plan is to make sure that Everyone Goes Home! Stay SMART and Stay SAFE!!!