August 2024 Blog Posts (11)

A Little Help for the Hydrant Hindrance

Working as a Firefighter in New England, you’d be hard pressed find a hydrant that wasn’t equipped with a spring loaded hydrant indicator mounted to the top edge of the weather cap.

These markers serve the purpose of making a water…

PACE Planning

As we all know, planning is why we got into emergency services in the first place.   While we tend to shoot from the hip, planning is essential to successfully completing our mission safely and effectively.  PACE Planning is a model to provide for alternatives and external influences on our actions.  Drawn from military…

 While the fire and emergency services community often claims that it possesses “all-hazards” response capabilities, the ability to actually respond to all hazards is questionable. While fire and emergency services will deploy to all hazards, the ability to maintain proficiency across disciplines, including training, staffing, and equipping, is a herculean task. If the response community is truly honest, we do not possess the capability or capacity to provide levels of service that the…

Created from the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, the National Fire Academy (originally envisioned as the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control) was charged with training fire, and now EMS, personnel, developing model curricula, develop entrance and promotional examination materials, and encourage fire prevention and detection for builders, contractors, and architects.  Since that time, the NFA has created and distributed a wide variety of training programs…

The recent proposal to update the fire brigade standard has brought heartburn to many departments and communities.  One of the loudest arguments coming from the volunteer fire service has been that communities will no longer be able to afford to support a fire department.  This may be a valid argument in many communities.  Rather than seeking to block the passage of regulation designed to improve the health and safety…

Hazardous materials emergency services, like many special operations in many departments, is funded by a variety of alternative funding mechanisms including fee for service (cost recovery) and grants (public and private).  One funding mechanism that may be overlooked is an idea that comes out of South Florida – garbage fees.

In this case, every garbage can and commercial dumpster is assessed at a nominal fee.  Individually, these fees come to a few dollars per year, but when…

Door Chocks: From the Front Door to the Fire Floor

There are two (2) trains of thought regarding what tools and equipment firefighters should store in their gear and keep on their person. The first belief is that one (1) of every item below the kitchen sink should be maintained at all times and…

The federal government, through a variety of mechanisms, funds home purchases and rentals throughout the nation.  At the same time, it funds programs to reduce the risk and impact of fire.  Yet, the federal government does not economically incentivize residential fire sprinkler systems in the homes, in rental units, nor in off-base funding for military personnel.  Is it time for the federal government to really address this issue?  If so, I am putting forth the following for…

FEMA Update ICS PTBs

FEMAs NIMS Integration Center has released updated Position Task Books and Guidance to assist jurisdictions with aligning with the National Qualification System.

Discussion:  For agencies that seek to work during emergencies and disasters, having a benchmark for determining capabilities and capacities is necessary for…

With the current debate over the proposed changes in the OSHA Fire Brigade Standard, which will be discussed in the future, is it time for the fire service in the United States to rethink the AFG and how we have used the funds.  Since 2001, the AFG has provided much needed funds to departments, however, the impact has been limited.  Intended to balance…

MCI Patient Extraction and the "Mega Mover" Maneuver

Long before my time in the fire service, the job of a firefighter was just that, to respond and extinguish fires. Over the years, many agencies began to adopt new disciplines such as providing emergency medical services (EMS) and mitigating hazardous materials incidents.

Along with the increase in the types of disciplines we now…