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All Blog Posts (3,145)

A New Professional Model for the 21st Century

In the fire service, our leadership is drawn from the rank and file.  Firefighters train and become drivers, then company officers.  Later they may move to managing officer, managing organization divisions, then chief level officers, and, perhaps, chief of department.  This development model has served us well in the past; however, it has several weaknesses, which disadvantage the fire service.  This blog is putting forth a new model for professional development which develops future…

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Added by Dave Donohue on September 28, 2024 at 12:47pm — No Comments

The ABCD’s of Writing Learning Objectives

The ABCD’s of Writing Learning Objectives

All training begins with the end in mind.  In the fire and emergency service, training frequently revolves around the performance of tasks and even our knowledge-type training frequently manifests in performance metrics.  To define the end state of training, trainers and content developers assemble learning objectives.  Terminal Learning…

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Added by Dave Donohue on September 21, 2024 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Enhancing Hazardous Materials Team Value

Traditionally, hazardous materials teams are focused on emergency response and training. While these are critical functions, are teams missing the boat by not expanding into other service areas where their expertise can be of benefit to the organization? I believe by performing additional, values-added services, hazardous materials teams may improve the level of support from their organizations, develop additional funding sources, increase staffing, improve responder health and safety, and…

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Added by Dave Donohue on September 14, 2024 at 1:12pm — No Comments

Coffee Table Quick Tips: Vol. 2 - Issue 24

A Little Help for the Hydrant Hindrance

Working as a Firefighter in New England, you’d be hard pressed find a hydrant that wasn’t equipped with a spring loaded hydrant indicator mounted to the top edge of the weather cap.

 

These markers serve the purpose of making a water…

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Added by AB Turenne on August 28, 2024 at 4:05pm — No Comments

PACE Planning

PACE Planning

As we all know, planning is why we got into emergency services in the first place.   While we tend to shoot from the hip, planning is essential to successfully completing our mission safely and effectively.  PACE Planning is a model to provide for alternatives and external influences on our actions.  Drawn from military…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 28, 2024 at 11:30am — No Comments

Are We Really All-Hazards Responders?

 While the fire and emergency services community often claims that it possesses “all-hazards” response capabilities, the ability to actually respond to all hazards is questionable. While fire and emergency services will deploy to all hazards, the ability to maintain proficiency across disciplines, including training, staffing, and equipping, is a herculean task. If the response community is truly honest, we do not possess the capability or capacity to provide levels of service that the…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 25, 2024 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Should the NFA do more to make communities safer?

Created from the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, the National Fire Academy (originally envisioned as the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control) was charged with training fire, and now EMS, personnel, developing model curricula, develop entrance and promotional examination materials, and encourage fire prevention and detection for builders, contractors, and architects.  Since that time, the NFA has created and distributed a wide variety of training programs…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 22, 2024 at 12:30pm — No Comments

A Call to Fund Fire and Emergency Services

The recent proposal to update the fire brigade standard has brought heartburn to many departments and communities.  One of the loudest arguments coming from the volunteer fire service has been that communities will no longer be able to afford to support a fire department.  This may be a valid argument in many communities.  Rather than seeking to block the passage of regulation designed to improve the health and safety…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 18, 2024 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Garbage, Money, and Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials emergency services, like many special operations in many departments, is funded by a variety of alternative funding mechanisms including fee for service (cost recovery) and grants (public and private).  One funding mechanism that may be overlooked is an idea that comes out of South Florida – garbage fees.

In this case, every garbage can and commercial dumpster is assessed at a nominal fee.  Individually, these fees come to a few dollars per year, but when…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 16, 2024 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Coffee Table Quick Tips: Vol. 2 - Issue 20

Door Chocks: From the Front Door to the Fire Floor

There are two (2) trains of thought regarding what tools and equipment firefighters should store in their gear and keep on their person. The first belief is that one (1) of every item below the kitchen sink should be maintained at all times and…

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Added by AB Turenne on August 14, 2024 at 8:24pm — No Comments

Should the federal government be supporting fire safe homes?

The federal government, through a variety of mechanisms, funds home purchases and rentals throughout the nation.  At the same time, it funds programs to reduce the risk and impact of fire.  Yet, the federal government does not economically incentivize residential fire sprinkler systems in the homes, in rental units, nor in off-base funding for military personnel.  Is it time for the federal government to really address this issue?  If so, I am putting forth the following for…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 14, 2024 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Hazardous Materials Hot Line© August 8, 2024

FEMA Update ICS PTBs

FEMAs NIMS Integration Center has released updated Position Task Books and Guidance to assist jurisdictions with aligning with the National Qualification System.

 

Discussion:  For agencies that seek to work during emergencies and disasters, having a benchmark for determining capabilities and capacities is necessary for…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 11, 2024 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Is it time to rethink how we administer the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)Program?

With the current debate over the proposed changes in the OSHA Fire Brigade Standard, which will be discussed in the future, is it time for the fire service in the United States to rethink the AFG and how we have used the funds.  Since 2001, the AFG has provided much needed funds to departments, however, the impact has been limited.  Intended to balance…

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Added by Dave Donohue on August 10, 2024 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Coffee Table Quick Tips: Vol. 2 - Issue 18

MCI Patient Extraction and the "Mega Mover" Maneuver

Long before my time in the fire service, the job of a firefighter was just that, to respond and extinguish fires. Over the years, many agencies began to adopt new disciplines such as providing emergency medical services (EMS) and mitigating hazardous materials incidents.

Along with the increase in the types of disciplines we now…

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Added by AB Turenne on August 5, 2024 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Lost Knowledge – The General Hazardous Materials Behavior Model (

In the early 1970’s, Ludwig Benner, a chemical engineer working for the National Transportation Safety Board identified a model of container behavior in hazardous materials incidents that provides impact points for risk reduction actions and provides a model for container and product behavior to help guide emergency response.  The General Hazardous Materials Behavior Model  is a chain of events from the start of an incident…

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Added by Dave Donohue on July 25, 2024 at 1:30pm — No Comments

The Totality of Transitioning to a Training Officer

The Totality of Transitioning to a Training Officer

One (1) of the supreme facets of being promoted to a role within the Office of Training, is that you now play an instrumental part with influencing the level of success that the Officers and Firefighters will achieve during their tenure within your respective department.…

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Added by AB Turenne on July 14, 2024 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Ice Bath for Mental Health: Shifting Our Mindset

Ice Bath for Mental Health: Shifting our Mindset



Ice baths are all the rage right now. Most of us in the fire service are familiar with the “fun” times spent in the ice bath back in the day. If you played any sport, there is a good chance you have had the opportunity to experience the cold. It seems like every other social media post or podcast discusses or advertises an ice bath for at-home use. What once was a luxury reserved for professional athletes is now making it into the fire… Continue

Added by Ben Dubin on July 13, 2024 at 8:54pm — No Comments

Expanding the Role of Your Hazardous Materials Team. Haz Mat as a value-added service.

Emergency response is the cornerstone of hazardous materials teams. While response is important, there are other activities that hazardous materials teams can be involved in that further integrate hazardous materials into the organization, provided added benefits, and open routes to potential new funding streams.

Support at Fire Scenes

The hazardous materials team is capable of providing support at fire scenes with actions that will improve the health and safety of responders.…

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Added by Dave Donohue on July 13, 2024 at 8:30am — No Comments

Who Wants a Job? The demographic challenge of recruiting qualified people to emergency services.

 

Whether your organization is career, volunteer, or combination, it is likely having difficulty finding qualified individuals to fill its ranks.  While recruiting new members has been an issue for some time, the changing demographics of the nation are being skipped as an underlying cause.  Consequently, we are missing some opportunities for identifying and guiding folks…

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Added by Dave Donohue on July 10, 2024 at 11:00am — No Comments

Haz Mat Hot Line 7/4/2024

Hazardous Materials Hot Line© July 4, 2024

CSB Issues Statement on Hurricane & Weather Preparedness

The U. S. Chemical Safety Board has issued a statement cautioning facility owners to prepare for an active hurricane season.

 

Discussion:  The CSB has previously released reports on two incidents that resulted from hurricane & tropical weather.  The…

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Added by Dave Donohue on July 7, 2024 at 11:21am — No Comments

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