RON KANTERMAN's Posts - Fire Engineering Training Community2024-03-19T09:34:48ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMANhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1534581945?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2a31rsi01ddd8&xn_auth=noJournal Entry 54: Safety Doesn’t Take the Summer Offtag:community.fireengineering.com,2019-08-05:1219672:BlogPost:6899892019-08-05T18:30:00.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Most of us probably take some time in the summer to relax at the shore or up in the mountains. (I’m thinking the gang in Colorado is looking for the beach and the gang in Florida is heading for Montana, just sayin’.) In any event, we talk “health and safety” every day at every call, at every training class and every drill. Why not? It’s all about surviving the fire service and getting out healthy and in one piece. But what about off duty or when not tied up with the volunteer company? I know…</p>
<p>Most of us probably take some time in the summer to relax at the shore or up in the mountains. (I’m thinking the gang in Colorado is looking for the beach and the gang in Florida is heading for Montana, just sayin’.) In any event, we talk “health and safety” every day at every call, at every training class and every drill. Why not? It’s all about surviving the fire service and getting out healthy and in one piece. But what about off duty or when not tied up with the volunteer company? I know too many firefighters that have gotten seriously injured or worse when on their own time. Do we have a memory lapse when not in uniform or when the pager is placed in the charger? One guy was painting his house and fell off a 3-story ladder. One guy was mowing the lawn and kicked up a rock to his forehead. On a national level, our colleagues report through web sites and email newsletters that firefighters get killed on motorcycles and jet skis every summer. We need to pay better attention for our sake and our family’s sake. Consider these for a happy and healthy summer, beach side or mountainside:</p>
<p><strong>Water Safety:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Everyone should learn how to swim, float and survive in the water. Us and the kids! Swim in life guard protected areas and never dive in unknown waters.</li>
<li>Take a Coast Guard approved boating course (if you have a boat!) and use USCG approved personal flotation devices (PFD’s).</li>
<li>If someone is in trouble in the water, <em>reach</em> (with a pole) <em>throw</em> (a life buoy on a rope) <em>row</em> (go get them in a boat) or <em>go</em> (but only if you are a strong swimmer with rescue skills.)</li>
<li>Swim with a buddy and teach your kids to do the same. The Boy Scouts of America have used the “buddy system” successfully for 110 years including during this summer at scout camps all over the country.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>General Safety:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Wear safety glasses or goggles when mowing the lawn.</li>
<li>Tie off ladders so they stay secure for the moments we forget we’re on a ladder.</li>
<li>Drive to stay alive.</li>
<li>Plan your trips and take the proper gear with you whether hiking the mountains or boating on the lake or in the ocean.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Wellness:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Stay fit in your time off. Work out while on vacation. Scale it back because hey, you’re on vacation but keep moving!</li>
<li>Watch your diet. It’s very easy to drift over to comfort food while vacationing.</li>
<li>Beach volley ball or mountain biking?</li>
</ul>
<p>Have a great summer and enjoy yourself but come back in one piece. We need you in the firehouse and on the line.</p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>Journal Entry 53: Safety & Health-Turning Around an Aircraft Carriertag:community.fireengineering.com,2019-06-12:1219672:BlogPost:6532702019-06-12T13:03:10.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>The inventor, thinker, genius, mathematician and all around smart guy, Albert Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I think he was right. We worked the same way for a long time (the first 270 years or so) and injuries and LODDs became part and parcel to our service. We thought that simply doing it “over and over again” the same way and thinking it would change all by itself, would work. It didn’t. However…</p>
<p>The inventor, thinker, genius, mathematician and all around smart guy, Albert Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I think he was right. We worked the same way for a long time (the first 270 years or so) and injuries and LODDs became part and parcel to our service. We thought that simply doing it “over and over again” the same way and thinking it would change all by itself, would work. It didn’t. However we’re making progress because we actually have changed the way we are delivering services and behaving on and off the fire ground. There is lots of discussion on how and when to work safely and to when to be cautious and when it’s “not necessary to be safe all the time” to quote of few of our peers however it still seems that things are getting better. Battalion Chief (ret.) Dave Dodson said “we need to be intellectually aggressive, not arbitrarily aggressive.” Wow! This should be the watch phrase of the current day. Is changing the way 1 million firefighters think and behave an easy task? Of course not. It’s like turning around an aircraft carrier. What most of us who have been around longer than 20 minutes talk about are the actual components of the “safety system” that make up the whole. For me, a robust training program and a solid set of SOPs/SOGs that you train to, create the very foundation of safety. Again, they’re only two components of the “safety system” along with risk management, culture (attitude/climate) change, engineering controls, command and control, communications, leadership, advocacy, the built environment, wellness, prevention (illness, injury and fire) and much more. </p>
<p>A lot of attention has been paid, especially lately to the role(s) of the company officer and rightfully so. It took us chief officers a long time to understand that everything starts and stops with first line supervision. How goes the officer, so goes the crew or the company. Look sharp, be sharp, act sharp, think sharp. (Tom Galvin-FDNY Fire Academy) While safety starts with each individual firefighter, it rests squarely on the shoulders of first line supervision so it is expected that our line officers will become safety advocates. The “lead by example” mantra applies here ten-fold. Telling firefighters to wear any piece of PPE and the officer not wearing the same piece is simply a bad thing. There are far too many photos of Chiefs in front of fire buildings wearing a button down shirt and a radio. Officers (all of us) need to set the tone and the boundaries, walk the talk at all times and at all levels. For our people, at times it’s simply a coaching job. (Hey Tom, put your goggles on.) A subtle reminder in a person’s ear works well. Remember that unless it’s imminent danger, admonish/remind in private. Also remember that “what you allow to happen without your intervention becomes your standard.” I heard that a long time ago from Chief (ret.) Peter Lamb, North Attleboro, MA. If you don’t stop bad habits or bad behavior, then by default, you own it.</p>
<p>Remember that we thought the NFPA1 500 committee was way out of the box and out of their minds all those years ago however here we are many years later and in fact, most of us are doing most of it, if not all of it now. It just takes time. Be patient but stay with it. Turning that carrier around takes time and deliberate, consistent action.</p>
<p>Be well, Be safe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>The Book on Safety and Healthtag:community.fireengineering.com,2019-05-07:1219672:BlogPost:6529232019-05-07T14:00:00.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p><strong>Journal Entry #52</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>Dear brothers and sisters,</p>
<p>I missed you all at FDIC this year (home with a temporary medical issue) while <em>Fire Engineering</em> rolled out my new book. I’ve heard from many of you regarding same, seeking information. I’m very proud of this project and wish you a healthy career and safe operations always!</p>
<p>Ronnie K…</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Journal Entry #52</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>Dear brothers and sisters,</p>
<p>I missed you all at FDIC this year (home with a temporary medical issue) while <em>Fire Engineering</em> rolled out my new book. I’ve heard from many of you regarding same, seeking information. I’m very proud of this project and wish you a healthy career and safe operations always!</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p><a href="https://www.pennwellbooks.com/fire-engineering-books-videos/new-products/fire-officers-guide-to-occupational-safety-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2331258608?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Chief Ron Kanterman has compiled the most comprehensive manual on occupational safety and health for the fire service to date. This desk reference is the ultimate guide book and newest tool in the tool box for Company Officers, Chief Officers and Health & Safety Officers, to help fire departments operate within some acceptable parameters of health and safety. Chief Kanterman did the work for you. Here are the concepts and resources you will find in this book:</p>
<ul>
<li>Over <strong>20 sample SOP’s</strong> to use as starter documents</li>
<li>A summary of over <strong>25 NFPA standards</strong> relating to health and safety</li>
<li>A sample <strong>Risk Management Plan</strong> (RMP-NFPA1500) to use as starter document</li>
<li>A sample specification for <strong>Turn Out Gear</strong></li>
<li>A sample <strong>Fitness and Wellness starter</strong> program</li>
<li>Sample <strong>Infection/Exposure Control</strong> program</li>
<li>Risk Management Concepts</li>
<li>Scene safety on the fire ground and on highways and roadways</li>
<li>An overview of nationally used and recognized programs sponsored by the IAFC, IAFF, NFFF and others</li>
<li>Training Safety</li>
<li>Cancers-Causes and Mitigation Measures</li>
<li>Codes and standards that dictate or can be referenced within the area firefighter health and safety</li>
<li>Leadership, Tying Fire Prevention to FF Safety, Technical Rescue, WUI and more</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>To Order Go To:</strong> <a href="https://www.pennwellbooks.com/fire-engineering-books-videos/new-products/fire-officers-guide-to-occupational-safety-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>https://www.pennwellbooks.com/fire-engineering-books-videos/new-products/fire-officers-guide-to-occupational-safety-health/</strong></a></p>
<p><strong><em><u>A portion of the proceeds from this book go to the NFFF and FCSN</u></em></strong></p>Journal Entry 51: You Can’t Lose With the A-Team Sitting Next to Youtag:community.fireengineering.com,2018-10-23:1219672:BlogPost:6487292018-10-23T14:00:00.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>For the past 20 years, I’ve had the privilege to volunteer at the <a href="https://www.firefighternation.com/articles/company-news/2018/09/103-fallen-firefighters-to-be-honored-at-national-memorial.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">annual Memorial Weekend</a> sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. From 1998-2000, I worked on a logistical crew moving stuff all over the campus in order to re-set the place for the in-coming families, their grief sessions, ceremonies, etc.…</p>
<p>For the past 20 years, I’ve had the privilege to volunteer at the <a href="https://www.firefighternation.com/articles/company-news/2018/09/103-fallen-firefighters-to-be-honored-at-national-memorial.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">annual Memorial Weekend</a> sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. From 1998-2000, I worked on a logistical crew moving stuff all over the campus in order to re-set the place for the in-coming families, their grief sessions, ceremonies, etc. In 2001, I was given the Operations Chief position and held it for13 years. Then for two years, I was the Deputy IC. Where is all of this going Ron? Well, this year I was bestowed the honor of working as the Memorial Weekend Incident Commander. For the first time, it was mine to make it succeed. It’s an awesome responsibility connected with honor and pride. So Ron, how did you do? <strong><em><u>We</u></em></strong> fared well. It takes about 1,000 volunteers to pull it off each year. Of the 1,000 about 600 and change are honor guard, pipes and drums. That group is one of 24 independent operating units that work cohesively throughout the weekend (and for the 10 months prior, planning for it) in order to accommodate our honored fire hero families. We use ICS and set up a Command Post (in Building S) in order to manage the 100’s of tasks and last minute requests that take place over the 5 day period. The Team gets on the ground on Wednesday and some operate until the following Tuesday, like the Transportation Group getting the families back to the airports. </p>
<p>Many people asked me if I was apprehensive or nervous prior to the weekend. Anybody would be, however it was easier for me than most. I had the A-Team with me. Most of the Command Staff have been together since 2002 when we took the weekend to Washington DC. That year we honored 445 families which included the 343 FDNY firefighters who perished on 9/11/01. The campus in Emmitsburg would not be large enough for the crowd. So, for this year, we conducted 4 on-campus planning sessions over the summer, sent 10,000 emails (I lost count) and made a few hundred phone calls. A 167 page IAP was prepared and we used an electronic timeline system to track our daily activities. We were ready. The weekend went well, but not without a hiccup here and there or a trip on a crack in the sidewalk. Overall, our honored families didn’t know about these and that’s the main idea. To give you a sample of our operating units: Operations, Logistics, Transportation, Security, Safety, Production, Honor Guard, Pipes & Drums, Finance & Administration, Child Care, Family Activities & Registration, NFFF Store Operations, Flag Presenters, Media, PIO, Military Liaison, Special Invited Guests, Chapel Vigil, Grief Sessions, and others. Mention must also be made of the full time NFFF staff, who work hard at it all year round and the USFA staff and their contractors for helping to make the weekend a success.</p>
<p>I couldn’t do bad. I had the A-Team sitting next to me.</p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>Journal Entry #50: Safety & Health Systemstag:community.fireengineering.com,2018-03-23:1219672:BlogPost:6450272018-03-23T18:19:24.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>The inventor, thinker, genius, mathematician and smart guy, Albert Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We worked the same way for a long time (282 years or so) and our injuries and LODD’s became part of life. However, it seems we’re on our way to better days. Changing the way 1 million firefighters think and behave is not an easy task. What most of us who have been around for a few minutes talk about,…</p>
<p>The inventor, thinker, genius, mathematician and smart guy, Albert Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We worked the same way for a long time (282 years or so) and our injuries and LODD’s became part of life. However, it seems we’re on our way to better days. Changing the way 1 million firefighters think and behave is not an easy task. What most of us who have been around for a few minutes talk about, are the actual components of the “safety system” that make up the whole. We believe that training is the very basis and foundation of a fire department’s safety program along with a good set of SOP’s/SOG’s that you train to. It’s prudent to remember however that safety and health is a system. My colleague and associate (I’ll take a stab and call him a friend too!) John Salka wrote in an article a year or two ago, that “safety is not one thing but it’s a system of many programs tied into one goal.” I agree with John. No one can simply state that “XXX is THE safety thing and it will keep you alive.” Look at it like a bicycle wheel with many spokes.</p>
<p>Safety starts with each individual firefighter, rests mostly on the shoulders of first line supervision and is expected that line officers will become safety advocates. The old adage “lead by example” applies here. Telling firefighters to wear any piece of PPE and you not wearing the same piece is a bad practice. Sometimes, it’s simply a “coaching job.” It doesn’t have to be a formal announcement, but a subtle reminder works well. (“Hey Mike put on a pair of gloves.”) Remember that unless it’s imminent danger, admonish/remind in private.</p>
<p>There are a few good “down-and-dirty” programs that can be taught and discussed with ease at the company level. If you haven’t seen these, get them, read them and implement them as much as you can and as they apply. When NFPA 1500 was published the first time, Chiefs throughout the country collectively thought that there would be no way to ever comply but here we are 20+ years later and in fact, most of us are doing most of it, if not all of it now. It just took some time.</p>
<p>As mentioned previously, training is the very foundation for safety. Career fire personnel should be training every work shift and the volunteers on a regular basis, whatever you believe “regular” means. Train to your procedures and guidelines and remember to work the way you train and train the way you work. Insure your SOPs or SOGs are reviewed annually and that your members get the changes and that the annual training program reflects those changes. This is an imperative step in keeping everyone on the same page at an incident and having one blue print for operations. Do things change at an incident and do we run in to unpredictable situations even though we talk about expecting the unexpected? Of course, but if we’re working within some semblance of order, we’ll be more likely to experience success and a favorable outcome.</p>
<p>Be safe and see you at <a href="http://www.fdic.com/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FDIC</a>!</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>Journal Entry 49: What a Yeartag:community.fireengineering.com,2017-12-07:1219672:BlogPost:6437192017-12-07T08:30:00.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Brothers and Sisters,</p>
<p>What a perfect day to sit down at the keyboard and write about this year. It’s December 7, Pearl Harbor day. Thank you all veterans for what you’ve done for our country.</p>
<p>As most of you know, I battled prostate cancer this year (surgery in March) and am very happy to report the blood tests are coming back clean. Like the folks who lived in Pearl Harbor and persevered through the attack and never saw it coming. I was back in the O.R. three times since March…</p>
<p>Brothers and Sisters,</p>
<p>What a perfect day to sit down at the keyboard and write about this year. It’s December 7, Pearl Harbor day. Thank you all veterans for what you’ve done for our country.</p>
<p>As most of you know, I battled prostate cancer this year (surgery in March) and am very happy to report the blood tests are coming back clean. Like the folks who lived in Pearl Harbor and persevered through the attack and never saw it coming. I was back in the O.R. three times since March due to complications from surgery but nonetheless, I’m here to complain about it. Add to this my older sister has stage 4 lung and bone but as she put it, “the doc said that stage 4 isn’t necessarily a death sentence anymore.” To prove that out, she’s responding very well to her chemo treatments, tumors are shrinking and/or leaving. Three cheers for modern medicine. What a year!</p>
<p>As the year progressed we saw much of the same thing in the fire world. Fires, EMS calls, MVA’s and the usual except that we also saw the worst of mankind in Las Vegas, Georgia, California and across the country. As of November, there were 317 mass shootings in the United States. Is this becoming a new part of the mission? Should we be training for MCI’s? Specifically for gunshot wounds? Should we be doing tactical training with our counter parts in Law Enforcement? Should we be budgeting for new styles of PPE? At my last gathering of fire service professionals (Occupational Cancer Symposium-Phoenix, AZ) I saw a vendor showing a turn out coat with a built-in Kevlar vest. Has it come to this? I’m not sure if it’s a priority but I will say that we need to start paying attention to it and training will be the key. The best example I witnessed this year was the Las Vegas shooting. Shortly thereafter, I then spoke to a Clark County Fire Captain. He told me they had trained for two years with mutual aid fire departments and the police, thinking (knowing) Las Vegas would be a target some day. They were ready. So, as I attend meetings with my police department, we continue to discuss and plan for a real bad day. You should be doing this too.</p>
<p>As we head in to the New Year, we all know the future is uncertain but I know the fire service will rise to the occasion as it’s always done. We have overcome the darkest days in the country’s history in terms of civilian tragedies like the Cocanut Grove Night Club fire in Boston, the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky, and the Station Night Club fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. We’ve also risen against fire service tragedies such as the 23<sup>rd</sup> Street fire in New York City, the Cold Storage Warehouse fire in Worcester, MA and September 11, 2001, also in New York City.</p>
<p>For 2018: Be smart, be careful, work safely, get a thorough physical and act on any anomalies, study, read, train, train and train.</p>
<p>A happy, healthy holiday season and a SAFE New Year to all,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p>PS-This journal entry made in fond memory of Chief Alan Brunacini. RIP Chief.</p>Journal Entry 48: Random Cardiac Thoughts from a Fire Chieftag:community.fireengineering.com,2017-07-14:1219672:BlogPost:6386272017-07-14T14:29:57.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p class="p1"><em>I have deferred my blog page this month to a good friend with a great message. I mentioned Rob (not by name) in <a href="http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A635449" target="_self">Journal Entry #45 “Cancer.”</a> He’s the chief that put off his cardiac testing and went to play golf because he was told there is a 10% chance of a false positive so he couldn’t possibly be sick! He’s in great shape! Well, here’s the real story. I thank…</em></p>
<p class="p1"><em>I have deferred my blog page this month to a good friend with a great message. I mentioned Rob (not by name) in <a href="http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A635449" target="_self">Journal Entry #45 “Cancer.”</a> He’s the chief that put off his cardiac testing and went to play golf because he was told there is a 10% chance of a false positive so he couldn’t possibly be sick! He’s in great shape! Well, here’s the real story. I thank Rob for coming forth and sharing his tale with all of us so we can learn from it. Like I said at the end of #45, get checked, get tested, don’t put it off, don’t be a macho dope and get tests done whether the department sends you or not, career, volunteer or otherwise. </em></p>
<p class="p1"><em> </em></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>By Robert Ross-South District, Middletown, CT</strong></p>
<p class="p1">I am 55 and I’m in great shape. My blood pressure is 105/64 and my cholesterol is never higher than 170. I’m a mere 8 pounds over my recommended weight for my height and I am as fit as a fiddle. On February 10, 2017 I found out how wrong I was about my health!</p>
<p class="p1">I was wrong about everything I thought about my own health and most likely, so are you. We as fire service members are inherently passionate about a lot of things. We fight for a lot and we fight over a lot. I think to myself how frequently we have fought over the wrong things over my 37 years in the service. Our own health and wellness is one thing we are often reluctant to address. Why? Like the homeowner who fails to embrace their own safety by failing to have a working smoke alarm in their home because it will “never happen to them,” we are as stubborn and take on that same “it won’t happen to me” attitude. </p>
<p class="p1">Here's my personal story about my stubbornness and my denial. (Ron told me “denial is a river in Egypt-Da Nile!) Don't quit on me now despite Ron’s bad humor. Give me a few more minutes of your time so you can hear my story and perhaps learn from it. The life you save could be your own! </p>
<p class="p1">Since I was about the age of forty, I have taken a preventive approach to my health. (Don’t wait until 40. Do it as soon as you can.) I had an annual physical and then I added a cardiologist appointment with periodic stress tests. During this year’s annual exam, it was recommended that I repeat my stress test. It seemed unnecessary to me as I had one in 2014. My cardiologist is the best around. I could have no finer doc but honestly, I had given him enough concern during my annual exam based on my work load and stress levels for him to order a stress test. Yet, despite my initial objection, I would get it done. However, being stubborn and a bit busy at the firehouse, I postponed my first scheduled test. A lot was going on and I was going away soon so I canceled it. Then the doctor’s office called with an appointment cancellation and was able to slip me in late in the day on Tuesday, January 24th. Did I have time for this? Of course not. I had so much to do that week. I had to wrap up a bunch of things and get them done before I left on the 26th for a golf trip in Florida, followed by a Chief’s conference in Alabama. I remember thinking “oh what the heck, yes schedule me in and let’s get this over with.” </p>
<p class="p1">Tuesday came and at 1530 sharp, I hopped on the treadmill. Twelve minutes and 15 seconds later the treadmill was winding down and I was walking off the test. “Good numbers on the timing for a 55 year old” I thought to myself. Then they sat me down asked me how I felt. “Great, never better!” The cardiac PA who conducted the test left the room and returned a short time later. She said she just got off the phone with the doc and had another cardiologist review my results. They all agreed that I had failed the stress test. There was for the first time, an abnormality in the results as compared to the four other tests I’ve had in the past. They told me there was a ten percent chance I had a false positive. Big mistake on their part. I locked in on that ten percent. Yep that’s me, Mr. 10%. Has to be ‘cause I’m as fit as a fiddle. They wanted to do some further testing right away. I said I would be happy to, just a soon as I got back from Florida. After a lengthy discussion (more like pleading on the PA’s part) I was put on a heart pill and my test was scheduled for when I returned. I went on my golf trip to Florida and to my conference in Alabama. What possible problems could I have? I was in the false positive 10th percentile!</p>
<p class="p1"> February 10th at 0800 sharp, I climbed up on the table in the catheterization lab for an angiogram at Hartford Hospital. I was so convinced that I would be in that ten percent gang for a false positive, I didn’t let my wife take the day off from work to come with me and kill a half day with a bunch of strangers. I had a friend drop me off with a pick-up time around noon. As they prepared for the procedure, I was told the plan was simple. They would do the test which should take 45 minutes to an hour and if they found any issues, the procedure would go another hour or two to make any repairs. At the start of the procedure, I was given light sedation. I remember looking at the clock at 0810. The next time I remember looking at the clock it was 0926. Could I have been wrong? What was going on? Packages were being opened, numbers were being called out by the staff doing the procedure and then I heard the word “balloon.” Given the time on the clock, I remember thinking “those aren’t get well balloons they’re talking about.” How can this be, I am fit as a fiddle, right? The anesthesiologist must have seen the look on my face and sent me back under.</p>
<p class="p1">At 1035 I awoke again to the doc who performed the procedure informing me that I was all set. I had two blockages, one at 80% and one at 70%. He cleared both by ballooning them and installed four stents. I would be staying the night and he had already called my wife to let her know I would not be home for lunch.</p>
<p class="p1">Today I am a graduate of the Middlesex Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, am 10 lbs lighter, have changed my diet and most of all, I worry less about the little things that used to drive me crazy. I feel less stressed and much healthier.</p>
<p class="p1">The lesson for you to learn from this is that the stress of the fire house, family and the everyday rat race of our hectic lives do not count as a stress test. Every Cardiologist I have met through this episode has attributed my blockages to the stress of being in the fire service. No matter how healthy you think you are, get your stress under control, learn to manage it and get tested often. The life you save <i>will</i> be your own!</p>
<p class="p1">Good luck, be healthy, take care of yourselves and be safe,</p>
<p class="p1">Rob</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"><em>Thanks again Chief Ross for this eye-opening personal account. Hopefully, we’ll all pull something from it. By the way, best of luck on your retirement and we all wish you a happy, healthy and very long retirement at that. You look better already!</em></p>
<p class="p1"><em>Ronnie K</em></p>Journal Entry 47: Command Process Interferencestag:community.fireengineering.com,2017-06-12:1219672:BlogPost:6373192017-06-12T16:07:56.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>When considering the command process, there are numerous interferences that do not allow the Incident Commander to fully execute his or her battle plan. Let’s look at the ordinary every day citizen. When bad things happen, “people” usually band together and want to help. (The first major human behavior study for a large fire was performed by John L. Bryan after the MGM Grand hotel fire in Las Vegas in 1980) His theories have proven themselves time and time again, e.g. the WTC bombing in…</p>
<p>When considering the command process, there are numerous interferences that do not allow the Incident Commander to fully execute his or her battle plan. Let’s look at the ordinary every day citizen. When bad things happen, “people” usually band together and want to help. (The first major human behavior study for a large fire was performed by John L. Bryan after the MGM Grand hotel fire in Las Vegas in 1980) His theories have proven themselves time and time again, e.g. the WTC bombing in 1993. If you examine examples of emergencies, disasters and catastrophes, you will see that people will respond to aid others. It was believed years ago that people panicked under most emergent circumstances. People normally panic when all hope is lost, e.g. they have sight of an exit door in a night club in a medium smoke condition and know that if they keep moving, they will make it out alive. When the lights go out and/or the smoke obscures their exit, (hope) panic may set in followed by a human crush, stampede or other phenomenon. (Ref. The Station Night Club Fire, West Warwick, RI in 2003) In case after case, it’s been found that ordinary people do extra ordinary things during an emergency. People came out of the Bayou in boats in Louisiana to help save other people during and after hurricane Katrina. People carried others down numerous flights of stairs in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 just to name a few. Looking at the national news and seeing the aftermath of an earthquake, you will see ordinary people on top of piles of collapsed buildings trying to find survivors. Note that volunteers could be both well-meaning and ill-intentioned. People have different motives for their actions. Most will not be looking for credit or recognition but others may be. In addition, an ill-intentioned person may be trying to hinder operations or to delay aid or assistance on purpose, whether they have an issue with the business, the building owner, the workers or the people who occupy the space. There have been cases where people were “pretending to help” an engine company connect to hydrant and the helper either cut the suction line or simply did not connect it at all. This mimics the arson model where a home owner cuts down a tree across the driveway in order to delay a response to the house when the fire breaks out, or in this case started intentionally. On your initial response, you may not be able to control or coordinate these people. So, know that ordinary every day working folks may be in your way and may interfere with your operational plan, intentionally or not.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Trying to Control the Interferences</b></p>
<p>So, how do we control these “volunteers” and possibly use them to our advantage? What can we do to insure they have a positive impact on our battle plan? A good starting place is public education. A well informed public can be an asset during or after an emergency however it would work best if this same informed public had enough information to prevent an incident from happening in the first place. Since the fire service first stepped in to the school systems years ago to teach young children on the merits of fire safety (after the Our Lady of Angels fire in Chicago in 1958 which also changed the fire codes for schools) we’ve believed that the impact of those fire safety lessons and sessions were lasting for those children but did not necessarily carry over in to their adolescence or adulthood. As people get older their priorities change and unless they were a victim of a fire, it becomes an issue of indifference. “Someone else will take care of it. I need not worry about it.” What have we done to increase fire safety awareness amongst working adults? We keep after the kids and still do what we do in the schools because we know the kids are our best messengers. In the 1980’s after the Loma Prieta (CA) earth quake, the California authorities noted that there were throngs of people who helped or wanted help. They organized the Citizen Corps which eventually morphed into the CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) program, spear headed and moved forward by then FEMA Director James Lee Witt. So, we took the opportunity to organize our adult volunteers along with giving them some basic training and equipment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, through the kids and the CERT and similar programs, we get yet another chance to further educate our populations. As the fire service has realized in recent years, controlling flow path, ventilation and fire travel through a building will give us and the people who are trapped in said buildings the advantage. What’s old is new. Lloyd Layman wrote about this in the 1950’s and Keith Royer and Bill Nelson in the 1960’s. It just took us a long time to memorialize it and back it up with scientific data. Let’s apply our firefighting lessons learned to public fire safety education. We’ve been telling our citizens to sleep with their bedroom doors closed for a very long time. Most don’t but they know they should because they’ve heard it before, over and over again. If we further educate them by telling them, “close the door behind you, do not break the windows, keep the front door closed, etc.” we may actually be helping our battle plan before we get there or as we pull up. Don’t forget that public education also includes other emergency services. A northeast police department instructed all of their officers for years that “if you come upon a burning house, break as many windows and you can while waiting for the fire department to arrive.” Partner with local law enforcement and show them way that’s a bad idea. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There are other “human elements” programs that can be implemented in order to assist your battle plan. Many heavy commercial, industrial or high rise buildings have fire brigades, industrial fire departments, evacuation teams, hazmat teams, fire wardens and emergency management teams often called crisis management teams. These are trained, organized groups of dedicated employees who wish to help their companies, preserve their jobs and do some good for their surrounding communities. Working with these folks ahead of the incident will pay large dividends down the road. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s important to note that whatever battles plans you have need to be tested in order for them to be valid. A well written plan is only successful if it’s tested and consistently re-tested to insure it’s valid, workable and viable. Failing to plan is planning to fail.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>
<p>PS: I want to thank all of you who were in contact with me before and after my cancer surgery. Back to work, doing well and feeling good. If you get a chance, <a href="http://firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-12/issue-6/departments/nozzlehead/cancer-schmancer-can-we-please-talk-about-something-else.html" target="_blank">see the Nozzlehead column in the current edition of <em>FireRescue</em> magazine</a>. Good old NH (BG) told my story over again as noted in my Journal as #45. REK </p>Journal Entry 46: Fight the Fire, Not the Buildingtag:community.fireengineering.com,2017-04-17:1219672:BlogPost:6361542017-04-17T19:17:53.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>First and foremost, thank you all for your good wishes, thoughts and prayers regarding my <a href="http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A635449" target="_self">cancer</a>surgery. It went well and it looks like they got it all.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you looked at the subject title and asked yourself, “what is he talking about?” which caused you to read on. I’ll be presenting this class at FDIC 2017 so come by and see precisely what I’m talking about. (…</p>
<p>First and foremost, thank you all for your good wishes, thoughts and prayers regarding my <a href="http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A635449" target="_self">cancer</a>surgery. It went well and it looks like they got it all.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you looked at the subject title and asked yourself, “what is he talking about?” which caused you to read on. I’ll be presenting this class at FDIC 2017 so come by and see precisely what I’m talking about. (<a href="http://events.pennwell.com/FDIC2017/Public/SessionDetails.aspx?FromPage=Sessions.aspx&SessionID=17104&nav=true&Role=U%27" target="_blank">Friday - April 27 at 1030 hours</a>) For those who are conflicted because there are so many great classes at FDIC and you may not choose mine, please allow me to expound on the subject. I also put this forward for those who cannot be with use in Indianapolis next week.</p>
<p>Commercial buildings offer many challenges for fire departments around the country. Presented for your consideration is how to take advantage of the built-in active and passive fire protection features in a commercial building so you can complete your tasks effectively, efficiently and safely. Specific to safety, this ideal seems to fall in line with risk profiling, survivability profiling, risk assessment and fire ground accountability. It’s about working smarter not harder and perhaps doing great things with small numbers as most departments, career and volunteer alike still clamor for more staff. By merely having an understanding of the building and what the owner and builder provided for us, we’re more apt to be successful and to send everyone home after the job.</p>
<p>Taking a look at fire protection as a whole, many years of code battles have ensued in order to build the best buildings we can for the occupants and now under the newer codes, the firefighters who may have to enter that building to cause search & rescue and fire extinguishment activities. These systems are installed in the interest of life safety (civilians and ours), mitigation of risk, firefighter safety, conflagration control, firefighting efficiency and community economic stability. They also contribute to the durability of the structural environment, historic and cultural preservation and crime control (arson).</p>
<p><b>Passive Fire Protection Features:</b></p>
<p>Passive fire protection features are usually installed as part of the structure and simply remain in place until called upon to work during a fire. Some examples are fire doors, smoke doors, fire partitions, automatic fire dampers in HVAC duct work, building set-backs, fire walls, fire rated assemblies, spray-on fire proofing or cement or dry wall encasement, fire stopping and draft curtains.</p>
<p>While most of us know that dry wall creates a fire barrier, let’s further examine it from the firefighter’s perspective. Some of us learned to breach a sheet rock wall as a means of emergency escape. However you need to know if the sheet rock is standard or not. Some drywall comes with Lexan or Plexiglass in it for durability purposes. Are these installed in your district? </p>
<p><b><i>Tactical Tip: Knowing what materials of construction are being used in your district and in your mutual aid districts is essential to safety and operational goals.</i></b> <i><br/></i></p>
<p>Many times a building is split in two parts or sectioned off by fire walls or fire partitions. These afford time for people to evacuate or get to an area of refuge. A simple example is getting in to a 2 hours rated stairwell. This type of construction also gives the fire department time to plan their fire attack and to possibly amass additional units or mutual aid companies as to be able to coordinate multiple operations. Note that “fire walls” generally go through the roof and by definition have their own foundation so if the building fell down the fire wall should still stand. Fire partitions on the other hand are usually rated for one hour and separate dwelling units, apartments, hotel rooms or offices and create corridors. In large buildings there may be entire floors or sections of floors with greater ratings. As an example, a multi-use building may have a surgical suite or a child care center within it. These may have a 2 hour rated enclosure to protect the patients and young children respectively. </p>
<p><b><i>Tactical Tip: Rated stairwells offer a safe haven for firefighters and often contain standpipes. These areas of refuge can be used to discuss strategy and tactics prior to commencing operations and buy some time.</i></b></p>
<p>Other passive fire protection features to consider are smoke barriers, fire door assemblies, smoke dampers in duct work, draft stops, draft curtains and curtain boards. As a side note, fire doors are installed to hold fire back so be careful which door you open and when you open it. In most cases, it’s wise to leave the fire doors closed. If you have a fire in a warehouse with a 3 hour wall and rated doors down the middle, leave the interior fire doors closed in the fire wall and commit your resources on the fire side which should remain contained to that side of the building. If you send companies to the non-fire side, tell them to check for extension, however leave the fire doors closed. In some cases, you may need to deliver water through those doors for large areas of fire. Use caution when using opening these protectives. The fire can easily spread to the other side of the warehouse.</p>
<p><b><i>Tactical Tip: Get out in to your district and find these features. Understand their role and how you can use them to your advantage. Error on the side of keeping protectives closed.</i></b> <b><br/></b></p>
<p><b>Active Fire Protection</b></p>
<p>Active fire protection systems have some form of motion. Sprinklers, standpipes and foam systems flow, alarms ring, clean agents and dry chemicals discharge. Below is a brief review of active systems.</p>
<p><u>Sprinklers</u></p>
<p>There are two types of systems. Wet and dry. Within the dry system world, there are three distinct types of systems that actuate (activate) a bit differently. We also put foam in sprinkler systems too. In all cases, these systems simply send water or foam (foam is water with its specific gravity re-arranged so it floats on top of hydrocarbons instead of sinking in them) to the location of the fire to control, confine and in some cases extinguish it. Remember that you still need people to rescue people and pull them out of harm’s way. Sprinklers are simply a tool to protect property, in some cases life (residential) and assist the fire service with effective, efficient and safe operations. Sprinklers save firefighters lives too. Any of these systems can be adapted to deliver foam solution. More often than not, it’s the deluge type system in a flammable liquid storage area protecting vessels, drums, processes, etc.</p>
<p><b><i>Tactical Tip: It is imperative that Incident Commanders send a firefighter to the valve room/riser room with a radio upon arrival. Sprinkler valves should only be closed on the express order of the IC and in most cases will be, when ventilation and hose teams are in place and a coordinated fire attack is pending.</i></b></p>
<p> <u>Fire Alarm Systems</u></p>
<p>Often looked upon as a fire service mystery, fire alarm systems are fairly easy to read and easy to operate. They have initiating devices such as pull stations and detectors that go to the panel (processor), notification devices like horns and strobes which alert the occupants and auxiliary functions like closing fire doors and notifying emergency services through a central station connection. Automatic and Manual systems: Automatic systems require no human intervention or action. They employ detection devices (heat, smoke, gas, UV & IR flame, etc.) which monitor the environment and report any changes in ambient conditions. Manual systems require some human intervention like pulling a pull station. Either action goes to a fire alarm panel which processes the signal alerts the occupants and perhaps the fire department. The panel will show red for an alarm, yellow for a trouble or supervisory signal and green for normal conditions. Today’s “addressable” LED read out panels give you the actual pin-point location of the alarm, e.g. “Smoke detector-Room 327, third floor NE corner.”</p>
<p><b><i>Tactical Tip: Having knowledge of how these systems work and how to use them will assist with operations. Systems in high rise or large area buildings often have a PA system. IC’s should learn how to use them to not only give occupants instructions but to reach firefighters with poor radio reception or those without radios. Consider an emergency building evacuation for all fire personnel by</i></b></p>
<p><b><i>simply getting on the PA system and repeating the order. </i></b> <b> </b></p>
<p><u>Specialty systems:</u></p>
<p>The code requires other types of specialty systems to be installed in buildings depending on height, area, occupancy and other a factors. These are noted below with some sample occupancies:</p>
<ol>
<li>smoke control systems-high rise, malls, underground facilities</li>
<li>clean agent (including Halon) gas systems-computer rooms, museums</li>
<li>CO2 systems-computer rooms, museums, printing plants</li>
<li>dry chemical-commercial cooking hoods, industrial flammable liquid storage areas</li>
<li>wet chemical-commercial cooking hoods</li>
<li>water mist sprinklers-computer rooms, areas where very little water can be used as an alternative to clean agent gas systems</li>
</ol>
<p><b><i>Tactical Tip: For any of the above noted gas systems that are deemed “total flooding” (fills the entire space) SCBA must be worn in the space and in adjacent spaces whether the system has discharged or not. In some cases the cylinders are in an adjacent room and may leak into that room upon discharge as well.</i></b></p>
<p>For a more in-depth look at these concepts, join me as we learn how to Fight the Fire, Not the Building. Hope to see you in Indy!</p>
<p>Be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>Journal Entry 45: I Can’t Have Cancer, I’m Way Too Busy!tag:community.fireengineering.com,2017-02-22:1219672:BlogPost:6354492017-02-22T14:32:50.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p align="center" style="text-align: left;"><b>Ron Kanterman, February 2017</b></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>That’s exactly what I said to the urologist on the day after Christmas, when he told me that my tests came back positive and I have prostate cancer. Actually, he said I had a “little cancer” to which I asked, “is that like being a little pregnant?” After we both had a chuckle, he started to drone on about the test results, what they mean and possible treatments. For the first 30…</p>
<p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><b>Ron Kanterman, February 2017</b></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>That’s exactly what I said to the urologist on the day after Christmas, when he told me that my tests came back positive and I have prostate cancer. Actually, he said I had a “little cancer” to which I asked, “is that like being a little pregnant?” After we both had a chuckle, he started to drone on about the test results, what they mean and possible treatments. For the first 30 seconds or so, I was sitting in an echo chamber, the way they portray bad news in the movies. My gut started to turn and I wanted to hurl all over the office, my shoes and the doctor. Good thing it was 2 hours after breakfast and just before lunch. So after I came out of the chamber, we chatted for a few more minutes and he told me that he would send my samples to a genetics lab for further study. This new technology is basically able tell you if the cancer is lying on the beach having a drink or if it’s moving like a rock star. I left to go back to the firehouse and called Mrs. K on the way. We were both glad it was early and at Stage 1. Wait a minute! I’m too busy for this! I got things to do, classes to teach, trips to take, vacations to book, fires to go to and other stuff. Well brothers and sisters, life goes on “hold” for a while.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I had the honor of presenting a class at the FDSOA Conference in Orlando, FL in mid-January. So, Mrs. K and I hopped a jet from NY to FL and hit it at just the right time. We got an 80 degree week in Orlando, visited the Mouse House, the Wizarding Kid with the round glasses at Universal and did some touring and relaxing. On Friday of that week, Dr. Doom called during breakfast and said that you-know-what was rocking and rolling like Mick Jagger and the lab report noted that there was a 49% shot it was going to run through the rest of my prostate like Sherman marched through Atlanta. With that news, it was time to kick it in high gear so upon my return home, I saw the oncology guy, the radiation guy and the surgeon guy. All said that all of the options would work and suck, so it was up to me to “pick my poison.” I then laid it all out to an uncle of mine who is retired physician and he agreed that I should go to Dr. Yank-it-out and remove it. So, March 13 is the big day. Classes canceled, dates changed, things postponed, but got to get well so I can go back and do all those things I love to do. Too many of us macho type A’s have put things off and then it’s too late. In fact, a buddy mine recently had chest discomfort and went away on a golf weekend only to come back to find himself hospitalized with 4 stents inserted into this clogged arteries. We’re glad he made it. He’s a great guy and a great fire chief. He took quite a chance, don’t you think? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Why did I just share this personal moment with you? Two reasons: 1) This was picked up on my annual fire department NFPA1582 physical. My FD doc sent me to a urology specialist. He saved my life; 2) While I’ve been supporting the Firefighter Cancer Support Network for the past few years, I never thought I’d become a card-carrying member. I called Tony C, the New York representative and asked him to connect me with a brother who had the same surgery. I got a call in 24 hours and spoke to a brother who told me his story. I felt like I knew him my entire life. Peer support is key in any crisis. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Main take-way: Get checked, get tested, don’t put it off, don’t be a macho dope and get your blood work done whether the department sends you or not, career or volunteer. Support the FCSN because you never know.</p>
<p>See you in Indy at FDIC!</p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>Journal Entry 43: Meeting Mollytag:community.fireengineering.com,2016-10-13:1219672:BlogPost:6327762016-10-13T13:23:17.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p align="center"><b>By James McLoughlin</b></p>
<p align="center"><em> </em></p>
<p><em>I met Jimmy Mac about 10 years ago. He serves as a Deputy Chief with the City of Hartford Fire Department, the capital of Connecticut. Jimmy was a fixture at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend ceremonies for many years through his participation and coordination of the Honor Guard group. He founded the CT Statewide HG as well as the National Honor Guard Commander’s Association. His…</em></p>
<p align="center"><b>By James McLoughlin</b></p>
<p align="center"><em> </em></p>
<p><em>I met Jimmy Mac about 10 years ago. He serves as a Deputy Chief with the City of Hartford Fire Department, the capital of Connecticut. Jimmy was a fixture at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend ceremonies for many years through his participation and coordination of the Honor Guard group. He founded the CT Statewide HG as well as the National Honor Guard Commander’s Association. His story below is what inspired him to do what he did for those years and make him the person that he is today. Enjoy the read.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Ronnie K</em></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>As a rookie in the Memorial Weekend Honor Guard, I was humbled when we were asked to assist at the candle light service in the Basilica of the Daughters of Charity (next door to the National Emergency Training Center) on Saturday night. We weren’t tasked with much, but observed from a distance and took in the events going on before us. Fifteen minutes into the service, I was approached by a representative from the NFFF and was asked to relocate our group of 12 to the campus chapel. The assigned honor guard folks for the chapel either didn’t get the message regarding their assignment or simply didn’t show up. We started to walk over from the Basilica to the chapel when something deep down had me bark out the command, “columns of two!” Soon our group of 12 were 2 columns of six, marching in step onto the NETC campus. No words were spoken, but one could hear and feel the tempo as our feet hit the pavement in lock-step. As we turned the corner, the Honor Guard Memorial Weekend Commander witnessed this uniformed display and was impressed by the professionalism we (the new crew) chose to display.</p>
<p>We were tasked with the responsibility of seating people and handing out programs to returning survivors who would be watching the service on TV. These folks had been through their “first” memorial weekend when they lost their firefighter which could have been the year before or 20 years ago. About 45 minutes into the service, a little girl, maybe 5 years old came strutting to the back of the chapel. “Excuse me sir, could you please tell me where the bathroom is?” I responded to this little wonder, that I’d never set foot in this place but we could find it together. So, off we went together to find the bathroom. I immediately felt responsible for her and couldn’t just leave her there, so I waited until she came out. And I waited, and yes, you guessed it, I waited some more. She finally reappeared and I asked her, “is everything alright?” She replied with this very short but cute, “yup”. I returned her to the back of the chapel where she scurried off to find her seat.</p>
<p>About 40 minutes later, this little wonder reappeared. I asked if everything was alright and she said she needed the bathroom again, and would I please bring her. How could anyone deny such a request? So, off we went again, now the “experienced pair,” to the bathroom. I waited, and I waited and yes, you guessed it, I waited some more. She definitely took her time when going to the bathroom. Not sure if she was just wasting time, but she just had this bubbly personality and air of innocence. She was definitely someone’s precious little girl. I returned her again the rear of the chapel and she disappeared to her seat once again.</p>
<p>At the conclusion of the service, honor guard personnel held the doors open for the survivors as they departed the chapel. I anticipated the need to say goodbye to my new found friend and excitedly waited for her to appear at the rear exit. I was diligent in looking out for her, but she escaped without notice. The doors closed and my heart was heavy. Now how could this be? I watched out for her the entire time. I didn’t know of any other way out, but then again, this was my first time here so how would I have known if there was a back door? I dismissed the honor guard detail from door duty and stood at the bottom of the steps. The guys started talking about going out for the night but I was deep in thought about this little, girl trying to figure out what the heck happened to her.</p>
<p>All of a sudden the doors burst open and there she was. I lit up like a Christmas tree and made a big deal about her presence. She walked to the bottom of the steps where I greeted her and told her I had been waiting for her. I asked her where she had been. You’ll never guess her reply, “In the bathroom, of course!” Ahhh, I should have known. Well, I told her I had been waiting for her because I wanted to present her with a fallen firefighter pin. I got down on one knee and took the fallen firefighter pin off the right lapel of my dress uniform and pinned it onto her dress. I told her what an honor it was to meet her and to have served as her escort during the chapel service. She was very gracious about receiving the pin and simply said “thank you.” I looked up at her mom with tears in her eyes as she whispered to me “thank you so much.” I looked back at this little girl and said my name’s Jimmy, maybe I’ll see you again some time. She introduced herself as Molly. She and her mom disappeared into the evening. I’ve never seen them again.</p>
<p>When people ask me why I am involved in the honor guard, I tell them the story about Molly. Serving the survivors of firefighters is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had in my life. The honor of serving those who will no longer see their dad or their mom, spouse or sibling, even if just for a moment, is a blessing from God and fills my heart with joy and happiness.</p>
<p>Jimmy</p>Journal Entry 43: September 11, Fifteen Years Latertag:community.fireengineering.com,2016-09-06:1219672:BlogPost:6322512016-09-06T20:10:03.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Fifteen years have gone by like a flash. About 3,000 kids were left without a parent after September 11, 2001. The babies that were born that day or shortly thereafter are now sophomores in High School. The revitalization of the city's downtown, powered by $30 billion in government and private investment, includes not just the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site, but also two new malls filled with upscale retailers, thousands of new hotel rooms and dozens of eateries. There are 29…</p>
<p>Fifteen years have gone by like a flash. About 3,000 kids were left without a parent after September 11, 2001. The babies that were born that day or shortly thereafter are now sophomores in High School. The revitalization of the city's downtown, powered by $30 billion in government and private investment, includes not just the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site, but also two new malls filled with upscale retailers, thousands of new hotel rooms and dozens of eateries. There are 29 hotels in the neighborhood, compared to six before 9/11. More than 60,000 people live downtown, nearly triple the number in the year 2000. Last year, the area hosted a record 14 million visitors, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. The 9/11 museum has drawn 6.6 million visitors since its May 2014 opening. The observatory atop One World Trade Center has drawn 3 million people in the 15 months since it opened. In comparison, the Statue of Liberty gets about 4 million visitors a year.</p>
<p>For blocks surrounding One World Trade, half-built towers and cranes still clutter the sky, barricades and scaffolding line the streets, and you can hear the whine and clatter of jackhammers blocks away. Construction workers in hardhats are as common as tourists. The recession hampered efforts to bring businesses back, but private sector employment at 266,000 workers is finally nearing pre-9/11 numbers. Conde Nast and Time Inc. have relocated downtown. Group M, one of the world's biggest advertising firms, will move into Three World Trade Center when it's complete. So far, three towers have been built with plans for more. A second shopping center known as Westfield, opened in August inside the Oculus, a huge white structure designed by famed the architect Santiago Calatrava. The curves of the Oculus' two ribbed wings are silhouetted by One World Trade rising behind it. Inside the Oculus, retailers range from Apple to Kate Spade to The Art of Shaving. The complex connects to Four World Trade. Below ground a massive transit center houses subways and a New Jersey PATH train station.</p>
<p>This to me is a statement of resolve on the part of the American people and our ability to bounce back. In previous years at 9/11 ceremonies, I’ve said that you can knock America down but you can never count us out. The new WTC complex demonstrates this ideal. </p>
<p>We gather each year to briefly pause and remember those lost souls because we promised to never forget and that means never forgetting. Again, we collectively keep our promise. For the families of lost loved ones, 9/11/01 was yesterday. For those of us in uniform, 9/11/01 was also yesterday, as we lost members of our extended family that day as well. We continue to remember by our daily actions, thoughts, discussion and how we go about our daily mission. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Let us remember the victims in the World Trade Center, those who flew on the planes, the military and civilian personnel who worked at the pentagon and those who perished on a field in Shanksville, PA.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The American fire service responds to a fire every 25 seconds. Let us please take a moment to remember the firefighters, along with the police officers and emergency medical workers who fall in the line of duty each and every year, and let us strive to reduce those numbers, so everyone goes home at the end of the day. As the Federal Government continues their commitment on the war on terrorism, please continue to keep our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers as they fight for our freedom here and overseas.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>May God continue to bless the lost 9/11 souls, our first responders, the military, all of you, and the United States of America. Be well, be safe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>Journal Entry 42-“It’s All About Love”tag:community.fireengineering.com,2016-07-11:1219672:BlogPost:6308362016-07-11T14:15:40.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p><em>Happy summer everyone. I had breakfast with two close fire service friends yesterday morning (Jim Murtagh-NY, Jack Murphy-NJ) and on the way home I was giving thought to my next blog. Lucky for me, I opened my email this morning and my good buddy Rob Beattie from New Jersey who had visited with us in the past wrote something that I thought was spot on. He loves the job as I do and lots of you. Rob makes a point of telling us how and why and even offers a few tips on how to get others to…</em></p>
<p><em>Happy summer everyone. I had breakfast with two close fire service friends yesterday morning (Jim Murtagh-NY, Jack Murphy-NJ) and on the way home I was giving thought to my next blog. Lucky for me, I opened my email this morning and my good buddy Rob Beattie from New Jersey who had visited with us in the past wrote something that I thought was spot on. He loves the job as I do and lots of you. Rob makes a point of telling us how and why and even offers a few tips on how to get others to love it as well. About 20 years ago, my friend Rick Lasky said on the stage at FDIC “if you don’t love this job, go and stock shelves at Wal-Mart. They’re always looking for help.” Rob’s been in the job about that amount of time and obviously he “gets it.” Take a read on loving the job and if you still don’t, they still need people at Wal-Mart.</em></p>
<p><em>Be well, be safe,</em></p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>
<p></p>
<p align="center"><strong><span class="font-size-5">How Do We Love the Job?</span></strong></p>
<p align="center"><strong>Rob Beattie, Captain-NPFD (NJ)</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love this job? A question, asking to identify an emotion; a statement of how I feel about the job we do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love this job. Maybe more appropriately stated; this is direction, a suggestion of action to be taken. Something I can do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love as an action makes it something I can participate in. So, to use the word in another context; <i>how</i> do I love my job?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loving the job means I have taken responsibility for myself. I strive to look and act professionally. I seek opportunities to learn. I make an effort to work as safe as I possibly can, even before I have to respond. My PPE is clean and well maintained, I wear my seatbelt whenever the apparatus is in motion and I am an active participant in my health and wellness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I keep informed and open to change. I take little for granted and seek improvement, even after I am successful. I understand and accept the fact that what I am responsible for, and the circumstances I am placed in, in the course of duty, are not resolved without my intervention. Loving the job means I plan, prepare and practice so when I have to perform it will not be my first time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is how I love my job. This is how I love OUR job.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I feel obligated to share what I know and gain from others what they know in order to make our job better. As an officer in my Department, I enjoy “above-standard” performance from my personnel much more than I do my personal achievement. I take responsibility for them and ensure their opportunities to learn are provided; they take it from there. Loving the job means it’s all about “us” for we are all in this together.</p>
<p>Loving is the difference between just knowing our history and truly appreciating it. The fact is we are not the first to wear this uniform, this badge, this helmet and coat. We must instill that philosophy on those who will follow us. We must embrace our history, not erase our history.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Generations of firefighters loved the job before us, which is why we have a job to love. They didn’t say the words, but they were invested and committed. They demonstrated love of the job in the way they did the job.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, you love the job. How do you love the job? May I suggest the following? :</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Participate in or initiate training. Make a commitment to yourself to learn something every time you are in the station but don’t limit yourself to those moments. It’s an on-going process. Learning, like loving, is an activity and requires effort, a lot of effort. Don’t wait to be told to train. There is no “knowledge-fairy” dropping by to sprinkle wisdom dust on you. You have to go get it and you have to want to go get it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Practice with a seldom-selected tool or piece of equipment for proficiency. Bug the senior man on the apparatus floor to show you the pump panel one-more-time. Get the Probie out on the floor to teach them the tricks-of-the-trade. My favorite; complete a task that requires everyone to play a role.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Attend events inside and outside of your own Department that celebrate our profession. Trade shows and musters are great but if you haven’t done so, attend someone else’s Valor awards ceremony. Attend a memorial service, promotional ceremony or retirement party. Go to the funeral and witness the honor we show for our brethren. Attend the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, MD held each year in October. It will change your life. Expose yourself to others’ accomplishments and heartaches. Offer support, show respect, gain perspective and love the job.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The reality is that not everyone will love the job the same way I do or you do, and we will have to work to be OK with that. (I’m not there yet but I’m getting better.) We cannot make someone love the job. We can only demonstrate our love for the job. Loving the job is a choice we make and a commitment to our relationship with the fire service. As my love for the job will not diminish due to outside influences, I will not influence someone else to feel the way I do. They have to arrive at it themselves. We can facilitate that for them by simply asking; how do you love our job?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Take good care of yourselves. Be safe.</p>
<p>Rob Beattie, Captain</p>
<p> </p>Journal Entry 41 – Community Risk Reductiontag:community.fireengineering.com,2016-03-29:1219672:BlogPost:6268442016-03-29T17:49:27.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Everything we do revolves around this fairly new concept for the fire service. Even keeping the fire in the room of origin is risk reduction. The National Fire Academy developed an entire curriculum and delivers it across the board from a two day state weekend program to the Managing Officer program to the Executive Fire Officer program. There must be something to it if they are pushing it out at all levels.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I recently attended the Connecticut Fire Officer’s Weekend at the…</p>
<p>Everything we do revolves around this fairly new concept for the fire service. Even keeping the fire in the room of origin is risk reduction. The National Fire Academy developed an entire curriculum and delivers it across the board from a two day state weekend program to the Managing Officer program to the Executive Fire Officer program. There must be something to it if they are pushing it out at all levels.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I recently attended the Connecticut Fire Officer’s Weekend at the NFA and signed up for the Community Risk Reduction (CRR) class. As a chief, I’m always looking for something new or different. I’ve read about and heard about it but it was time to dig in and take a look. As luck would have it, my old friend Chief Mike Chiaramonte from New York was teaching and he did his usual outstanding job for the weekend. (Few people in front of any class room can deliver the information with true meaning, the passion and wit like Mike. Just ask those that have sat for his classes.)</p>
<p></p>
<p>So, what about this CRR concept? Do you mean that the fire department in town needs to be all things to all people? Everything that I’ve seen, studied and read showed that the fire departments that do just that are successful because they’ve reached the bulk of their customers and not just in fire prevention education. I was also sad to learn that the methods of how we (most of us throughout the country) deliver and measure public fire safety education and that it’s poor at best. I’m sure most if not all that are reading this entry go out to the schools each year and on hands and knees interact and teach the kids to stop, drop and roll, smoke detector battery replacement, etc. That’s great but did the message get through? A few years back in a grade school in New Jersey, there was an active fire alarm in an elementary school. When the units pulled up there was no evacuation in progress which seemed very unusual. When they went in and looked in to the classrooms, the kids were rolling around on the floor. While this may seem funny now, it made that large city fire department realize that all of the public fire safety education they delivered wasn’t working. The kids didn’t get the message. So, before we embark on other areas of CRR, we need to fix our programs and develop a measuring tool. It’s not all bad news however. We had a fire in my jurisdiction recently and the occupant told me he was sure to close the door to the fire room before he and his wife got out. When I asked him why, he said he just turned 70 and remembered the lessons he learned from the firemen who came to his school throughout years who said to close doors when there is a fire. It was kept in the room of origin. Sometimes, the message does get through but let’s not leave it to chance. Make sure you’re getting through.</p>
<p>One of the basic concepts of CRR is adding to the “quality of life” in your jurisdiction. The International City Managers magazine talks about this in almost every issue in an effort to lure people to move to town and open businesses. In addition, these activities become “value added” for the fire service. We’ve spent a bit of time lately on “reputation management.” What better way to secure our position in town then to offer programs and services that no one else will or can? One example out of the NFA Student Manual was a drown-proofing program they started in Phoenix, AZ many years back. Why did the fire department do this? Because there are thousands of pools in Phoenix, the fire department gets called to drownings and other water accidents and all other drown proofing/drown prevention programs have a child’s name attached to it. (I guess you all know what I’m working on now, right?) Other things we discussed was a High School Lifestyle program, e.g. drugs, alcohol, driving, cycling, skiing, swimming, boating, etc. Basically, all of the things high school kids like to do. This was a joint effort in another jurisdiction with the police, parks department and other town agencies.</p>
<p>So, I’ve asked you in the past to get out of box, smash the box, re-build it or get rid of it when we’ve discussed tactics. (Journal Entry 18, July 2012) Here’s a chance to add value to your department and get closer your customers. You never know what support you’ll get at budget time or any other time you need to make a big move. Like any other business, you’re nothing without a dedicated customer base. And by the way, Community Risk Reduction saves firefighters live too. Now get going!</p>
<p>Take care, be well and be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>
<p>PS-Hope to see you at <a href="http://fdic.com/" target="_blank">FDIC</a> in Indy which is just a few weeks out. Tommy A and I will be live on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fireengineeringtalkradio" target="_blank">Fire Engineering Blog Talk Radio</a> on Thursday April 21 at 1330 hours. If you can find the studio on the second level of the convention center, stop in. </p>
<p align="center"> </p>Journal Entry 40 – Setting the Tone - Time to Tune-uptag:community.fireengineering.com,2015-12-17:1219672:BlogPost:6237772015-12-17T16:12:01.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>I was working away the other day and the “almost daily” TSL popped up on my screen. I took a quick read and it was about some internal strife at the PG County FD in Maryland. I know a bunch of those guys through the NFFF Memorial Weekend. They are a hardworking, respectful, smart group of guys, so I dug in a bit in disbelief. <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2015/12/firefighters-vs-firefighters.html" target="_blank">Billy posted a note</a> regarding a shoving match at a fire…</p>
<p>I was working away the other day and the “almost daily” TSL popped up on my screen. I took a quick read and it was about some internal strife at the PG County FD in Maryland. I know a bunch of those guys through the NFFF Memorial Weekend. They are a hardworking, respectful, smart group of guys, so I dug in a bit in disbelief. <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2015/12/firefighters-vs-firefighters.html" target="_blank">Billy posted a note</a> regarding a shoving match at a fire between personnel but moreover, how Chief Marc Bashoor handled it and how swiftly he took action. I watched the short video of the Chief addressing his department (about 40 stations) through a remote video feed and how he gave specific instructions of what to stop, what to start, what to do, and what not to do. The Chief showed exemplary leadership in times of adversity. I sent Billy a quick note and said, “I like the way he set the tone for those who need the tone.” We exchanged other niceties, clicked our last emails to each other and then it sunk in. Being a leadership advocate myself I saw a strange connection to something else.</p>
<p> I’ve been a musician for over 40 years. (Yes folks, the old chief is a drummer and is known for carrying a pretty good tune. His close friends will tell you he never met a microphone he didn’t like!) A litany of things came to mind as I thought about “the tone” and how that simple phrase relates to what we do especially in the leadership genre. When you set the tone, the rest of group should be following that lead.</p>
<p>On the bandstand, we listen for the “tonic” note which puts everyone par in that specific key and kicks off the song. It allows the vocalist to hit the right note at the start. At this point the band is tight, the singer is on key and we’re all together. So far so good. Some may say we’re playing on the same song sheet. Your song sheets are your SOP’s, SOG’s, Standing Orders and Codes of Conduct. If the band/company is together, they are working in harmony. You know what harmony is. You may not be able to sing it but you can hear it when two or three singers are singing together in harmony, one high, one low, one mid. (Famous harmony bands are The Eagles and The Doobie Brothers. Ever hear a barbershop quartet? Quick, someone tell the young guys what that is and who the two bands are.)</p>
<p>So here’s is my comparison chart on music and setting the tone.</p>
<p><u><strong>Fire Department Leadership Music </strong> </u></p>
<p>Follow the rules & regs, SOP’s Play in the same key on the same sheet</p>
<p>Team work on and off the fire ground Sing in harmony</p>
<p>Create a good working atmosphere It’s the rhythm that moves the tune</p>
<p>Go in together, come out together Start together, end together</p>
<p>Remember and practice the basics When in doubt, go back to the tonic note</p>
<p>Support the team and all it does Stay on the beat with the rest</p>
<p>If you sing off key, play a wrong chord or emphasize the back beat when it’s not supposed to be emphasized, you’ll throw off the entire band and the song will sound like crap. If you do those things on or off the fire ground (freelance, get away from your SOP’s, violate workplace rules, etc.) it could result in injury or worse or a damaged reputation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, it’s the New Year and it’s time for a tune up. Tune up the band at the firehouse. (I rehearsed in many garages a long time ago. It’s funny how the firehouse also is</p>
<p>a garage of sorts. The world is round after all.) Sing in harmony, stay on the song sheet, and remember that leadership moves the world in a positive direction, so contribute.</p>
<p></p>
<p>A happy holiday season and a happy and <i>safe</i> New Year to all.</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>
<p>PS-Thanks Chief Bashoor for your inspiration and for your continued display of outstanding leadership that sets the tone for those who need the tone. REK</p>
<p> </p>Journal Entry 39 – School’s Open, Drive Carefully (I mean us!)tag:community.fireengineering.com,2015-08-25:1219672:BlogPost:6212262015-08-25T13:00:00.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>I’m sure one of these categories fits you. Summer camp is done and the kids are bored, and driving you nuts. The kids are back to school or are going back to school shortly. You dropped your college student at the campus for another year of who knows what? Vacationing at the camp grounds, Disney, a resort, a remote island, the south of France or the back yard stay-cation are a distant memory. Did I hit it yet? One thing is for sure. We’re about to embark on the fall season and school is just…</p>
<p>I’m sure one of these categories fits you. Summer camp is done and the kids are bored, and driving you nuts. The kids are back to school or are going back to school shortly. You dropped your college student at the campus for another year of who knows what? Vacationing at the camp grounds, Disney, a resort, a remote island, the south of France or the back yard stay-cation are a distant memory. Did I hit it yet? One thing is for sure. We’re about to embark on the fall season and school is just about in session or will be any minute everywhere. So, the old bumper stickers are being distributed and are affixed to everything and everybody which say “School’s Open, Drive Carefully.” (So, when school is not open, can we drive like idiots? :) What struck me this time is that for us, school is always open so we need to drive carefully every single day. My career department trains every day. Volunteers have one or two drill nights a week or on the weekends. Add to this our thirst for knowledge as we read every magazine and web site that starts and ends with the word “fire.” <i>Yes, for us school is always in session.</i></p>
<p>So what’s your point Chief? Thanks for asking. My point is that we get comfortable and complacent with driving like we do with everything else. For those of us who see frozen water in the winter (you guys in Phoenix and San Diego, take a reading break) we always seem to buck up, drive real careful and out of true necessity, go slow so we can get there and take care of those wonderful folks we call townspeople, constituents, customers, tax payers, etc. We <i>must</i> drive like that under those conditions. It only makes sense. But what about now, the fall and the spring? For busy urban departments where companies are taking 10, 15, 20 runs a tour, it becomes second nature for that driver. How many drivers/engineers/chauffeurs do you know who can whip an engine or tower ladder around like he’s driving a Camaro? I know lots. But cooler heads must prevail. If the driver is too comfortable or gets complacent, the other passenger sitting in the right front seat needs to step up and slow him/her down. “Ahhh, dry pavement on a warm sunny day, it’s Indy time!” No it’s not. Leave that to the guys and gals who make left turns real fast on an enclosed track. School is <i>always</i> open for us.</p>
<p>We train for the things we need to be good at. (I’ll spare you the list.) The idea is not to become lazy and complacent. I agree with the muscle memory concepts so we really don’t have to think about certain things we do, but I’ll ask that you think about re-committing to driving carefully so we get there and back in one piece. Lots of apparatus accidents lately with two of our own or us and a civilian. We can do better. Set the example on the road. Big, bad, red and noisy does not give us mental permission to go through red lights and stop signs. It’s about getting there in one piece with everyone on board staying in one piece. Drive carefully and don’t kill anyone on the way. We had 932 firefighter fatalities from 1977-2007, responding to and returning from. We can fix that. </p>
<p>The fire service is a rotating ball like the earth. We naturally gravitate to it and yet there is always the potential to spin out control. We crave to absorb information to make us better at what we do like the earth looks for rain to re-nourish itself. School for us is always open, always in session, so always drive carefully, not just in September. Remember that it’s not just a car that can be recalled by its maker. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>Journal Entry 38 - The Underdogtag:community.fireengineering.com,2015-06-12:1219672:BlogPost:6178522015-06-12T17:29:12.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Once again while searching for a journal topic, this one fell in my lap. Rob Beattie is a long time friend and <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/firefighter.html" target="_blank">firefighter</a> (North Plainfield, N.J.) and has taken a fresh perspective on who we are and what we do. I truly enjoyed reading this one. I think you will to. Nice job Cap!</p>
<p>Be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p></p>
<p><em>By Guest Blogger Rob Beattie, June 2015</em></p>
<p>Everyone loves the underdog,…</p>
<p>Once again while searching for a journal topic, this one fell in my lap. Rob Beattie is a long time friend and <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/firefighter.html" target="_blank">firefighter</a> (North Plainfield, N.J.) and has taken a fresh perspective on who we are and what we do. I truly enjoyed reading this one. I think you will to. Nice job Cap!</p>
<p>Be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p></p>
<p><em>By Guest Blogger Rob Beattie, June 2015</em></p>
<p>Everyone loves the underdog, right? It’s an epic tale that begins with an unremarkable character or group. We learn they were once a powerhouse; respect earned in previous battles that brought victories; a source of pride and strength. Then the game changed and they lost some ground. Friends, even family, betrayed them. Fans and admirers bailed out in favor of whom ever was on top. There seemed to be no loyalty. Ultimately though, they rose to the occasion to overcome great odds even in the face of great adversity.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am a hockey fan and I love my team. (An original six club with steep history and a reputation.) Expectations are high every season. This year they were off their game, beset with injuries and frequent call-ups from their minor league club. Sometimes it worked out and more often it didn’t. In and out of the last remaining playoff spot as the end of the regular season approached, my team became the underdog. Every game was a “must win” and even as a faithful fan, they had my greater attention than when they dominated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I believe firefighting is founded in the spirit of the underdog. Brave soles answering a call for help where no one else will. We start off at a disadvantage, often out-paced by a formidable opponent (mother nature). Yet we always go, no matter what. A scenario we’ve confronted a hundred times or never before, we head out to give it our best shot. When we are needed we are loved, respected and revered; the media, the community adore us, until we fade into the background in favor of whatever else is going on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In Hollywood the storytellers take us the long way around; developing a character, a sub-plot and back-stories. We become sympathetic and ready to accept the predictable scenario of coming away empty, only the script inevitably has the leading character coming away with the glory. How? As the story goes, they stay true to themselves despite all odds and outside influences trying to get them to stray.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We have made great strides in our pursuits against fire and other threats to the safety and well being of our communities. As a profession we have influenced building codes with the safety of the occupants and firefighters in mind and the fire prevention codes to ensure those safeguards installed in those buildings are maintained. Not an easy task and we have had to remain vigilant as those standards are written and re-written with cost savings in mind. The fire service remains to champion for safety. Often unpopular and against well-funded opponents we argue in favor of the value of those safeguards for the public first and for ourselves second. It is what we do, others before self, a cornerstone of our values.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sometimes it is one or two members in the station who become the underdog. Let’s face the fact that the firehouse is still a tough environment to step out of the status quo. Think about the member in your crew who was the first to bring an exercise routine or healthy diet to work, or the first chauffer to stand-up to the senior guy and NOT move the rig until everyone was wearing a seatbelt. It takes courage to do what they’ve done and I trust it wasn’t immediately embraced. Others took notice because maybe they too wanted to do the same but now they were empowered to follow the example. All over the country a few did the same, and in the process changed our culture. Not unlike the first who embraced the idea of wearing SCBA, fully encapsulated PPE or using a thermal imaging camera. They were influencing those around them by standing by what they believed in being a response to an observation that change was necessary to achieve progress.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Today we are confronting cancer, PTSD, ever-changing building construction materials and techniques to name just a few. Fortunately our culture is accustomed to not accepting fate unchallenged. We are searching for answers, not for justification but rather to develop a strategy to win. Those who have stepped up and confronted our challenges of the past have made it easier for us to confront these in our time. We have our history to stand on, and our predecessor’s legacy to defend. We have the reputation of being an underdog.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the role of the local fire department changes the role of the firefighter, paramedic and emergency medical technician really doesn’t. We will always be the “characters” to overcome the next challenge, forever the underdog. Just take a look around the station. The tools-of-the-trade are a direct link to our history of being problem solvers and having to try new things and innovate in response to emergencies never before seen or just finding a way to do it safer for ourselves. Maybe “not accepting the status quo” should be part of the oath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Remaining grounded and connected with our core values will lead us to success. There will be set-backs, there will be losses and we will face even more scenarios that we could have never imagined. Our opponent may be an unexpected foe, an adversary that arrives long after we thought the fight was through, like cancer or PTSD. In the face of such threats, we know our exposure is either the next call, or maybe even the previous one. Our morals will not allow us to step back and say “we won’t go” and we cannot and will not stoop so low and stay true to ourselves. I’ve heard my good friend Chief Kanterman say more than once “a set back is a set up for a come back.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back to my sports team. As I prepared to concede that this just wasn’t our season, my guys came out and performed well, upsetting a rival formidable opponent and just like that, the underdog was back in the fight. The post game interview after a great win is what we can relate to as firefighters. When asked from where the success came the coach would said, “we got back to our game,” “stuck to our system,” and my all-time favorite “everyone out there did their job.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We will have to stick to our system, adapt to new challenges, and accept new information that will change the way we do our work. It is an exciting time in our history where science and unprecedented access to data is giving us an amazing perspective and answering questions long ago asked. It’s providing us with answers that when factored into our strategies, will keep us safe and available for the next emergency.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If we try to live solely on our past accomplishments we will fall even further behind. Instead we must continue in the spirit of those giants who innovated and tried new things and advanced our profession. They have a reputation to fall back on because they created it. We stand on the shoulders of giants.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Being the underdog is an opportunity to build character and demonstrate the fiber that binds us together. Own it and make it count, because at the end of the day, everyone loves the underdog. Deep down they can relate, and more often than not they wish they too could persevere as the underdog does.</p>Journal Entry 36 – Until We Meet Againtag:community.fireengineering.com,2015-04-16:1219672:BlogPost:6152632015-04-16T15:00:00.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>As most of you know by now, our friend and major contributor to the American Fire Service has left us. <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2015/04/glenn-gaines-passes.html" target="_blank">Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator Glenn Gaines</a> (retired Chief from Fairfax County,VA) passed away on Sunday, April 12, 2015.</p>
<p> I met Glenn when he was still active in Fairfax. He and Burt Phelps were my instructors when I took my first 6 day class at the National Fire Academy 25 years…</p>
<p>As most of you know by now, our friend and major contributor to the American Fire Service has left us. <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2015/04/glenn-gaines-passes.html" target="_blank">Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator Glenn Gaines</a> (retired Chief from Fairfax County,VA) passed away on Sunday, April 12, 2015.</p>
<p> I met Glenn when he was still active in Fairfax. He and Burt Phelps were my instructors when I took my first 6 day class at the National Fire Academy 25 years ago. We stayed in touch in between my trips to Emmitsburg and had many talks about the fire service in general. Even then he was thinking on a national level. We’d cover the gamut from staffing, to safety, to you name it. His uncanny ability to listen to every single word and say nothing was a virtue. He’d collect his thoughts, look me right in the eye and then give me his pearls of wisdom. He always prefaced his words with “I don’t know much about this but I think that…..” Did I mention he was extremely humble too? As time went on Glenn moved into a contract position with the USFA and spear-headed the Fire Act program. I clearly remember going to read the applications the first year (2001) and working with a group for 6 days in a classroom in Building J. He was there every minute making sure we crossed every T and dotted every I. The thing was, we were there batting clean-up (the 4th week) and the staff was tired. By the end of day 5, we were all weary and bleary-eyed. He stood in front of the room and repeatedly cheered us on and told us that the last application was as important as the first. He was quietly relentless and kept us going.</p>
<p>His dry sense of humor was precious. Sometimes you didn’t know if he was serious or pulling your leg until he gave you that famous Gaines smile. You had to watch him carefully, because sometimes he’d give you the smile as he walked away. </p>
<p>As time went on, we’d see each other when I was teaching a class at the NFA. I always asked him to stop by my class and talk to the students. I’d tell him, “I like when USFA royalty stops by.” He’d turn red and say, “I’ll be there, just tell me what time”, and he never failed to appear. We got a bit closer when I took the Chief of Operations position on the Command Staff for the Memorial Weekend for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Glenn was a huge supporter of the NFFF and never missed a national ceremony. We’d take time to catch up at the NFFF planning meetings and during the weekend itself. Always on an even keel and never rattled even when things seemed to be “unraveling” at FEMA and the USFA. He’d tell me his strategy on how he was going to tackle the latest Federal debacle (usually the budget), and I’d offer to help him as much as I could though the NFA Alumni Association. He’d turn me down, but put me on stand-by. I’d follow up with him but he seemed to always work it out with Dr. Onieal and staff at his side. He got it done with his team. I never heard him say “I did it.” It was always “we did it.” </p>
<p> He genuinely cared about his people when he served in Fairfax, about the people at the USFA/NFA, about the American firefighter, about the fire service survivors and about the American people. He simply cared.</p>
<p>We’ve lost a national treasure. Glenn was a firefighter’s firefighter and a chief’s chief. Good bye my friend, rest in peace. Until we meet again...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>Journal Entry 36 – Intellectual Interior Attacktag:community.fireengineering.com,2015-03-13:1219672:BlogPost:6140922015-03-13T13:56:05.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>A little bit of buzz lately on “aggressive” interior attack. Dave Dodson, retired Battalion Chief from Colorado said “we need to be intellectually aggressive, not arbitrarily aggressive.” He recorded it on Volume 4 of the <i>Everyone Goes Home</i> video series. My Connecticut Compadres PJ Norwood and Frank Ricci <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2015/02/humpday-hangout-4-avillo-marsar.html" target="_blank">were live last week on the “Hump Day Hangout” with Bobby Halton</a>.…</p>
<p>A little bit of buzz lately on “aggressive” interior attack. Dave Dodson, retired Battalion Chief from Colorado said “we need to be intellectually aggressive, not arbitrarily aggressive.” He recorded it on Volume 4 of the <i>Everyone Goes Home</i> video series. My Connecticut Compadres PJ Norwood and Frank Ricci <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2015/02/humpday-hangout-4-avillo-marsar.html" target="_blank">were live last week on the “Hump Day Hangout” with Bobby Halton</a>. They covered a lot of ground. They were looking for the right terminology to slow us down just a bit as they referred to “Survivability Profiling” (See more on this below.) I shared Dave’s quote with them and they thought it was spot on. In the past I quoted Alan Brunacini who wrote about Ben Franklin’s paper called “Fast, Close and Wet.” We still need to be fast (without breaking speed records and buckled in), we still need to get close (when building conditions permit) and we still need to get everything wet (well……….yeah).</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2013/11/the-suppresion-agression-olympics.html" target="_blank">RELATED: The Suppression Aggression Olympics</a></h2>
<p>The word aggressive brings a few things to mind. Wild animals that eat raw meat, killers, boxers and wrestlers, and you can finish the list yourself. Continuing to tell young firefighters entering the service that we are aggressive is certainly macho however I’m not sure if this is the message we want to send. We want them to do better than we did keeping their personal safety in mind. I heard a firefighter recently say “The order has been reversed. It’s now us before them.” I didn’t agree. We’ll always be there to serve the public however we’re simply asking our next generation to be smarter and more deliberate than the generation before. For us 30-40 year vets, it’s out of the box but it’s time to turn the corner. By now, if in fact any of the macho interior aggressive guys are reading this, they have probably stopped. That’s OK. But note there’s a time for everything. Fire on the second floor with people trapped on the second floor. Take a line and a truck company and go get them. John Norman, retired DAC from FDNY said “it’s not just that there are people trapped in a burning building. It’s people who can still be saved that will lead us to put our lives on the line.” <i>People who can <u>still</u> be saved.</i> Capt. Steven Marsar, FDNY wrote an award winning paper (USFA/NFA Outstanding Research Award-EFO Program) <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-163/issue-7/Features/survivability-profiling-how-long-can-victims-survive-in-a-fire.html" target="_blank">“Survivability Profiling.”</a> Read it. They lost 32 guys in New York City over a 23 year period, all in “empty” buildings. Everyone had escaped prior to arrival or were rescued when these 32 brothers fell in the line of duty. Profile the building on arrival. Derive from conditions if people can still be alive or not, and act accordingly.</p>
<p>This isn’t about staying outside the rest of our lives. It’s not about only throwing water in the window from now on. It’s about taking an extra 10 seconds, evaluating what’s going on, heightening our situational awareness and making good sound decisions. Get the next generation to think intellectually not aggressively. Intellectual Interior Attack. Who knows, maybe we’ll drop our injury and LODD rate over time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Take care, be well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p>Next <b>Back Step Boys</b> radio show is Monday March 23, 1930 hours EST. Join me and Tommy A as we talk about safety, survival and other things.</p>Journal Entry 35: Transitional Toolstag:community.fireengineering.com,2014-12-01:1219672:BlogPost:6072912014-12-01T14:15:01.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>My buddy Eddie Buchanan (VA) continues to write about transitional attack and the good work the “da guys” (Steve K and Danny M) from UL and NIST have done. He has also discussed <a href="http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A606675" target="_self">S.L.I.C.E.R.S</a>. at length. While Eddie is calling for calm, I’d like step in, support and agree with him. This new found information (which some guys wrote about a long time ago too) is in fact another…</p>
<p>My buddy Eddie Buchanan (VA) continues to write about transitional attack and the good work the “da guys” (Steve K and Danny M) from UL and NIST have done. He has also discussed <a href="http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A606675" target="_self">S.L.I.C.E.R.S</a>. at length. While Eddie is calling for calm, I’d like step in, support and agree with him. This new found information (which some guys wrote about a long time ago too) is in fact another tool in the tool box. It doesn’t work for everyone, it doesn’t work in <i>all</i> cases and it’s not the magic bullet. It’s one way of doing what we do and it seems to be working when applied the right way at the right time for the right situation all based on the science and the current fuels loads. I went <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/blogs/blognetwork/ron-kanterman/2012/07/journal-entry-18-smash-the-tactical-box.html" target="_blank">back in my journal (#18)</a> and wanted to pull up some considerations and to things to think about and try, within our new tactical thinking. </p>
<ul>
<li>Knowing what we know now, we may be bringing a pea shooter to a gun fight. Hey, we evolved albeit slowly and went from 1 ½” line to 1 ¾” line. (Some even use 2” attack lines today.) With fires in “mini tank farms” (that would be today’s homes or businesses full of hydrocarbon materials) should we be thinking a 2 ½” for a few rooms of fire in a house? My guest blogger in Entry 19, Jim Murtagh, talked about the pitfalls of stretching a 2 1/12” line and the manpower involved with same. While I agree with Jim, consider the open floor plan McMansion with vaulted ceilings, now looking like a church. For that first floor fire with little obstructions, turns or lack of things that may get in the way, a 2 ½” or whatever your blitz line is (provided you have enough people on scene) may work better than a 1 ¾” line. For a bedroom or two on the second level, the good old 1 ¾” should work nicely. (For an in-depth discussion on stretching a two-and-a-half, go to my Journal Entry 19 and read what Murtagh wrote.) </li>
<li>How about a shot of dry chemical in a window for knock down? A 20lb ABC dry chemical unit discharged on a first floor fire through an open window will slow things down while you’re stretching a line, securing a water supply and performing size-up. Try it.</li>
<li>How about a shot of foam (Class A or B) in the window for quick knock down? Remember that only about 10% of the water you use actually puts the fire out. The rest becomes a water feature rolling down the stairs and out the front door. Foam sticks to surfaces and soaks in. Ask the guys that use Class A Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS). If you’re worried about cost (foam is not cheap) use it for knock down through the window, and as you transition in to the structure for an interior attack, shut the foam valve and go to water. Or spend a few more bucks and stay with foam for knock down and extinguishment and give the fire a good punch in the face. Out of the box? Sure. Will it work? Sure. </li>
</ul>
<p>Just because no one has done any of this in the past with regularity, it doesn’t mean we can’t try it now or try it again. With limited staffing, which is what most fire departments look like around the country, these could be some of the tools that will work for you. Hey we thought we were pushing fire for 100 years or so. Now we know better. I urge you again to get out of the box and consider some different tactics. Remember, transitional attack, cooling from the outside, dry chemical and foam are just more tools in the box. </p>
<p>As we head towards year end, I’d like to wish all of you a happy, healthy and safe holiday season and new year. Let’s head in to the new year thinking safety, accident free, injury free and LODD prevention as goals. Do everything you can to get in between an injury or LODD of a department member and take good care of yourselves as well. We’ve got lots more work to do so we need everyone around for a long time and healthy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Take care, be well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p>(Keep up the good work Eddie B!)</p>
<p> </p>Journal Entry 34 - After the Firetag:community.fireengineering.com,2014-09-29:1219672:BlogPost:6041122014-09-29T18:29:55.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Most of you who know me know that I write about either a training concept or things that inspire me. This month I’m inspired. It comes right in time for Fire Prevention month. Sorry to scare off some of you with the FP words but keep reading anyway. </p>
<p>On January 19, 2000, an arson fire took the lives of three college freshman and injured 58 others at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. I was a Chief in New Jersey at the time and colleagues of mine had been to the fire. It was…</p>
<p>Most of you who know me know that I write about either a training concept or things that inspire me. This month I’m inspired. It comes right in time for Fire Prevention month. Sorry to scare off some of you with the FP words but keep reading anyway. </p>
<p>On January 19, 2000, an arson fire took the lives of three college freshman and injured 58 others at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. I was a Chief in New Jersey at the time and colleagues of mine had been to the fire. It was truly a dreadful scene. For the South Orange Fire Department, a crew of 8 or so pulled up to the dormitory at 4:30 AM and found over 100 kids at the windows. Where to start? At the end, other than calling for a lot of immediate mutual aid, they performed a herculean effort and rescued many and saved lots of loves that night. </p>
<p>On Wednesday night, September 24, 2014, the University of Connecticut (UCONN) Fire Department hosted two of the survivors, now 32 years old. Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos crawled the hot hallway to escape the fire. Shawn received 16 % burns and Alvaro, 56%. These two 18 year olds (at the time) found the drive and inner fortitude to hang on each other for many months in the burn center and are still close today. They opened their presentation with a 53 minute documentary based on the New York Times best seller “After the Fire.” It was written by Pulitzer Prize winner writer Robin Gaby Fisher of the Newark Star Ledger newspaper. I remember the 7 part series she did on these guys at that time in the Ledger and in fact still have the newspaper articles. The film documented their pain, struggle, strife, mental and physical challenges and all things that happen to innocent people when bad people do bad things. It also chronicles the fire investigation and how they caught the two kids who set the fire. They got 5 years in prison. You decide if justice was served.</p>
<p>Now for the inspirational part. I had the privilege of having dinner with Shawn and Al along with the UCONN Fire Chief, John Mancini prior to the night’s event. They are two of the nicest, kindest and contributing members of society I’ve met. They visit the burn centers and help burned kids get through the process. They travel to college campuses all over the country and spread the word of their horrific evening in the interest of prevention. In fact kudos to the UCONN FD for getting together with the “housing life” folks and “requiring” that all RA’s attend the lecture. They made an impact. The RA’s had lots of questions about fire safety, prevention, escape and survival. They wholly admitted to the audience that with more fire safety education, they may have avoided their agony. No one ever instructed them to look for two ways out or even stay in their room. They only knew to get out and stay out. They sell their book and DVD after their presentation and the line was down the hall. I waited almost an hour until I was able to buy my copies.</p>
<p>If you have a college campus in your jurisdiction, these guys are a must. If you don’t, go see them when they’re in the next town. In the mean time, get the book and the DVD. As a 40 year member of the fire service, I continually look for things that move and inspire me. This was one of those things.</p>
<p> By the way, get out there this month and spread the gospel. We’d talk Fire Prevention every month if they’d only listen. They tend to listen more in October so get to it!</p>
<p> “After the Fire” by Robin Gaby Fisher, Back Bay books</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alvaroandshawn.com">www.alvaroandshawn.com</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> Take care, be well, be safe.</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>
<p>PS-The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend is October 10-12 in Emmitsburg, MD. The national service on Sunday is open to the public. Come and participate. If you can’t be there, it will be streamed live over the internet and satellite so watch it. If you’re a career department, set and extra place at the lunch or dinner table on Sunday for the firefighter who never made it home. Take a look at <a href="http://www.firehero.org/" target="_blank">www.firehero.org</a> and participate in Bells Across America. Thanks. REK </p>Journal Entry 33-Third Time’s a Charmtag:community.fireengineering.com,2014-07-01:1219672:BlogPost:5982502014-07-01T19:34:16.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p align="center" style="text-align: left;">By Ron Kanterman-July 2014</p>
<p>Some of you have heard that for some reason when you get to the third time of anything, it’s a charm. It’s true. As a boss, I’ve been blessed throughout the years with being around good and great firefighters. Being the Chief at Merck in New Jersey and then for the Mohegan Tribal FD in South East Connecticut were wonderful experiences. They were wonderful because of the officer cadre and the folks on the line as well.…</p>
<p style="text-align: left;" align="center">By Ron Kanterman-July 2014</p>
<p>Some of you have heard that for some reason when you get to the third time of anything, it’s a charm. It’s true. As a boss, I’ve been blessed throughout the years with being around good and great firefighters. Being the Chief at Merck in New Jersey and then for the Mohegan Tribal FD in South East Connecticut were wonderful experiences. They were wonderful because of the officer cadre and the folks on the line as well. (If some of you chiefs haven’t figured it out yet, it’s your people who make you who you are.) So here I am, third time out as a Chief and I land in Wilton, Connecticut. (For you non-geography majors, Wilton sits on the CT/New York line, even with Westchester County, N.Y. Fran and I moved to back to New York when I got the spot, noting that it took us 28 years to get home. We are both originally from Brooklyn. Ahhh, the pizza is crispy and the Italian bread is crumbly again!)</p>
<p>So here I sit, 4 weeks into my new gig. Again, the good Lord smiled upon me and blessed me with a dedicated, well trained and experienced fire department. The officers are savvy and the troops are well versed in all aspects of firematics. We have an aggressive training program and an aggressive Fire Marshal’s office as well. To me, these are the two aspects of having a strong fire department. Good prevention programs and a strong training component. An unbeatable combination. It’s apparent that the Town supports the Fire Department as well, from the highest levels of government to co-workers and associates in other municipal departments. The Town’s departments have a good working relationship and support each other where and when needed. The way it’s supposed to be. </p>
<p>So, last week we got a little work. Upon arrival at about 11:00 PM, we had a two story barn/garage attached to a large private home. Fire was showing around the eves with a good smoke condition. (The north side of town has no hydrants so as they left quarters, the Shift Captain called for three additional tankers/tenders). They hit it “hard from the yard” and gave it a knock with a fixed gun and a portable blitz line. Then a 1 ¾” line for mop up etc. No extension to the house. Smart defensive tactics and good use of water on arrival did the trick. The Department runs with a 6 man shift. When we discussed transitional attack and the new UL/NIST research my first week, my guys practically took credit for it. “We’ve been doing that for years due to limited staffing” and they been very successful at it too.</p>
<p>I look forward to my time in Wilton. The members have already showed me what they got. In fact our Dive Rescue Team went to work just before I arrived on Memorial Day. My first call from a mutual aid Chief on my first day was high praise for the team. The 3<sup>rd</sup> time’s a charm.</p>
<p>Take care, be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>Journal Entry 31-“Deck the Halls-The Convention Center Halls”tag:community.fireengineering.com,2014-04-15:1219672:BlogPost:5952202014-04-15T13:35:06.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Well, <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/fdic.html" target="_blank">FDIC 2014</a> has come and gone and sure enough, no one was disappointed. We had more folks there than ever, there was electricity in the air and learning was nearly off the scale. There’s no other place like it. For me and many others, it’s an annual family reunion. There are a host of men and women I only see once a year and it’s in Indianapolis. For those of you who couldn’t get there, here’s a bit of it from where I…</p>
<p>Well, <a href="http://www.fireengineering.com/fdic.html" target="_blank">FDIC 2014</a> has come and gone and sure enough, no one was disappointed. We had more folks there than ever, there was electricity in the air and learning was nearly off the scale. There’s no other place like it. For me and many others, it’s an annual family reunion. There are a host of men and women I only see once a year and it’s in Indianapolis. For those of you who couldn’t get there, here’s a bit of it from where I stood, walked, talked, sat and stared.</p>
<p>On Monday and Tuesday, thousands were put through hands-on training in the field and through workshops in the convention center. I taught my “Leadership Excellence” workshop on Monday, only to attend “Leadership in the Real World” on Tuesday, presented by Batt. Chief (ret.-FDNY) Bob Burns. He sat in my class the day before. If you haven’t seen Bob’s show, you’re missing something special. We leadership guys talk and share our experiences. Like the rest of the instructor cadre at FDIC, no egos. We come to share with those who come to listen which includes each other. I also stopped in on Deputy Chief PJ Norwood (East Haven, CT) and Batt. Chief Jim Duffy (Wallingford, CT) doing their “Fire Attack” workshops. Good, clean and crisp classes with information that’s worth staying for. (Keep your eyes open for PJ Norwood. He’s and up-and-comer.) As for my friend Duffy, just pearls of wisdom from a veteran.</p>
<p>As Tuesday afternoon rolled around, the vendors started to load in and started to deck the halls. TV’s, T-shirts, engines, trucks, tenders, rescues, ambulances, SCBA, turnout gear, TIC’s, tools, beds, chairs, computers, and did I say T-shirts? Over 900 vendors, touting their products and supporting our cause. I always looked upon our vendors and fire equipment manufacturers as being part of our “fire community.” They have supported our causes time and time again. I attended the Inaugural Comedy Slam for the FF Cancer Support Network on Tuesday night. (Rumors of me telling a few stories to warm up the crowd were greatly exaggerated. Well, maybe J) There were 5 comedians from Las Vegas and other places and they were great. What was posted on the overhead screen? Sponsors and their logos. People from the exhibit floor supporting our cause. Please join us next year for the second annual. Then again on Thursday night, was the NFFF Stop, Drop, Rock and Roll. What was posted on the overhead screen? People from the exhibit floor supporting our cause. Please join us next year on Thursday night for this great event as well. The vendors are supporting our causes. We need to do the same!</p>
<p>The opening program on Wednesday revealed the Chief Ray Downey Medal of Valor and Editor in Chief Bobby Halton lighting the stage on fire with this key note, followed by Eric Roden with his important message. The Thursday main program revealed the Tom Brennan Life Time Achievement Award, presented to Chief Ronny Coleman of California. Well deserved! Next up was the George D. Post Instructor of the Year awarded to Steve Kerber, from UL. Steve along with his partner Dan Madryzkowsky from NIST have proven with science that we need to fight fires a differently today due to hydrocarbon fire loading and he changes in fire behavior. Congrats to Ronny and Steve. Well done gents!</p>
<p>The rest of the week brought 200 classes, the Courage and Valor Foundation Fun Run, the 343 Stair Climb, the FOOLS bash, the party at the Indy FD Union Hall and more brotherhood than one can almost take.</p>
<p>There’s no place I’d rather be the second week in April. Start saving for next year. You won’t want to miss our annual family reunion. See you there.</p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>Journal Entry 30-“The Tampa2 Conference”tag:community.fireengineering.com,2014-03-31:1219672:BlogPost:5944662014-03-31T18:29:08.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p align="center">Chief Ron Kanterman -- April 2014</p>
<p>In 2004, Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) invited 200 fire service professionals (250 showed up) to Tampa, Florida to discuss line of duty deaths and injuries and asked us to come up with a national action plan to curb the trends and shrink the numbers. The Sixteen (16) Life Safety Initiatives (LSI’s) were developed as well as the Everyone Goes Home program and Courage to be…</p>
<p align="center">Chief Ron Kanterman -- April 2014</p>
<p>In 2004, Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) invited 200 fire service professionals (250 showed up) to Tampa, Florida to discuss line of duty deaths and injuries and asked us to come up with a national action plan to curb the trends and shrink the numbers. The Sixteen (16) Life Safety Initiatives (LSI’s) were developed as well as the Everyone Goes Home program and Courage to be Safe (CTBS). We were on our way. For ten years, a group of dedicated volunteers have moved the ball down the field, teaching and preaching in fire houses, in fire academies and fire schools, at seminars and just about any place firefighters congregate and are willing to listen. The NFFF set up a system of state advocates and 10 regional advocates to keep an eye on things all over the country and they’ve done well for us. More advocates were recruited along with more instructors to deliver the gospel. The numbers started to fall. The low hanging fruit appeared to be seat belts, driving, and road protection. The numbers fell in that category. Things started to take shape. More research (LSI#7) has been conducted towards the safety of our firefighters than ever before, more empowerment to speak up has been bestowed upon our members (LSI#4), there is discussion now more than ever before regarding near misses, accidents and line of duty deaths (LSI#9) and safety has become a primary concern of today’s fire service leadership. The Chairman of the NFFF, Chief Denis Compton is quoted as saying; “to say nothing bad will happen to firefighters is almost an insult to the system however the vast majority of our line of duty deaths can be prevented.” He was right 10 years ago when he appeared on the first edition of the EGH/CTBS program videos and he still is.</p>
<p>During the week of March 10, 2014, we re-convened in Tampa, Florida for “Tampa2.” This time Chief Siarnicki invited 350 of his closest friends including a cadre of “young and up and coming” fire personnel from around the country. Along with the “next generation” (who Ron said would be back for Tampa3 and most of us who were here for Tampa 1 and 2 would probably not be) came a parade of fire service knowns. Sal Cassano, Billy Goldfeder, Bobby Halton, Harvey Eisner, Tim Sendlebach, Vina Drennan, Bill Jenaway, John McGrath, Tom Wilbur, Dave Paulison and list went on and on. The Monday night opening brought us key notes from Sal Cassano and Vina Drennan who set the stage for the rest of the week. Other key noters during the week were Tim Sendlebach, Kelvin Cochran, David Griffin and Ernie Mitchell. The 350 folks were split in to 10 groups of 35, each group having 2 facilitators, a scribe and a staff member. I had the privilege of working with Group 8, along with Billy Hayes, my fellow facilitator and Rick Best from the NFFF Advocates group. All groups started out reviewing the 16 LSI’s, what’s working and not working, etc. Each group then had a target issue to tackle, from behavioral health, to firefighter survivability, to company officer development to leadership. Group 8 had “thermal assault.” We had a great mix of folks including Sal Cassano, the FDNY Safety Chief Steve Raynis, the FDNY Safety Battalion Dan Melia, Chief Charles Hood from San Antonio (TX) and the NFFF Board, Chris Naum, (Command Institute) DC John Sullivan from Worcester (MA), Dan Madrzykowski (NIST) Steve Kerber (UL) and a host of Lieutenants, Captains, Battalion Chiefs, college professors, fire equipment manufacturers and others. Two days of nose-to-the-grind-stone work with full participation of all involved. Each group reported out in general session to show all others what we’d accomplished. (Stand by. The final report will be out soon.)</p>
<p>As we parted Tampa, we had a good feeling that we took a good hard look at the program and are helping to prepare the current and next generation of American firefighters to go forth and yet come home.</p>
<p>As I close this journal entry, I want to make note that my thoughts and prayers are with the families of FF Kennedy and Lt. Walsh of the Boston FD and the BFD members just north of here. Stay the course brothers.</p>
<p>Take care, be well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>Journal Entry 29-What Happens When You Leave?tag:community.fireengineering.com,2014-01-22:1219672:BlogPost:5910902014-01-22T15:54:18.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>My close friends, family and colleagues know that I just completed a 5 year assignment as a Chief Officer in SE Connecticut. I’ve never written about my command because approvals for publishing and using their name was prohibitive. However, now that I’m done, I was Chief of the Mohegan Tribal Fire Department, a Mohegan Tribal Government agency located on a Native American reservation located in Uncasville, CT. The members of the Department are highly trained, highly aggressive, and a very…</p>
<p>My close friends, family and colleagues know that I just completed a 5 year assignment as a Chief Officer in SE Connecticut. I’ve never written about my command because approvals for publishing and using their name was prohibitive. However, now that I’m done, I was Chief of the Mohegan Tribal Fire Department, a Mohegan Tribal Government agency located on a Native American reservation located in Uncasville, CT. The members of the Department are highly trained, highly aggressive, and a very talented group of men and women who understood hard work, the value of a heavy training program and had a culture of safety second to none. They gave me bragging rights every single day I worked there and now the new Chief, the former Deputy, gets to enjoy the same rights. Every Fire Chief in the nation should be blessed with a crew like I had.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But what happens when you leave? I don’t mean it in terms of “it will fall apart without me.” No way, not that gang and certainly not under their new skipper. Listen folks, everyone can be replaced. If you think you can’t be replaced, think again. We just passed the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was a little guy when that happened but make no mistake, while the Dallas FD was out on the boulevard washing down what remained of the President, Linden B. Johnson was being sworn in as President of the United States on Air Force 1 at 35,000 feet. Everyone can be replaced. What I mean is, how do you just turn it off? I still worry about the guys in my last command let alone this one. I keep in touch with the Chiefs just to keep up on what’s new at the job and how the guys are. Any new babies, marriages, divorces, engagements, grand kids, DIF’s, promotions, new hires, retirements, etc.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Someone once said, “it’s not what you do while you’re there, is what happens after you leave.” I guess a bit of my keeping touch is to see where the department has gone. Are they progressing or digressing? What have the new Chiefs done? They <i>are</i> going to make changes. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have full command of the department. Chiefs that leave or retire who get angry at the next guy who makes changes, forgot that when they took the reins, they made changes too. Both Chiefs have progressed and have made good changes. (Even if I didn’t agree with those changes, it really wouldn’t matter much would it?) You see, some of us suffer from ownership. A Chief in CT told me that after he became Chief of Department (hired in from the outside), the Deputy who retired upon his hire, would show up at his fires to see how “his” guys were doing. I get it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So as I await my next assignment whether it’s in or out of uniform, the guys and gals that I worked with will always be “my guys.” What happens when you leave? Hopefully all good things. If you did everything you could along the way to leave it just a little better than you found it, the department will bear the fruits of your labor. Stay in touch with your guys. I hope to, for a long time. (Thanks for the memories MTFD.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K </p>Journal Entry 28-“COFFEE”tag:community.fireengineering.com,2013-11-18:1219672:BlogPost:5889692013-11-18T19:35:04.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p align="center">Chief Ron Kanterman</p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>I have a re-visiting guest blogger this month. My good friend and associate Captain Rob Beattie of the North Plainfield (NJ) Fire Department has returned, infiltrated my Journal and penned an amusing analogy of team work and the firehouse coffee pot. Show this to your probies/rookies/new guys and where applicable, your old guys. Thanks Rob for your insight. I enjoyed this one! Ronnie K …</p>
<p align="center">Chief Ron Kanterman</p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>I have a re-visiting guest blogger this month. My good friend and associate Captain Rob Beattie of the North Plainfield (NJ) Fire Department has returned, infiltrated my Journal and penned an amusing analogy of team work and the firehouse coffee pot. Show this to your probies/rookies/new guys and where applicable, your old guys. Thanks Rob for your insight. I enjoyed this one! Ronnie K </p>
<p align="center">***********************************************************************************************</p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="center">Coffee?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fighting fire is a team activity. At a fire scene multiple companies will conduct multiple tasks toward the common goal. No one is working alone. Freelancing is dangerous and “that guy” is quickly identified and corrected. Call it what you will; company, unit, group, platoon, shift, these are a collection of members who are stronger, more effective and more efficient when they are working together. We train together, practice together and build each other up to be the best in the firehouse; TOGETHER.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We are taught this philosophy from the day we enter the fire service and ever after. It is introduced in training school and demonstrated in those early hands-on evolutions; the buddy system, two man searches, backing up the nozzle man, two man ladder carries and raises. Even in the world of emergency medical care we work with partners. On scene, every member has a specific task to get the whole job done. Nobody does it alone. But, I’m afraid we are struggling to be consistent with our new members in the firehouse. We need to reach them when we are not on emergency runs, training or learning and appreciating our great history and steep traditions which we guard with all of our pride. It isn’t their fault entirely as they have been conditioned to it all of their lives. No winner, no loser, everyone gets a trophy and the spirit of competition is quelled into political correctness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My 12 year old son plays hockey. He just started a couple of seasons ago on roller blades and is now learning his skills on ice. It is an aggressive sport but even I cringe when his temper rises and a stick is slammed; worried that he’ll be labeled as a “goon.” More than once I have heard an opposing coach ask the referee to “keep an eye on him.” It is part of the game and I know it he is not being malicious. He, and the kids like him are <i>passionate</i> and <i>engaged</i> in the competition and are challenging themselves and each other. He will ache with disappointment after a loss or a missed play far longer than he will bask in the success of a win, goal or an assist. I fear the other coach and some of the spectators have forgotten what competition looks and sounds like. Do we want 12 year old hockey players saying “excuse me, may I have the puck now?” My responsibility is to channel that energy and develop him into a good player, a good teammate and a leader on and off the rink. I tell him it isn’t about him; it is about the team and respecting the game.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you have a kid like mine in your firehouse who is passionate, engaged and determined, I would suggest you embrace him/her. Don’t label them as know-it-alls or dismiss what they suggest simply because they don’t have your experience. In training let them try and if they falter you should call them on it and set them straight. If they succeed you have to let them know. We cannot simply let their successes and the infractions go; we must give them both their due. In today’s world outside of the fire service, everyone gets a turn. Going first isn’t important and there is no reward for taking initiative. We are not all natural self-starters. We must encourage our young members to be aggressive while working with the team’s objective in mind. They must build each other up. We cannot let them wait for someone to say “Would you like the nozzle this time?” We would prefer they say “Let me take the nozzle this time, I will not let us down.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We don’t want robots who simply fall in line, do what they are programed to and nothing more. Being an individual with personality is to be commended. Strong convictions, outside the box thinking, and challenging yourself and each other to be better is <i>exactly</i> what we need. These characteristics must be harnessed and focused on the team’s objectives and core values. I couldn’t imagine working in my firehouse without the strong and diverse personalities that keep the job fun, challenging and rewarding.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The firehouse has to have the same team feeling as being on the fire scene. It will be a struggle because of the world of individuality we live in. I’ll offer an analogy I tripped upon just this morning as I was waiting for my relief. In our kitchen we have a coffee maker that has been there for at least 20 years, not unlike any other firehouse in the country or the world I suppose. As a new firefighter, it became my responsibility to make a pot of coffee in the morning before the relief came in. Before me, there was another new guy who had that job. It was handed down to me without any fanfare. My initial response was “That’s ok, you can do it, and besides I don’t drink coffee.” I was the new guy and I had to be set straight. The senior firefighter on my Platoon decided to intervene; it wasn’t particularly eloquent but I certainly got the message. I put it in the back of my mind, accepted the responsibility and in a short period of time began to perform the task with a great deal of pride. Everyone sat down at the table and had a cup of coffee and nobody said “no.” Over time I figured out that it isn’t as much about drinking the coffee, as it is about making coffee <i>for everyone</i>. It is about putting the wants, needs and traditions of the group above my own. It was about doing my part, filling my role and carving my own niche into our group. In other cultures, this may be achieved through rituals and hazing but we know that is not constructive and cannot be tolerated. In the firehouse it is a simple pot of coffee. A pot of coffee everyone shares and drinks from. With that coffee and a group of firefighters sitting at the table in the morning at the end of a tour, there isn’t a problem in the world that can’t be solved. We are surrounded by a world that serves individuals. We are plugged into iPods, tablets and lap tops for work and entertainment. You no longer have to wait for the senior guy to be done with the sports section; you can just read it on your smart phone. Chief (ret.) Alan Brunacini recently wrote “we are all connected very well electronically but we are all disconnected emotionally.” Boy is he ever right about that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is our responsibility as the leaders in the firehouse, formal and informal alike, to bring that team mentality off of the fire ground and back to the firehouse. Aren’t we in quarters a lot more than we are not? We have to establish the playbook by practicing the little things. The details, the respect for seniority and rank and most importantly, the needs of the group above our own must be emphasized. As an old Trekki, I quote First Officer Mr. Spock who said “the good of the many outweigh the good of the few.” Show them we succeed and fail as a team and failure is not an option.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>While the coffee pot is still in our kitchen, a “single cup” has recently shown up. Self-serving and individual, this marvelous machine will make you one perfect cup of coffee. If you have one in your firehouse kitchen, and before you press that button, I’d like you to ask yourself; what about everyone else?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Take care, be safe, and take pride in what we do</p>
<p>Rob Beattie, NPFD</p>Journal Entry 27-“Our Finest Hour”tag:community.fireengineering.com,2013-10-17:1219672:BlogPost:5879052013-10-17T18:36:18.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p align="center">Chief Ron Kanterman-October 2013</p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>That’s what Chief John McGrath (Raleigh, NC) the Memorial Weekend Incident Commander said as we convened in Emmitsburg, MD on Wednesday, October 2, 2013. The planning for the National Memorial Weekend ceremonies started in March. We had completed 7 months of planning with the last meeting being the week before the event. When we showed up that day, we knew we were already locked out of the NETC/National Fire…</p>
<p align="center">Chief Ron Kanterman-October 2013</p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>That’s what Chief John McGrath (Raleigh, NC) the Memorial Weekend Incident Commander said as we convened in Emmitsburg, MD on Wednesday, October 2, 2013. The planning for the National Memorial Weekend ceremonies started in March. We had completed 7 months of planning with the last meeting being the week before the event. When we showed up that day, we knew we were already locked out of the NETC/National Fire Academy campus. The Executive Command Team started having conference calls on Friday September 27. Then twice day through Tuesday 10/1. At that point Executive Director of the NFFF, Chief Ron Siarnicki and Chairman of the Board Chief Dennis Compton had “pulled the trigger” making the decision to go off campus even of the campus re-opened. There were contracts to let out for things like tables and chairs, buses, catering and the like. At that moment, we put 7 months of planning aside and did another 7 months of planning in 4 days. Our “local agents” went to work earlier in the week. Battalion Chief Matt Tobia (Ann Arundel Co. FD), Deputy Chief (ret.) Vic Stagnaro (PG County FD) started meeting with people locally along with our Logistical Production Coordinator Battalion Chief (ret.) Lew Reader. They opened doors with the Daughters of Charity (next to the NFA campus), Mount St. Mary’s College, the Vigilant Hose Co. in Emmitsburg and Emmitsburg Ambulance. First they moved the NFFF offices from the campus chapel in to the second floor of the Emmitsburg Ambulance station in town. They opened their doors to the Foundation so they’d be able to operate not only through the weekend but continuously afterwards until the campus opened again. As the Memorial Weekend closed in, we realized that we had a monumental task in front of us but we also knew we had the right people in the right place for the right reasons. We (the Executive Command Team) have always believed that over the last 10 years, we had amassed a work team we like to call “The A Team.” This weekend would prove we were right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Daughters of Charity very graciously gave us 2 floors in an abandoned wing of their complex that we used for our Command Center. The teams went to work hauling furniture out of storage rooms and set up offices with desks, chairs, lamps and couches along with NFFF supplied computers, printers and other office equipment. Offices were set up for Incident Command, Operations, Logistics, NFFF Staff, Director’s Office, Weekend Escorts, Honor Guard, Work Teams Break Room and counseling session rooms for fire service survivors. We had a place to hang our helmets for the weekend. Was is optimal without all of us being in one EOC for the weekend? No. Did it work? Of course. Although separated by geography all over this huge building wing, we were held together by the common mission – to get the families in for the weekend and give them the best experience we can, in honoring their fallen heroes.</p>
<p>The work teams moved equipment, from the NFFF to the family hotels in Gettysburg. And from Gettysburg to the Basilica at the Daughters of Charity for the Saturday night candle light service. It’s not always boxes of stuff. Sometimes it’s 100 mums to adorn the stage. And from the Basilica back to the hotels. And from the hotels to the NFFF offices. As Saturday rolled around we found out that we would able to get the families on to the campus for two hours due to the diligent work of our US Fire Administrator Chief Ernie Mitchell and MD Congressman Steny Hoyer. They lobbied the White House and got special dispensation. A work detail was let on to the campus earlier in the day to set up a sound system, plant mums, set up chairs, set flowers in large Maltese crosses and other peripheral duties. (The campus was eerily quiet with no students or staff around.) After the candle light service in the Basilica, they opened the back gates and the families were able to gather around the memorial for a short service and the laying of the Presidential Wreath by the National Honor Guard. The staff was relieved that the families could visit the memorial knowing that most if not all of the families may never return to see it again. After their brief visit they were taken to the hotels in Gettysburg for dinner and a hopefully a restful night. We still had work to do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We broke down the campus equipment, helped the TV/Satellite company move to the Mount St. Mary’s College PNC Sports Arena, moved ceremonial equipment, 5,000 memorial books and programs, the engraved plaques, flowers, the child care equipment and a few other truckloads of stuff. The families went back to the hotels at 7:00. We dismissed our teams much later. They were already beat up but knew Sunday was the main ceremony so they headed out, some to relax with an adult beverage, others to bed and yet others to close the local watering hole but nonetheless, all to be on the fire ground by 0700 ready to work. And they were.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The main ceremonies went off without a hitch. There is truly nothing like seeing and hearing the National Honor Guard along with pipes and drums marching in to the arena all in sync. All 700 of them. Impressive to say the least. The families along with their fallen firefighters were honored and the names enshrined during the two hour program. As the families retreated in to the practice courts next door for lunch where we set up a dining room for 1,000 the day before, the work commenced again. Demob the arena and demob the Daughters of Charity offices. The work teams took care of the arena. A 30 person probie class from the Ann Arundel County FD took care of the DOC. We were completed by 2:30. It should also be noted that due to the lack of having the campus dining hall, the Vigilant Hose Company set up their firehouse like a dining hall and cooked for the staff all weekend. Yet another unplanned monumental task. No one asked. They simply stepped up.</p>
<p></p>
<p>We lived through a Presidential visit in 2007 and now this. We had the A Team then and again this time. We’re not sure what’s next but we think we’ll be able to handle it. The best way to sum it up: <b>“The government was shut down, but you can’t shut down the brotherhood!”</b> -- Battalion Chief (Ret.) Joe Wurtzbacher-Summit N.J.; Memorial Weekend Work Team Leader.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At the end of the day, it does appear that it was our finest hour.</p>
<p>Take care, be well and be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>Journal Entry 26-Safety & Risk Management Start With an Ape!tag:community.fireengineering.com,2013-06-27:1219672:BlogPost:5823422013-06-27T18:37:30.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>Risk Management as we use it today refers to programs that help us evaluate what we do and how we do it. We put in to place certain control measures in order for us to operate within particular safety parameters. These parameters help to insure that we injure and kill less people while working. We use controls, the first of which is “administrative” controls, which consists of standard operating guidelines or procedures, training requirements, safe practices, rules regulations, fire code…</p>
<p>Risk Management as we use it today refers to programs that help us evaluate what we do and how we do it. We put in to place certain control measures in order for us to operate within particular safety parameters. These parameters help to insure that we injure and kill less people while working. We use controls, the first of which is “administrative” controls, which consists of standard operating guidelines or procedures, training requirements, safe practices, rules regulations, fire code compliance inspections, industry standards and best practices. The “engineering” controls build in what we need to reduce risk and increase safety. Some examples of these are apparatus design, building construction (codes), thermal imaging, and active and passive fire protection systems. The third is “personal protection” which comes in the form of PPE and is the one we more closely relate to, however is the last item in the process. We must realize however that if the administrative and engineering controls are in place, the need for PPE lessens. As a simple example, take a commercial building fire. If in fact the codes were strictly adhered to when built and the building is outfitted with active and passive fire protection systems, and a good inspection program insures compliance, the fire will be contained to the area of origin by the sprinklers and fire walls and fire doors, and we’re looking at an easy mop up and go home type of job. A failure however in these systems whether mechanical in nature on an active fire protection system, or a breach of passive fire protection (a hole in a fire wall) could lead to unsafe conditions and firefighter injury or death. Back to basic fire prevention and protection principles! </p>
<p> </p>
<p>While knowing that firefighting is inherently risky work and our people are often thrust into situations that are considered “high risk,” having a good risk management plan or program and to know where the lines must be drawn, is critical to the longevity and survival of our people in the field. We as chiefs need to reaffirm when the risk is not worth taking (vacant buildings) and when circumstances allow us to take some risk in the interest of saving another human life. The controls as noted above along with good solid training and experience permits us to take calculated risks with good outcomes. A very small percentage of American FF LODD’s happen due to unforeseen circumstances. It is key that we start looking at a process by which we can evaluate and define risk so we can reduce injury and death on the job and that process is fairly simple:</p>
<ul>
<li>Identify what risks are inherent in firefighting, rescue, hazmat, EMS and the other things we do; perform a risk analysis</li>
<li>Evaluate the risks in terms of how often and how bad the consequences could be; what can happen and at what intervals</li>
<li>Control the risks through a good risk management program using an <i>APE</i>-<b>A</b>dministrative, <b>P</b>PE and <b>E</b>ngineering controls </li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Risk management has been a concept that has been in and around public service and private industry for a very long time. It should be regarded as a “system” more than anything else. Looking at the above noted process of identifying, evaluating and controlling risk, we need to use this system so we can <i>minimize</i> risk. Analyses have been performed of the tasks of fire fighting and the associated risks too many times to list, and they still show most of these risks are avoidable. If in fact fire departments use the three phase process as noted above and they are successful, then it’s probable that they are measuring their success rates by their ability to enforce their Risk Management Program (RMP). We also understand that we wield a two edge sword. We know when we arrive too late at an occupied structure fire (we are always late no matter what), we know we may not be able to make a difference in saving lives or property. However with that in mind, we may also tend to drive too fast, run controlled intersections against signals and may cause death and injury to ourselves and others, the very thing we’re trying to preserve. It’s hard to strike a balance but if this was easy, anyone could do it. Risk management takes patience, understanding, training and the ability to analyze and decipher where and when we’ll take chances. In fire service organizations, risk management has to occur at every level however it starts at the top and on the fire ground, with the Incident Commander and has to trickle down to the company officers and the line firefighters, the last two being the most vulnerable to the risks at hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The expectation of the American people who depend on the emergency services, is that we will show up in a timely manner and cure their headaches, whether it’s a fire, oil burner emergency, heart attack or a gasoline tanker laying on its side. Although the public expects their firefighters to “lay it all on the line,” they don’t necessarily accept the fact that we get injured or killed for no good apparent reason. May ordinary citizens have often questioned our tactics when firefighters are killed or badly injured in a vacant building for example. Yes, even the lay person knows that an empty abandoned building is not worth the risk. Chief Ronny Coleman of California said that based on the above noted factors, “we’re the most qualified group of individuals to go into a dangerous situation and come out alive.” He’s right.</p>
<p>Good luck, stay well and stay safe.</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>
<p> </p>Journal-Entry #25-“Killer Show”tag:community.fireengineering.com,2013-05-03:1219672:BlogPost:5807342013-05-03T13:20:16.000ZRON KANTERMANhttps://community.fireengineering.com/profile/RONKANTERMAN
<p>By Ron Kanterman</p>
<p>I got a feeling that you opened this because we just got home from FDIC. In fact it was a killer show. It was my 23<sup>rd</sup> FDIC and it simply gets better each year. For me, it’s a family reunion and for one week, it’s the center of our universe. Great training, great expo and great times. Start saving now for next year. It rolls around quick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Killer Show” is actually the title of a book (John Barylick, University Press of New England) that was…</p>
<p>By Ron Kanterman</p>
<p>I got a feeling that you opened this because we just got home from FDIC. In fact it was a killer show. It was my 23<sup>rd</sup> FDIC and it simply gets better each year. For me, it’s a family reunion and for one week, it’s the center of our universe. Great training, great expo and great times. Start saving now for next year. It rolls around quick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Killer Show” is actually the title of a book (John Barylick, University Press of New England) that was recently released, and chronicles the Station Night Club (West Warwick, RI) fire which took place on February 20, 2003, which took 100 lives and maimed a few hundred others. The author was one of a team of lawyers representing the victims in the many civil suits that followed the fire. His research was impeccable as was his attention to detail. He did background on just about everyone who was in the club that night, staff, owners and patrons alike. Many were there as guests of the band. Others bought tickets, some were guests of ticket holders. Some were on a first date. There were married couples, singles, and just friends hanging out for a fun night. Not so much. Mr. Barylick also has a knack of explaining things in such lay terms that your mom or grandpa could understand pyrolysis. He hired fire protection engineers, fire experts and used nationally recognized fire testing labs to test materials. Very well done. No stone unturned. His attention to detail from the first page to the last was incredible.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Near the end of the book, he discusses what we discuss in our business all the time. First, that for some reason people don’t learn from the past. There have been at least a half dozen similar fires around the world since the Station fire. The most recent was in Brazil where 230 people perished. Second, that it was a series of errors that caused the Station to burn, kill and maim, not just one thing. It was a domino effect. In fact he said that had one of the defendants (owners, band, makers of foam padding, promoters, staff members, pyrotechnic operators, fire department, building department, etc.) had done their due diligence, the dominos would not have aligned and fallen the way they did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This book should be required reading for all fire service personnel. (I get no royalties. I was just never quite moved by a story out of the annals of fire history.) It should absolutely be required reading for fire inspectors, fire marshals and anyone who does fire prevention work which should be all of us! Read “Killer Show.” It’s guaranteed to move you. It’s guaranteed to make you do your job better than anything else you’ll read.</p>
<p>Fire Prevention saves lives. Citizens and firefighters.</p>
<p>Be well, stay well, be safe,</p>
<p>Ronnie K</p>