On Friday, March 20, 2009, fire swept through multiple horizontal void spaces at the Empress Casino in Joliet, IL, quickly outpacing fire department resources during the initial...
"More with less" has been the battle cry of the fire service for quite some time now. It doesn't seem to matter how well a fire department performs its duties, how tightly it ...
This is the fourth column in an in-depth series devoted to the number-one killer of firefighters each year: heart attacks. Previous columns have established that medical exams...
SUBJECT: Advanced Steel TOPIC: Extrication Challenges of Advanced Steel in Vehicles: Part 5 OBJECTIVE: The rescuer will understand optional techniques to consider when confronted...
All too often, I hear from people outside the fire service that, "the fire service is just doing EMS to justify their jobs." These people are implying that there are fewer fires...
What can go wrong at a single-family-dwelling fire? Last month, we began a report on a fire that occurred in Sacramento, CA, on Oct. 7, 2008, involving a two-story, wood-frame...
Fire chiefs and labor officials are telling anyone who will listen that the current economic times are presenting some of the most difficult operational and political challenges...
PITTSBURGH, PA: SEPT. 1, 1909 — Five firemen were injured, one seriously, and damage estimated at a half-million dollars resulted after a fire in the transfer and storage houses...
For many years, I have been working to create an understanding of master planning in the fire service. To that end, I am devoting this column and the next couple of editions to...
"It would give us a great sense of accomplishment if we have been able to communicate to the technical community what you need to do to save our lives." That is how Ric Plummer...
This is the second of two parts discussing the issue of the fire-rescue service and commercial driver's licenses (CDLs). Part one, in the July 2009 issue, presented information...
Sources of wildland firefighting information such as the FireLine Handbook (FLHB), Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), S-215 Wildland Urban Interface Workbook (S-215) and Suppression...
I am fortunate to be able visit a few different fire-EMS departments each year and check out how they operate. From departments on New York's Long Island to the West Coast, it...
As emergency response agencies realize the efficiencies of the Incident Management System (IMS), more emphasis is being placed on the tools required to effectively manage. Emergency...
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008, had been a quiet day without activity for the 34 paid-on-call members of the Paris, ME, Fire Department. The temperature was in the high 20s with relatively...
How big is a firefighter? While that sounds like a fairly simple and straightforward question, the answer turns out to be complicated and leads to many more questions. The American...
Recently, a small plane and a sightseeing helicopter collided over the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. Nine people were killed. The accident occurred only a short...