2019

Training is critical to performance, especially these days, when there are fewer real-world fires but the ones that do ignite burn hotter and faster. Problem is, a lot of training […]

What qualifies someone to be a battalion chief? If they’re in a career department, it’s pretty clear. They need a specific amount of experience, they have to pass a written […]

I received an email here at Code 3 a few days ago. It was full of comments about the show, like a lot of other emails I get. But this […]

Let’s say you wanted to become a company officer. In your interview, you probably told them it was because you felt your leadership could help the department, and you meant […]

Today, June 30, 2019, marks the sixth anniversary of the LODD of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, who were killed while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire […]

Volunteer firefighters make up most U.S. departments, by far. Yet the state of volunteer firefighting is in serious trouble. The NFPA issued a report in March that said there were […]

The topic for this episode is flowing water while advancing the line. Some departments always do it. Some don’t. There’s pretty good evidence that flowing while advancing is safer than […]

If you want to become a firefighter, the first thing to understand is that it isn’t easy. There’s a lot of school required nowadays, and it can take several years […]

The battle over the traditional fire helmet and what I’ll call the Eurohelmet is growing as some U.S. departments make the switch. It’s hard to nail down exactly why firefighters […]

Swiftwater rescues are among the most dangerous that you will face. That may sound obvious, but some departments that haven’t seen many swiftwater incidents have been taken by surprise. Out […]