April 2011 Blog Posts (33)

I just spent the most incredible week drawing and talking with our Nation's finest! Nope, not fire service personnel, but Sailors and Marines in San Diego. I was honored to take part in a Navy sponsored NCS/USO trip where we visited the USS Peleliu (an aircraft carrier), Naval Fleet Weather Center, Military Hospitals and VA wards, and participated in a panel…

Need something to spark some conversation at the station. Check out this website that a few of my buddies and I came up with. It's on Facebook and there is always a new question daily. Please stop by and check it out.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Due-Questions/181829911841961

I saw that face again Tuesday, you know the one. The face, of a fellow human being, that had just witnessed an event that would remain etched upon their mind.....forever. I have seen the face countless times over the 30 years I have been doing this job.



The face, of a father, kneeling over his daughter, in the middle of a busy street. He was crossing with his three kids and with only two hands, the older daughter got a bit ahead. The face, blood stained, from a father’s futile…

As I sat here contemplating what to write about this week, thinking about our fellow firefighters that have been injured or have paid the ultimate sacrifice on fires in or near wildland-urban interface areas already this year. Two firefighters injured in North Central Nebraska, A firefighter injured in Arizona, Two firefighters killed and I believe the total injured at one point was 8 firefighters injured on separate incidents here in Texas. And I have been wondering what is similar... and I…

Just ask Lazar Greenfield, MD, a world renowned surgeon from the University of Michigan.  Dr. Greenfield's recent Valentines Day editorial in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) newsletter cost him the Presidency of the 77,000 member group he was poised to assume in October.  In the surgery news editorial, which some found demeaning to women, Greenfield described semen as a female mood enhancer and suggested that, "there's a deeper bond…

This article is being posted, with permission from the author Jake Rixner

In everyone's career, things are said or done that make the "light bulb turn on".  This article was one of the things that I read early in my career that had a tremendous impact on me.  Immediately after reading it, I knew I had to be a member of the 30% Club, that a 30 percenter was the type of fireman I wanted to be.  Though I 've…

Blogger Note: Airport the movie appeared in theaters in 1970 and starred Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin and Jean Seberg. The sequel, Airport 1975 is probably more memorable of the two movies. The sequel starred Charlton Heston, Karen Black and George Kennedy.

Ask anybody.

Stuff happens to me.

Whether it’s to the store or to another state; every trip is always an epic adventure for me.

I never have a travel itinerary; I have places where I have to be and it’s a…

New Blog Post..     Bloggin About Protecting Your Noggin   http://blog.firefightercharlton.com

I would love to hear your thoughts.

There is a chance that I may get punched in the face for the next statement but forethought rarely stops me. I was listening to a Rockies game and rereading the Urban Firefighter Article…

My first show with Fire Engineering Talk Radio is, as they say, in the can.

If you didn’t have the chance to tune in live on April21, you can go to Fire Engineering Talk Radio and you can listen to the archived version. You can also see the schedule of some excellent upcoming shows.

I am also hearing that shows might be offered as Mp3 downloads in the future.

As host, I don’t…

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In my academy we were not taught the art of search, instead we did "search and rescue" drills. When we entered a building be it the drill tower or an acquired structure we would immediately start our search as we were being trained to do. Right hand or left hand from the front door with the sole purpose of finding a victim or reporting primary clear. The monotony of the…