June 2016 Blog Posts (22)

*Aggressive Interior Attack

At every structure fire that is not declared a defensive situation, and after we get past the currently controversial intervention choices (vent, flow water, both, or neither), firefighters of all tactical persuasions will then need to enter the building in order to complete the tasks that remain (search, extinguishment, ventilation, overhaul, salvage).  It is at that point that the traditional and modern fire attack (MFA) methods converge,…

In my passion for law and medicine as a practitioner of both professions, I often see individuals injured on the job arriving in my medical clinic for a return to work evaluation, most notably firefighters. Many times they are accompanied with the instructions from the department to use NFPA 1582 as the medical standard for the injured firefighters return to work. I will tell you in my humble opinion, this is not the standard to use for the reasons to follow.

NFPA 1582 is an entry…

The deck gun might be a regional term, I have also heard it called the monitor, or the “Stang”, but we are talking about the engine mounted master stream. Most engine mounted master streams, fog, or a stack of smooth bore tips have a flow range of 500 to 1000 GPM.

Before we go big guns blazing we can review our first due fire attack options. The 1 ¾” flowing 2.5…

As incident commanders (IC) we are tasked to run a gambit of incidents. There are some incidents that can cause anxiety, of those 1 in particular can overwhelm IC’s quickly, the mass casualty incident (MCI). These incidents grow quickly and in order to manage it an IC needs quickly wrap his/her hands around it and dole out tasks. Below is a quick action guideline to assist you in with these incidents:

• Quickly scan the incident for hazards to fire and rescue personnel…

Training is not just for the bread and butter tasks, but to sharpen skills that we rarely use, too. This cartoon focuses on one of those tasks: standpipe training, tactics and operation. Are standpipes a resource that we use often? Most of us would probably say no. Is utilizing standpipe connections a real and present possibility? I think most would say…

I don't know what kind of strange energy I upset with the fire gods, but take a look at these photos. …

It’s just a seat!

The front right seat, company officer, lieu, cap, acting Officer, or whatever name you have for this seat it is not to be taken lightly. An officers position is to influence your people to be better, better at their craft, and better as a person. As an officer the right seat holds a tremendous amount of responsibility.

All too often when promotion time comes around you will see a majority of people running to…

New analysis coming in the beginning of 2017 from UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute.

That gives us plenty of time to take a deep breath and plan to handle this information appropriately.

Simply, we all need to begin by reading the entire report. The actual report. Not some random Facebook page's analysis of the analysis. Start with the raw material to get a full…

T-Shirt Management

by David Rhodes 

This Hump Day SOS is dedicated to my good friend MG, you know who you are. Enjoy!

I am always amazed at how many critically important issues there are to manage in the fire department. With any high-risk occupation, the day is…

In the ongoing debate over structural firefighting tactics in the era of fire dynamics enlightenment, the topic inspiring particularly passionate sentiment does not so much regard tactics themselves, but the sequence in which they are performed.  Regardless if your belief is that almost all firefighting should be performed indoors and that the only valuable exterior action is ventilation, or if you have embraced all or some of the fire behavior research findings that…

STAY FIRED UP!

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Click here to see more of my work or to order prints:…

On the right, a "Code Red" structure -- we only enter if we *see* a savable life -- on fire twice yesterday. Missing 10' of foundation, numerous holes in the floor, and missing structural members.*

On the left, a house with roof crumbling around a truck company's vent h***, garbage bags over the windows, and an old man who came out to see if the neighboring…

It seems that most of the time when ground ladder training is mentioned a lot of firefighters are hesitant to get excited. The ground ladder is probably the most simple of all the tools we use as firefighters. We don’t have to mix their fuel, choke them, charge their batteries, or anything of that nature because they don’t require any of those items. Although they’re one of the simplest pieces of equipment we use; that doesn’t take away from their importance. There is always a time and place…

By Dan DeGryse

Sometimes it takes an issue hitting close to home to drive change.

That was the case with me a few years ago when I started researching the stress hormone cortisol and its effects on the body. Our bodies release adrenaline and cortisol when they’re stressed and in fight-or-flight mode, which firefighters experience regularly on runs or anytime the bell…

Think about your first day on the job as a firefighter.

You’re in your 20s, and maybe you play football or baseball on top of working out three to five days a week. The soreness you felt from wearing the gear and lugging around ladders and hoses all day was a good soreness. Now fast-forward 15 or 25 years into your career, and think about how you feel when you get up in the morning. Do aches and pains slow your ability…

Attempting to transmit through your face piece is what some might call an art, but it’s actually a science. And like other sciences, it requires experimentation. Your variables are voice quality, voice strength, mic placement, and noise cancelling and isolation.

How can you ensure your message is getting through? First, you must ensure you're speaking clearly- call it voice quality. You have to fight the nose cone and chin cup that are doing their job in keeping a…

Thinking your three or four member rapid intervention team will suffice when combating a fire in an ordinary construction group of attached structures can be compared to “fool’s gold".…

The Sunday Preach CHAPTER 5:

It's Really The Only Time You Have.

"Much of how quickly you deplete your air supply is predicated on your level of comfort in wearing the SCBA ensemble, your physical fitness level, and your mental status." (Pg 39)

In the not so distant past, SCBA cylinders had "work" and "exit" times that were universally accepted for the various cylinder types. Those static numbers are a thing of the past.

While there are certainly unofficial 'rules…