Scott Orr

Today, we are rethinking everything you know about fire ground size-up. Everyone has been taught standard acronyms like COAL WAS WEALTH. But that traditional method is often too complicated for […]

How many times have you pulled up to a location, seen fire blowing out of the second-story windows, and thought, “There is no way anyone is alive in there?” Today’s […]

You ever walk into *that* firehouse? You know the one.  The crew is burnt out. They’ve given up on morale. And they’re constantly complaining that “Downtown” or “The Brass” has […]

There’s a lot of talk about “making the grab” in this job. But how often do you actually break down what went right when a rescue is successful? Not just […]

We often talk about the fireground as a chaotic environment, because it is. But there is a tendency in the modern fire service to meet that chaos with complexity—adding more […]

Do you know exactly how vertical ventilation works? Depending on your level of experience, you may think you do, but you still might not have a really solid understanding of […]

If you spend any time on social media, you’re probably familiar with Curt Isakson. He has a massive presence on Facebook and about 6,000 followers. Chief Ike, as he’s also […]

When Bill Niemann joined the fire service in 1976, the landscape looked very different. This was a time of rubber boots and riding the tailboard of the engine. SCBAs were […]

 If you’re a member of a volunteer department, you’ve probably run into the problem of Incident Command. The issue is, who’s going to be the IC on a given […]

This edition of Code 3 is a little different than most. It’s about a Fire Chief who lost his job after he incurred the wrath of the Union Local’s officials […]