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)
According to Comeau, the Chief said it “looked like a comedy act”. It is a comment he still stands by today in 
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. 
What You’ve Said