All Blog Posts (3,147)

My heart hurts after learning of a fellow firefighter who died by suicide yesterday. This one is especially painful to me because Ron Gebhart didn't want to die by suicide. He recognized the progressive illness that is suicide, and he aggressively sought help, and tried to battle it's relentless power. He attended classes to understand mental health and suicide. He reached out to others for help.

But, sadly, preventing suicide is not as easy as sharing lifeline numbers. Once one has…

Do Your Job! Sounds easy enough, right? However, far too many try to control things outside of their control to the frustration and aggravation of everyone around them. This cartoon, which is inspired by Mark von Appen's Big Four leadership message, is one of many cartoons in our combined 2019 Calendar.



And now, I yield the…

Last week I came across a post on Facebook titled “Dailey’s Top 10 to SGMs, in his own words”. Dailey is Daniel A. Dailey, Sergeant Major of the Army.  For those that do not know, the SGM of the Army is the top enlisted position in the United States Army.  He is a combat infantry veteran, an Army Ranger, and has received numerous awards including the Bronze Star numerous times.  I really enjoyed reading through these and thought they…

As pre-hospital medical providers we see a lot of patients in all sorts of medical disrepair. The public and patients expectation is that we put a full effort into doing the best we can with our limited field resources and either take the patient to a medical facility, leave at home, send the patient to their primary care or specialist physician or call the…

The Importance of Individual Accountability in the Volunteer Fire Service.

“A different perspective on the issues plaguing volunteer departments”

     Two years ago I set out with a…

When we hear the phrase, “saving our own,” many of us probably think about the actions a Rapid Intervention Team may take to rescue Fire/EMS personnel on the fire ground. What I want to focus on in this writing is saving our own off duty.

On the job, each of us feels a sense of comfort in knowing one of our crew members has our back. We should feel the same sense of comfort when we are hanging out together or off duty. With the holiday season upon us, many of us will…

These simple steps will guide any student into becoming a better writer and enable them to improve their chances for handing in an exceptional essay that is a reflection of all their hard work:

1. 1. Research your paper thoroughly. Using every resource that is available to you will help you become an expert on your topic. Use the internet, libraries, and databases whatever resource you can find to support your…

An excellent article by Annie Linskey in today's highlights firefighting tactics. The story revolves around the fire reported.

Some highlights:

• An air horn blasted. It was another warning to evacuate. The men got out so quickly they left their hoses in the tower. Less than a minute later, the church steeple collapsed.
• It was unlikely that firefighters could have done anything to save the church,…

Never being particularly fond of PPE, my opinion used to be "if it happens, it happens." I've got a booster line, two guys who have been on the job forever and these fires are a dime a dozen. Push comes to shove I spend a little time in the burn unit at MUSC (There's no longer a burn unit).

Then one day, while training at the drill tower with PPE on, an ember went down my back because I wore my collar in much the…

“I think I taught you how to be instructors, but I don’t know if I taught you how to pass the state test.”  This is what I told my class of fire instructor students at the end of the course today. It’s a shame, really, when you think about it.  

For the past number of weeks, I have been pouring my time, mind, and heart into the course, trying to make it informative, relevant, and useful.  I have taught them…

Everybody knows you need water to control fire. (And, by “everybody”, I mean firefighters, scientists, politicians, civilians, immigrants, elementary school children, your spouse and kids. Everybody.) That’s why fire apparatus are primarily designed around the need to quickly transport water to the location of a fire, engineered as they are with the capacity to carry a booster tank, hose, pump, appliances, and the personnel needed to put it all to work. It didn’t take a series of high-tech…

This Tuesday's election, like ALL elections, will have a tremendous impact on local, state, and federal issues that affect your daily life, as well as fire/EMS service operations. Whether you are Right, Left, Tea Party Republican, Blue Dog Democrat, or somewhere in between, exercise your right to make a difference, and vote! 



STAY FIRED UP, and if…

As leaders, how we respond to circumstances is determined by our attitude and is a direct reflection of our character. Put another way, attitude is the bridge between our circumstances and our character. That bridge can be well built with a good attitude or awaiting catastrophic failure with a bad one. 

We should make every attempt to avoid letting our circumstances dictate our attitude.This is easier…

Fear is a lousy motivator for persons who have joined an organization that routinely confronts danger, especially when, for some, that danger was itself a motivator to join. Now, I am not suggesting that firefighters care less about themselves than your average citizen; just that they generally put the wellbeing of others ahead of themselves. This helps them face hazards that, without such a focus, would cause your average human to turn - if not run - away. Of course, we are also trained and…

STAY FIRED UP, and stay focused, stay dedicated, stay passionate, and prepare for "when it gets real" - because it will!

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For the past 20 years, I’ve had the privilege to volunteer at the annual Memorial Weekend 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.…

The Blame Game



​The fire service is an occupation that can literally at times dictate life or death. Structure fires, extrications, medicals as well as a whole host of other emergencies that place us dead center in the middle of stressful situations. Over time it’s human nature that we become numb or to think the calls in which we respond are no longer taxing. This may be how we view our daily…

Thomas Jefferson once said, “With great risk comes great reward.”  There are numerous rewards and incentives of being a firefighter. We are revered and respected members of our communities, the emotional rewards are boundless, and we are granted a lifetime membership into a brotherhood that is linked to firehouses all around the world.  But, as with most things in life, great rewards are often generated from great risk.  In order for something to be classified…