Justin Thoroughman's Page

    How does your department choose what equipment to purchase?  I have seen many different programs used by different departments.  Usually it’s a quick and simple purchasing program; a single officer deciding what is chosen, purchasing the cheapest product, or going through a single vendor and just getting the brands they carry.  While these are simple methods, they don’t always produce the best results.  Most of the…

In the Fire Service it is important that we recruit the best possible candidates to join our ranks.  We spend entire careers building and improving departments.  We instill traditions and mold the department into something we’re proud of.  Many times, there are family members who also spent a career shaping the department.  There is also the trust that has been built with the community.  It’s important that we give our…

     In the Fire Service, we tend to find the easier way to complete a task and there’s nothing wrong with that.  That mindset allows us to quickly come up with ways to overcome issues in emergency situations.  We can find a way to complete any task with any given resources and every Firefighter will have a different and “better” way to do it.  Pumping a fire is one of these tasks we have made easier through the years.  Most departments will have a set pressure for most common lays, 150 psi.…

     With the growing population, expansion of the urban/suburban environments, and a decrease of people willing to volunteer, we are seeing an increase in career Firefighter openings. Add this to a struggling economy and an increase in unemployment, and it’s no…