April 2011 Blog Posts (33)

This installment of LODD drills comes from 2006 and the loss sustained by the brothers and sisters of Green Bay, Wisconsin Fire Department. The LODD occurred August 13^th 2006.

From the official LODD Report:

August 13^th, 2006, 1223 hrs

Arnold W.“Arnie”Wolff, Lieutenant

 

Lieutenant Wolff and an engineer were ordered to enter the…

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I recently served as a controller for an exercise up in New England.  This was a combined exercise based on the dispersion of Anthrax.  This in itself makes it a terrorist incident.  Present at the exercise were fire, EMS, Hospitals, Emergency Management???and one lone policeman.

Unfortunately this is not an exception but pretty much the rule when it comes to exercises, law enforcement just doesn?t show up most of the time. Although in most every case, the training of our law…

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For as long as I have been in the fire service, there is one question that I always seem to hear..."Hey, what do you carry in your pockets?"  

 

For some this is an easy question to answer, but then there are those who have to pull everything out of their pockets to actually see what is in there.  I have seen everything from screwdrivers to pliers, wood chocks to channel locks, moldy cheese and other things that many would be scared of!  I have run the gamut of what I carry in…

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It baffles me to no end how city planners and leaders can justify their numbers when talk of privatizing EMS rolls around! If a fire based EMS system is already in place and is healthy and thriving, why mess with a sustainable money making machine? My friend and boss Bobby Halton said it best when reviewing this submission; stupid is, is stupid does! Forrest Gump is a… Continue

That is what I like to call the workers compensation system here in Illinois.

 

Blogger Alert: I want to be very clear that I am not singling out a particular segment of the workforce based on the links provided. My cynicism extends across the board. The term “union” appears in this article as an example of lobbying only. It does not reflect my view of unions either way, so save the vitriol.

 

As part of my job, I handle work injury claims for my company.…

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The classic trench cut shown to the left has not changed by definition only by misapplication. The trench cut was developed during the 1960’s in New York city during an exceptionally busy fire…

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As reported in our nations news, five DC Fire Department members were injured yesterday in an early morning house fire.  They became trapped by a ceiling collapse shortly after making entry. The speed with which the RIC deployed and made rescues, coupled with the the IC immediately requesting a 2nd Alarm resulted in not only rapid rescue of multiple trapped firefighters, but also quick knock down of a serious fire.  

 

Unlike urban/metro FD's, the suburban FD may not have quite…

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My colleagues and I at Traditions Training, LLC are very happy to be a part of this "blogger network" with Fire Engineering. I am hoping that this new blog will come out ok, as I am still adjusting to the format on the new FE site.

Ok, here we go... Elder Statesman Henry Clay once said "statistics are no substitute for judgement" and I wholeheartedly agree. In fact I really hate statistics…

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It has been almost 2 years since 4/12/20009 when we lost Captian James Harlow and Firefighter Damion Hobbs in Houston Texas ( www.tdi.state.tx.us/reports/fire/documents/fmloddhouston09.pdf ). Nearly 4 years ago on 4/16/2007 we also lost Technician Kyle Wilson with Prince William County Fire (…

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Why is it that some RIT crew members think that a fast and effective operation means emptying every compartment on their rig and carrying it inside to preform a rescue? You've seen these people, the ones in their bright yellow RIT vest standing like statues in a mountain of equipment waiting to leap into a rescue situation. I have even taught in a few departments that…

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Disclaimer: The opinions and statements made in this blog are the author’s. The opinions and statements expressed are not the opinions and statements of anyone affiliated with the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition, Fire Smoke Coalition or www.firesmoke.org.

 

 

What; me worry?

 

That’s what…

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I had to share this and certainly think that this is something most departments don't see on a regular basis. Something different to discuss from a training standpoint and definitly presents new and…

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