October 2014 Blog Posts (48)

   The biggest investment any fire department makes isn’t stations, apparatus or equipment, its people. When we spec out a new apparatus, we don’t just buy an engine because it has hose, a pump and a tank of water. We spend months, even a year or more, making sure it’s going to be just the right fit for our department. Compare that to how most departments hire or…

Drawn By Fire: A Decade Of Fired Up 'Toons.

2015 FDIC Classroom Session



It is an honor to be selected to present my class at FDIC and you are all cordially invited to hear me ramble on about my cartoons and their (hopeful) impact. It's going to be fun, we're going to have some laughs, and you may just leave the classroom inspired to do something great! There will be a violin case at the back of the classroom for tips…

I wanted to share with everyone, an article my Father, Henry Munroe wrote for the old Fire Command Magazine around 1985. Most, if not all of it, still holds true today.

Memorandum

To: Maximus Fabus, Magistrate, Pompeii Assembly

From: Florus, Chief of the Pompeii Fire Department

Date: Janus IV, A.D. LXXIX

Subject: XXVI Annual Fire Prevention Week Theme

Your Excellency:

Despite your repeated…

Below is a link to a video made on utilizing two lines quickly and getting a hit in the rear if needed then grabbing a second line laid by engineer see my blog 'Are you ready to get set after the re-set"

http://youtu.be/HRN0Ra1ryeE

It’s the week of Halloween, and Zombies are everywhere.There’s even one in my neighbor’s front yard. And yes, they’re in our fire departments too. You’ve seen them, those firefighters walking around unaware of their surroundings. They’re unable to think for themselves; they’re ambulant but require outside direction. How do they get that way? What infects them and transforms them from thinking, engaged firefighters into brain-dead,…

Farwell Harvey

It was with great sadness that I received news that my friend Harvey Eisner had passed away. I met Harvey years ago and he had asked me to do some writing and teaching with Firehouse. I told him that I didn’t feel it would be the…

In and out, day after day, but what are you doing on each run?

The U.S. Army's Caisson Platoon at Fort Myer, Virginia is responsible for bringing the deceased to their final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery. The members of…

The road to success can be a long and winding road of trials and tribulations.  The trials of everyday business can be rewarding at times, but can also emphasis our failures.  We often struggle to bind the large pieces of the pie together, without focusing on the small pieces first.

After many years of chasing our dreams to wear “White”, we are called upon to impact departments in a positive manner…(and I don’t mean trying to be everyone’s friend).  We are forever looked at to guide…

Happy Halloween, everybody - may your bags be full of treats and your smoke detectors plentiful!





Click link below to see more of Paul's work or to buy prints:…

Here is a quick video on setting up and storing your webbing. If you have other methods please share them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEtZcHy6Oxc

Here is a post with an attached company drill on perimeter search.

Perimeter Search from Engine House Training, LLC

      On September 17, 2011, a protest called Occupy Wallstreet was organized in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s Wall Street financial district. The protest was initiated by a Canadian activist group. It was the first of many Occupy protests that flowed throughout the world.  Their initial purpose was to take a stand against corporate greed, economic inequality, and undue influence of financial services corporations on government. Their…

Often times we conduct training in our firehouses where we are crawling around in turnout gear for a RIT drill, throwing ladders, and stretching lines. All of which is extremely important. Some of this hands on training is supplemented with talk about strategies and tactics around the galley table as a crew, or watching a fire video online and practicing size-up. Once again, all great stuff. One thing we need to make sure we include into our training calendars is a simple walk through of our…

Any student of this profession by now as read or been instructed on all the UL and NIST research, some of our largest and busiest departments have changed some of their procedures due to this remarkable research. In my opinion for any size department it makes sense to re-think your present tactics and current policies if you have any and if you don’t now may be the time to start a procedure based on all of this data and train on it.…

When we think of football greats, particularly quarterbacks, what makes them great?  Touchdowns?  Passing yards?  What about the ability to read a defense and know that when they set the play in motion, it will be a success not by chance, but by proper recognition of their opponent and confidence in their choice of counter measure against them.  If this is a factor in determining a great quarterback, then who better to demonstrate this skill than the recent Touchdown King himself, Mr. Peyton…

The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© was conceived in 2004.

It started as an idea while I was writing for the IACOJ. We thought that it would boost membership and readership.

I encouraged the members at the time to submit their biographies to me with the promise of creating a fictional character that I would introduce into the story lines of various episodes.

Interest was high. I had several biographies to choose from and the characters that would populate The…

Chief Harvey Eisner was a wealth of knowledge and insight - and an important force in my early career as a fire service editorial cartoonist. He and I talked in 2005 during my first Firehouse Expo about creating cartoons for Firehouse magazine (I had already been creating cartoons for Firehouse.com for a couple of months). He wanted me to expand my cartoons beyond “funny”…

We all know the importance of staying physically fit to perform our duties, improve stamina, and decrease injury, but very few of us take flexibility as seriously. As a firefighter who is looking 50 square in the eyes, I can tell you that the ol' joints just don't respond and react as they used to, and the only thing that keeps me in the game is strength training…

I am looking for a copy of Qualitative Fire Behavior.  It was published by ISFSI in 1991.  I cannot find it any where on line

including ISFSI.  I anyone has a copy and would like to sell it please let me know.  Or because it is out of print if anyone

wants to sell me copies of the book (with out violating Copy right laws) legally let me know.  It is greatly appreciated

Dave

Which Came First?

Here I go again beating up my RIT friends. No, I'm not anti-RIT but I continue to be amazed at the lack of balance or should I say prioritization in our fire training. RIT training is fun and fire behavior training…