Firefighter Safety News

Telling it Like it Is - March 2010

If We Can't Prevent Line-of-Duty Deaths, Let's Just Compensate the Survivors

Firehouse Magazine Editorial Staff

Posted: Sun, 03/07/2010 - 20:30
Updated: Fri, 03/12/2010 - 17:32
Web Exclusive included with this article

Never before in the history of the fire service has as much attention been paid to firefighter safety as what has occurred over the past six years. In March 2004, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) held the first Firefighter Life Safety Summit. This was a gathering of various fire service leaders, industry experts and other concerned folks who were apparently tired of killing more than 100 firefighters every year.The outcome of this meeting was a set of goals and a document.

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Telling it Like it Is - February 2010

Doing less with less. When will we learn?

Firehouse Magazine Editorial Staff

Posted: Wed, 02/03/2010 - 16:01
Updated: Fri, 02/05/2010 - 14:47
Web Exclusive included with this article

Budget cuts. These words have become an integral part of the daily lives of most fire service leaders. As many municipalities, both big and small, are forced to deal with declining revenues and shrinking financial reserves, they are left with little choice but to cut into all aspects of municipal operations, including public safety. This seems to inevitably set off a chain of events that ultimately leads to the use of the ubiquitous yet equally aggravating phrase: "They are asking us to do more with less."

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Preparing for Self-Rescue & Survival Success

Training ideas for survival and rescue on the fireground

By Michael P. Daley

, For Firehouse.com

Posted: Sun, 01/17/2010 - 02:00
Updated: Wed, 01/20/2010 - 17:46
Web Exclusive included with this article

From early in our fire service careers, we are taught that there are three priorities on any incident: life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation. Paramount in this list is life safety, especially the lives of our firefighters. However, during the discharge of our duties, it is possible that firefighters can become disoriented and trapped, requiring the assistance of a well-trained rapid intervention team; the team on scene that is solely used for the purpose of rescuing trapped or missing firefighters.

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Telling it Like it Is - January 2010

An introduction to a new Firehouse Magazine monthly column

Firehouse Magazine Editorial Staff

Posted: Mon, 01/04/2010 - 11:51
Updated: Mon, 01/04/2010 - 13:17

Welcome to the inaugural column for Telling It Like It Is. This column will be dedicated to honest discussion about the issues and events that confront the fire service today. We'll have open and frank discussions that may upset some of you because they will take a "truth at all costs" approach to the issues for one simple reason - the fire service needs it.

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A Standard of Living

SOPs can set a fire department on the path to safety

By Jameson Ayotte

, Firehouse.com Contributor

Posted: Wed, 12/30/2009 - 16:19
Updated: Mon, 01/04/2010 - 22:58
Web Exclusive included with this article

The American Firefighter is many things. In one day, they can be a mechanic, electrician, appliance repairman, teacher, plumber and furniture mover. They may perform traffic control duties one minute and receive a last chance confession the next.

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Purpose in a Senseless Tragedy: The Amarillo Fire Department

'Team Brian' formed after firefighter death

By Burton A. Clark, Firehouse.com Contributor

Posted: Wed, 12/16/2009 - 11:50
Updated: Wed, 12/16/2009 - 18:52
Web Exclusive included with this article

Four years have elapsed since the Amarillo, TX, Fire Department lost our brother, Brian Hunton, after a fatal fall from a moving fire apparatus while responding to an emergency. The attached documents summarize our journey since Brian's death.

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Clandestine Drug Labs Pose Serious Dangers to Responders

By August Vernon and Rick Hetzel, Firehouse.com Contributors

Posted: Tue, 12/15/2009 - 14:39
Updated: Tue, 12/15/2009 - 14:50
Web Exclusive included with this article

If your agency is dispatched to a possible clandestine drug lab, would you know how to recognize one? What happens if your responders find one during routine activities?

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Cobb: Jersey City Firefighters Heed Worcester Lessons Months Later

By Robert "Butch" Cobb, Firehouse.com Contributor

Posted: Tue, 12/01/2009 - 12:50
Updated: Fri, 12/04/2009 - 14:32

They spoke.

We listened.

We Learned.

Sometimes it's the lessons we learn from past tragedies that save the lives of the living. Never were such lessons learned more apparent than on March 22, 2001 when Jersey City, NJ, fire dispatchers transmitted Box 272 for smoke coming from a vacant cold storage warehouse. Located in the area of the Holland Tunnel, the "Mecca Building", as it was known by firefighters had been the scene of numerous fires over the years.

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Carter: Simple Acts of Courage

By Dr. Harry Robert Carter, PHD, Firehouse.com Contributor

Posted: Tue, 12/01/2009 - 12:26
Updated: Fri, 12/04/2009 - 17:30

We in the fire service are frequently called heroes by the public. My friends, I think that the word hero is one which is both grossly overused and frequently misunderstood by those who constantly bandy the word about. Many are the true heroes in our world, and their deeds seem sometimes to be diminished by the improper and overuse of the word.

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Safety: When to "Back the Truck Up"

Observations, experience help keep safety on the roadmap

By Ryan Pennington

For Firehouse.com

Posted: Thu, 09/03/2009 - 01:00
Updated: Fri, 11/20/2009 - 12:26

In the fire service you will find that a little education mixed-in with experience will provide the wisdom it takes to make a safe environment to work in.

We all believe that we belong to an aggressive fire department who works hard for all that they have; we are raised that way from the beginning of our training. So does there come a time when you have to "back the truck up"? I believe there is such a time and I am hoping that by reading this article you will begin to see my view from the jump seat.