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 […]
Figuring Hose Stretches: Company Drill
Here is a quick drill for figuring out hose stretches for larger complexes or properties with long set backs. The key is to get out and figure this out long before the call comes in. Share and add your own information to it. Click to Download this Company Drill – EHT Hose Stretch
Explanation of Webbing Removal for Basements Escapes
Here is a look at an explanation of the webbing video we showed last week to escape from a basement. Of course, size of windows will dictate the level of difficulty, but the technique will work on smaller windows if practiced with.