By: Gary Lane We don’t have those. We don’t do that. That’ll never work or happen here. How many times have we heard, or sometimes even spoken, those words? It happens all the time in departments across the country. Guys see or hear about a department, big or small, that does something at a fire…
Share and Share Alike
By: Gary Lane I was shown something by another fireman that I really think should be shared. It is so simple that I am actually embarrassed to admit I never thought of doing it. Before I share it with you, I wanted to just talk for a quick minute about what that means, “To share”. …
Backdraft
By: Eddie Crombie On March 28, 1994 the Fire Department of New York responded to reports of heavy sparks and smoke coming from a chimney in an apartment located at 62 Watts Street Upon arrival companies found light smoke showing and prepared for an offensive attack. Crews positioned themselves outside the apartment door to mount…
The Day The Universe Hit me with a Bat
Chris talks about his experience of Line of Duty injury and retirement.
Extreme Fire Phenomena
By: Eddie Crombie Over the last two articles we have examined event we call flashover and heat release rate, the dynamic measure of energy that partially defines why the traditional fire behavior curve is changing. The next step in expanding our understanding of the modern fire ground requires us to delve…
Heat Release Rate
By: Eddie Crombie In the last post we extensively covered flashover. Specifically what has changed in the modern environment we operate in. We all know we fight explosive fires in disposable buildings because of the widespread use of synthetic materials in our daily lives. This translates to rapid fire development due…
Flashover
By: Eddie Crombie From the first days in academy we begin to learn about fire behavior, specifically flashover. We are taught that flashover is an event in every fire when everything combustible in a room ignites instantly creating a non-survivable environment for both victims and rescue personnel. Unfortunately, this is an…
“I Have a Theory”
By: Chris Brennan Theories are important. Theories give us room to stretch the metaphorical legs of our intellect and explore ground that we haven’t been over before, or that we might have seen at a distance but not explored. I remember as a young child, around eleven or twelve years old, being on Scout trips…
It’s Not a Job, It’s Not a Career…It’s a Calling
By: David Harms Members of the American Fire Service should consider themselves blessed to be alive and to have the opportunity to show up to work and serve their citizens. Without a doubt in my mind, this is an absolute honor. It’s not concerning whether you’re a volunteer, a part-time back stepper or a career…