2020

Your department has probably been described, at least informally, as an all-hazards department. That usually means things like water rescue, hazmat, high-angle rescue, and so on. But over the years, […]

If you’re not a career firefighter in a major city, this is going to be a familiar topic. If you are in a major city, get ready to hear something […]

This time, I’m doing something a little different. I’m helping out my friends up the road at the Los Angeles Fire Department. They’re doing a fundraiser, selling LAFD Strong t-shirts […]

It’s not easy to be married to a firefighter. Whether you’re the wife or a husband of one, you know it can be tough to deal with emotionally. And if […]

This time, I’m doing something a little different. It’s been a tough fire season here in southern California and it’s not over. I’m helping out my friends up the road […]

How would you grade your most recent Incident Commander’s performance? Solid or…timid? Solid is an IC who has been trained and seasoned—and one more element: practiced. Timid is someone who […]

The way we used to train newbies, in lots of jobs, not just firefighting, could best be described as “tough love.” That’s being charitable. We were downright mean to them, […]

Recruiting has become a real problem at many volunteer fire departments. But what’s worse is when you do get someone to join, get them qualified, and then in a year […]

I just had Pete Van Dorpe on the show, talking about his article from 2015 titled, “Mounting an Intelligent Interior Attack.” Coincidentally, Nick Salameh, a previous guest on this show, […]

There is always an on-going discussion about how aggressive firefighters should be at structure fires. Inevitably, the argument gets into interior attacks vs. transitional. That discussion bypasses an important question, […]