Paul Combs's Blog (375)

We are reading more and more situations where firefighters are getting reprimanded, suspended, and in some cases fired for what is being shared and posted on-line. It's a brave new world of social media horizons and we must realize that all actions have potential consequences - whether intentional or not.



Be careful what you post, brothers and…

...because what's life without a little Halloween silliness!



STAY FIRED UP, and keep it spooky.

Disclaimer: I am not a trained physiologist, licensed therapist, experienced marriage counselor, nor wise in the ways of relationships… I'm barely housebroken! So, posting an illustration about marital matters is more than a little uncomfortable for me, especially since my perspective here is from the robot's point of view. I am an introvert, reserved and awkwardly…

Fire Engineering Magazine September editorial illustration.



Remember, there are more lives in your hands than your own when you set behind the wheel. Be trained. Be rested. Be mentally ready for anything and everything.



Stay Fired Up, and be ready!…

Never forget, and keep those still suffering with the scars of that day in your thoughts and prayers.

We Americans can be rebellious by nature, quarrelsome to the point of violence, contentious toward our elected officials, suspicious of our neighbors, and melodramatic about the most insignificant of events. That being said, I will argue that no other nation comes together as a people when tragedy strikes like Americans do. It is, unfortunately, one of the only true…

Well, anything worth doing is worth doing in your skivvies.



Stay Fired Up, and be your own dog!

Always wear your innovative common sense glasses for proper protection from backwards thinking, stuck in the past, afraid to try new ideas, total eclipses.



Stay Fire Up, and always be ask "how can this be better?"…

There are a few professions where you can fake it through an entire career and never be exposed as a fraud - whether career or volunteer, firefighting is NOT one of them. Sure, you might slide for a while, but sooner or later you're going to ride the bull and there's simply nowhere to hide when you do. So the message here is simple: Get serious, be dedicated,…

There is a lot of derisive talk these days about appropriate aggressive tactics and when to use them… or not to use them… and quite a few people are making a name for themselves preaching the extremes on both sides of the banter. “Believe and act the way I do or you’re a coward,” or “science and risk aversion is the only true way of the fire…

I suppose this post could be considered a part-2 to my cartoon published last week regarding apathetic leaders pushing loyal people out the door. This week I want to discuss firefighters who are in a leadership role who constantly belittle, berate, and abuse newer firefighters - you know, the lifeblood and future of the fire service. Perhaps…

June Fire Engineering magazine editorial illustration.



STAY FIRED UP, and train!



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Some firehouse traditions should not be messed with, right? But this whimsical take on our traditional carnivores-only-kitchen-club poses an interesting question about what tradition really means in the fire service, and when it's appropriate and advantageous to change it. Change never comes easy, even when it's in our best interest to blaze a new direction. I'm a…

Well, that'll clear it up! The foam finger also comes in DayGlo yellow and orange so not to clash with the Command Vest. Hey, I'm all for fashion management (I may have just found another cartoon topic).



STAY FIRED UP!



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Happy 140th Anniversary, Fire Engineering Magazine!

I can’t begin to tell you what an honor it is to be a small part of this magazine’s distinguished and rich heritage. The men and women who have written articles within these pages are literally a collection of the most important and distinguished movers and shakers in American fire service…

All hockey fans understand the significance of the penalty box. After all, it's a prime opportunity for your beloved team to score a goal with the sinister opposing squad short by one player on the ice, and the penalized team has to form a protective Death Star defense around the goalie in a desperate attempt to stop a frozen rubber rock…