All Blog Posts (3,147)

On the front of www.fireengineering.com there is a video regarding a firefighter that fell through the floor and his helmet saved his life. I recommend that everyone watch the video and the next time you see a student or fellow firefighter w/o his chin strap buckled, do him a favor and give him a small reminder. It could save his life! As a fire instructor, I am strict about if you wear your helmet it gets buckled. I received the number one sign…

To the Choir,

One of the greatest satisfactions that I get as a Chief officer is the opportunity to help build up the future leadership of our department. Every day that I put on the unifrom affords another (often several) opportunities to mentor/coach a company officer or firefighter. This deliberate, progressive pattern of passing on the knowledge, skills and abilities that were freely afforded to me as I came up, is imperative to preserving traditions, values, organizational…

Today I wanted to take a few minutes and ask how much and how often does everyone get to train in their fire house? I know me being a new firefighter seeing new things and learning new ways to get the job done more

effective and safer makes everyday a learning experience. I have been lucky

enough to have family and fellow firefighters show me early on the importance

of training. I think all of us rookies and veterans should all have the…

Please take the time to remember the one you love as our country is going through some of the toughest times ever. We must stick together through this time of need and support our fellow firefighters and our loved ones.

Never give up and never let anyone tear down the service we all love. There is a reason we call ourselves firefighters...

Be proud!

Your Friend

Todd McKee

Today Ladder co. 72 had a good MVC with entrapment on S.R. 9 in Clearview.



Units Units responded to the report of an MVC with unknown injuries. Upon arrival, M71 had two vehicles high speed blocking with 2 red patients entrapped. L72 was added to the response.







Upon arrival we were assigned to the silver Ford Focus, and Engine co. 13 was assigned the red PT Cruiser for…

At around 02:30 on the morning of September 11th(343), Snohomish County toned out a Residential Fire for District #7 in the Maltby area on 83rd Avenue.

Engine co. 73 was the first to arrive and reported a 25' x 50' detached shop facility that was fully involved. They stretched a 2.5" and started flowing with the residential exposure adjacent to…

So I'm sittin' here cogitatin' on things, ....in particular the fact that tomorrow is once again 9-11. In our town, like many towns I imagine, we'll be having a memorial in the morning, I moment of silence, reading the names, the bells, a piper. The crowd gets smaller every year. People drive by the firehouse where it is being held and don't even notice, let alone slow down to pay respects. For many people, 9-11 has been reduced to a memory of cable T.V.…

As for many of us this time of year always makes us stop and say a prayer for the Firefighters, Police Officers, Port Authority Officers and Public Safety Officials who perished on 9-11-01. Today, I was going through my computer looking at all of the images from that day of darkness and I stopped again to say another prayer. For me, I did not know any of the…

As I was writing the "You Know What Really Grinds My Gears" Post, I was reminded of the things that really keep me coming back for more. Some are obvious, of course, but others more ethereal. Now that's a big word for a fireman...but don't worry, I looked it up. So, here are a few of the "Little Things" that keep me into the job...again, you can agree, disagree, laugh, or add to it....

1) A working fire.

2) A cigar back at the station after a working fire (don't…

I'm sure that a few of you are fans of the TV Show "Family Guy." In one episode, Peter gets a job on the local newscast as a commentator. His spot was called "Ya' know what grinds my gears?" Of course, Peter's perspective on life is a little slanted, and wackiness ensued. I've decided to add this to my blog post as a "ya know what grinds me gears related to the fire service?" You can agree, disagree, laugh, or agree to disagree. I'll add more as I think of them.

Things that really…

Another working fire in the Fernwood section of Snohomish County for "C" shift today.

At 11:05 pst, Snohomish County F.D. #7 was dispatched to a residential fire in the Fernwood area of Fire District #7 just blocks from Station 72's quarters. Ladder co. 72 arrived to find a large 2 story single family, charged with heavy smoke and flames out the C side kitchen window on the first floor. Ladder co. 72, led by Lt. Fisher, forced the front door…