All Blog Posts Tagged 'LODD' (24)

It was an honor to have recently participated in the latest round of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Heart to Heart: Strategizing an Evidence-Based Approach to Reduce Cardiac Disease and Death in the Fire Service initiative.  The meeting brought together fire service research scientists, fire service professionals, and marketing experts from…

“We can’t be operationally effective without our health.”

~Rommie Duckworth

I am paraphrasing Chief Bobby Halton when I say that we will never be able to mitigate all of the risks we face as firefighters (and we should know and accept these risks before we take the oath).  As a firefighter, putting yourself in harm’s way to save another is not only something you…

This week our local fire community has a very heavy heart.   Sunday, March 20, 2016, the Conway Fire Department suffered an LODD.  Firefighter Christopher Gene Ray was killed in an apparatus related incident.  This took place in the early stages of a structure fire in the Conway fire district.

Even after 27 years of Fire and EMS I cannot imagine how Chris’s family feels this morning.  I understand the void that the…

                        Photo courtesy of The First Twenty

If you think a personal change in your level of health and fitness does not have an impact, I’d like you to meet…

International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week, sponsored by the IAFC and NVFC, starts June 14 and runs through June 20, 2015. This year's theme, Creating a Culture of Safety, offers many opportunities for improvement from the community, department, and personal perspectives. Whether you take on a fitness challenge …

                                                                                                      Courtesy: glengoschfitness.com

A short while back, I posted a blog called The Undeniable Truth that…

A short while back, I posted a blog called The Undeniable Truth that challenged fire departments to be courageous in…

For someone like me, it’s hard to fathom that anyone in the fire service could produce an argument against improving the health and fitness of firefighters. The statistics alone tell anyone that will listen it is the most significant barrier to reducing LODDs. Nevertheless, I understand that the issue, sadly, is more complicated than that. As I've said before – it’s…

My friends at Tailboard Training published a new blog post recently. It’s called Ultrahazardous. Everyone in the fire service should read this short piece…everyone from the department chief to the newest rookie, to every person even considering the pursuit…

Each year we loose approximately 100 firefighters in the line of duty.  While all of the deaths are tragic and traumatizing to those involved, sadly many of them are the same story repeated over and over.  Vehicle accidents and heart attacks are common themes in the LODD notifications, while “combat casualties” seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

We vow “never to forget” and “not to let our brothers die in vain”. Do we really do this?  Do you pull up the NIOSH…

As 2014 draws to a close, many of us take the time to reflect.  Where are we now in comparison to where we were a year ago, both personally and professionally?  As an individual? As an organization? As a profession?  If you're as passionate about the fire service as I am (as I am sure you are), then you understand how important it is to balance your passion for the craft with family -- to balance your life appropriately and not forget what's most important.  So, as you reflect and set…

Today I read the US Fire Administration’s report on the Worcester Fire from December 3^rd, 1999.  It’s a significant fire in terms of life lost and lessons learned.  I’ve read the report before and many others like it, but today something struck me.  It was the description at the front of the report on the condition of the Fire Department at the time of the incident.  I’ve never given too much thought to it before. In some LODD reports you can see obvious problems (now that we know…

Nine firefighters have lost their lives while on the road, to date, in 2014

Eight actually, if you don't include the one who did not feel well and was found off the road in his private vehicle after an alarm.…

"We all thought that since nothing serious had happened before, nothing was going to happen this time out,"

AH-6 "Little Bird" heading out on October 3, 1993 mission. (Department of Defense photo)

"I can just remember Sgt. Eversman telling me, you know, “Moore, find…

Two tragic apparatus crashes; one provides a sorrowful reminder to us all

The following information is a breakdown of the details of those members in the fire service who died while operating "on-duty" as defined by the United States Fire Administration. For more information on this definition and that of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s definition of “line of duty death” read…

Most died away from the scene than at the scene

Update: On 26 March, the USFA announced the death of an Oklahoma captain/chaplain killed during a fight with another firefighter.

The following information is a breakdown of the details of those members in the fire…

After LODD’s there are systematic and somewhat impersonal bureaucratic events that take place. These policy reviews, OSHA investigations, independent panels last for months while those who were there are mourning the loss of…

The Arizona State Forester today released the Yarnell Hill Fire Serious Accident Investigation Report, which analyzes the circumstances leading to the June 30 entrapment and deaths of 19 firefighters of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew. The report and accompanying documents are available at https://sites.google.com/site/yarnellreport/.

The State of Arizona convened an accident investigation team…

Here we go again.

By now, we know way too much about the coward with anger management issues who killed a dozen innocent people yesterday at the DC Navy Yard.  I won't repeat his name.

Someone said he never got over "his demons" working at Ground Zero immediately following the 9/11 attacks.  Boy, that sure sucks, eh?

In my opinion, we give these criminals way too much coverage.  They don't deserve our attention.  I'll keep it clean…