What is it that prevents fire departments from throwing ground ladders or aerials? Why do ground ladders remain on the apparatus and aerials remain in their beds at fire calls? Why are RIT teams allowed to stand around like yard gnomes, not being proactive? And on that same vein if 2 in 2 out is […]

Earlier this month, Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermyer was shot and killed in the line of duty. Trooper Dermyer had served as a police officer in the city where I work before moving on in his career and I started wondering if there were lessons to be learned beyond firefighter line of duty death reports. […]

Some of you may know this but the NFPA is currently in the works of creating a standard on fire attack. It’s proper name is NFPA 1700: Guide for Structural Fire Fighting and it is currently in development with a scheduled completion date of the end of 2016. As we speak a committee called the […]

Search- The first thing I want you to notice is I did not include rescue, that will come later . It was not until an article written by Michael Briclaut in the Fire Engineering, that I realize I was one of those guys who did not understand that search and rescue where not lumped together as […]

Ryan and I had the honor of sitting in on a UL/NIST class today on Fire Dynamics Research to Tactical Solutions. We appreciate the time and effort that was put into the class and the fireground application examples that were given. These help to bridge the gap between the “Scientific Lab Stuff” and the real […]

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 I’ve been told my thought process is outdated, my tactics are obsolete and, even worse, that I am dangerous.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, […]

Please take the time to remember the Husbands, Fathers, Sons, Brothers, and Uncles lost on this day. Attached are the reports associated with the death of this Brave Men. Please study and know their story and the story of a tragedy that has forever changed the Fire Service as a whole. charleston_phase_one_report sofa super store […]

Something that has been bothering me for some time now is how the basics of each company performs their duties. Even if you don’t have a ” Ladder Truck ” fireground support functions are still to be conducted. In this particular post we are going to look at the Engine’s responsibility, because truth be told […]

Building Construction When you look at these two buildings what do you know about there construction? Have you studied and or experienced the issues that come associated with these types of construction? What are the types of structures you respond to in your area? Some taught me years ago now, its not how the buildings […]

Hello All, and a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!  I had planned on posting this article prior to the holiday festivities, because as most of us know, this is one of the most active times of year for fires, and unfortunately also where the highest rate of fatal fires occur.  But… Like […]