All Blog Posts Tagged 'fire' (177)

With all of the debate about exterior versus interior, I wanted to share a video that I use in many of the tactical classes that I teach and offer a few observations.  First, this is a video that is used for learning, not to critique the methods or tactics that were or were not deployed during this fire.  Second, we were not there and do not know all of the circumstances surrounding why they made their decisions.

Overall, I think they did a pretty good job in the end.

When I…

I’m sure one of these categories fits you. Summer camp is done and the kids are bored, and driving you nuts. The kids are back to school or are going back to school shortly. You dropped your college student at the campus for another year of who knows what? Vacationing at the camp grounds, Disney, a resort, a remote island, the south of France or the back yard stay-cation are a distant memory. Did I hit it yet? One thing is for sure. We’re about to embark on the fall season and school is just…

I would like to take a long winded roundabout way to look at the importance of saving seconds in an effort to saving minutes on a fire scene. This came up when I noticed during night calls guys would wake up, put on their shoes, walk to the Apparatus and then take their shoes off. This didn’t make sense to me, I just don’t put my shoes on, but how could I tell them that they were wasting time. Throughout my short career I have always been told “seconds matter”,…

          Let me begin by saying there are two sure fire ways to fail as a leader in the fire service. One is to DO without ever thinking and the other is to THINK without ever doing.

          You and I both know people who habitually take action before developing a sound game plan. They are what I call “Ready/Fire” people. They don’t take the time to aim at the target they just shoot like a chimpanzee holding a…

           Written 2,500 years ago by Sun Tzu, a general and strategist in ancient China (770-476 BCE), The Art of War consists of organizational and strategic planning to help an army achieve victory in battle. It continues to be relevant and is used in modern military study and increasingly being applied to business and leadership…

Do you workout on shift?  Should you workout on shift and what is the best workout to perform?  How do you schedule your workouts around your shifts or calls?

This is a major concern for the fire rescue athlete.  On one hand we know we should be working out to stay and get fit for duty. Yet , if we burn out in the gym we won't be able to perform when it…

As first responders we are tasked with arriving on the scene of some sort of emergency or problem and being responsible to come up with a solution.  Whether it’s a fire, EMS call, entrapment or water emergency our success is largely determined by how fast we can decide what needs to be done, get the resources and execute the plan.   Colonel John Boyd refers this process as the OODA Loop.  The OODA Loop is made up of 4 parts: Observe, Orient, Decide and Act.  The faster we do this the more…

Are you a self-proclaimed leader? This doesn’t work (sorry to all the self proclaimed leaders out there). Sure, you can think your leader material, but if you’re the only one who thinks this way then you’re in for a big surprise.

So you’ve taken a few leadership classes, you attended conferences and heard experienced fire service members speak on the various topics surrounding leadership, and maybe even read some books written by experts. Are you now a leader? You may want to…

Join me on Wednesday evening 7/22/15 at 7:30pm for the next edition  of Fire and Training on Fire Engineering  Talk Radio.  Joining me will be colleagues Chris Naum and Joe Pronesti as we explore Training and Operations for Today's Main Street fires.  The discussions will include building construction, renovations or lack thereof, structural stability, re-appropriated use,…

Firefighters Are Priceless; Politicians Aren’t Worth 2 Cents!

Episode #6

As Vinnie was getting ready, Jimmy Mac was shaking like a V-Twin; trying hard to hide his laughing. He slapped Jake on the shoulder. Jake could be heard growling, “f****** new guy” under his breath as…

I have had a of of requests for quick workouts that can be done with minimal equipment.  Here is a re-post of one of my more popular cardio interval workouts I created for a firefighter/medic that has no equipment and only some stairs and a parking lot. This can be used as a cardio interval training workout day (for those following the FRF Rapid Fat Loss or FRF…

The age-old question…to cut or spread door hinges. This subject is brought up in almost all of my classes. As with any extrication skill, there is a time and place for both. I personally cut and spread door hinges depending on hinge design and hinge access. However, in my experience, the…

This week’s extrication quick tip will be covering a method that I refer to as the “Junkyard Cut”. It was discussed heavily during Tactical Extrication NJ this weekend. When training on dash displacements the statement was made, “I was taught you have to cut the front support to get a good dash lift.” This…

If you have attended my Tactical Extrication Course, you know that I strive for thinking operators. Not all entrapments will be the same. They will range from a quick job to downright…

You are sound asleep when dispatch notifies you of an MVC with multiple trapped. From the radio traffic, you can tell that it is going to be a good one. The on scene report relays that you have two vehicles involved in a head on collision with both drivers heavily trapped, both vehicles…

Well, another election is over.

Here in Illinois, fire district board of trustees members for those fire districts that elect their boards are elected on the odd numbered years known as Consolidated Elections.

Yesterday, April 7, 2015, I was again re-elected to a 6-year term as our fire district’s board member.

Campaigning for office is a very…

Before you go Hog wild (sorry, had to say it) on bacon please read the following disclaimer.  Let me state up front that saying bacon is “healthy” does not mean it’s healthy to eat it in huge quantities nor does it mean it’s healthy to eat large amounts seven days a week. Try to stick to small servings, blot extra bacon grease off to lower fat intake, and avoid adding extra salt or other high sodium seasonings.  I suggest to consume only 2 or 3 slices and only once a week.  Also,…

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…