By: Christopher Brennan Like many folks out there I subscribe to The Secret List (which of course is not so secret) to get notified about what’s going on in the Fire Service. Chief Billy Goldfeder and his team do a great job of updating us about significant events in the fire service, Line of Duty Deaths in particular….
Author: chrisFSW
The Mission of the Fire Service Warrior
By: Christopher Brennan Here’s the link to my article “The Mission of the Fire Service Warrior” on Fire Engineering online. Hope you enjoy it.
The Fantasy World of Firefighting
By: Christopher Brennan There are articles being written everyday about the “real world” of firefighting, discussing topics like Crew Resource Management, Everyone Goes Home, and The Courage to be Safe. I’m not entirely sure that all of them really address real world operations. It seems to me in fact many of these catch phrases really are advocating a…
The Devil is in the Details
By: Christopher Brennan I don’t know who first said, “The Devil is in the details,” but it’s true that plenty of great sounding ideas can begin to fall apart on deeper examination. I’ve written before about the how the mission statement, “Everyone Goes Home” is doomed to fail; it’s that kind of well-intentioned statement I think…
Victim Survivability Profiling… Continuing the Discussion
By: Christopher Brennan This week I received an email regarding my “%$#@ VSP” posting, from Captain Stephen Masar (FDNY) the author of the VSP concept. With the Captain’s permission I am sharing the post in its entirety, unedited, below. I have been thinking about the ongoing discussion that Capt. Marsar and I are having and…
%$#@ “Victim Survivability Profiling”; Do Your Primary Search
Author’s Note: This post generated a lot of conversation between myself and the author of VSP Steve Marsar both via email and in person. I stand by my statements from 2010 in full. By: Christopher Brennan OCTOBER 28, 2010 The Fire Service is constantly finding new buzzwords and phrases to describe what we do and…
Sincerity vs. Competency
By: Christopher Brennan SEPTEMBER 4, 2010 Why do you choose to wear a firefighter’s badge? Have you chosen this vocation to serve your neighbors, or because you want to be perceived as someone “special” or “important”? Do you choose to risk your life out of a sense of service, or have you chosen this “job”…
Our Rituals
By: Christopher Brennan Thousands of Firefighters from the Chicago Area and around the country participated in one of our timeless rituals, the laying to rest of a fallen Brother. FF/PM Christopher Wheatley, Chicago Fire Department, Truck Co. 2 fell from a ladder while fighting a fire August 9th. When I arrived at the funeral…
Firefighter Occupational Cancer
By: Christopher Brennan On July 31st, my friend and Brother Tony Volpe passed away from Colon Cancer. While “the jury is still out” so to speak, I believe that Tony’s cancer was as a result of Occupational Exposure. Firefighters have been regularly identified as having higher than the normal occurrences of cancer. “Researchers found…
The FSW Logbook
By: Christopher Brennan APRIL 30, 2010 When I first found out I was going to be starting as a full-time firefighter I sat down to have a drink with a friend, fellow Instructor, and mentor, a retired Deputy District Chief of the Chicago Fire Department. He said, “Tim, Keep a journal.” (At the time the…