Over at All Hazards Contemplations, I'm taking a look at a discussion that Capt. Willie Wines is having at Iron Firemen.com  Willie's excellent post on the nuances of phrasing and terminology can be found…

Sunday is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11/11 terrorist attacks - the worst terrorist attack in the history of our world. It is appropriate that we honor and remember the nearly 3,000 people who died.



We should remember those who died on the four hijacked aircraft. Some were traveling to take care of business or to visit family. Some were…

No Blood is Thicker

I was devastated to learn of the death of Captain Jeff Bowen of Asheville, NC's Rescue Company 3. He leaves a wife and three children without a husband and father. Any LODD is a terrible tragedy,…

Does it sound crazy for a firefighter to say that?  Maybe it does, but at All Hazards Contemplations, I've pointed out that statistics show that approximately 100 U.S. firefighters die in the line of duty each year, with a smaller number of annual non-firefighter EMS…

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/dec/05/video-echoes-fog/

12 Die, Dozens Injured in I-75 Fog Pileup

On December 11, 1990, I was the Chief of EMS for McMinn County, Tennessee. I was at a regional EMS meeting in Chattanooga when virtually everyone's pager alerted within a few seconds of each other.…

Over at All Hazards Contemplations, we're looking into the Rule of 3's. Actually, there are three different "Rule of 3's" and all three of them are important to anyone who works in Fire/Rescue or EMS.



The first one is espoused by survivalists. It goes something like this:



You can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.



While not exact, that Rule is…

Tomorrow is the 9th anniversary of the largest and worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. Almost 3,000 people died, including many fire, law enforcement, and EMS personnel.

Take a moment on 9/11/10 to remember the victims aboard all four of the aircraft, the victims at the World Trade Center, the victims at the Pentegon, and especially the firefighters, police officers, EMTs, paramedics, and other responders…

On our way from the staging area to the Coliseum, one person in particular stood out from the crowd of people lining the streets. Once we exited I-526 and turned onto the city streets, I noticed a woman kneeling on the sidewalk. Her right hand was held over her heart and her left hand was held aloft giving the …

The evening of June 18, 2007 will be forever burned into my memory, but the day of June 22, 2007 was the date that really made this tragedy personal for me. To set the stage, on the evening of June 18, I was at home after a pretty good day at work. Training had gone well, the weather was pleasant, and I had just finished a nice dinner with my family. I decided to watch some TV, and started the typical flipping through the channels. I usually…

From this weekend at All Hazard Contemplations

In the world of preventing the occurance of harmful incidents, the fire-rescue community has few peers and often excels. Innovative ways to prevent and reduce harm have included smoke detector programs, fire…

From All Hazards Contemplations...

We’ve all heard the stories about firefighters doing stupid things on duty or off. Firefighters committing arson, breaking and entering, driving intoxicated, failing work-related random drug screening tests, abusing their domestic partners…the list goes on and on. As one of the replies to the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman’s Association’s recent…

Part 1 of this series from All Hazards Contemplations was an introduction to Bathtub Collapse problem identification, exterior size-up, strategy considerations and development, and safety considerations. Part 2 discusses tactical considerations, interior size-up, victim recovery, investigations, and incident termination. This article was co-authored by my friend and colleague, Jason…

This article is co-authored by my friend and colleague Jason Walters. Jason is the Team Leader for USAR SC-Regional Response Team 4. We're discussing this topic at All Hazards Contemplations.



Introduction



FEMA’s USAR system, basic firefighting texts, and other fire-rescue references describe how to recognize and respond to a variety…