John Lightly's Page

Across the country, school systems are gearing up for another academic year. Teachers are excited about their new classroom design. Students are looking forward to getting back to their friends. Parents are ecstatic to get the kids out of the house again!

This time of year is also when many fire training academies get back underway. It may be a new recruit academy or a local technical center aimed at volunteers. Large urban department training centers with all the trimmings or small…

What word seems to strike fear into the hearts of firefighters everywhere? Change. Career or volunteer, senior man or rookie, the word sends up red flags and defenses whenever it is mentioned. We tend to be skeptical of the person proposing change as maybe something has been tried (and failed miserably) in the past. We see it as an infringement on our operational status quo with which we are quite comfortable. Some departments even view their resistance to change as some kind of badge of…

Back to Basics is a Flawed Concept

Back to basics is one of the most commonly used phrases in our fire service it seems. Every time you listen to a podcast, read an article, or interact on social media someone is using that line in regards to training and subsequently to the fireground. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the idea of getting back to the basics, but I think it is actually a flawed concept.

Quite simply, everyone's basics are different. East, West, everywhere…

I hate pushups.

They are boring with their simple repetitive down and up motion. They are frustrating as your curled toes start to slide on the floor. They bring back bad memories of evil gym teachers past; I can still hear the hollow thud of my classmate Bobby’s face smacking off the gym floor as his arms failed.

They cause pain to shoot up the backs of your arms and your tightened tummy to spasm. They certainly are not flattering what with all the sweaty bums up in the air…