February 2011 Blog Posts (17)

Blog Note: Another public sector employee has been fired for posting disparaging remarks about their employer. Is it a freedom of speech vs. employee conduct issue?

Read the article here: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110224/NEWS/102240313

Good or bad; the explosion of the use of social media for its velocity and reach comes with some…

The NFPA 1917 Standard for Automotive Ambulances draft closed for comment in December 2010 and the Committee met in Dallas during February 2011 to review the 1,785 comments received. Many comments and proposals for change were duplicative: 133 received on Vehicle Data Recorders (VDRs), 136 on maximum top speed of 72 MPH, 131 on estimated in-service vehicle weight, 132 on visual indicators of tire…

Edit Note: I wrote that "protesters are getting doctors' notes". It should have said "teachers". I apologize for the error.

In addition, the Taft-Hartley Act outlawed the closed shop in 1947, but allowed for union shops. The errors have been corrected.

February 23; this just in:…

I was a senior in high school when the fire at Philadelphia's One Meridian occurred. It's impact for me, at that time, was solely that a friend of mine who worked there during summer vacation wouldn't be returning to his summer position. I was still two years away from…

For those who don't know yet, Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment is now part of the Fire Engineering family. I am pleased to introduce myself as Associate Editor Chris Mc Loone.

It has been an…

You would have to be living in a very deep h*** not to have noticed the vicious pro vs anti-union rhetoric being slung by everyone from politicians to the old lady walking her dog down the block.This is a nasty and dirty line being drawn in the sand, and one that my state of Ohio will face shortly (if not already with SB-5).

I am not a union member,…

According to a news report:

HOLLYWOOD HILLS (KTLA) -- Fire officials say one of their own has died from injuries suffered while battle a huge fire at a home in the Hollywood Hills early Thursday morning.

38-year veteran Glenn L. Allen died at 12:15 p.m. Friday, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

He was 61 and about a year from…

With the mid-term elections behind us, we now need to look forward.

With a nation concerned about the economy and our growing deficit that was created by out-of-control spending, it should come as no surprise that spending cuts are a reality that we must face.

As a push to limit federal government begins to kick in, I believe that less federal money will be made available to local government and in particular; local fire service.

Local and state governments will be asked…

I have been in the workforce full time since I was 19 years old and now, I am 58.

I have been fortunate for almost 40 years to change jobs at my own volition. That is to say that circumstance dictated that a change was wanted/needed and I made that decision.

The same held true with my fire department. It was always my decision to change it up, move up and finally, to move on. I didn’t feel any pressure to do so; in my mind, it was time to change my focus, so I went from fire…

Isn't this job dangerous enough without stupid, childish, and/or irresponsible decisions? Let's not end up here!

To see more of my work visit: www.artstudioseven.com

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Blogger Alert: Joe; thanks for resurrecting this: http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A251410. You have inspired more thoughts.

Where it comes to the strategies that are employed at an incident scene that gets everyone back to quarters safely, are we coming from different corners?

Does this place somewhere in the…

Recently, after a long afternoon of dull fire department paperwork, a trip to 7-11 was needed to boost the energy for the rest of the workday.  As I walked into the store I stopped and took a look at the lock on the front entry door. This quick, passing glance made me realize how I had gotten out of the habit of conducting an on-going size-up of my surroundings before they were on fire. My size-ups had grown to a different level and the tasks that I do not perform everyday had fallen off my…

Recently, Traditions Training was invited to teach a program for a fire department in a “not so urban” area of the country.  Being that most of our instructors come from busy urban or suburban fire companies, 250 calls a month or more for a particular station or individual unit is not uncommon.  With that amount of activity comes more chances to refine and polish our craft.  It also allows for more chances to utilize the “tricks of the trade” that were passed on by our senior men and our…