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 […]
Benefits of the Low Prop for Bailout
We have the distinct honor and pleasure to offer our Firefighter Bailout class at FDIC 2015 this year as one of the HOT classes. We feel, like most, that we should train and drill constantly on the basics like engine company operations, search, ventilation, fire behavior, ladder work, forcible and the list goes on, to […]
Four Simple Rules for the Company Officer
I talk a great deal about the role of the company officers and how they influence the members of your department. When teaching officer development we hit hard on setting and establishing expectations and ensuring that there is follow-through with those expectations. I was recently asked about expectations for my company officers. They aren’t too […]
Some First Due Considerations from the Combo Side
From Captain David Konys Dealing with manpower issues is a problem that I deal with at the department where I work and where I volunteer. I am always looking for ways to maximize our manpower and it starts on the training ground. I usually have a three man engine crew and when we […]
Firefighter Bailout HOT at FDIC 2015
We all know that getting water on the fire as quickly as possible is the best way to avoid bad situations. We also know that some of the best in the business have been confronted with situations beyond their control even after doing all the right things and were forced to make very tough decisions […]
My Take Away From 2014
Since the end of 2014, I have been reading and listening to year end thoughts and data related to the fire service. There has been discussion on types of calls, near misses and, of course, line of duty deaths. Numbers are broken down and categorized for each type of injury or death that is fire […]
Opposing Forces
A common question that is posed from current and prospective officers along with engaged firefighters is “how do you deal with superior officers or an organization that doesn’t want to move forward?” First, it’s not always the organization or the superior officers that are the sole problem. I’ve seen good, engaged, enthusiastic firefighters circumvent the […]
Opportunities for Training: Not Just on the Drill Ground
Many times we pass on opportunities to train or learn something although many situations lend themselves to doing so. Look for ways to incorporate the situation or circumstance that you are dealing with into a learning moment. The pictures below are of a company training on aerial ops with a candidate operator. It was a […]
Don’t Wait for Your Ship, You Might Miss It!
In recent weeks I have had the opportunity to be involved in both sides of the promotional process: as a participant and as an interviewer. Both are stressful and will challenge you. You must be able to pull from your training, education, experience and coaching in both circumstances to arrive at a positive decision and […]
You’re a New Officer: Don’t Try to Save the World all at Once!
As progressive, engaged and enthusiastic firefighters, we all took classes, trained hard and created an image of the way we would be when we got promoted. We would do this and we would do that, damn the consequences and those we might piss off. But, when we got there, it may not have all gone […]
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