That's right folks, it's time to order up the chicken wings, chips, and find the biggest television imaginable to watch the biggest game on the biggest stage. It's Super Bowl time! For many the Super Bowl will be the biggest game of their life, one that they have spent years preparing for. In a way the football format can be applied to the fire service. Just think about it - we have a general...

Good afternoon from the warm shores of West Virginia...well at least it's warm in January. First off I would like to take the chance to welcome Battalion Chief (ret.) John Salka to the Firehouse.com blogging community. I have been a fan of his work for many years and stand honored to be blogging on the same website. To be placed on the same page with names such as Salka , Carter , and Gasaway...

Since this is my first blog for Firehouse.com let me introduce myself. My name is John Salka and I have been a battalion chief with the FDNY for the past 13 years of my 32 year career. In addition to my job with the FDNY, I also write the back page in Firehouse magazine titled " The Fire Scene ." Some of you may know me from my travels around the country teaching and lecturing about...

There is nothing quite like finding an unexpected surprise on the web. This evening, while surfing the web looking up some data, I stumbled upon this golden nugget, a page on the USFA for Kids website . If you are like me and you feel as though you have seen everything the site has to offer, you may be wrong! With new things added on their site all the time, you might want to occasionally...

 Good morning from the jumpseat.  It’s about that time of the year again where we grab paper and pen to spell out what our goals for the upcoming year will be.  From losing weight to learning a new skill, we all should take the time to write out some goals to give us direction for the new year.  Within these goals we should include something for our fire service career.  “If you want to...

  Good afternoon from the jumpseat. Old man winter is upon us again and as the temperature drops the fire danger seems to more than double.  As we run our EMS calls this time of year I can’t help but notice the number of extra heaters that people are using. From kerosene to electric they come in all types and sizes and present a serious fire danger. Add these types of supplemental heating...

One of the things that I enjoy doing when I have some down time, is to surf the web to find resources to assist the fire safety dogs and I with our fire safety programming. This morning, I stumbled upon videos made with Rob Neale, Deputy Superintendent of the United States Fire Administration . Not only is there one video, there are several ! I feel as though I hit the fire...

I don't know about you, but nothing makes me happier when I realize that the application period for the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants is near. According to an email blast from FEMA that was just sent out, it's anticipated that the application period for the 2011 FP&S grants will be held early Spring 2012 . Part of what can help make a grant be successful, is to BE PREPARED . If you...

When doing some research to share some winter safety tips from the United States Fire Administration, I was a bit surprised to find that they were collaborating with NFPA.  Their Put a Freeze on Winter Fires page has some great resources for winter fire safety that you might find useful. In addition to some great stats like, “Winter residential building fires result in an estimated...

I received a message a while back to call a friend of mine, an officer on an aggressive Midwest fire department. He needed some advice on a water flow issue.   It seems that a few days before, they had a fire that fully involved an attached garage and with flames through the roof, the incident commander ordered a two and a half inch line pulled for initial attack. Based on the amount of...

The National Fire Academy week is here again. Already? When my fireman got accepted for the same week as last year, I thought we still had months to worry about the details and figure things out before he left. As time often does, it fast forwarded us to this magical week. The week I get to be pleasantly supportive and take care of things on the homefront while he drives up the coast to...

This will not be a normal Harry Carter commentary. I am really fired up about all of the nonsense which is going on in our nation and in the world at large. Since we cannot divorce the fire service from the world at large, I think that the time has come for a reality check on where we stand at this time in history.    As I sat watching the Sunday news show this week, I began to...

How much thought and efforts do you place on looking beyond the suggested "routiness" of your response operations? You know, the redundancy, routiness and frequency of typical calls you run, the types of fire you engage in and the manner in which your company interfaces with the balance of the alarm response when working a job or multiple alarm operation. We talk about nothing being routine, yet...

As this Thursday approaches and the turkeys are shaking in their feathers it's time for us to pause for a moment to reflect on the things that we are thankful for. We all are blessed with many things in life that could never be expressed with words.   For one moment let's stop and give thanks for the American Fire Service. In every town from sea to shining sea there are men and women that...

There are those who have held up November 11, 2011 as some sort of a special numerical festival. They seem to see something special in 11/11/11. That is something about which I am neither here nor there. No. what really counts for me is what happened at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. That is the date when the original War to End All Wars was ended. But was it really the...

There are those who have held up November 11, 2011 as some sort of a special numerical festival. They seem to see something special in 11/11/11. That is something about which I am neither here nor there. No. what really counts for me is what happened at the 11 th hour of the 11 th day of the 11 th month in 1918. That is the date when the original War to End All Wars was ended.  But...

  On Fire for training! Good afternoon from the jumpseat!  This was a huge weekend for me personally as I was able to run and complete my first Half Marathon.   I started this journey last year being able to run only 1 mile, now I have completed 13.1.   During my run I was able to take time to think about lots of things from family to the fire service.  One thing that kept coming back...

Time is in short supply in our modern world, along with a dwindling supply of money. This is painfully obvious to most people, but what many people seem to ignore is that family time is being eaten away too. There is a simple give and take formula for this: if you work extra hours to pay for fancier things (i.e. new car, expensive electronics, global connectivity, pricey house, etc.) then less...

As we approach the July 4th holiday period, two significant LODD incidents previously occurred during this time frame that hold a number of lessons learned related to command management, operations, building construction principles and building performance, fire behavior and the ever present dangers of the job.   Take the opportunity to learn more about these events, and expand your...

 That’s rights it’s fighting time!  What’s fighting time you ask? Well to me fighting time is the time when old man winter comes a calling and cold weather sets in.  Here in West Virginia it seems that when cold weather arrives the amount of fires increase.  Whether that has any correlation to heaters, fireplaces, or such it does seem to be a more active time of year...

  I was having a discussion the other day with some members of a nearby department about increasing the flow and safe handling ability of their 2-1/2” preconnected line. The officers gathered about decided to replace their 100-PSI combination nozzle with a smooth bore that would operate more efficiently at a lower pressure, and would provide more flow while being a bit easier to handle due...

 As I logon to Firehouse.com and see another article about fires happening in homes with hoarder type conditions, I just stop and wonder, when will it happen to you?  When I was writing my article on fighting fires in these conditions I never would have imagined that this problem would continue to grow. It has become the norm today to respond to someone's residence and be faced with these...

Good afternoon from the jumpseat. I just finished a webinar on the effects of shift work on the average worker and was blown away. The amazing information about rotating shifts, sleep deprivation and dealing with these issues was an eye opening experience. With that in mind I had a few questions to ask you, the reader of Views From the Jumpseat. Question 1: What is the schedule of your...

Recently I spent some time reviewing the research files one my computer and was pleased to come across a really neat article on the basics of leading people within a volunteer environment. Let me suggest that they will apply to each and every type of fire department you will ever encounter.   The author of the piece in question devoted a great deal of time outlining a number of tips...

When the dust started to clear hours after the collapse of towers No. 1 and No.2 of the World Trade Center, it was apparent that the Fire Department of New York was in serious trouble.   Three hundred and forty-three members were dead or missing, the top commanders including Chief of Department Peter Ganci Jr., First Deputy Commissioner William Feehan, and Assistant Chiefs Gerard Barbara...

Like many people in America I play the lottery games in my state. I have never won more than a few bucks, but as one famous writer has noted, "hope springs eternal in the breast of man." There is a lottery slogan which will serve as the foundation for this visit with you. "You've got to be in it to win it."   If you think about it, this statement makes sense. You cannot win the lottery if...

Good afternoon from the Jumpseat. How many times a day do you pick up or visit a publication like Firehouse and see cuts being handed down from city hall? It seems like a constant stream of cuts and cutbacks due to today's financial problems are being faced by everyone. So what can we do to help deal with these cuts when they hit the street level firefighter? Let's take a few moments to talk...

Over the course of the past several years, it has been my unfortunate duty to have noted a decided change in the type of people who are becoming leaders in our fire service. Perhaps it is a by-product of the way that our society has changed, or maybe it is just the next step in our evolution as a fire service. In either case, I am upset.   If I hear one more person, either a leader or a...

When the winds of tragedy come our way who is there to pick up the pieces? It's your emergency services. In the wake of the disaster that took place in Indiana this past week we should be reminded that we need to revisit our training in dealing with mass casualty incidents and technical rescue. While our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this horrible tragedy, we as the people who...