April 2013 Blog Posts (27)

To all of the wonderful brothers and sisters who came to my presentation on Interior Benchmarking I thank you. I appreciated all of your questions, comments, and instructor reviews. Take care and stay safe. Lt. Billy Greenwood

Is this what we are coming to?

http://headsupfirefighting.blogspot.com/2013/04/spraying-smoke.html

It is in great sadness that we as a Brotherhood post the 20th thru 24th Line Of Duty Deaths for 2013 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighters Morris Bridges, Cody Dragoo, Joseph Pustejousky, Douglas and Robert Snokhous have made the ultimate sacrifice in love for his fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to their family, friends and members of the West TexasVolunteer Fire Department.

Morris…

Note: I wasn’t going to post a blog until after FDIC, but then I watched BC Michael Walker’s address on livestream and it really struck a chord. He spoke to the very essence of what it is to call yourself “fireman”, the strong bond between firefighters and what our communities expect when they call us.…

Are you at your strongest when others may be at their weakest?

Do you study your enemy to find its weaknesses?

Do you practice your fighting skills until you can’t…

We are all aware that for the past couple of decades, our enemy has been getting bigger, faster and more deadly. This has hopefully led you to the realization that we now have less time on the fireground to accomplish all of our critical tasks. But before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, let’s look at the basics of the above premise. The two biggest reasons that the fireground has changed so much in the last generation or so, are that the fuels have changed, and so have the…

I have to admit, with the horrific events of this past week (and the ongoing drama) and the current political turbulence around the country, I NEED the FDIC more than ever to recharge my batteries and renew my sense of being. I want to reunite with cherished friends and meet new ones. I want to know that the world has not gone completely insane and there is a place…

Give them an inch, they may take a mile

    While growing up, I heard this phrase all too often “ We give you an inch, and you take a mile”. Most of the time this was because my curfew would get extended an…

God, how I miss the sweet innocence of days gone by.

Take me back to a time when, as kids, young brothers and sisters could walk to the neighborhood grocery store to buy penny candy and drink a 7-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola.…

In the aftermath of yesterday's cowardly act of terrorism in Boston, and as the injury report began to rise, I could only think about how much worse this violent act could have been if not for the quick action of Boston F.D., P.D., EMS, and U.S. National Guard. As I sat and watched the same horrific images over and over, my thoughts, prayers, and empathy were for our…

It is in great sadness that we as a Brotherhood post the 19th Line Of Duty Death for 2013 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter Lawrence Stone has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for his fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends and members of the West Union Community Fire Protection District.

Lawrence “Lance” A. Stone

Rank: Firefighter

Age:…

It is in great sadness that we as a Brotherhood post the 18th Line Of Duty Death for 2013 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter and Lieutenant James Clark has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for his fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends and members of the Bedford Fire Department.



James B. Clark…

While doing research for this blog, I came across a couple of very interesting articles that I will provide the links for and I would encourage you to read them and perhaps, pass them along. They were very enlightening and take my thoughts to a wider spectrum when thinking about responses and pre-plans. They can be found at the end of this piece.

With yesterday’s (April 10, 2013) incident in…

                              Tactical efficiency is vital on today’s fireground. What is Tactical efficiency?

                 …

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It is in great sadness that we as a Brotherhood post the 17th Line Of Duty Death for 2013 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter and Assistant Fire Chief Harold Hollingsworth has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for his fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends and members of the Fort Osage Fire Protection District.



Harold Hollingsworth



Rank:…

It is in great sadness that we as a Brotherhood post the 16th Line Of Duty Death for 2013 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter & Captain Michael Goodwin has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for his fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends and members of the Philadelphia Fire Department.





Michael R. Goodwin, Sr.…

It is in great sadness that we as a Brotherhood post the 15th Line Of Duty Death for 2013 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother FirefighterJohn Jano has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for his fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends and members of the Binghamton Bureau of Fire.

John M. Janos.





Rank: Firefighter

Age: 57

Gender:…