News
The Fire Service and Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving. The official kickoff of the Holiday Season. A time to reflect on what you’re thankful for, and a time to relax and eat with friends and family. For some, it might be sitting down and enjoying a meal with your fellow firefighters because you’re working that shift. One thing is for certain though…it tends…
Read MoreReading Smoke
The ability to understand how smoke works is imperative for firefighters to know. We’ve used it for generations to help develop our strategies when it comes to fire suppression. For some, this may be a refresher. For others, this may give you some insight into reading smoke behavior, and why it’s important. For the most…
Read MoreCollyer’s Mansion Conditions
As firefighters, we know that when we hear this term, we’re in for a rough one. For those that may not know what it is, it’s a term for a bad hoarding situation within a structure. Where did this term come from? Why is this important for us to know? How do we deal with…
Read MoreThe Backseat Officer
To be an officer, you need to be able to multitask. Sometimes depending on the situation, every part of your mind is occupied by what’s going on, and that’s ok. That’s why we have a chain of command. One of the jobs we have as officers is assigning roles to our crew in the back.…
Read MoreSteps Between The Steps
Knowing what to do at a fire scene is the basis of our job. We have procedures in place to handle every situation we encounter. Sometimes, we tend to get tunnel vision and might miss an important step in our operation. Most of the time, missing one of these steps is minor and doesn’t really…
Read MoreThe 50/50 Game
When you’re in a position of authority, the decisions you make whether on the fireground or in the back office are going to have consequences. The consequences I’m referring to are the very members of your department. The fire service has an interesting mix of people with different thought processes and personalities, and it’s almost…
Read MoreMaking the Push
There’s a bunch of responsibility when being an officer, but one of the more glorious things is getting in there with your squad. I’m talking about being first due Engine or Truck and getting to work on an all hands job. For most of us, this is what we love about being firefighters – “Getting…
Read MorePerks of Leadership
Being a leader can be a difficult task. When we get the job, our responsibilities increase tremendously. There’s a lot of work that goes into it as far as making sure things run properly and trying to keep everyone in line with one another. There’s also a lot of backend work that goes unseen which…
Read MoreBurnout in the Firehouse
Part of taking the job as a firefighter is due to the love of responding to emergencies. It’s in our blood to be the first people to be there for a complete stranger when they’re having the worst day of their life. For some, it may be the adrenaline rush we feel when the bell…
Read MoreYou Don’t Know Everything
If you’re an officer, the expectation is that you know your stuff. An officer is supposed to lead their firefighters into chaotic situations and handle it accordingly, all while making sure their members stay safe. Your crew is going to be looking to you for answers and direction on what they’re supposed to do. In…
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