Cory Crosbie's Blog (6)

Working in the fire service has taught me many things. I learned how to become a solid firefighter, a decent cook and learned how to grow tough skin. The one thing I see that many firefighters do is judge others. That is what the fire service is about. From the day you start in rookie school you look around and judge the other candidates. After you get some years under you, you start to judge the other firefighters around you. “He is jam up,” “What was she thinking?” or “That crew is lazy,”…

Many fire departments around the United States have problems. Let’s face it, times got tough and the fire service felt it. Many underlying issues are starting to show on how bad the fire service was affected. Pay, staffing issues, apparatus shut downs, station closures, and inexperience are some of the major issues that we are facing in today’s fire departments. One of the biggest issues that I feel we tend to overlook is communication. Communication makes the fire department…

Recently, I was researching some topics for an upcoming training session when I ran across a fire department that states themselves as an “All Hazards” fire department. I thought about that for a second and thought to myself shouldn’t every fire department be an all hazard fire department? As firefighters we train for the unknown situations.  We prepare our tools, trucks and gear for the unknown. A fire department should not limit themselves on one or two response hazards. An organization…

Today’s firefighters are equipped with an assortment of hand tools inside their pockets. These tools can save a firefighter from becoming entrapped while working inside a structure fire. We all carry them, some type of linesmen pliers, knives, door chocks, screw drivers, flash light, webbing, rope. These are all common tools that are found in one’s pocket, but how do you know when too much can be an overload? Or what to carry or not to carry? This article can bring some focus on the vast…

This is a story about two types of Rapid Intervention Teams. The Stagnant RIT, and the Progressive RIT. A RIT or Rapid Intervention Team is a group of firefighters who are organized together to rapidly intervene if a firefighter, or crew of firefighters need help on the fire ground. Think of it like this, RIT is the insurance policy for every person on the fire scene. This team keeps special tools and equipment together, so if there is a MAYDAY where a firefighter gets trapped, then this…

There are many ways a fire department can lose its identity. Identity loss is a problem within the fire service as whole today. In a post September eleventh world, many departments are going through large changes within their structure and beliefs. Let’s face it, the fire service as we know it is turning over a new leaf. Firefighters and Fire Officers are retiring, new fire suppression methods and techniques are becoming more popular, and the safety minded “Everyone goes home” campaign is…