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Video: Worst Fire Department in the United States?

This article is also found at Daily Fire Fix

Probably Not.

 

Daily Fire Fix ran across this video with the interesting title and had to see what was going on.  It’s actually a compilation of videos of the Grant’s Pass Rural Fire Department in Josephine County Oregon which is in southwest OR along I-5 and the California border. 

Grant’s Pass Rural Fire Department is one of three private fire departments competing for fire protection “contracts” for properties in the county. See if you share the myriad of emotions that others have when you see these “firefighters” in action at a residential structure fire.

One you are past the “Oh my God’s” and the “What the &%^#’s”, I’d like to challenge you to watch it a second time.  Only this time, I want you to ask yourself, “if I’m watching this fire department floundering on video, how many other fire departments in the United States operate in similar ways, with no command structure, old equipment, no PPE, no money, and no clue?” 

My guess is that there are quite a few.

Now, let’s take this a step further.

I’d like to pose a challenge to you, the firefighter:  Put yourself into each of the following roles and think about what actions you would take based solely upon the information in the videos and what I have provided you in this article.

  1. You have just been appointed as fire chief of the GPVF and you have just seen this video.
  2. You are the fire chief of the Rural/Metro Fire Department, a neighboring combination department and you have just seen this video..
  3. You are a resident considering with which department to contract your fire protection services: GPVFD at a very, very low cost (45 cents per thousand) , GPFR at a cost five times that of GPVFD, or elect to opt out entirely from any fire contract and you have just seen this video.

If you’d like to, leave a brief comment to this article, or call in and leave a voicemail with your input.  I’ll report back later here on Daily Fire Fix with your ideas.

It's easy to identify the problems.  Got any solutions?  888-887-8718

Stay stoked!

-J

 

 

Posted in Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Fires, NetCast, News, Training, Training & Development, Videos

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Posted by on January 19, 2012 • 11 comments

“I still remember the smells that night, the sounds that night. That will always be there.” — Retired Worcester District Fire Chief Michael O. McNamee

On December 3, 1999, the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire took the lives of six firefighters.  Unless you are very, very new to the fire service you have already heard this horrific story.

Instead of telling it again, I would like to point your attention to an article I read a couple of years ago by Scott J. Croteau over at the Worcester Telegraph and Gazette.  It’s titled “A Chief’s Perspective” by retired Worcester District Fire Chief Michael O. McNamee. 

Click here to read it.

I hope you never have to go through his nightmare.

With trapped crews inside and after others had gone in to save them, Chief McNamee ordered that no more firefighters go in.  He was met with heated threats of physical violence by his firefighters on the scene, many demanding to allow them to go in to rescue their brothers. 

But he hung firm- and in doing so stopped that massive fire from killing any more of his men that night.  Could you have done the same?

Rest easy, our Brothers.

Posted in Command & Leadership, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Major Incidents

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Posted by on December 2, 2011 • No comments

Gray- it’s so black and white.

There’s a great video going around this week featuring John Salka at Andy Fredericks Training Days.  Someone in the audience captured a snippet of what Chief Salka was saying and shared it with the rest of us who couldn’t be there.

Essentially, Salka was putting forth his opinion on how a four-man engine crew should be deployed when first on the scene of a house fire.  In the instance he describes, he makes the point that the company officer should not remain outside when establishing command as that decision leaves the interior attack team of two firefighters ‘unsupervised’.

One brave firefighter in the audience is not afraid to disagree and stand up for this decision, citing ‘command and control’ and ‘directing incoming units’ as the reason for sending in the two blue shirts alone.

Click this link to see the video- definitely worth your time:

John Salka at Andy Fredericks Training Days 2011

 Quick- which one is right?

The company officer should always go in to supervise the attack. 

The company officer should trust his crew and assume command outside.

 

Scenario aside, I began thinking yet again how we have been inundated with right/wrong – left/right – black/white.  We are now a “polarized culture”, forced to decide between two opposite options.  What ever happened to the middle ground?

Attention to any of you who only think in black and white:  Gray exists.

I’m amazed that, a full quarter of a century after this gray-haired company officer first received his training, there are still fire departments across the country who don’t understand the concept of “interior command.”

Interior command involves maintain control of the situation from the inside while simultaneously mounting an initial attack.  Yes, this can be done!

In my department, the first arriving fire officer (or firefighter if no officer is there) establishes command on all incidents.  When establishing command, the company officer needs to decide if the incident is better served by establishing exterior command, interior command, or passing command to the next arriving officer.  Each incident will be different, taking into account the fire stage, smoke conditions, need for immediate rescue/extinguishment inside, training and capabilities of his/her crew, ETA of the next company, etc.  In effect, what will be happening in the next five minutes?

If your department establishes command only from the outside, then I would urge you to consider the option of “interior command.”  It may not seem black or white, but that’s just fine…  Gray is OK.  All it takes is a certain number of operational brain cells combined with ensuring that you communicate to everyone- those on scene, those still coming, and dispatch as well- what it is that you have and what it is that you are doing. 

This spring and summer, I’ll be working with Chief Christopher Naum and his Firefighter Netcast program, “Taking It to the Streets,” to explore, among other things, the controversial topic of “too safe” vs. “too aggressive.”  I am looking forward to a passionate discussion from both sides of the debate.  I urge you to participate as well! 

As the series progresses, we may see some middle ground (“gray” if you will) emerge that may hold some viable options for you and your agency/department.  Sign up for free notifications and RSS feeds of all the programming at http://firefighternetcast.com.

Thanks to the audience member who had the foresight to capture Chief Salka’s “point” being made, as well as to the firefighter who, among his peers, risked his neck to dare to disagree- in effect furthering the discussion we so desperately need.  That is really brave, and refreshing!

Be aggressive, be smart, and stay stoked!

Posted in Change, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Leadership, NetCast, News, Training, Training & Development

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Posted by on May 12, 2011 • 2 comments

NIOSH report out on Homewood (IL) Fire Dept. that killed Brian Carey last March. Happy Groundhog Day- again.

not again.....

NIOSH Report 2010-10 is out, and it ain’t pretty.

Familiar? Yes.

Pretty?  Pretty hard to swallow…again.

The report once again shines the tired spotlight upon familiar factors that continue to injure and kill firefighters despite our commitment to “never forget.”

But we are forgetting.

First, a short review of the findings made by NIOSH on this interior attack on a well-involved residence with the report of people trapped inside.

On March 30, 2010 The Homewood (IL) Fire Department arrived and found heavy fire conditions at the rear of the house and moderate smoke conditions elsewhere inside.  A search crew immediately entered to rescue a civilian trapped in the rear of the house, and a handline crew quickly advanced a 2 ½ inch line into the front door.

conditions as crews went interior (photo by Warren Skalski)

From the report, a photo of the A-B corner showing conditions prior to the hostile fire event in which thick, black smoke can be scene billowing out the front door, A-side.   Although difficult to see in this photo, the A-side picture windows are covered in soot.  What can we determine is going on inside as two are searching and two are operating a hoseline?

photo by Warren Skalski

Here’s a shot of smoke blowing out horizontally from the B-side window after just being broken out by the firefighter there.  Smoke is now pumping out with more speed from the front door.  What is going on “inside the box” where the hoseline and search crews are operating?  Now are we at a point in which we’re just about to kill firefighters?

At this moment, interior crews observed thick black rolling (moving) smoke banked down to knee level.  As ventilation was taking place, the search crew saw flames rolling over through the smoke near the ceiling.

Then it happened.

That which we now all see from the comfort of our laptops and computer monitors- that which we have seen coming for quite some time in this story- moreover that for which we have been trained constantly- a hostile fire event (in this case a flashover) occurs.

It was inevitable here, and it was deadly here.

photo by Warren Skalski

According to the report, the search crew yelled to the hose crew to “get out” as they exited the building, then returned inside to rescue an injured hoseline firefighter.  Once she was brought out, they returned in to find the victim firefighter trapped in his ruptured 2 ½” line with is SCBA facepiece removed.  He was quickly removed and worked on the scene by paramedics before being transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

What can you do, reader, to keep this from happening the next time you find yourself on this type of incident, all too common for firefighters throughout the nation?

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

Let’s see what NIOSH identified as factors which contributed to the death of one firefighter and the injury of another:

  • Well involved fire with entrapped civilian upon arrival
  • Incomplete 360 degree situational size-up
  • Inadequate risk-versus-gain analysis
  • Ineffective fire control tactics
  • Failure to recognize, understand, and react to deteriorating conditions
  • Uncoordinated ventilation and its effect on fire behavior
  • Removal of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) facepiece
  • Inadequate command, control, and accountability
  • Insufficient staffing.

NIOSH RECOMMENDATIONS

From their investigation, NIOSH offers recommendations which can be extremely useful for any fire department member, officer, training officer, and command staff to get across to their organization before they respond to a similar incident.  Here are their recommendations:

Recommendation #1: Fire departments should ensure that a complete 360 degree situational size-up is conducted on dwelling fires and others where it is physically possible and ensure that a risk versus-gain analysis and a survivability profile for trapped occupants is conducted prior to committing to interior fire fighting operations.

photo by John Ratko

According to this report, a 360 was not done prior to the interior attack, and here’s what they would have seen in this photo shot from the C-side.

Recommendation #2: Fire departments should ensure that interior fire suppression crews attack the fire effectively to include appropriate fire flow for the given fire load and structure, use of fire streams, appropriate hose and nozzle selection, and adequate personnel to operate the hoseline.

The report looks at the handline selection of the interior crew, pointing out the relative maneuverability that an 1 ¾” line has over the deuce and a half used here.

“Fire fighters and officers need to understand that while a 2½-inch hoseline provides a greater flow, fire fighters need to be able to move the line quickly and efficiently interiorly, especially when performing a search and experiencing deteriorating fire conditions.”

Recommendation #3: Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters maintain crew integrity when operating on the fireground, especially when performing interior fire suppression activities.

The report describes a point where the hoseline team became separated.  The 2010 IAFC ROE of Structural Firefighting states, “Go in together, stay together, come out together.”

Recommendation #4: Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters and officers have a sound understanding of fire behavior and the ability to recognize indicators of fire development and the potential for extreme fire behavior.

From the report:  “The search and rescue crew (operating without the protection of a hoseline) were able to make a quick determination that the conditions within the house were imminent to flashover. They made an attempt to alert the victim and injured fire fighter/paramedic, but were too late.”

“If conditions are right for a flashover, there are only seconds to make a decision. Fire fighters will be met with a sudden increase in heat and rollover within the ceiling level. The injured fire fighter/paramedic was unaware that the conditions she was operating in deteriorated quickly. She remembers thick, black smoke pushing down to the floor while in the structure and then “the room and everything in it caught fire.”

“Prior to the flashover, windows on the B-side were vented and thick, black and heavily pressurized smoke billowed from these windows. The IC, and individuals working on the exterior, need to recognize this as a potential for extreme fire behavior and evacuate interior crews. Obtaining proper training and hands-on experience through the use of a flashover simulator may assist interior fire fighters in making sound decisions on when to evacuate a structure fire.”

Recommendation #5: Fire departments should ensure that incident commanders and fire fighters understand the influence of ventilation on fire behavior and effectively coordinate ventilation with suppression techniques to release smoke and heat.

Again, from the report:   “During this incident, uncoordinated ventilation occurred while the hoseline and search and rescue crews were inside the house. The victim and other fire fighters, within the small house, were between the fire and the ventilation source. One fire fighter accounts heavy, turbulent, black smoke pushing from a window on the B-side after it was broken. Shortly after, the house sustained an apparent ventilation-induced flashover.”

Recommendation #6: Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters use their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and are trained in SCBA emergency procedures.

The victim firefighter was found with his facepiece removed.  No conclusion has been drawn as to whether he removed it or whether it became dislodged from an exterior force.  But the report emphasizes that firefighters be trained on those SCBA emergency procedures which have been shown to offer the best possible chance for survival.

Recommendation #7: Fire departments should ensure that adequate staffing is available to respond to emergency incidents.

See if you’ve heard this type of staffing report before:

“During this incident, the victim’s department responded with three personnel on the engine and two personnel on the ambulance, but the Still assignment also consisted of an engine, two ladder trucks, and a squad, with four fire personnel on each. It was routine to have an ambulance respond with an engine on a first due fire assignment. Due to short staffing, the ambulance personnel were tasked with fire suppression activities, thus taking them out-of-service as a medical unit.”

“Also, due to short staffing, the lieutenant/acting officer (IC) was required to ride and operate as the officer of E534. This removed him from his command response vehicle which would have allowed him to command at a tactical level versus having to potentially perform tasks.”

[Reader: Insert your emotional comment here]

Recommendation #8: Fire departments should ensure that staff for emergency medical services is available at all times during fireground operations.

During this incident, the victim and the injured fire fighter/paramedic responded in an ambulance.  Upon their arrival to the scene, the IC immediately tasked them with interior operations due to staffing issues. The IC did not request an additional ambulance to respond to the scene for medical care until after the victim was down within the house. Additional resources (e.g., apparatus and personnel) arrived minutes after the ambulance’s arrival.

Recommendation #9: Fire departments and dispatch centers should ensure they are capable of communicating with each other without having to monitor multiple channels/frequencies on more than one radio.

During this incident, the IC had to monitor more than one radio and even had to go to the cab of his engine to accomplish this task. Having to monitor multiple radios and potentially take your eyes off the scene for a moment could be extremely detrimental to the management of the incident.

Recommendation #10: Fire departments should ensure that the incident commander, or designee, maintains close accountability for all personnel operating on the fireground.

During this incident, the accountability system was never set in place and a PAR was not conducted following the Mayday.

Recommendation #11: Fire departments should ensure that fire fighters wear a full array of turnout clothing and personal protective equipment appropriate for the assigned task while participating in fire suppression.

During this incident, the victim was discovered without a hood over his head or rolled down on his neck. NIOSH investigators could not determine whether this equipment was properly donned prior to the incident.

Recommendation #12: Fire departments should ensure that a separate incident safety officer, independent from the incident commander, is appointed at each structure fire.

Although there is no evidence that this recommendation, or certain others made above would have prevented this fatality, it is being provided as a reminder of a good safety practice.

Recommendation #13: Fire departments should ensure that all fire fighters are equipped with a means to communicate with fireground personnel before entering a structure fire.

During this incident, the victim did have a radio, but it was positioned in the back pocket of his station pants. Thus, when he donned his bunker pants, his radio became inaccessible during the incident.

Recommendation #14: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) should consider developing more comprehensive training requirements for fire behavior to be required in NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications and NFPA 1021 Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications.

Here, here!  Let’s not forget the basics: Building Construction and Fire Behavior!  Check this out and compare it to your training records:

“According to documented training reviewed by NIOSH investigators, the victim, injured fire fighter/paramedic, and IC had a combined 24 hours of fire behavior training out of 5,654 total combined training hours. Additional fire behavior training to include such areas as theory, chemistry, physics, smoke reading, current research, and the cause and effects of tactics during fire suppression operations may improve fire fighter safety.”

24 HOURS BETWEEN THE THREE OF THEM!

Again, I ask you, “How can the death of brother firefighter Brian Carey teach us that his life was not lost in vain?”

Again, I tell you: “Learn from what happened from that day.  Then perform a long hard look at the way your organization operates, and utilize what you’ve learned here to make the changes necessary to ensure you and your brothers head home after the fire.

I can tell you that the news reports here in Chicago are all approaching this story from the standpoint that the fire department was “ill-prepared” in this case.  Imagine how this sucks for this fire department, and each of the members that have to re-live the events of that night all over again- this time while being publicly undressed in the press.

Brian Carey

Then empathize with them and ask yourself how you would feel- as a proud firefighter- if this had been your department?

Don’t allow yourself the superficial response of pointing your finger at this department.  That won’t help now.  Instead, turn the finger back toward yourself and create from this tragic story a positive learning experience and opportunity to improve your situation.

START TODAY!

Stay stoked!

-J

To donate to the Brian Carey Memorial Fund, visit www.rideforboo.org. The site also offers registration for those interested in taking part in the ride to Colorado. Donations also can be made at any First Midwest Bank branch or can be mailed to: Brian Carey Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1171, Homewood, IL 60430. For more information about any of the events, contact Mike Bell at (708) 653-1394

Posted in Chicagoland, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, News, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics, WTF?

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Posted by on September 21, 2010 • 16 comments

Just Say No

As you probably already know, an unprecedented meeting of the American fire service met in Tampa back in 2004.  The Life Safety Task Force generated a list of 16 Life Safety Initiatives. I’m sure most of us had seen or heard them.  But, if you are truly dedicated to saving your lives and the lives of those on your department and your crew, you will have come pretty damn close to memorizing them.  Yes, they are that important.

I’d like to touch on one of those today. It is the fourth initiative, and it reads as follows:  “All firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.”

In preparation of our latest program over at Firefighter NetCast, I was exposed to the arguments both for and against the use of positive-pressure attack.  Chief John Kriska, a proponent of PPA, was the featured guest for the program which can be found at our site http://FirefighterNetCast.com or over at iTunes under firefighter podcasts.  I ran across what may well be the best video out there to demonstrate what happens when a PPV is set in a doorway and started before adequate thought is given to its potential effects.

I have accumulated a fair amount of training whether it has been in the classroom, at a controlled practical evolution, or on the fireground itself.   I know you have too, because I’ve seen you there as well, learning new ways to perform tasks, honing skills you’ve already learned, and perhaps even sharing your knowledge with others.

Help me then if you will, to figure out why we continue to see examples of near-fatal consequences on the videos regularly making the rounds on the internet?  Surely you know of a few of these head-shaking videos, and you may have seen this one as well.

This article is not meant to argue whether or not PPA/PPV should be used on your fireground.  Rather, as you watch the video, count how many “trained firefighters” it takes to kill an interior crew.  Take a peek:

As this video clearly shows, there are several on the fireground who seem to have forgotten some of the basic stuff we learned in our very first fire training classes: fire behavior.  As a “trained firefighter”, can you read the smoke?  Does it tell you what is happening inside this “box”?  Has the fire vented?  Will it?  What’s going to happen when it does vent?  Where do you want to be when this happens?  Would you have done anything differently before crawling inside?

Of course!

Sitting here in front of your computer monitor, not many of you would miss the signs of an impending hostile fire event, would you?  I wonder if the guys in this video would see the same signs if they were watching the video rather than performing the dance toward death.  If they were “trained” they probably would have seen the problems.  Why then, did no one speak up in a real situation?

I’ve seen it locally.  Firefighters with decades of experience seem to forget some of the basics.  Perhaps they take a shortcut, emboldened by the lack of disaster as their shortcut worked so many times before.  These are trained professional firefighters, many of them friends I have known for years.  They know better.  Why, then do we do stupid things on the fireground?

Maybe it’s because we have gotten away with it before.

Maybe it’s because no one stopped us before.

Maybe it’s because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

But, maybe our luck will run out one day, as it does about every 80 hours here in America.

As a firefighter, do you feel you have the ability, indeed the responsibility to say “NO” to your company officer?  As a company officer, do you feel you have the ability, indeed the responsibility, to say “NO” to your chief officer?

In this video, who should have said, “NO”?  Everyone.  Even the camera operator, if he/she were a “trained firefighter” should have the ability, indeed the responsibility, to keep our brothers and sisters from killing themselves, purely because we don’t feel it is our place to say “NO.”

Departmental policies, procedures, and guidelines must allow for “All firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.”

But moreover, each member must realize that they are not only able -but as trained firefighters- also responsible to stop unsafe practices.  We need to establish ownership of this responsibility.

If you or your department hasn’t made this paradigm shift, the time is yesterday.  Take your own steps now to enact each of the 16 Life Safety Initiatives.  Let each of us “trained professional firefighters” all work together to get the job done safely so we all go home at the end of the day.

Just say no.

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Change, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighters, Firefighting Operations, NetCast, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics, Videos

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Posted by on August 26, 2010 • 1 comment

Firehouse Expo in Balty!

Hey all-

Leaving this AM for Firehouse Expo in Baltimore.  If you’re in the neighborhood, look us up, we’ll be netcasting from the booth of Firegeezer and Dave Statter.  It’s the perfect opportunity to latch onto the highly collectible Firegeezer mugs with the added bonus of Bill’s signature to make the mug a prized possession in your day room or anywhere else the mug may travel.

I also wanted to help spread the word about this fire service guru who is the next one taking his wildly appealing written stuff to the next level- a live podcast in which you can participate.

It all happens live Wednesday night- or download it after the fact at iTunes.  You can get all the links and details on his announcement here.

He is Christopher Naum, the newest member of our family.  He joins Art Goodrich, Tiger Schmittendorf, Rhett Fleitz and yours truly as the Firefighter NetCast team.

Stay stoked out there, and hit me up for a beverage in Balty!

Posted in Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Just For Fun, News

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Posted by on July 20, 2010 • 1 comment

First Due Blog Carnival- Sharing The Wealth

Dale runs the ride.

Remember the excitement of going to the carnival?  You know, before we became “spooked” by the the guy with more arms than teeth running the “Zipper” screaming to us riders: “YOU ALL WANNA GO FASTER?”  We’d all scream back, “YEAH!”  And the ex-con with his glass eye gleaming would grab one of the long red levers with all eight and a half fingers and shove it forward forcing the ride into overdrive, the screaming kids only drowned out by the sounds of Bad Moon Risin’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival cranking at an ear-splitting level.

All for two tickets. Damn, that was cool…

Those were times we look back upon with fondness.  We were young with out lives splayed out endlessly in front of us.  We were pups with a lot to learn.  In time, we would be growing into mature young adults- all blazing our own trails and creating our own ways of life.  Eventually we would find ourselves in the fire service, young, dumb, and full of come on, you didn’t think I’d really go there, didja?  All of us didn’t stay young, most of us didn’t stay dumb, and, well, you can finish the thought…

My point is that there were many sign posts along each of our journeys that we look back upon and never forget.  Just like the when the kid puked on the Tilt-O-Whirl, we also have a few memorable moments in which someone said or did something that left an indelible impression upon us.  And we grew from that, and we became better firefighters in the process.  The truth is, we benefited from someone who Shared the Wealth.

This month’s First Due Blog Carnival sought out your stories of someone who Shared The Wealth in your life.  I asked you to Share that Wealth with us all.

I had a feeling there was some fantastic stuff out there, but I absolutely amazed at what you took the time to share.  To all of you, I express my sincere appreciation for Sharing The Wealth.  There stories are simply incredible.

To our readers- please set aside some time to reach through all of these.  This is some exceptional stuff.  Don’t short-change yourself by skimming through it too quickly.  If you must, bookmark this page and come back to it so you can properly savor it and benefit from it all.

Then YOU Share The Wealth.

Here’s how.  Forward these stories to someone you know, whether it be a rookie just starting out, or someone who feels a little stale and could use a pick-me-up.  Print a couple up and post them at your station so that others can benefit.  Perhaps you have a story you would like to share.  Get it to me and I’ll make sure to share your wealth.

YOU make the ride go faster.  YOU crank the tunes to ‘eleven’.  YOU make it a memorable moment for those riding on YOUR carnival ride today.

On to the submissions!

“If one of your firefighters gets into trouble, how are you going to get them out?”

Chief Reason Art Goodrich was once asked this question during a class taught by Rick Lasky.  “I left the class with a new found attitude,” Art relates. “I no longer viewed us as invincible. I no longer thought that we could get into any situation and get back out without assistance. It caused me to take a better look when I was doing size up at a scene.”  Art takes it a step further by focusing on a major flaw that many of us have in our wheelhouse.  What is that flaw?  Read about it here.

“You won’t be the best at everything, but no one is.”

Hydrant Girl is relatively new to the fire service and, thus, offers this unique perspective in her Sharing of the Wealth.  As you can see, it doesn’t take very long to be the recipient of some sage advice from the right person who told her, “Find what skills you can offer your team and work to strengthen them. You won’t be the best at everything, but no one is.” He went on to say that the best crews that he’s worked with worked together. They built on each others skills and were successful because they knew their strengths and weaknesses before they went in the fire rather then too late. “  Who said it to her and why?  Find out here.

“Looking back on it, the things we talked about that weekend were shown to us as being “fresh” ideas ten and even twenty years later.”

When I saw that Mick Mayers had offered up some of his wealth, I knew we all had struck gold.  In Firehouse Zen, Chief Mayers writes about leadership and attitude, two of the topics closest to my heart in the fire service.  In his article, Mick frames his story by reminding us that he has spent a bunch of time with nationally recognized fire service leaders and could have chosen from any of them when sharing his wealth.  Why then, does he tell us the story of the relatively unknown Chief Harry Diezel?  Because “he was able to inspire a young officer candidate in sixteen hours of a seminar, by exposing to him to the potential of emergency services from an entirely different model than ever envisioned.”  Read about how Chief Diezel was able to send Mick down this particular road in his article over at Firehouse Zen.

“Since I don’t have a juicy “moment of Zen” for you, I will instead give you some things I have learned along the way from some great guys.”

Hard to believe that you have never experienced a moment of Zen, Rhett.  Wait, I take that back.  Unencumbered by zenness, Rhett Fleitz AKA Fire Critic has instead offered up some pearls of wisdom he’s learned along his winding road in the fire service.  You may have heard of some of these before, but they are definitely worth a revisit.  Chances are, some of your rookies need to be exposed to these as well.  Read them here .  Thanks, “Big Toe!”

The message is simple, yet it is often forgotten. I use it to reign myself in when tension is high and focus is required.

Captain Joe Schmoe over at Report on Conditions offers up some words of wisdom which should be a part of everyone’s mindset.  Head on over to his site and read about what he is talking about.  As usual, all his stuff is spot on.  Bookmark his page and read it often.  Then come up with an adjective or two about his writing style and e-mail them to me.  It will help me describe to myself why I am so attracted to it. Dare ya!

“Who messed with my gear?” I yelled. No one looked up, busying themselves with putting on their turnouts

Rachel Smith is a wildland firefighter and graduate student studying fire ecology and community risk abatement at the University of California, Berkeley.  That’s what it says on her site, Flash Fuels at RachelCSmith.com. It should also say excellent writer.  Rachel tells the story of how, as a green rookie, she became acceptable as a member of her company and the necessity of reacting correctly to the traditional “tests” flung her way.  This is a “copy and save” article.  You will want to refer to it when it comes time for a young rookie to go through this mental obstacle course.  See it here.  Thanks, Rachel.  It blew me away!

“At the end of the day, when the alarm comes in, you’ll do your thing and I’ll do mine.”

The beauty of mining for these nuggets is that you never know what you will find.  Bill Carey over at BackstepFirefighter.com takes us down the road less travelled.  How?  As firefighters, we are constantly inundated with “Thou shalt’s”.  Well-meaning “experts” point to a particular method, procedure, tactic, or strategy that has worked exceedingly well.  For them.  While such advice is often valuable to some (or even many) Bill reminds us that we are all different, and we don’t necessarily fit into the cookie-cutter way of doing things.  Maybe we would do better by taking what we read, hear, and see and determine how it effects US and OUR organization before falling in lockstep behind it.  Very refreshing.  Like a glass of pineapple-mango juice.  Thanks, my friend!

Remember the Onion

My offering here at Fire Daily is simple.  Ever notice the guy who never really cooks?  Oh sure, he’s trying, he wants to do it right, but no one ever showed him how to do it.  Be the firefighter who has the ability to recognize, and the desire to help, a faltering member of your company.  Too often, we fall into some sort of competition, a race, in which we are not only better, but better than the next guy.  In my opinion, true leaders cast such competition aside, opting instead to mentor those nearby, ensuring that the end game results not in one winner, but a team of winners.  For Chissakes, show the idiot how to peel an onion before he hurts himself!

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So there you have it.  Thanks to all of you who Shared the Wealth this month.  We are now a little bit richer.  Keep feeding us, we are hungry for this stuff.

To our readers- if you found this valuable, promise us YOU will Share the Wealth.

YOU Create a ‘life memory”’ in a young firefighter’s life.  YOU teach them how this all works.

Make the “Zipper” go faster.  Crank the music to eleven.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Stay Stoked!

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, In Da House, Just For Fun, Tips and Tricks, Tradition

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Posted by on May 28, 2010 • 9 comments

Remember the Onion

Remember your first time?

(….I mean- cutting an onion)

Way back when, I learned how to correctly cut an onion from my friends at the firehouse.  Until then, I just hacked away at it mercilessly and with reckless abandon.

Hey!  Nice hatchet job there, Lizzie Borden.

If I wanted to dice an onion, I chopped it. If I wanted to slice an onion or mince an onion, I chopped it.  And if I was lucky, I was able to chop an onion when I actually needed some chopped onion.

I never really knew how to do it correctly, but I got by OK…. No matter how the onion pieces ended up I was still able to use them and still managed to get the job done.  It may not have been pretty- nothing like your guys picking some outer onion skin from the pasta sauce you served up that night.  And I managed to keep the blood out of the food, know what I’m saying?

Where am I going with this?

All I needed was someone to show me how.

Someone who could take 12 seconds out of their life to give me the direction necessary to get you to dice that onion just right.   Ahhh….

Once someone showed me the PROPER WAY, I was golden.  I never looked back.  No sauce was compromised, everyone’s dinner was not just good, it was damn nummy!

The key?  Someone took the time to show me the best way to get it done.

It made me better, it made us all better.

Remember the onion when you see a guy struggle with getting his gear on.  Maybe he doesn’t take the time to get his suspenders lined up for that quick pull-on.

Remember the onion if your partner continually shows up in the nick of time at the start of your shift leaving little room for error thereby showing disrespect for the off-going crews

Remember the onion if he doesn’t completely clear out all of the glass from the window during extrication.

Remember the onion if the new guy fumbles for his handlight because he’s got too much crap in his bunker pockets.

Remember the onion when your partner has trouble throwing a ladder because he isn’t grabbing it at the right points taking it off the truck.

If you take the time to give a quick hint or offer a helpful tip, you’re entire team has just improved.  While one member has become ever-so-slightly better at what he does, that just made you all better.  Show them how to show the next guy, and so on.

It means the difference between just getting the job done somehow- and getting the job done right.

Which would you rather do?

Remember the onion.

Stay Stoked!

-J

Posted in Command & Leadership, In Da House, Tips and Tricks, Tradition

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Posted by on May 28, 2010 • 4 comments

360 Burn Size Up of the Fire Webs

It’s been awhile since my last post, so shame on me.  However you, the blog reader, has had no shortage of extremely interesting content from all the real bloggers out there.  I’ve been reading right along with you, and am amazed daily with all that is out there for us firefighters and emergency responders.  So I’m back today and already have another few ready to go.  It happens like this- sometimes articles come spewing out like ash from an Icelandic volcano.  So, without further ado, here’s my newest 360 Burn Size-Up of the Fire Webs:

The Voice of Reason

Let’s start off with the main reason Fire Daily has been squelched recently.  In addition to the new demands at home, Rhett Fleitz (FireCritic) and I have been busy contending with the incredible growth over at our collaboration, Firefighter NetCast.  The feedback and download activity has exceeded our wildest imagination of where we would be mere months after show number 1.

As Firefighter NetCast moves forward, you will notice an exciting change. We will be offering new programming with well-known hosts, each with their own show, their own opinions, their own takes on the fire service, and their individual offerings that make Firefighter NetCast the best place to catch timely and meaningful internet programming for firefighters.  Stay tuned as we begin to roll out several new shows already in production. We’ll be announcing their premiers very shortly!

Monday night, we introduced the newest member of our Firefighter NetCast family- Art Goodrich (ChiefReasonArt). Suffice it to say that this crusty old guy has been around for quite awhile and isn’t afraid to share his opinions and his take on what’s happening in the fire service.

But, here’s what makes Art so special: Although you may not always agree with what he says, you will always be treated with the respect you deserve as a fellow firefighter. Art demonstrates to all of us the “Art” of meaningful dialogue without the trash of disrespect which we see all too often. It is a valuable lesson to us in this day and age.

He calls it “The Voice of Reason”, and you can find it here, as well as on iTunes later today.  Seriously, this was a great show with many more to come!

The Weekly Weasel

If you are as interested in the leadership aspect of the fire service as I, you probably have already seen Mick Mayer’s new feature over at Firehouse Zen called “The Weekly Weasel.”  He encourages his readers to submit stories of firefighters unencumbered by leadership skills.  Know of any?  Not a very rare breed, unfortunately.

Anyway, he starts us off with his take on the type of leader best personified by Staff Sgt, Webster from Heartbreak Ridge. He goes on to offer suggestions on how to deal with this narcissistic megalomaniac.  Entertaining and educational.  Vintage Firehouse Zen.

Want to know what $40,000  of fire related damage looks like in a sprinklered apartment?

Finally, Captain Schmoe over at Report on Conditions shows us how a simple grease fire in a sink can cost forty large in restoration repairs when it is extinguished by residential sprinklers.  The pictures tell the story.

Anti-sprinklers? Hardly.  But like he says, maybe we all have the wrong side job…

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in 360 Burn, Command & Leadership, NetCast, News, Training, Training & Development

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Posted by on May 19, 2010 • No comments

If We Do What We’ve Always Done, We’ll Get What We’ve Always Gotten…

The Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire left the most indelible impression in my mind.

I imagined myself on the scene in one of three roles.  First, as a trapped firefighter in sheer terror wondering where the cavalry was.  Second, as a brother firefighter pleading, begging, nearly physically forcing his way past a Chief who would deny entry for yet another set of firefighters to die.  And finally, the Chief who denied entry, despite the verbal assaults, the M-Fing, and the physical altercation, stood his ground at the door denying the Worcester 6 would become the Worcester 8 or the Worcester 12.  Although I imagined myself in all three of these positions, I could never truly comprehend the raw emotion on that fireground that day.

God bless them all.

I could rehash the story of the Worcester 6, but it has been so heavily publicized by authors much more capable than I.  I won’t waste your time with my retelling of one of the most tragic incidents in fire service history.

I would rather take the opportunity offered by the First Due Blog Carnival to express my disgust with those in the service who make no changes to the way their agency operates based on the findings of the NIOSH reports.  It’s not that the reports are hard to find, they are rubbed in our noses constantly.  Why?  Because many are not doing a damn thing on a local level from lessons learned by brave firefighters who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

If this applies to you, shame on you.

Make it a point to go over the recommendations offered and apply them to your agency.  Make it a training opportunity so that each of your firefighters can learn the lessons of those who have gone before them.  Challenge your members to get involved and create an atmosphere of open and robust communication designed to make the changes necessary to ensure that your department is not the next department highlighted by NIOSH.  Sadly we are in the mindset that this stuff only happens to the other department.  Guess what?  To those departments, WE are the other department.

If you can’t do this, then relinquish your position of leadership to someone who gives a damn about their firefighters.

Late last year, I randomly selected several NIOSH reports and culled their recommendations.  See if you can detect a pattern.  See if your department can benefit by a change in your procedures, your approach, your mindset, based on the recommendations offered.

Make a difference.  Do it now.

Allow me to cheat a bit by re-posting the information as my contribution to this month’s First Due Blog Carnival.  Special thanks to Bill Carey of BackstepFirefighter for hosting this month’s topic.

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I see that NIOSH reports have popped up on the radar of the blogosphere recently.  Frankly, I’m surprised at the heat a few have been giving them.  Maybe I’ve been missing something (it’s happened before). So I took a closer look.
We already know that heart attacks and traffic accidents are the main murderers of us firefighters, so I’m sure we’ve already dedicated the necessary resources to firefighter health and safety initiatives and accident scene safeguards to keep these killers from having free reign over our troops.
Right?
So, I went to the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports page from NIOSH and randomly picked 5 of the reports with deaths involving fire suppression. I was looking for patterns. Guess what I found….
NIOSH Report 2008-26

A residential basement fire had been burning for over 30 minutes. A crew was directed to enter the first floor to perform horizontal ventilation and found a spongy floor. The last (victim) of the four-man crew was just about out when the floor collapsed into the basement on top of working crews. Heavy smoke conditions hampered efforts to locate the victim and he died on the scene.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Sizeup, Risk/Gain “ensure that the incident commander (IC) conducts a 360 degree size-up which includes risk versus gain analysis prior to committing interior operations and continues risk assessments throughout the operations”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “ensure that standard operating procedures are established for a basement fire”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that proper ventilation is done to improve interior conditions and is coordinated with the interior attack”

TIC- “ensure that interior crews are equipped with a thermal imaging camera”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that Rapid Intervention Teams are staged and ready”

NIOSH Report 2008-34

One of only three firefighters on the scene, the victim entered a burning residence alone with a partially-charged 1 ½ inch line and became lost in thick-black smoke, radioing for help from the other two. They couldn’t locate him, a flashover occurred, and the home became fully engulfed. A cop found him an hour later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up, Risk/Gain- “ensure that officers and fire fighters know how to evaluate risk versus gain and perform a thorough scene size-up before initiating interior strategies and tactics”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations”

Staffing- “ensure that adequate numbers of apparatus and fire fighters are on scene before initiating an offensive fire attack in a structure fire”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that properly coordinated ventilation is conducted on structure fires”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that a rapid intervention team (RIT) is established and available at structure fires”

SCBA- “ensure fire fighters are trained in essential self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and emergency survival skills”

Mayday- “ensure that protocols are developed on issuing a Mayday so that fire fighters and dispatch centers know how to respond”

NIOSH Report 2008-08

30 minutes into a residential fire, crews had been pulled out. A decision was made to send a crew back in to extinguish the fire. A crew of 3 (A/C, Capt, FF) made their way into the basement of the burning structure with an 1¾ line. One by one they evacuated due to conditions. The third never came up the stairs. RIT was activated but repelled by the heat. Victim found an hour later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Risk vs. Gain- “ensure that the Incident Commander continuously evaluates the risks versus gain when determining whether the fire suppression operation will be offensive or defensive“

SOP’s/SOG’s- “review, revise as necessary, and enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) to include specific procedures for basement fires and two-in/ two-out procedures“

TIC- “enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) regarding thermal imaging camera (TIC) use during interior operations“

Mayday- “ensure that fire fighters are trained on initiating Mayday radio transmissions immediately when they are in distress, and/or become lost or trapped“

NIOSH Report 2008-06

Without the protection of a charged hoseline, a Lt and FF (victim) were searching a 2-story residence for a trapped occupant. They did not know where the victim was and had no TIC. Conditions deteriorated, trapping the two on the second floor. The LT exited the front door and RIT was deployed to get the victim. Both were hospitalized and the victim succumbed to burn injuries 5 days later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up- “ensure the Incident Commander receives pertinent information during the size-up (i.e., type of structure, number of occupants in the structure, etc.) from occupants on scene and that information is relayed to crews upon arrival”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure ventilation is coordinated with interior fireground operations”

TIC- “ensure that fire fighters conducting an interior search have a thermal imaging camera”

Mayday- “ensure that Mayday protocols are developed and followed”

NIOSH Report 2007-32

Two firefighters died while conducting an interior attack to locate, confine, and extinguish a fire located in the cockloft of a restaurant. One victim had been flowing water into the cockloft from the kitchen, another had been checking for fire extension in the main dining area. At about 5 minutes in, a rapid fire event occurred.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up- Risk vs. Gain- “ensure that the incident commander conducts an initial size-up and risk assessment of the incident scene before beginning interior fire fighting operations and continually evaluates the conditions to determine if the operations should become defensive”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) that address the hazards and define the strategies and tactics to be used while operating at specific structures known as “taxpayers”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that fire fighters understand the influence of ventilation on fire behavior and coordinate with interior fire suppression operations”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that a rapid intervention crew (RIC) / rapid intervention team (RIT) is established and available to immediately respond to emergency rescue incidents”

TIC- “use thermal imaging cameras (TICs) during the initial size-up and search phases of a fire”

Any patterns?
Size-up, Risk vs. Gain- Does your first in crew perform a 360 and report an accurate size up of conditions to all others? Is a risk vs. gain assessment actually made? Are your initial tactics based upon these findings?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Are your SOP’s/SOG’s current to the ever-changing tasks being performed at your incidents? Do you follow them? Do you even have any?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Is ventilation performed early and integrated with your interior attack? Or has ventilation worked its way down to fifth or sixth on your list of priorities? After all, it will eventually vent itself.
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Is a RIT/RIC established early on? If you don’t have the personnel to form a RIT/RIC, do you have a mutual aid response to give you the number of firefighters needed to operate safely?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Does your department have at least one Thermal Imaging Camera? It’s been called the best thing since SCBA in many firefighting circles. You have SCBA, right? Does your department know to call a Mayday early? Too macho to call it? Does EVERYONE ON THE SCENE know what to do when a Mayday is called?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
WHY ARE WE NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH?
Are the reports too difficult to understand? Perhaps we need to dumb them down or fluff them up? Fine. I’m all for whatever it takes.
But let’s not forget that the reports are just that- reports. We need to make the changes, NIOSH ain’t gonna do that for us.
So read the reports, see how they killed our brothers, and take a hard look at how you and your department operate.
THEN IMPLEMENT THE CHANGES YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR GUYS ALIVE.
Because if we continue to do it the same way, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten. Another NIOSH report with the same ol’ stuff.

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Change, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Leadership, Line of Duty, LODD, Never Forget, News, Staffing, Training, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics, WTF?

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Posted by on April 28, 2010 • 2 comments

360 Burn Size-up of the Fire Web 3/2/2010

The Dance of the Company Officer

We start out this week by pointing to one of my “favoritest” partner bloggers at FireEMSblogs, Mick Mayers of FirehouseZen.

You know, I really enjoy the dance that occurs between the top and the bottom in the fire service organization.  At the top, the vision and direction of the group are put into play.  Those at the bottom need to accept, or buy into that vision in order for the group to move forward in a unified and cohesive manner.

In the middle we find the officers and supervisors.  Their commitment to the success of the organization is demonstrated by the way they convey the direction and vision from the top to their subordinates.  If they are effective, the organization becomes a well-oiled machine.  However if they don’t buy into the message, there is little hope for their subordinates to do the same.

This is where the officer needs to be able to put the needs of the organization ahead of the need to be pals with their guys.  This is one of the most difficult issues facing company officers.

Therein lies the dance.

As usual, this issue of change and leadership is best addressed by Chief Mick Mayers over at FirehouseZen.  From his latest post entitled “Get Everyone on Board”:

“Regardless of your organization, you are going to have personnel who are resistant to change, and while the troops may or may not decide to go willingly, it is a requirement that your officers or supervisors are.  If your small unit leaders aren’t on board, don’t count on the personnel they supervise joining in to resist them.  It will be much easier on those troops if they can get along with their misdirected officer than if they embrace the change, so you can count on the message not getting through when it is most needed.”

Read his post as there is much more on this topic that is important for all your officers to understand.

Fire Rescue TV

Check out Fire Rescue TV- a new website for firefighters that brings breaking news,new product reviews, and a special weekly fire rescue TV news segment.  All the video is extremely professional and rivals anything found on your home TV.

When we spoke with Executive Producer Martin Grube last week on Firefighter NetCast, he revealed an additional exciting element they have planned.  They will be visiting various firehouses and accompanying their crews during all aspects of the cooking portion of their shift.  Starting with planning, then shopping, then cooking and eating, Fire Rescue TV will follow the entire process from start to finish.  If the station’s crew draws a call, the video crew tags along as well. It’s a unique way for non-firefighters to witness this daily station activity.

So if you are in the mid-Atlantic region and want some excellent exposure of your department, invite Fire Rescue TV to your station!  They also welcome video submissions as well.  Make this new site a regular stop when perusing the interwebs.

Pole-Dancing Fireman

Speaking of videos, here’s some dessert for making it this far in the 360 Burn today.  This came to me courtesy of a tweet from our friend Chester Kopco, AKA FatherCabbage on the twitters.  It reminds me of someone I know.  Howabout you?

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in 360 Burn, Change, Command & Leadership, Just For Fun, Leadership, Technology & Communications, Videos

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Posted by on March 2, 2010 • 2 comments

How Many Tasers Are Needed to Squelch an Assistant Chief?

Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief Arrested During Firefighting Operations

Last Sunday, the “leaders” of the Franklin Township Fire Department put on quite a show, causing Pennsylvania State Police to step in, forcing the duo to end their two-act play before their curtain call.

According to a report by James Loewenstein at TheDailyReview.com, the Assistant Chief was not satisfied with the way Monroe Hose Company,led by Fire Chief Paul Bump, was putting out the fire at his house, Assistant Fire Chief Dale Stranger was yelling and shouting at firefighters on the scene and “had to be detained by fire personnel on scene,” Pennsylvania State Trooper Ben Bigus said.

Firefighters just wanted him to calm down or leave, but eventually were forced to summon police so they could continue their suppression activities without the irate interference of this highly-trained professional.

Upon arrival, state troopers ordered Dale Stranger to cease his actions.  However, he “again became disorderly and was taken into custody” after two TASERS were used on him, the state police said in their press release.

Donald Stranger, 61, of Monroeton, who is the chief of the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company, was also arrested when he  “became disorderly after failing to comply with orders from the state police,” the press release said.

So, the answer is two.

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Leadership, News, WTF?

Posted by on February 2, 2010 • 2 comments

360 Burn Size Up of the Fire Web- 1/13/10

And the Winner is……….

Mark Glencourse, the creator of Medic999, emerged victorious in what ended up to be a neck-and-neck race to the finish for the Best Fire/EMS Blog of 2009.  Congratulations, Mark!

FireGeezer sure gave him a run for his money, as they each traded leads in the exciting final stretch.  But Mark had an entire Kingdom of loyal readers mobilized and they came through as the contest ended last night. He stayed up late (1:00 am UK time) to take the honor of becoming the first guest on the live premiere edition of FirefighterNetCast to accept his “award”.

Obvious to all but the most childish (;->), no one here wanted an Oscar or was hurt because they weren’t considered or didn’t win.

There are no trophies, but there is the sheer triumphant joy of “bragging rights”. Those that truly know the fire and EMS services can appreciate the value bragging rights bring.

On the NetCast, Mark spoke eloquently to the goal of the “contest”: a means by which to expand the awareness of so many excellent bloggers out there, whether in the contest or not.

He is “spot-on” (methinks is a favourite saying acrost the pond) with that viewpoint.   We really are fortunate to have so many high-quality bloggers sharing their thoughts, views, and perspectives.  If you have a few favorites which you regularly visit, be sure to take time to check out some of the other talent out there as well.

To those of us who lost and have the bitter taste of defeat today- I say- wash that taste away with a high-end lager and say what we always say here in in The Windy City (home of the Cubs): “Just wait ‘til next year!”

You can read Mark’s reaction to his win here.

Appreciation must go out to my buddy and partner Rhett Fleitz over at FireCritic for spending is valuable time, talent, and treasure in creating and hosting the contest.  If he wasn’t running the project, there is no doubt you would have seen FireCritic vying for the gold as well.

Also a quick shout-out to my Mom- Hi Mom, thanks for voting for me!  Yep, just you and 14 others!  No, it’s OK, I’m fine.  Again…

Congratulations again to Mark, as well as all the other fire and EMS bloggers.  Let the 2010 games begin now!

Helmet Cam and the Outside Vent Guy

Speaking of excellence in fire/EMS blogging, head on over to Traditions Training Blog and catch an excellent helmet-cam video of DC Firefighter Joe Brown as he performs the tasks as the “Outside Vent Guy”.  While viewing the video, Joe adds important training tips on laddering, opening up windows, gaining access, and vent-enter-search practices.  This is a must-see video for any firefighter that wants to be on top of his game as a truckie.

You may also want to check out Joe in yet another DC Fire helmet cam video of ”Outside Vent Guy” at my earlier post, “Be This Guy.”

We are so pleased to have Traditions Training Blog as one of our newest partners here on FireEMSblogs.  Traditions Training is composed of fire department veterans from around the country, including the Washington, D.C. metro area and City of New York. The mission of Traditions Training is to teach “beyond the book” and provide knowledge and skills that will enhance your safety, efficiency, and knowledge as a firefighter.  Be sure to bookmark them and stop in regularly!

Too Aggressive or Too Safety-Conscious?

One other member new to FireEMSblogs.com, but certainly a seasoned veteran fire chief and nationally-recognized fire service leader and educator, Christopher J. Naum joins us with his newest blog The Company Officer.

In a recent post entitled Company Fortitude & Courage to be Safety Conscious,  Chris tells us that “dynamic risks must be managed at the company level with a balanced approach of effective assessment, analysis and probability within company and command decision making that results in safety conscious strategies and tactics.”

Does your company have this level of courage, or is there room to evaluate your ability to recognize the situation and adjust the manner in which you accomplish your fireground tasks?  Let this blog plant a seed in your head as you embark out into the new year.

Content Was King!

A final thank you to all who listened and participated in the live premier of Firefighter NetCast Tuesday night.  Despite the technical glitches that seem to always be lurking in the shadows, Rhett and I were absolutely thrilled and honored to have the caliber of discussion and listener participation to make the show truly special.  Special thanks to our featured guest, Bill Carey over at Backstep Firefighter for his vast knowledge and continued focus on Line of Duty Deaths.

A live netcast brings special surprises, as we found out by calls from Chief Art Goodrich (Chief Reason Art) and Christopher Naum (see above).  The interaction between these three guests was simply extraordinary.  I believe this may have been the first time these gentlemen spoke together on one show, as well as relating to input from our listeners in the live chat room.  We are indeed proud to be a part of that.

If you missed it, you can link to the raw feed at our site (hurry, before I have a chance to splice and dice out the glitches!) and make it available on iTunes.

Our next NetCast will also be live, this time at 9pm ET on February 4.  The featured topic will be Old School vs. New School and Social Media.  All the information can be found here.  We hope you can join us!

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Human Horror

As we watch the unimaginable human horror unfolding in Haiti where thousands have perished in the most intense earthquake there in 200 years, our hearts pour out to all those affected.  On a personal note, our family has an adopted child next door in the Dominican Republic and despite several attempts, we still aren’t able to determine her conditions.  Please pray for all of the victims.

We are so proud of the USAR teams and other specialized rescue workers from the United States who are either mobilizing now or are already on scene doing what they do best.

An earthquake survivor carries a small baby in a shanty town on the outskirts of Port au Prince, following a major earthquake in Haiti, Tuesday Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Marek/American Red Cross, ho)

Posted in 360 Burn, Command & Leadership, Disasters, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, In the Line of Duty, Leadership, Line of Duty, LODD, NetCast, News, Tips and Tricks, Training, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Videos

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Posted by on January 13, 2010 • No comments

Fire YesterDaily- “The Head Rule”

Ahh… just checked the calendar.  Wow.  Hmm.

Looks like the year/decade is ending much more quickly than I had planned.  That means we probably won’t be able to hit all 2009 of the best FireDaily blog posts for the year 2009.

I am of shame.

Let’s just skip a few hundred and work our way into the top few with the remaining time we have.  Links to the previous winners can be found below.

Here’s number 3:

“The Head Rule”

When I joined the fire service “a couple of years ago”, my mentor was a wise young captain. He offered up what he called the “Head Rule”. It is something I have made a point to pass along to all probies struggling to find their fit in this great service:

“You’ve got two eyes and two ears; keep ‘em open.

You have a nose, keep it clean.

But above all, keep your mouth shut!”

The fiasco in DC that burned our brothers on video (see STATter911.com) is still with us as mouths remain open and the yammering intensifies. DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis Rubin should have enough experience to know better than to extend the story with what came bubbling out of his mouth during an interview with Ed Comeau of Campus-Firewatch.com.

According to Comeau, the Chief said it “looked like a comedy act”.  It is a comment he still stands by today in a video update by STATter911.

A wordsmith he was not and his choice of verbiage may have caused more harm than the embarrassing incident of which he was referring.  Who wouldn’t expect a vocal and public outcry from the firefighters accompanied by a blistering response from President Raymond Sneed of IAFF Local 36

Imagine you are a DC firefighter. How does this make you feel about your leader?  What effect do these perceptions have within the group? What discipline would have been handed down if the Chief himself wasn’t involved?

There is a lot of blame to go around at all levels. We can all learn from the mistakes made here. As we mature in the fire service, we will come to learn that we always gain more by criticizing the act rather than the individual.

To his credit, Rubin “assumes full responsibility” for what happened. Stuff like no safety officer for the event, no pre-incident briefing, lack of use of a required check-off list, and he himself calling for the backup line which was never charged.  I’ve seen for myself many a time where a Chief would drop his people like a prom dress.  Thankfully, it appears this isn’t the case.  But this nightmare had an end in sight and it should have been left alone.

It Didn’t Have to Happen

With all the outcry from the initial story, it began to look like the story had run it’s course.  But, the “looked like a comedy act” remark now makes Rubin fair game. It just didn’t have to happen.

According to Department spokesman Pete Piringe, Rubin is said to be out of town and unavailable for comment.

Good. This fuel has been taken away and now the fire can be extinguished.

Maybe the “Head Rule” can finally be enacted.

-J

Previous finalists in FireDaily’s “2009 Best Blog Posts of 2009”

#2009-  Got a Bad Attitude?  Stay at Home!

#2008-  30 Minutes a Week of Training is Unfair and “Unreal”

#2007- “Da Chief”

#2006  “Nicknames”

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, IAFF, WTF?

Posted by on December 28, 2009 • 1 comment

360 Burn Size-up of The Fire Web 12/22/09

Chicago’s Gold Badge Society- One of a Kind

We know that a special type of brotherhood exists in the fire service.  In a Chicago Tribune story we see an example of the true blessings that brotherhood is made of.  Chicago’s Gold Badge Society recently held a Christmas Party bringing together many of the group’s 75 members, all of whom are relatives of Chicago firefighters and paramedics killed on the job. Read the story of how these wonderful people have helped the family of a Buffalo NY firefighter nearly killed in a roof collapse and putting him into a coma lasting almost 10 years.  If your active on Facebook, Chicago’s Gold Badge Society has it’s own Cause page, nearly reaching the goal of 2500 members.  Pop in and show your support!

Grab the Right Tool

If you cant get to the fire, you can’t make an interior attack.  Without good forcible entry skills, just prepare to set up for an exterior attack and all the fun that ensues with a winter water carnival.

The blog site VentEnterSearch.com is always a great spot to check out when looking to review your ability to recognize the way to best force entry in a given situation.  The most recent post gets you thinking about which is the best tool to use for gaining access into a special kind of door (your first choice is probably wrong).

As always, VentEnterSearch.com is worth your attention on a regular basis.

Station Fire Government Report Indicates Planes Ordered, Canceled, Then Re-Ordered

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich reportedly wants Congress to investigate how the firefighting was conducted in the county’s largest wildfire in history. The “Station Fire” ultimately killed two firefighters, destroyed 89 homes and blackened 250 square miles on the edge of Los Angeles.

According to a report from the Associated Press, questions still linger regarding the handling of the incident.  Chief among them is the apparent two-hour delay of three aerial tankers summoned by the U.S. Forest Service who later canceled then reordered them again according to Forest Service records obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act.  Read the entire story here

Posted in 360 Burn, Brotherhood, Chicagoland, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Wildland, WTF?

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Posted by on December 22, 2009 • No comments

360 Burn Size-up of the Fire Web 12/3/2009

Ten Years Ago Today

On December 3, 1999, the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire took the lives of six firefighters.  Head on over to FirefighterCloseCalls.com for a full report, complete with links to articles, photos, audio, and much more.

Follow that up with a read of an article entitled “A Chief’s Perspective” by retired Worcester District Fire Chief Michael O. McNamee and hope you never have to go through his nightmare. With trapped crews inside and after others had gone in to save them,  Chief McNamee ordered that no more firefighters go in.  He was met with heated threats of physical violence by his firefighters on the scene, many demanding to allow them to go in to rescue their brothers.  But he hung firm- and in doing so stopped that massive fire from killing any more of his men that night.  Thanks, Chief.  Use the information at FirefighterCloseCalls.com to create a training session for everyone on your department, especially for the newer guys who may never have heard the tragic details.

More is Less is Less is More

Did you catch the post by FireGeezer on Tuesday about the Newark (OH) fire chief who did the math?  Turns out that hiring more firefighters resulted in less overtime costs (way less).  Read the story about how fire chief Jack Stickradt was able to show the city manager how it could be done, after which the mayor followed suit.  Now with more firefighters, there’s les OT, less injuries, and more safety.  Hmmm.I’ve always wondered why a municipality would want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars rather than hire more people…

Next on the horizon for firefighters?   Personal air conditioning…ahhhhhh…

Colorado State University engineering professors are using a $917,000 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to develop technology that would protect firefighters’ cardiovascular health and stave off heat stress. Researchers will use a device called the SCAMP (Super Critical Air Mobility Pack) device from Niwot Technologies that can cool firefighters and hazmat teams as they work. SCAMP was developed for and used by NASA astronauts 20 years ago and uses cryogenically-cooled air in a thin compact case. Their work looks to help alleviate the number one cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths (cardiovascular failure- 43% of all deaths) by providing up to four hours of purified air and body cooling. See more here.

Posted in 360 Burn, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Leadership, Line of Duty, LODD, Major Incidents, Never Forget, News, Staffing, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on December 3, 2009 • No comments

If We Do What We’ve Always Done, We’ll Get What We’ve Always Gotten…

I see that NIOSH reports have popped up on the radar of the blogosphere recently.  Frankly, I’m surprised at the heat a few have been giving them.  Maybe I’ve been missing something (it’s happened before). So I took a closer look.
We already know that heart attacks and traffic accidents are the main murderers of us firefighters, so I’m sure we’ve already dedicated the necessary resources to firefighter health and safety initiatives and accident scene safeguards to keep these killers from having free reign over our troops.
Right?
So, I went to the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports page from NIOSH and randomly picked 5 of the reports with deaths involving fire suppression. I was looking for patterns. Guess what I found….
NIOSH Report 2008-26
A residential basement fire had been burning for over 30 minutes. A crew was directed to enter the first floor to perform horizontal ventilation and found a spongy floor. The last (victim) of the four-man crew was just about out when the floor collapsed into the basement on top of working crews. Heavy smoke conditions hampered efforts to locate the victim and he died on the scene.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Sizeup, Risk/Gain “ensure that the incident commander (IC) conducts a 360 degree size-up which includes risk versus gain analysis prior to committing interior operations and continues risk assessments throughout the operations”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “ensure that standard operating procedures are established for a basement fire”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that proper ventilation is done to improve interior conditions and is coordinated with the interior attack”

TIC- “ensure that interior crews are equipped with a thermal imaging camera”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that Rapid Intervention Teams are staged and ready”

NIOSH Report 2008-34

One of only three firefighters on the scene, the victim entered a burning residence alone with a partially-charged 1 ½ inch line and became lost in thick-black smoke, radioing for help from the other two. They couldn’t locate him, a flashover occurred, and the home became fully engulfed. A cop found him an hour later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up, Risk/Gain- “ensure that officers and fire fighters know how to evaluate risk versus gain and perform a thorough scene size-up before initiating interior strategies and tactics”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations”

Staffing- “ensure that adequate numbers of apparatus and fire fighters are on scene before initiating an offensive fire attack in a structure fire”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that properly coordinated ventilation is conducted on structure fires”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that a rapid intervention team (RIT) is established and available at structure fires”

SCBA- “ensure fire fighters are trained in essential self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and emergency survival skills”

Mayday- “ensure that protocols are developed on issuing a Mayday so that fire fighters and dispatch centers know how to respond”

NIOSH Report 2008-08

30 minutes into a residential fire, crews had been pulled out. A decision was made to send a crew back in to extinguish the fire. A crew of 3 (A/C, Capt, FF) made their way into the basement of the burning structure with an 1¾ line. One by one they evacuated due to conditions. The third never came up the stairs. RIT was activated but repelled by the heat. Victim found an hour later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Risk vs. Gain- “ensure that the Incident Commander continuously evaluates the risks versus gain when determining whether the fire suppression operation will be offensive or defensive“

SOP’s/SOG’s- “review, revise as necessary, and enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) to include specific procedures for basement fires and two-in/ two-out procedures“

TIC- “enforce standard operating guidelines (SOGs) regarding thermal imaging camera (TIC) use during interior operations“

Mayday- “ensure that fire fighters are trained on initiating Mayday radio transmissions immediately when they are in distress, and/or become lost or trapped“

NIOSH Report 2008-06

Without the protection of a charged hoseline, a Lt and FF (victim) were searching a 2-story residence for a trapped occupant. They did not know where the victim was and had no TIC. Conditions deteriorated, trapping the two on the second floor. The LT exited the front door and RIT was deployed to get the victim. Both were hospitalized and the victim succumbed to burn injuries 5 days later.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up- “ensure the Incident Commander receives pertinent information during the size-up (i.e., type of structure, number of occupants in the structure, etc.) from occupants on scene and that information is relayed to crews upon arrival”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure ventilation is coordinated with interior fireground operations”

TIC- “ensure that fire fighters conducting an interior search have a thermal imaging camera”

Mayday- “ensure that Mayday protocols are developed and followed”

NIOSH Report 2007-32

Two firefighters died while conducting an interior attack to locate, confine, and extinguish a fire located in the cockloft of a restaurant. One victim had been flowing water into the cockloft from the kitchen, another had been checking for fire extension in the main dining area. At about 5 minutes in, a rapid fire event occurred.

Among the NIOSH recommendations:

Size-up- Risk vs. Gain- “ensure that the incident commander conducts an initial size-up and risk assessment of the incident scene before beginning interior fire fighting operations and continually evaluates the conditions to determine if the operations should become defensive”

SOP’s/SOG’s- “develop, implement and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) that address the hazards and define the strategies and tactics to be used while operating at specific structures known as “taxpayers”

Coordinated Ventilation- “ensure that fire fighters understand the influence of ventilation on fire behavior and coordinate with interior fire suppression operations”

RIT/RIC- “ensure that a rapid intervention crew (RIC) / rapid intervention team (RIT) is established and available to immediately respond to emergency rescue incidents”

TIC- “use thermal imaging cameras (TICs) during the initial size-up and search phases of a fire”

Any patterns?
Size-up, Risk vs. Gain- Does your first in crew perform a 360 and report an accurate size up of conditions to all others? Is a risk vs. gain assessment actually made? Are your initial tactics based upon these findings?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Are your SOP’s/SOG’s current to the ever-changing tasks being performed at your incidents? Do you follow them? Do you even have any?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Is ventilation performed early and integrated with your interior attack? Or has ventilation worked its way down to fifth or sixth on your list of priorities? After all, it will eventually vent itself.
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Is a RIT/RIC established early on? If you don’t have the personnel to form a RIT/RIC, do you have a mutual aid response to give you the number of firefighters needed to operate safely?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
Does your department have at least one Thermal Imaging Camera? It’s been called the best thing since SCBA in many firefighting circles. You have SCBA, right? Does your department know to call a Mayday early? Too macho to call it? Does EVERYONE ON THE SCENE know what to do when a Mayday is called?
Why not? Didn’t you try to implement the NIOSH recommendations to keep from killing your firefighters?
WHY ARE WE NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH?
Are the reports too difficult to understand? Perhaps we need to dumb them down or fluff them up? Fine. I’m all for whatever it takes.
But let’s not forget that the reports are just that- reports. We need to make the changes, NIOSH ain’t gonna do that for us.
So read the reports, see how they killed our brothers, and take a hard look at how you and your department operate.
THEN IMPLEMENT THE CHANGES YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR GUYS ALIVE.
Because if we continue to do it the same way, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten. Another NIOSH report with the same ol’ stuff.

Posted in 360 Burn, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Rescues, Training, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics, WTF?

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Posted by on November 22, 2009 • 6 comments

Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup

I’m sure we can all agree that our company works best when the same players are involved. There is a certain synchronicity that emerges during any given situation. The left hand knows what the right hand is doing. The first arriving officer is doing his/her thing, the pipe is leading out, the engineer is making connections. It’s well-oiled machine.

Oh sure, there are the occasional times when the machine develops a burp or two, but the problems are usually quickly ironed out and soon the team is humming along on all eight cylinders once again. When the players are the same, continuity exists.

But we are never assured of the luxury of having the same guys every shift. Duty trades and overtime fill-ins for vacations and illnesses result in a continually-changing group, constantly trying to mesh. Even with SOG’s/SOP’s in place, the chemistry is just a little different. In the fire service, this difference invariably leads to more burps. And if not pre-treated with a little pre-incident briefing, those burps could escalate into full-blown projectile vomiting.

In Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety, Nurse Diesel saw the importance of immediately informing the new head shrink, Dr. Thorndyke, of the rules that were to be followed at the Institute for the Very Very Nervous. While your approach may not be the same, the timing is all-important: make it happen immediately.

It is the responsibility of the company officer to recognize the challenges his/her company will face when a visiting member is a new part of the team. The CO needs to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Make it a point to remind the troops to focus on the little things that make it gel. Who will be grabbing what tool? Who will be on the tip? Do you do a left-hand search?

For career companies, this should be addressed before anything else. As a CO, I’ve found that a simple reminder to my regular guys to facilitate the discussion with our visiting player is all it takes. As they engage with each other on what is expected, the cohesive element of the company starts to take shape and we can anticipate that team-approach so necessary to a productive and viable company.

Volunteer officers may have the added challenge of trying to craft a well-oiled machine during the response. With sirens wailing in the background, make sure each member knows what their first few steps should be so that you “hit the ground running” upon arrival, reducing the possibility of a “clustercluck” developing.

“OK guys, it sounds like we’re the second engine in. Unless you hear otherwise, we’ll be establishing a supply line to the first-in engine. We’ll be doing a forward lay, so Joe, you make the hydrant connection…” and so on.

Operating efficiently and productively helps to insure that you and your troops will be heading home after shift. Recognizing the need to pre-plan the actions of your company is an important step to achieving the nirvana necessary to achieve your goals.

After all, if someone ain’t playing by the rules, someone ain’t getting their fruit cup…

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Leadership

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Posted by on November 5, 2009 • No comments

What Happened at the Station Fire? $$$ ?

On a sizzling August morning, as flames burned unchecked down the road, fire crews milled about at an Angeles Crest Highway ranger station. Others were parked along the pavement — a critical line of defense — their engines quiet and hoses slack.

It was more than an hour after first light, and some six hours after U.S. Forest Service commanders had determined that the fire required a more aggressive air attack. But the skies remained empty of water-dropping helicopters — tankers that were readily available.

What was happening?

In a story to be published in the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times, Paul Pringle reports on the mounting quest for answers regarding the response to what turned out to be the largest fire in LA County history. The Station Fire eventually killed two Los Angeles County firefighters, destroyed about 90 dwellings and devastated one of America’s most-visited national forests.

It had been previously reported that the Forest Service issued a memorandum to Southern California Managers three weeks prior to the Station Fire. It had directed its Southern California managers to trim expenses by reducing the use of reinforcements from municipal departments and the state.

Many have charged that the initial response to the fire was inadequate, and assets that were ready and available were not used soon enough, resulting in a conflagration that should never have occurred.

County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said he has ordered an executive review of his department’s response during the first five days of the fire.  It is due out November 17.

Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, LODD, Major Incidents, News, Wildland, WTF?

Posted by on October 31, 2009 • No comments