All Blog Posts Tagged 'Training' (50)

I am the problem. Other women like me, who want to put a stop to all the noise and just do the job, are the problem. Sometimes, the problem is the solution.

Some of you will not like what I’m about to say, and that’s okay. I’ll make this clear, I don’t care. You don’t agree with me? You’re entitled to your opinion, but remember, I am too. What’s not acceptable is attacking someone for having opinions that differ from yours. We fight for rights for women and call ourselves…

Looking back on childhood memories, most can recall our parents telling us “if you work hard enough, you can do anything you want.” Our family’s encouragement is what sets up the fundamental understanding of “if you want something bad enough, all it takes is courage and determination and your possibilities are endless.” This premise continues as we proceed throughout our lives; teachers keeping us on the right path, coaches pushing to reveal our full potential, and friends encouraging us to…

To stretch or not to stretch....

A call for a structure fire comes in, whether it be the odor of smoke sight unknown or a bedroom fire, what action does the first engine in take upon arrival?  With the latter scenario its easy to answer, stretch in and put the fire out, but what about the other possible scene? This is where the question comes in, do we or don't we stretch?  Always follow whatever your department’s SOP/SOG’s state, but what happens when a department leaves it…

It is fourth and goal with the game clock tick, tick, ticking away. The success or failure of your next play will bring your team victorious glory or public disgrace (and these days, social media shaming). You take your positions, the ball is snapped, you run your route awaiting a precise throw from the quarterback, the ball is released and it's coming your way, you…

As a servant leader hopefully you will not fall into the trap of focusing your efforts on self-serving ventures or only focusing on the organization.  As a servant leader you must be focused on what is truly the most valuable resource in the fire service, the others around you.  

It is important to remember there is no I in team.  This is a hard area to over come and it takes constant effort with successful leaders as they are always striving to get better, focused on the vision…

Officer development is far more than just attending classes.

To truly develop you must  combine a servant leadership attitude with training, education and professional experiences accompanied by sound leadership and mentoring to get a quality…

The Overhaul    

     Cultural Change for a Safer Fire Service…it starts with ATTITUDE and TRAINING!  The first step is looking at what is already in place in your department.  If someone has developed something and it is seems to be working, then maybe all it needs is a little tweak. But remember there is always room for improvement. If…

    A training program that is not comprehensive, effective and / or efficient must be changed!  When you consider how events have impacted our operations in recent years, we as the fire service have taken on EMS, Hazardous Materials, Technical Rescue, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Terrorism  just to name a…

        Whether it’s halligans, hooks or hoses, the unfortunate truth is that too many firefighters are using inferior tools and equipment on the fireground…and this needs to stop. To most of the brothers and sisters that will take the time to read (and watch) this, this is old news; but to many of our brethren, this is the first they’re hearing of this.…

Milwaukee, Louver, Rochester Peak, Syracuse, Tee Pee Cut.

What is right for us?

I had the opportunity to attend FDIC the past month and was fortunate enough to take the eight hour HOT class Urban Essentials.  If you ever get the chance to go to Indianapolis for FDIC take Urban Essentials, lots of skills that you can take back to your home department and implement.  At Urban Essentials one of Milwaukee’s finest truck companies…

How many of us practice “catching” a hydrant or dropping supply line at the end of a driveway before we drive up to the actual scene and start getting ready to fight fire? More often than not, the first due engine company pulls up, drops the attack lines and begins the process of setting up for the attack before water supply is really…

        Growing up, probably like most of you, I used to play a lot of sports, although by the time I got to high school I realized that I wasn’t very good at most of them. Nonetheless, throughout high school I was on the wrestling team - all 112 pounds of me. Doing some quick math I figured that I spent about 175 hours on the mat during the high school season. In the summer I dabbled in…

First and foremost this if my first blog post for fireengineering.com . I am excited to share my insights and thoughts. It is my full intention to be here at…

Know Your Ladder Lengths/Heights!!!

We always use the scenario that in 0300 hours we need to perform like it is 1100 hours.  We try to promote muscle memory but sometimes I think we tend to lack on the mind part of the memory.  Firefighters perform the skill efficiently for each task…

Many departments across the country have a in-house maze for SCBA Confidence training.  These mazes are great for instilling confidence for the brand new fire fighter and maintaining proficiencies for the 20 year veteran.  The issue that I have heard not just in my own department but departments across the county in which I reside is, “I can do this maze in my sleep” statement.  A lot of mazes are constructed modular so different paths can be taken; the maze will also be slightly different…

For those of us who have been around this business for a while, it can be easy at times to look at the rookies and wonder why they don't do it like the way we did when we were coming up. This, being a very broad statement, is nothing new to the old guys thinking they do it better than the young guys (at least in their minds) for each generation that comes through. Technical rescues, an EMS patient, or attacking fires can be accomplished in a multitude of ways and still yield the same…

On many extended extrications access to the patient is obviously very limited. One often-overlooked method is using the seatback to facilitate much needed access to the patient. This technique is completed via the seat controls-electric/manual or by cutting the seatback…

       I know I don’t need to tell you this, but your department doesn’t have all the answers; neither does your Chief, your Training Officer or you. For that matter, no fireground or emergency scene has ever, or will ever, go flawlessly. We’re human. We’re imperfect. And that’s okay, although this doesn’t mean that we should be satisfied with the status quo, but instead we should strive for excellence. If you’re reading this,…