October 2012 Blog Posts (11)

When I was a young man, my dad made certain that I did two things; register for the military draft and register to vote. Dad was a World War II veteran and believed that it was a sacred right to vote in elections. He felt that voting was a very personal right and would never tell me how he voted. However; he spoke very fondly of Harry Truman, so I knew even without asking that he was a Democrat.

What I found odd about that is that Dad worked very hard, would not accept…

Here is a short video of our thru the floor prop. This is soley for the use of calling a Mayday and recognizing that parameter.   We place mattresses and foam below the firefighter and is monitored closely by our instructors.

This gives the firefighter a sensation of falling but is a short enough and controlled fall as to keep the drill safe.  Email us if you would like to know how we built it.

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Here is a great "memory jogger" for Command Functions and Size Up from one of our instructors, Scott Hulsey.  I know it's short, but these little cheat sheets can be used during training evolutions or at the kitchen table to stay sharp as an incident commander.

Size-up Matrix…

Shipping out for another USO tour and an opportunity to thank and serve our Nation's Warriors! I will be drawing along side five other incredible cartoonists and look forward to their camaraderie over the next few weeks. I will not be posting during this trip, but will have plenty of stories, photos, and of course, sketches to share when I…

From time to time I get asked how I create my Fire Engineering illustrations. Well, I thought I'd take this month's theme and show you the drawing process.



Every drawing that I do typically starts in my small sketchbook that I carry everywhere. If you seen me at FDIC, you've seen me with this little black book. This is my idea book - where all the things that are bouncing around in my crazy brain get scribbled out before they drive me insane!! Below is the original thumbnail for…

Getting into the spooky spirit of my favorite time of year!! Watch for full moons and empty coffee pots, everybody:)



Happy Halloween, and be safe out there!

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

Automatic Fire Alarm Complacency

By: Tony Kelleher and Ricky Riley

Recently, we have had several discussions; both within my own areas fire department and in other departments across the country with regard to their policy and attitudes towards automatic fire…

Size DOES matter!

Click link below to see more of Paul's work or to order prints:
http://artstudioseven.com/page-fire-ems-prints.htm

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I suppose I am fortunate that one of the only ongoing debates between my wife and I are the nuances of loading the dishwasher.  You see, I load the dishwasher the way it was designed to be loaded.  My wife, she believes randomly loading the dishwasher.  We both think that our respective methods work best for fitting the most dishes and getting the job done the best.  Much like the fireground, and numerous other “hot topics” right now, there are many different opinions and theories on the…

Let's have a show of hands, figuratively speaking... Who likes to be micromanaged and placed under the ever-present scrutiny of a magnifying glass? If you raised your hand, please quietly leave my blog now - I'm sure there's a mega-corporate blog out there in Internetland just for you!



Great leaders lead by placing trust in their subordinates and empowering…