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Classroom or kitchen table? Where have you learned the most?

 

 

 

 

If you had to choose between these two locations, where would you say most of your fire service learning took place?

Isn't it interesting that most of how we learn is best accomplished by simply interacting with those nearby?

With that in mind, I’m looking for pictures of your firehouse kitchen table being “used” by firefighters, specifically the times when we sit around it solving all of the world’s problems in an informal setting.

Send them to me at john@firedaily.com  We’ll get as many of them posted as we can.

Posted in In Da House, Tradition, Training, Training & Development

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Posted by on June 30, 2011 • 1 comment

NIOSH summary report on CFD firefighter/paramedic Christopher Wheatley’s LODD prompts an interesting question

 

Today’s Chicago Tribune includes a report by Trib reporter William Lee who draws our attention to the NIOSH report summary released earlier this month on the August 9th death of Chicago firefighter/paramedic Christopher Wheatley.

You may recall that Chris fell 53 feet to his death while using a fire escape ladder in ascending to the roof of a four-story West Loop building.  He was wearing full turnout gear and carrying a 63- pound hand pump.

In a nutshell, the report summary says that, although Chris was directed to ascend to the roof via an aerial ladder, he instead opted to use the building's fire escape system. 

Second-guessing Chris’ actions and decisions in this case will not help us to understand why he chose this route to the roof.  We’ll never know, so let’s put that aside for a moment.

Rather, I found myself contemplating this thought:  Given the same circumstances, what would I have done? 

What would you have done?

Is it important to follow each fireground order to the letter, or should we have the latitude to act upon our instincts and experience to get the job done?

Take a look at the NIOSH summary report, it’s not that long and well worth your time.  Then ask yourself just how probable it would be that you may have done the same thing.  Next, discuss it with your crew.  How do they feel about this:

 

Posted in Chicagoland, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, News, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on June 29, 2011 • 1 comment

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s – Part Four- Taking Care of Our Brothers

I’ve been sharing with you a story of humor, yet it is also a story many of each of you have been apart of in your own experiences.  You get on a department, and you grow close to each other as you begin your journey developing your second family.

There are many other stories, as I’m sure you can imagine.  Some can be related, some are better left untold.  But each story are singular threads that we share to create the fabric of life- the truly special one which we all share as Brothers and Sisters in the greatest profession on earth.

I began my career with Buzz, and was fortunate enough to have him as a part of our company when I suffered my injury a few years back.  From beginning to end, Buzz has been and continues to be my Brother.

Buzz has a beautiful wife and three fantastic young men for sons.  Throughout our Brotherhood, Buzz has always had the support of both his families.  Buzz also serves his country in the Global War on Terror, having been in the sands as a Navy medic saving the lives of his other Band of Brothers, our heroes in the Middle East.

When he is gone on his tours, the Brothers back home make sure his family is never in want for anything.  From simple chores to assistance with major issues we all made sure his wife, Maria, and her three sons could count on us to have their backs just like if Buzz was there for them.  We treated his family just like they should be treated, and how we would expect they would treat ours. 

Today, our Brother faces a new crisis, and we are all stepping up for him.  For those of you who are unaware, his eldest son Ken was unexpectedly diagnosed with brain cancer this last March. After 2 brain surgeries 5 weeks of radiation and countless medications, Ken is looking and feeling better and better. He still has a long road to recovery and many months of chemotherapy ahead, but things are looking positive.

This unfortunate medical issue came at a time when Ken was off of a health insurance plan between graduating college, and trying to get a small business up and going. His medical expenses are staggering and overwhelming.  Now, this is something that will dealt with over time, but we all can have an impact now.  Why?

Ken will be unable to work for at least a year.  But in this, the greatest country in the world, Ken can also receive a higher level of healthcare treatment IF he can pony up certain percentages out of pocket.  In other words, if he has more money, he can get better treatment.  God Bless America, right?

Anyway, us Brothers are not going to let a lack of finances hold Buzz’s son to a lesser standard of care without a fight.  We’ve put a party together and want everyone to join us the weekend after the Fourth of July at Arlington Park Racecourse. 

Join us as we bet on the ponies, break some bread, share some pop, enjoy pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting, 50/50 raffle, silent auction, other raffle prizes, and a demonstration by our very own Chicago Fire Professional Soccer Team.

A Day At The Races runs from noon until 6pm (post time at 1pm) on Sunday, July 10th at Arlington Park Racecourse.  Tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for children 4 years old and older.

Your ticket includes food, non-alcoholic beverages, and entertainment, and all proceeds will be donated to Ken so that he can get the level of treatment he deserves.

Now I realize that many of you are geographically unable to make it to suburban Chicago for this mega-party, but you can still help out in several ways.  First, visit “Ken Krull Fundraiser” on facebook and “like”  the page.  It will help get the word out to the world.  Secondly, we’ve set up a PayPal account to which you can donate by using the email address “kenfundraiser@gmail.com”.  Local 3481 will also be graciously accepting checks mailed to Local 3481, PO Box 1683, Barrington, IL 60010. 

Finally, contact me below for any further information on how you might wish to get involved.

This is one of those situations in life that happens all around us, but you never really grasp the impact until it happens to a loved one.  

Buzz is my buddy.  Buzz is my brother.  He was there when I started, and he was there on my last day.

Join me now as we stand right beside him today, as we know we will for the rest of our lives.

 

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Firefighters, IAFF, In Da House, Just For Fun, Tradition

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Posted by on June 16, 2011 • No comments

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s – Part Three- Escape. Wait, no. Maybe Not

When you last left us, the two hapless FNG’s had amazingly escaped a potential situation in which something got broken.  Remember, if something gets broken, we’d have to endure the Wrath of the Lieutenant- that unimaginably obscene and cataclysmic display of sound and spit-spray.

But just as things looked like they were going our way, the rising railroad crossing gate snapped off the lens of our rotating light sending it high up into the air.  Oh no!  What if it gets broken?  AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!  We watched in amazement as it arced about forty feet into the air then began its descent toward the line of traffic stopped at the light.

But the Gods were smiling down upon us on that memorable day as the lens came down hard- into a landscaping truck filled to the rim with grass clippings.  It bounced once, then twice, then finally settled on top of the pile in the back of the truck.

The light turned green.  Nooooo! 

I bolted (I know smart-asses, not so much bolting these days anymore) for the landscaping truck as it began to start forward with the traffic.  I yelled STOP! and with one leap (well, OK, I stopped, put my cigarette out and coughed, cinched up my pants, then heaved myself up attempting to get up into the back of the truck).  My third attempt was successful. 

I grabbed the lens and looked it over in wide-eyed amazement.  Just a scratch!  Well, we could get that out.  In the words of Spicoli, “my Dad’s got an awesome set of tools.”

Down I sprang (well, climbed laboriously- HEY enough from you guys already, huh?) and skipped my way back to the ambulance holding the lens with both hands above my head like the Stanley Cup (Go Bruins!) as Buzz waited dutifully with the patient.

“It’s not broken, it’s not broken!” I screamed, ecstatically incredulous.  I gently placed the lens on the front passenger seat like a majestic crown on a velvet pillow, buckled it in securely, then retook my position as driver/operator of the mobile intensive care unit.  As we made our way to the hospital, tears again, this time tears of joy and re-relief. 

Me and Buzz on our first call together.  We had successfully avoided the Wrath of the Lieutenant.  We would not be so successful in the future.  Things would get broken, Wraths be unleashed.  But today….sweet victory.

To be continued…

This story has been told and retold countless times

and may or may not be a wildly exaggerated account of utter fiction. 

As we used to say on black shift,

never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Firefighters, IAFF, In Da House, Just For Fun, Tradition

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Posted by on June 15, 2011 • No comments

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s – Part Two- The Wrath of the Lieutenant

When you last left, a Metra Commuter train was barreling down on our ambulance trapped in a railroad crossing as we were transporting a patient to our local hospital.  2 FNG’s, me and Buzz, and a patient were on the way to the hospital when the crossing gates came down on top of the box near a multi-hundred dollar revolving light, seemingly calling attention from anyone nearby to waste just a moment of their time to claim witness to what was about to happen.

This is a good point to address the obvious question you all may have here.  Why not just throw it into reverse and break what needs to be broken- just to be safe? 

B e c a u s e  i f  s o m e t h i n g  e v e r  g e t s  b r o k e n, we endure the Wrath of the Lieutenant. 

OK.  I know you readers are all rolling your eyes- but hear me out- this was not something to ever be a part of. 

The Wrath of the Lieutenant was cataclysmic.  Each of the five human senses were so violated by the event that the End of Times would be pleasurable by comparison.  One need only hear about one of these things to never want to be nearby when it erupts.

The message was clear: Don’t break anything.  It’s only that simple.  Don’t friggin’ break a thing.

Even though it looked like there might be just enough space for the train to clear the front bumper, I thought about the emergency lighting in the front bumper as well.  If those got broken, well, the Wrath of the Lieutenant would be known! 

Something was going to get broken, it was just a question of how spectacular that breakage would be.

So this FNG did the bravest, most heroic deed ever seen in my department’s history.  Forget about saving babies from a raging inferno, this took balls. 

I put her in reverse and slowly backed up. 

The first sound was that of the wooden railroad gate contacting the lens of the revolving light on top of the ambulance box.  Clink.  Tears streaming down my face in anticipation of what would happen if anything broke, I continued inching backward. 

Buzz peeked his head through the cab window and asked what was the matter.  My tear-stained head spun around and I screamed “BEWARE THE WRATH OF THE LIEUTENANT”!

Buzz froze.  He knew. 

His eyes welled up as he quickly did the Sign of the Cross on himself. 

“Don’t break anything!  Just let the train smash us!” Buzz screamed. 

The ambulance continued inching slowly backward.

Others nearby probably only heard the blaring of the approaching train’s horn, but the two terrified FNG’s could only wait for the sound of “something breaking”.  The wooden gate creaked and groaned as it bent farther and farther back, the revolving light holding it’s ground.

After what seemed like hours, the train finally roared by.  Turns out we had plenty of room after all.  Buzz and I shared a look of intense relief and began to dry our pitifully snot-slobbered faces.  Nothing got broken!  We had avoided the Wrath of the Lieutenant!

As we high-fived and danced a merry jig of exultation, the railroad gate, which had been bowed back about 30 degrees began to ascend upward to allow traffic through.  In doing so, it popped the clear dome light lens catapulting it up and forward high in the air, the revolving light still spinning away.

The lens flew like a rocket, arcing high up into the air.  Oh no!  What if it gets broken?  AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!  We watched in amazement as it arced about forty feet into the air then began its descent toward the line of traffic stopped at the light. 

Things were not looking good again for the two FNG’s.

To be continued……

This story has been told and retold countless times

and may or may not be a wildly exaggerated account of utter fiction. 

As we used to say on black shift,

never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

 

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Firefighters, In Da House, Tradition

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Posted by on June 14, 2011 • 2 comments

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s- Part One- Buzz

The Brotherhood of Two FNG’s

Part One- Buzz

Hello Friends,
 
I would like to take a few days to relate a story of the Brotherhood of two FNG’s.  For those of you who don’t know, N stands for “new” and G stands for “guy”.  After the story has been told, I would like to tell you why this all came to mind this month and tie it all together with a dose of true humanity.  Enjoy!

When I made the move to my most recent department, I was among a group which almost doubled the size of the career staff there.  The department was making the difficult transition from volunteer to combination and this was a significant growth spurt for the paid firefighters.

Among my group was a firefighter named Brian Krull.  Brian would be the first of the group to earn a nickname that has stood for more than 14 years now.  Let me explain.

Around the newly-expanded day room table sat 6-7 FNG’s.  The Lieutenant came bounding in (he bounds, what can I say?) and smugly asked (he smugly asks, what can I say?) which of the new guys had been responsible for sending the personnel manager a stunning bouquet of flowers following his acceptance into the department. 

Brian raised his hand.  

Oops.  Day one and he was singled out already.

It was 1997.  Back in the 1900’s, FTD had a commercial out about some guy dressed as a bumblebee who delivered flowers, remember? 

Buzz.

The nickname Buzz stuck like honey to a hive. 

So, after a couple weeks of FNG training, we were divvied up into the three shifts.  I had been warned that I should slit my wrists if I was assigned to black shift.

Naturally, I was assigned to black shift.

So was Buzz, and thus began what turned out to be an extraordinary band of brothers who were constantly on every chief officer’s radar screen.  We were a proud group, eager to put up our skills against the other shifts when challenged, and always coming out on top.  That made black shift a target, from blue shirts and multi-bugles alike.

Buzz and I ran our first call together.  2 medics on an EMS run, allowed to solo for the first time without adult supervision despite our Lieutenant’s better judgment.  On the way to the hospital, me driving-Buzz in back, we approached a railroad crossing.  Cars were stopped for a light so I had to enter the opposite lane to slowly sneak around the stopped line of traffic.  Just as I committed the ambo into the RR crossing the bells started ringing and gates started lowering. 

Maybe I shoulda just gunned it, but as I said we were FNG’s on our first call.  Fearing the worst, I stopped which allowed the gates to come down on the top of the box. 

Thunk!

I stuck my head out the window and saw the RR gate had come down behind the rotator light on the front corner of the ambulance.  If I backed up I would surely snap the multi-hundred dollar accessory and face the Wrath of the Lieutenant (he wraths, what can I say?)  If I didn’t back up- well the train probably would clear the front of the ambulance no problem.  Right?

I had a decision to make.  Back up and break the multi-hundred dollar light?  Take a chance on the train missing us?  Howabout just getting out and running away screaming like a girl?  You know- right to O’Hare for starters- then who knows where? 

To be continued…..

This story has been told and retold countless times

and may or may not a wildly exaggerated account of utter fiction. 

As we used to say on black shift,

never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

Posted in Brotherhood, Chicagoland, IAFF, In Da House, Tradition

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Posted by on June 13, 2011 • 2 comments

“Just See Video”- Chicago FD- Change is in the air

To have a wife turn to you and look at you and say, “What the hell happened here?  Where the hell was his hood?  Who was in charge?  How would you guys let this happen to him?  Why him? What do I say to them?”

 

Posted in Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, News, Videos

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Posted by on June 12, 2011 • 1 comment