Featured Blog Posts (259)

This post was Co - Authored by Ryan Royal

Commercial outward swinging doors can be some of the most difficult forcible entry situations due to the locking systems and added fortification but what is often overlooked in training is access challenges. The outward swinging door below was on the back of a commercial building. You can see this situation has a half wall on the hinge side and the jamb side…

WET YOUR SPONGE

I looked at my original fire coat today. Copper rivets repaired broken clips and canvas patches covered cuts in the coat. Although it shows some wear and tear it certainly brings back some fond memories. I remember the pocket wedges, sprinkler stops, pliers, screw drivers and a pocket knife and in which pocket they were kept and why. I physically touched each tool every morning.

Back in the day Rookies like me were given a small sponge by the veterans and told…

Units from my department and other companies in Prince George's County, Maryland responded to this second alarm fire last week. It involved a strip of two-story, attached, ordinary constructed, garden style apartment buildings.

Companies on the initial alarm had a well advanced fire in an entire apartment unit with substantial extension to the attic space.…

The term two-hatter has traditionally been used in the fire service to recognize firefighters who work for a career fire department, as well as volunteer for another. However, on this Veterans Day, I would like to recognize another two-hatter - the men and women who serve as firefighters in their communities, and serve our country as warriors here at home and abroad.…

Multiple rescues from vacant home and commercial structure

Fire crews in Buffalo, New York and Sacramento, California responded to fires in vacant, abandoned buildings and rescued squatters from each.

Buffalo

Video courtesy of Don…

Most of our fires occur in residential structures. The primary access door to most single family dwellings and multi-family units are inward swinging doors, secured with a key in knob lock and a dead bolt above. This is not an absolute, this is a majority. If we think about theses locking mechanisms and the fact that they are centered at the jamb this point is going to be very tight, but as we work away from these mechanisms we may see an opportunity.…

Pick up the flag

Iconic pictures from the World Trade Center, Iwo Jima, Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor all share a common thread. During the chaotic aftermath of these unspeakable horrors someone quieted fear, started healing pain and suffering, restored hope and returned focus of mission. They stepped up and inspired others to engage as a team. They picked up the flag.

The position of flag bearer is one of great honor, then and now. During the Civil War, the regimental…

First of all, let me be clear that this is not an indictment of the method itself. You will not read any dispute or argument here against its effectiveness and rapidity. Nope, it’s good alright. A solid ventilation operation was born out of the necessity and a belief in the importance of peaked roof ventilation. These firefighters developed, evolved, and refined a vertical ventilation method that accomplishes the tactical requirements and at the same time keeps the brothers on solid working…

Have you ever heard firefighters use the term "Pushing the Fire"? If so, did the firefighter have a clear understanding of the term? Although this is a valid term in the fire service, it seems there are some misconceptions regarding our actual ability to “Push the Fire”. Most commonly I have heard this term used when firefighters are discussing how they attacked a residential fire from one particular entry point because they didn’t want to “push the fire…

With all the recent fire studies conducted by UL, NIST, ISFSI, etc. the fire service is undergoing a renaissance...or at least that's what I thought. The aforementioned organizations have pumped out volumes of empirical data that we can consume and digest to make our profession smarter, more effective and most importantly, safer. Although over the past couple of months I have heard too many people spout misinformation regarding the findings of these studies. Specifically, I have had…

Interesting fire a few days back in a manufactured home. Moderate case of "Colliers Mansion" throughout made the stretch tough. Heavy smoke conditions enveloped the structure upon arrival with no visible fire showing. Definitely in a "ventilation-limited" state. As I got a quick C side view prior to making entry for back up fire attack, I…

Uniformed corrections officer douses brownstone interior with gasoline

A corrections officer is charged with second-degree arson in a Brooklyn two-alarm fire that injured 12 people, five critically. Engine 233 transmitted the 10-75 for Box 861 at 375 Chauncey Street. Battalion 37 gave the All-Hands and ’doubtful will hold’ with a report of fire on two floors and…

Hey Folks, today’s blog is a result of my frustration with the continued inept (and down right dangerous) management of basement fires. Generally speaking, basement fires are often (unnecessarily) chaotic events. In the spirit of transparency, I am inspired to address this issue by my growing frustration and disappointment in my own working environment.  As a disclaimer, I will keep the specific Department anonymous, however in order to be fair, I am not speaking of either the Washington DC…

If you're not thinking forward, you are already behind! Difference makers prepare and shape their future by always thinking of innovative ways to accomplish a goal. So, are you a progressive thinker, or a complacent wallflower?



Always make a…

I have good news and I have bad news.  The good news is that "things" in the fire service are finally changing and changing for the better.  The bad news is that some of you may not like it. 



I just got back from a weekend with some of the largest minds in today's fire service. (Not quite sure what I was doing there.) Here is some of what’s coming or in some cases, already here.

• Did you know that every fire apparatus built after 2008 (I believe – maybe 2009)  has a…

This phrase has been used countless times in the fire service to describe nearly as many positions: from the chief, the company officer, the senior firefighter, to the guys riding the backstep; although in my experience the most important person on the job is the training officer.



Being a firefighter today is not an easy job; our shareholders (the citizens we serve) expect us to be experts at everything from haz-mat mitigation, to wildland firefighting, to paramedicine, to vehicle…

I could say many things about this cartoon and my personal experiences, but I am going to give this space up for a friend who is following the noble calling of helping firefighters save ourselves, so we may continue to save others. Sarah Gura and I found each other online, and I must say from my perspective, it was like fate stepping in to say "Hey, it's time to…