By: Christopher Brennan I’d like to offer my condolences to the family of Firefighter Mark Falkenhan, of the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company (MD). FF Falkenhan was searching an occupied building for occupants when, according to Baltimore County Fire Department Chief John Hohman, a flashover occurred. Our Brother was severely burned and succumbed to his injuries. Godspeed, Brother;…
Author: chrisFSW
They Have Delusions of Adequacy
By: Christopher Brennan So, for the Camden, New Jersey, Fire and Police Departments a terrible day is upon us. I mentioned this yesterday, Camden is laying off 30% of their Fire Department and 50% of their police department today. The guys at Firefighter Close Calls have collected a good deal of information, here. (Link Not Archived)…
Succeeding In Spite of Our Selves…
By: Christopher Brennan I think there are days that as firefighters we end up succeeding in spite of our best efforts to get killed. There are folks who drive too fast, refuse to wear seat belts, think a healthy lunch is ordered off the McDonald’s Value Menu, and whose exercise regime consists of shuffling to…
Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself….
Author’s note: Wow this is painful to watch. We won’t be reposting all the video links on the rebuilt FSW Website, however we are posting this one to help track the evolution of the site (and my video production skills). All the videos are on the YouTube Channel. By: Christopher Brennan Video Blogging Comes To…
Why We Need Firefighters
By: Christopher Brennan Fire Engineering posted an article I wrote titled, “Why We Need Firefighters.” It’s a piece that is really written for the lay-person to understand what this calling is all about. I would love to see everyone out there print it out, and send it to the editor of their local paper (please just make…
What Are Your Bad Habits?
By: Christopher Brennan So I gave myself a new rule, “No looking at the computer after 10pm.” I decided that I didn’t need to start reading things 10 minutes before bed that got my brain turning over a problem to the point where I have to get out of bed and go write. I love…
Quit Telling Me to Change My Culture
By: Christopher Brennan We will now bring you a diatribe from our frustrated author: I am sick and tired of hearing that the fire service needs to change our culture. It’s what “Everyone Goes Home” is about, it’s in the 16 life safety inititives, and hords of folks come out an [sic] comment when ever there…
Ventilation – What not to Do.
Great video to illustrate exactly how ventilation effects fire spread. Pay attention from about the 3 minute 27second mark. On YouTube this is titled “Fire Fighter Freelanced Ventilation”. I don’t know if this was freelancing, was an ordered act, or a case of lack of knowledge of fire behavior married with a SOG that encourages…
Fireground Tactical Decision Making – Part 2
By: Christopher Brennan NOVEMBER 24, 2010 Developing Fire Ground Tactical Decision Making Skills Even if you have good SOGs and are an all-star firemen your ability to use the Boyd Loop to make tactical decisions on the fire ground will be limited if you do not practice with it. Think of it this way, your brain…
Fireground Tactical Decision Making – Part 1
Authors’ Note: My ideas about decision making and the OODA Loop framework have grown considerably since this piece was first published. It is presented unedited to allow the reader to see how the thinking have developed overtime. I encourage you to check out the FSW Patreon Page for access to my newest work on John…