All Blog Posts (3,198)

Yes, we still have crews who work in collapse zones. Yes, we still have crews going in with uncharged lines. Yes, we still have people on the fireground who don’t speak up when they see something wrong, or don’t listen when people do speak up. And yes, it’s a damn shame when it feels like we lost good brothers for no good reason. 

But I…

Imagine you are dispatched to a motor vehicle collision and when you arrive you see a driver unconscious with trauma to the neck and upper extremities bleeding profusely.  Without quick action he is sure to die.  But there are power lines on the car.  What comes first?  Deal with the power lines or go for the victim?

Many of us around the country are arriving…

Many times, we see fire trucks rolling down the road with lights flashing and sirens blaring, you can see the firemen in the back getting ready. Do you ever think about what you’re really watching? It’s a lot more than just a fire truck driving fast, making a lot of noise! It’s an everyday person that either left their family or left their job, someone that may have been off work and dropped what they were doing because someone is having the worst day of their life.

Have you ever…

As a firefighter, we face death in a million forms every day.  It could be the crash of a falling roof beam, entrapment in a quick-moving blaze, or the slow poison of the toxins we’ve accumulated in our lungs.  But there’s one that seems to make some people especially uncomfortable: suicide. 

For those of us who have never felt the urge, it can be incomprehensible that anybody would want to…

Lets talk succession training. It always seems to be a hot topic when a bunch of firefighters get together. There is either a lack thereof or something that they always want to see happen within their departments.

I see as there's two types of succession training. There's formal and informal. Formal is going to be at department programs, maybe some larger agencies might be common. Even smaller ones are starting to get it.  You got to go through this program. It's 40…

      Our ultimate success during any incident is a direct result of the effort applied by available resources.  Incidents for which we have adequate resources (personnel, equipment, training) will usually have the most successful outcome possible given the circumstances.  How we choose to apply the resources at hand to mitigate an incident is generally the factor of which we have the greatest control once an incident begins.  Company officers and chiefs who direct operations from…

Blog Note: I wrote this piece for the friends in my hometown. No fires, no fire trucks, no HOT topics and no politics. Just some childhood memories that, if you take the time to read, it may lift your spirits and unlock your mind to reveal similar memories of your own. It may give you a moment of pause to remember a simpler, innocent time in your life when you didn’t carry the weight of the…

COMING HOME

The World War II veteran was coming home. As he walked over a rise near his family home, one of his sisters saw him and yelled out “Harley is home.” The entire family rushed out to meet him. Harley recalled his Father’s tearful words “maybe now we can learn to sleep again.”  

The unrehearsed words of Harley’s Father reminded me of my Father and how he…

We are learning that the fireground is more complex than we had previously understood, and we probably still don’t know the half of it.  While the recommendations for tactical changes that have arisen from ongoing fire dynamics research have spawned the most discussion amongst members of our profession, the raw information alone was revolutionary in its own right, even absent the practical applications that followed.  Flow paths, smoke as fuel, and the (actual) effects of hose…

To say we live in a society of bold and colorful individuals is an understatement. One only needs to stroll down any city street to see people who would have once been characterized as “outsiders” or “one of them” pleasantly blending into modern society. It’s acceptable to be personality-loud! We “old-schoolers” may shake our heads in disbelief, but truth be…

Among the well wishes that you will undoubtedly receive as a newlywed couple, friends and family are bound to ask you questions about your future life together. Where will you live? Will you have children? When? How many? What are your occupations? Upon learning that your spouse is a firefighter, you’re bound to feel a sense of pride when you receive accolades about your spouse having a career that is inherently…

A good majority of the fire service community has at least heard of a Bi-Directional Amplifier (BDA) and a Vehicle Repeater System (VRS). But what exactly are they and why are they a valuable tool in the tactical fire communications toolbox?

A BDA is a booster of incoming (Rx) and outgoing (Tx) radio traffic. You can find them in most large, modern buildings, and in most below grade transportation systems. The actual BDA is typically in a room with other telecom equipment. A system of…

Developing a Firefighter Workout

By: Jordan Ponder

Firefighter fitness is vital to our performance and longevity.  It is the cornerstone to increasing our safety and a critical element to protecting firefighters.  It’s a fact that can’t be overstated. The tragic trend of firefighter obesity, diabetes, hypertension and stroke can be positively impacted by implementing…

The Leadership Tune Up -

During our travels there seems to be a common complaint heard by many brothers and sisters around the country, that

their department…

      I would rather anticipate a fire 1000 times and not have one, than be surprised once.  Because we don't respond to a working fire every time we leave the firehouse some firefighters may begin to expect each incident to be mundane, uneventful, or routine.  Allowing this thought process to take hold undermines the safety of every member of the company as well as the public, and may put the outcome of an incident in jeopardy.  Remaining focused and vigilant usually isn't the easiest…

We’ve got to do better than this.

It is with a heavy heart that I find myself mourning another brother as I write this blog post. A brother who was the epitome of dedication and passion, and who was loved by all who had the fortune to know him, or be the target of his shameless wit and humor. He loved the fire service, he loved teaching, but something…

Firefighter Line-of-Duty Deaths: Are we Missing the Big Picture?

By: Dan Kerrigan & John Spera

“The Shortest Route to Fewer Firefighter Deaths is through the Heart.”

-National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

When an operational fire service line-of-duty (LODD) death occurs, we give it…

There is one thing we can all agree on: There are a million ways to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I prefer smooth PB, strawberry jam, wheat bread, cut into 4 squares), and at the end of the day it still tastes great. In terms of fire service tactics, we have a lot of tools and options at our disposal as well.  Yes, we must save viable victims. Yes, we must locate and extinguish the fire. Yes, we must protect the exposures and limit further damage to the structure/property. More…

There has been a lot written, taught, debated and lectured on in regards to fire apparatus that fall under the definition of a quint.  If you look it up, there are several definitions of what a quint is and should be to be considered so, but it boils down to a very simple description.  The technical idea of a quint is that it must do five things, however, if you look at NFPA 1901, it lists well more than five functions.

My idea of a quint is more simplistic…