All Blog Posts (3,147)

As reported in our nations news, five DC Fire Department members were injured yesterday in an early morning house fire.  They became trapped by a ceiling collapse shortly after making entry. The speed with which the RIC deployed and made rescues, coupled with the the IC immediately requesting a 2nd Alarm resulted in not only rapid rescue of multiple trapped firefighters, but also quick knock down of a serious fire.  

Unlike urban/metro FD's, the suburban FD may not have quite…

My colleagues and I at Traditions Training, LLC are very happy to be a part of this "blogger network" with Fire Engineering. I am hoping that this new blog will come out ok, as I am still adjusting to the format on the new FE site.

Ok, here we go... Elder Statesman Henry Clay once said "statistics are no substitute for judgement" and I wholeheartedly agree. In fact I really hate statistics…

It has been almost 2 years since 4/12/20009 when we lost Captian James Harlow and Firefighter Damion Hobbs in Houston Texas ( www.tdi.state.tx.us/reports/fire/documents/fmloddhouston09.pdf ). Nearly 4 years ago on 4/16/2007 we also lost Technician Kyle Wilson with Prince William County Fire (…

Why is it that some RIT crew members think that a fast and effective operation means emptying every compartment on their rig and carrying it inside to preform a rescue? You've seen these people, the ones in their bright yellow RIT vest standing like statues in a mountain of equipment waiting to leap into a rescue situation. I have even taught in a few departments that…

Disclaimer: The opinions and statements made in this blog are the author’s. The opinions and statements expressed are not the opinions and statements of anyone affiliated with the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition, Fire Smoke Coalition or www.firesmoke.org.

What; me worry?

That’s what…

I had to share this and certainly think that this is something most departments don't see on a regular basis. Something different to discuss from a training standpoint and definitly presents new and…

This year at FDIC, I was a lone wolf. I guess that made me more mobile and I didn’t have to worry about the schedules of others. I only had ME to worry about and my nights there were shortened considerably.

I buy two shirts when I get to the Indiana Convention Center.

I always go to the Indianapolis FD Emerald Society booth and purchase their shirt, because the money is going to a great cause. It is an awesome group that provides a valuable, time-honored service that is such a…

Captain Bill Gustin of the Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue Department was a perfect complement to FDNY Captain Mike Dugan’s opening conference address.

Where Dugan was telling the young firefighters to turn introspective; to soul search for their reasons that they are firefighters (“Why Are We Here”)-Gustin was telling them what they could expect.

From budget cuts hurting both career and volunteer departments to the changing attitudes of the public, “doing more…

What an exciting FDIC! This year's event was an incredible experience of meeting new friends, laughing loudly with old ones, autographing prints, and book signings. The popularity of Drawn By Fire continues to skyrocket and it's humbling to see it fly off the shelves - I never would have imagined this success!

However, they real joy of the week was getting to meet new…

Paul -

Big fans of your artwork here !

Please check your email (paulcombs@cityofbryan.net) regarding an annual fundraiser we do here for the Great Lakes Burn Camp. Would love and appreciate a donation of art from you.

Cheers!

Ran the Courage and Valor 5k this evening and had a blast doing it! Hit a PR with a time of 32:05 - hey, I never said I was fast! But knowing you are wearing a chip-timer tends to get your butt moving a little faster. We had over 300 registered competitive runners with over 850 overall participants. It looked very impressive! With me in this photo are my Fire Engineering…

For the sports-challenged, my title means that FDNY Capt. Mike Dugan hit a home run with his keynote address.

I was fortunate; like so many of us who couldn’t be there today, to watch the live streaming video. A big shout out and thank you to the FDIC technical staff for making it possible.

FDIC has been described as the Mecca and the Super Bowl of fire conferences. It is Woodstock, Lollapalooza and Farm Aid all rolled into one. And for some, it is like Spring Break at Daytona…

Of course this didn't happened, but it would have been funny!! Ah, the things that run through a cartoonist's head...

Seriously though, today's Opening Ceremony was exciting, honorable, respectful, somber, and passionate. Capt Mike Dugan's keynote was an absolute home run and my boss Chief Bobby Halton always delivers a power opening message. I…

Blog Note: Don Rickles (young ones will need to Google) said: “We make fun of the ones we love”. So, feel the love!

For the record, I am a fire district trustee and I have struggled to find a diplomatic way to address my thoughts on this issue, so I am going to just jump in and use my usual recipe of humor, sarcasm and just a dash of cynicism.

There have been several discussions and blogs written on the “aging of the fire service”. Most of the conversations have centered…

FDIC is, of course, well known for it's first class training. If you want to train with the best and be taught by the best, FDIC is where you go. When you think about the de facto standard of fire training, FDIC is what comes to mind first.

But one of the offshoots of FDIC is experiencing the camaraderie, and, if you're lucky, being able to listen to the…

During a recent live burn training we discussed different tactics as it pertains to attacking the fire.  We watched the fire develop and had the attendees take turns knocking the fire down and then watching it develop again.  During this evolution we had exceptional thermal layering and smoke that helped reinforce the lesson of "less water is…