All Blog Posts (3,145)

I was forwarded the letter below (in red) from my wife.  Her sisters’ life-long friend sent it to her. 

Mike had a fire in his home and lost everything.  Literally, everything.  This is not about the fire department that responded.  This is an extremely rural, mountainous region and I am sure they did everything possible.

The reason for this is simply to remind us all of what I am sure most of us take for granted.  “Someone had a fire in their home”!  OMG!  I have gone to…

Hello All,

The 2011 Near-Miss Calendars are now available from the IAFC.  These calendars are distributed FREE of charge throughout the year by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.  If you would like a copy I will gladly send one out to you.  Just please email me your name, address, and quantity requested to dstacy@iafc.org

Be sure to get one for yourself, station, family, and friends!

These calendars are always highly anticipated and enjoyed so be sure to…

January's magazine editorial cartoon speaks to any department which relies on volunteers or paid-on-call personnel to protect their district. Quality local jobs are dwindling and people have become less interested in helping their communities to concentrate on second careers, soccer games, and a myriad other distractions. In most cases, they no longer work…

My good friend, Shawn Longerich, Executive Director for the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition (CPTC) at www.FireSmoke.org sent me the video “Out of Air”; currently in Beta testing.

The video is just under an hour long and it is, as Captain Mike Gagliano of the Seattle Fire Department and a board member at CPTC pronounces; an homage to those firefighters who have succumbed to the effects of smoke inhalation.

“Out of Air” opens with a…

There should be no question as to the core mission of any fire department and that should be to help people in their time of need-any people; regardless of their circumstances that includes socio-economic.

Our passion for the job and the compassion for our fellow humans demands that we put everything else ahead of ourselves/our well-being, if need be.

But once again, the bloggers are busy churning up sentiment, punctuated by their eloquent and often emotional perceptions of the…

The importance of having a tool with you can’t be stressed enough.  Besides using it for forcible entry and venting windows or other operational functions, it can save your life.

It should be a habit that every time you come off of the truck for an alarm there should be a tool in your hand.  And take a tool that you can do something with.  Some of the most common tools are the Halligan and a flat head ax. You can take a pick headed ax and/or a sledge hammer, depending on what your…

After 30 years in the fire service, the last six as a hazmat tech for the state of Ohio, I thought I was pretty sharp about dealing with hazardous materials.  Then I transferred to the Health Department as an emergency response coordinator.  Then 9/11 happened.  Suddenly I needed to know a whole lot about some things that I knew very little about.  My colleagues at the health department needed to know about response too.  So the die was cast and we forged ahead.

The…

From the Chicago Sun Times:

A 51-year-old veteran Chicago firefighter died after being found unresponsive at his firehouse quarters on the South Side Saturday morning.

 

Lt. Patrick Hannon was given Advanced Life Support care and was taken to Mercy Medical Center where he died, according to Fire Media Affairs Dir. Larry Langford. He was on-duty and was found…

Have you ever been to the zoo and watched the monkeys fling their own poop at each other?

Yeah; some of you already know where this is headed.…

Practical jokes and “ball-busting” have been a part of the firehouse culture for as long as there have been firefighters. It can be fun, it can bring a sense of inclusion and acceptance, it can be a stress-reliever – it’s a healthy part of the firehouse social climate.

Hazing as I define it is…

Only one vote per computer, PLEASE VOTE. It only takes a few seconds...

Scroll down to the SmokEaters band, check box on upper left, then submit

VOTE at bottom.

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Note: The opinions stated in this article are based upon the information contained in the relevant links at the end of this article.

Who is Jeffery Wilkes Bassett?

Author? Actor? Jet-setter? Innocent victim?…

There's a trailer out for an upcoming film entitled "First In, Last Out: A History of Fighting Fire in Indianapolis." You can view the trailer HERE. You can also befriend (be-fan?) them on Facebook HERE.

Read Chief Avillo's follow-up to his article in the December Fire Engineering HERE. In it he describes the benefits of breaking out three different radio frequencies to better handle Mayday operations.

Feel free to leave your thoughts about this concept in the comments here.

I will be attending many fire service events in the coming year and I thought it would be a good idea to keep these special events separate from my monthly commentary blog. On this site you'll see my photos, comments, video, and yes, sketches from my experiences (like FDIC). I will include a post and link on my commentary blog (as well as Facebook) to let folks know when I've posted new content. As always, I sincerely thank you for your continued support and look forward to sharing my…

Four firefighters have been injured while fighting a massive blaze near the Ryerson University Campus in downtown Toronto on Monday morning.

Emergency crews were sent to battle the six-alarm fire just after 4 a.m. at the site near Yonge and Dundas Streets, one of Toronto's busiest…

Over the years, fire service websites have marketed their sites with the idea that they are bringing the fire station to the firefighters; that they are creating a virtual place where firefighters from all over the world can bring their firehouse

kitchen to your firehouse kitchen; a fantastic concept.

Why do I mention the kitchen? Well;…