The movement against freelancing is killing the fire service.        Before I get all sorts of angry comments or emails, let me clarify that I believe a firefighter acting as a lone wolf on the fire ground is dangerous, unacceptable, and should not be allowed at any time. The anti-freelancing movement started with good intentions […]

Everytime I turn around it feels like I’m being told to change. I’ve been told my thought process is outdated, my tactics are obsolete and, even worse, that I am dangerous. A lot of change in the fire service is driven by NIST/UL research. A lot of beneficial information has come out of that research, […]

This is not about breaking things, sorry, if that’s what you wanted you should probably leave now. When a word gets used too many times it loses it’s meaning, Semantic saturation. Semantic Saturation: “A psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the […]

Lt. General Hal Moore is one of the greatest officers in American miltary history. He led a valiant group of men responsible for rebuking an attack by a large force of North Vietnamese soldiers. The Vietnamese greatly outnumbered his men but they fought bravely and overcame significant odds to prevail. The story of his and […]

If you spend any time at a fire house, you will undoubtedly hear older firefighters say “It’s the little things that matter.” They talk about the past and tell stories about tedious tasks (which many new school guys would call “busy work”) with reverence. They talk about detailing brass, scrubbing with toothbrushes, and washing the […]