All Blog Posts (3,147)

At times, it can be overwhelming.  That desire to do great things, crushed hopelessly underfoot, trodden into the mud beneath an army of detractors marching against you.  Seemingly insurmountable odds and an enemy that looms over you and hurls taunts and discouragements. 

Bear with me, heathens, for we are about to delve into an Old Testament tale of victory in the face of overwhelming opposition from all sides.  It is a tale thousands of years old, but it has direct parallels…

The Sunday Preach

Is The Grass Always Greener?

After spending the last two days out of state on manicured green grass soccer fields, another parents and I began to start to compare and contrast the places we have traveled too. Some nearby, some afar... in the end, there was no place like home.

Having just weeded through a very large queue of FDIC 2016 speaker proposals, I thought I might share some tips and pearls for prospective conference speakers and presenters.  Three times or more each year, I cull through speaker proposals, grading and selecting those I believe would best serve the needs of FDIC, EMS Today (our sister magazine "JEMS" annual conference) and Pulse Check (a small New York State EMS Conference).  Some conferences limit the number of submissions, others don't. …

Every adversity you and the team you are leading will ever encounter is either a problem or an opportunity. Although one might think there are many different variables that would distinguish one from the other, there is really only one difference between the two – YOUR ATTITUDE. That’s right. Often times the difference between a problem and an opportunity has everything to do with how you look at the challenge at hand.

Opportunities exist…

Seeing a lot of students where I go to school I see a lot of my peers who have either been in the fire service for a few years or new fresh firefighters. When we all started in the fire service why did we want to be a firefighter? Was it because they have great hours? Was it because they drive the cool trucks and can spray water? Or was it because they truly care about their community and want to make a difference.  At my home department…

As America’s fire service witnesses the retirements of the baby boomers, it is critical that leadership continue to build solid winning teams.  It is important that we drill into the heart of what it takes to create a winning team in an evolving fire service.  The foundation of the future modern fire service will be based on the creation and communication of a vision and setting goals that focus on the many new talents of the younger members of this great profession and utilizing their…

When starting off in the fire service today it can be intimidating for the new guy. Being at a university like myself I see a lot of new people in the fire service that have no experience at all or have grown up within your family like myself. As a new guy in the fire service, I advise as being new to it to watch and observe someone who has been in…

Do you want to be Fire Fit?

Sadly most of us are not fire fit!  We have all heard by now how cardiac events are killing more of us than anything else.  Obesity & lack of fitness is stopping us from helping those who need our help.  My goal is to share my story and hopefully encourage you to get fire fit.

That was me nearly 3 years ago. I was eating…

Our collective foundation has been shaken.  Beliefs that have guided firefighters at countless incidents for many decades have been proven incorrect, and the actions based upon them potentially hazardous.  Many of the teachings regarding structural firefighting tactics now require review and revision, and even venerable firefighting texts will need to be rewritten.  Whether you agree or disagree with how the fire dynamics research findings are being implemented, and the final version has…

Don’t be an inbred? Are you kidding me? Well now that I have your attention, allow me explain. When…

The military spends big bucks on drones and other technology to provide valuable intel for planning purposes. In their environment it is critical to be able to gather information in an attempt to reduce uncertainty. Obviously this information is best gathered discreetly. Enter the drone. Able to fly undetected, these futuristic machines can be…

Truck Ops According to Jake - Episode #8

Vent. Enter. Search.

Three words that detonate an adrenaline “explosion” in a truckie!

Sure; squirting water is fun and there are times when positioning the big bores can be pretty demanding, but THAT is mundane, when compared to standing on a roof that is so hot that your boots stick to the tar;…

Scenario – We are actively recruiting firefighters and providing a veterans credit for returning veterans. One of the applicants was injured by an IED amputating his leg below the knee. He is wearing a prosthetic and appears to get around OK. Do we have to hire this veteran?

Discussion – It is an admirable position your department has taken by creating an opportunity for returning…

Firefighters are Never Really on Vacation

Joseph Kitchen, Bath Twp. Fire Department (Lima, Ohio)

     We…

It Only Takes One: The Ego Driven Firefighter

By: Captain Aaron J. Heller

I believe that we in the fire service are truly blessed to live out many a child’s dream. We are still the one profession where people know and understand that our top priority is to help them in their most dire time of need. Collectively we have demonstrated this countless times throughout our storied history and we will continue to write amazing chapters to that in the future. Whether we consider it fortunate…

FIRE AT THE “DOLLAR STORE”

By: Joe Pronesti

In this edition we will look at combating a fire in a “dollar store” type of mercantile building, these buildings sell everything you can imagine and are what I call a “mini big box”. The stock in these stores can be considerable and if in a stand-alone building should hopefully present little tactical challenges to the incident commander; big water, collapse zones, etc. But what about these…

Are you planning for success or for failure?

"The key for the engine company to bring water to

each and every reported and actual residential fire is

several fold and begins with correct behavior. Every

single engine company, from the first arriving to the

last one on the final alarm, must come into the game

with finding and…

Predictability and Performance of Buildings on Fire

When we look at various buildings and occupancies, past operational experiences (both good and bad) give us experiences that define and determine how we assess, react and expect similar structures and occupancies to perform at a given alarm in the future. The theory of naturalistic decision-making forms much of this basis. The Art and Science of Firefighting is predicated on a fundamental understanding of how fire affects a building…

How much is enough?

There has been a lot of talk lately about "shutting down" these so called "keyboard experts".  People call these keyboard experts out and demand their experience on the fire ground and often label these people as inexperienced therefore they should not speak on the subject.  It begged me the…