April 2014 Blog Posts (48)

There were a few original Hump Day SOS's that only appeared on my Twitter and Facebook pages. A few were posted on Urban Firefighter prior to this blog. They were simply pictures with no commentary. For the next few weeks I'm going to go back repost them here on FE along with added blog text. The intent here at the Hump Day SOS is to provide a somewhat satirical…

This is just a simple trick that was taught to me and I have been passing on for years. Every engine company carries short supply hose sections of various sizes and lengths. I often found that when these rolls get above about 25 feet they can become a little difficult to deal with. Storage, deployment, etc. they are just difficult. A lot of these rolls are simply straight rolled, or doughnut rolled and placed in the compartment, or tray and not thought of until the next fire. Getting a water…

Some time ago...15 years ago to be exact, I was elected to my first position as a volunteer chief officer! I was proud and honored to say the least. I thought I was ready, having spent several hundreds of hours in classes at my young age, but that was just the start.

Unfortunately, my keys to the office, white helmet, and badges were thrown at me. Now, I had a great Chief...but the problem was, he worked 7 days a week and traveled all the time.

I was left to fend for myself,…

Lately I have heard a lot of negativity toward the use of the word aggressive in our fire service vocabulary. Whether in casual conversations, seminars or online learning outlets I have heard a sense of dismay for the use of this word. I heard one fire service member say that it should be removed from our dictionary because it is going to get someone hurt; that is a macho term that has no place in our profession. Some tend to associate this word with being reckless or careless on the…

When it comes to vertical ventilation, don’t put the cut ahead of the horse, we have a lot of work to do before we make any carts. Bad joke but important point. A systematic approach to your training will build skills progressively which leads to more sound…

Blowin' Smoke with Lt. Isaac Frazier

When securing battery power, quickly scratch through the letter B (on hood). This allows arriving units to see that battery power has been secured (This is not used on lightly damaged fender benders). This method is a good alternative to leaving the hood up, as it doesn't obstruct your view of the scene.…

Ever heard that saying that it's better to be lucky than good? Yeah, me too!

Well, have you ever wondered how some are ALWAYS lucky? That's mostly because they create their luck.

As the officer, you create your own luck by preparing and filling in the gaps in your operational readiness. Luck doesnt' just befall you because it picks you.

It comes along when you have been methodical and persistent in training, drilling, communicating and doing it again and…

WOW what a great conference FDIC2014 was. If you wonder where the brotherhood is then look no further than FDIC! This year the classes where once again great, as well as the opening ceremonies with Chief Bobby Halton and Eric Rohden, but everyone knows about that in anything you read you hear about the education you get from going to FDIC and it is by far second to none, so I want to focus on some other things in my FDIC wrap up.

I will however as usual give a shout out to the best…

        This job isn't easy, and there's no secret to being good at it. The recipe has only two ingredients: training and sweat. Over the past generation or so our responsibilities have snowballed to the point where the spectrum of our services is near infinite. We are the ones called when someone is trapped following a traffic accident, when grandma passes out, when there's a mudslide, a chemical spill, ice rescue, etc., etc...and I haven't even mentioned fire yet. Even though our duties…

Stories of the the snake oil salesman have throughout history conjured vivid images of nefarious characters who traveled from town to town peddling to anyone who would listen to a wide range of elixirs claiming to cure all that ails you.



These traveling salesmen would often use deception and planted audience members who would attest to their products value. This tactic often aided in creating a buying frenzy.



The…

Here is a blog indicating a fire of unknown location in two story house with bedrooms on both floors. Many more modern houses have sleeping areas on more that one area. The concern here is, where to start your search if the location of the fire is unknown and the fire occurs at a time where the sleeping areas should be searched first due to the time of the fire. 

As usual, the fire occurs at 0630 hours.  There are several bicycles in the driveway of the house and a swing set in the…

Being in control on the fire ground is critical for the fire officer. Nothing is worse than an officer screaming and shouting about EVERYTHING!

This shows a lack of control on the part of the officer. Staying in control allows you to think more clear, instills confidence in your members and allows for members and other officers to actually understand what your saying over the radio or through your mask.

The more your scream and lose your cool, the more inept you…

Why do we go into fires at all? A question often asked by the public when we they look at the cost of firefighter injuries. The answer should be a simple one, “To perform SEARCH & RESCUE”. People live and work in structures and they catch fire. Often the fire occurs when the people are inside of the…

For any firefighter out there who has ever made the jump to the right front seat, there's always a bit of a learning curve. You know what I mean, going from buddy to boss, going from being responsible for your own job to being responsible for a number of others who may or may not fall within the acceptable span-of-control. Recently, I was off work for about two weeks…

Battle Ready?

Fire Departments can have the best apparatus, tools / equipment and still struggle to provide professional services to their community.  Why?  Behavioral modification or “learning” is a major component in preparing brothers for battle.  While we travel across the country providing some of the best training available to firefighters, we have noted that many fire departments have lots of technology these days.  This technology, especially in the thermal…