All Blog Posts (3,173)

Stretching an attack line dry is a tactic for a set of very specific situations. A couple that come to mind are exterior stairwells, protected interior stairwells, and for tenable halls/corridors from a protected stairwell. With all of these, somebody must be assigned to mind the hose before it's charged and it must be laid out correctly in the stair well. In the photos below, you'll notice the hose on the 'inside' of the stairwell; it should be on the outside. Folds of hose can slip down…

The "Quick Tip" this week is part 2 of a 3 part series. We will be covering one of the most important and often unappreciated extrication scene positions-SQD Driver. More often than not, this position will make or break the scenes efficiency. From insuring the safe travel, to anticipating the needs, this position will be working until the situation is under…

The Sunday Preach

"SPRING HAS SPRUNG"

Spring is about re-emergence, starting a new. "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." Maria Robinson.

S - 'Safe' defined is 'free from harm,' fires... most often are not

P - Preparation is a key step to create the "Combat Ready You"

R - React quickly to changes in your fire environment

I - Involve everyone in training, for in battle they will all be with…

There is plenty of change going on the world these days, and the fire service is no different.  We are looking into the science of our business and debating how to apply it, wrestling with generational issues, technology, etc., but one of the most striking changes to come along in the last ten years or so has been the way we get our information.  And it is important to recognize these changes and how they influence our industry.  Our younger members may not have the experience to recognize…

Got Street Credibility? Applications Now Being Accepted

So who do you listen to? Maybe more importantly why do you listen to certain people? A friend of mine once told me that firefighters listen to the one with the biggest mustache. I laughed but then thought about it and…

Whole lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking going on around Twitter and Facebook today - typical after an accident or tragedy. Nothing wrong with learning from videos posted online, but keep your social media expert advice to yourself. Move away from the keyboard and show some…

Below is a story I posted to "The 1st Battalion" Facebook page a few days ago. We write to a mixed audience, including many folks from the community, so please excuse the layperson language. I wanted to share it here because these little passive CO monitors work! My department chose the Protege CM- we have them wire-tied to every aide/BLS/jump bag in the department. Ours alarmed less than a minute after initial patient contact, at which point we very quickly removed the two residents and all…

I often hear this question mentioned numerous times, how young is to young to be in this service? Where do we drawl a line and say their not old enough?

Having come from a rural department in Kentucky I understand the need for working hands, but is their an age that stands out as "they are too young"?

in the state of Kentucky 18 is the minimum age to join up as an active duty firefighter but many municipalities set their hiring age at 21, is there a reason; and…

     From just reading the title, I know what you’re thinking, “Why don’t I get to decide which line I pull at a fire, that’s crazy talk!” Let me clarify that, we don’t get to decide which line size is appropriate to pull at a fire, the fire dictates that, not us.

     Over almost the last three decades in the fire service I have heard many of the same comments about using a 2…

DRAWN BY FIRE Flashback - Because who doesn't love the constant blowing of hot air through a big h*** that never closes!

Can I get an amen?!

Order prints and books here:…

Never Forget Your First Day

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

     I love the fire service. I truly believe that being a career firefighter is the best job on the planet. Thrilling, exciting, fulfilling, and demanding are all…

 It is estimated that, within the last ten years; 1,500,000,000 articles and books have been written on Leadership. That is not a typo.

And if someone tells you, "I have read every book there is on Leadership", you might want to do a fact check. I mean; the time commitment alone to accomplish that should raise a red flag.

 …

A guide to help your self-study in size up and command

By: Joe Pronesti

With today’s social media everyone knows that fire video is a click away sometimes we can get video while crews are on scene still. It’s great that we can…

THE SUNDAY PREACH

"FEEL"

On this last installation of the look, listen, and feel approach to our search technique, we discuss how,…

Does your size-up typically look beyond the moment you arrive? With a good working fire, this may be an obvious part of a response. But what about for those responses where we arrive and believe there to be no fire? If nothing is burning, is there really anything to size-up?

While a good size-up should give us a clear picture of what we have and what we need to do to mitigate the situation, we must also consider the events that we may or may not actually see happening, as well as…

When I entered the fire service as a young man at the age of 15, I had no idea what the profession stood for...nor did I know where I would ever end up. As times have progressed, I have found myself needing to change with the times in order to adapt for the needs of training, education, and being a coach/mentor. We look at ourselves as professionals, and speak about being part of the best profession there is...which it most certainly is!

In 1995, being part of the fire service meant…

A recent Jimmy Kimmel episode poking fun at EMS response times in New York City where Uber response time averages beat out EMS may not be so funny.  In an era where consumers can locate the nearest taxi, private car or rideshare from their mobile phone, it would seem that 9-1-1 is a bit behind.  Nationally, very few of us can see the locations of our apparatus and virtually nowhere can 9-1-1 callers learn the ETA of their assigned…

Note: This article is written from a suburban perspective for suburban firefighting.

Suppression culture. The most interesting and dynamic part of the fire service in recent years, that is becoming the most debated topic within the fire service. From the concept of "hit it hard from the…