November 2024

The November issue of Firehouse includes the announcement of the winners of the prestigious Station Design Awards, plus our annual Apparatus Showcase and feature articles on higher education and leadership.

November 2024

The Role of Executive Fire Officers in Building a Resilient Community

Dec. 6, 2024

Every member of the fire service can honor the Worcester, MA, Fire Department firefighters who died on Dec. 3, 1999, by reading the findings and recommendations reports of the incident.

Leadership

As Firehouse Sees It: Worcester 6: Let Their Sacrifices Not Be in Vain

Dec. 3, 2024

Firehouse is pleased to present the 11th annual Station Design Awards, which showcases outstanding fire and emergency service facilities.

SD Awards and Conference

Station Design Awards 2024

Dec. 2, 2024

Fifty units and at least 130 members of FDNY battled a four-alarm fire that originated in a three-story apartment building and spread to the apartment buildings that were on each side of the building of origin, ultimately heavily damaging five buildings in total.

Operations & Training

Hot Shots 11/24

Nov. 26, 2024

firefighter safety and health mental well-being Roseville Minnesota Fire Department

Safety & Health

Health & Wellness: An Embedded Therapist, a Therapy Dog & Mental Well-Being

Nov. 25, 2024

More content from November 2024

Brandon Heggie is a lieutenant firefighter/paramedic who has worked in fire and EMS for more than a decade.

EMS

EMS: Hypothermia: The Ins and Outs of Cold Emergencies

Brandon Heggie explains why hypothermic patients must be handled very gently while EMS providers apply the five steps to treat such individuals.

Nov. 24, 2024

When there’s enough room, the working length of hoseline should be flaked out perpendicular to the entry door.

Operations & Training

Engine Essentials: The Nozzle Firefighter

Jonathan Hall emphasizes the importance of experience with tools, strategies, tactics and techniques for the nozzle position.

Nov. 20, 2024

Dispatched at 12:30 a.m., Hamilton Township, NJ, firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and fire throughout a 170-year-old former rubber manufacturing facility. A defensive operation was ordered, and several additional alarms were transmitted, calling in mutual aid from neighboring towns and elsewhere.

Apparatus

Apparatus Showcase 2024

Manufacturers display the latest and greatest in fire-rescue and EMS apparatus and boats.

Nov. 19, 2024

Work to prepare, cultivate, and attend to deficiencies and challenges is required to produce members who will help to make better departments down the road.

Leadership

First Due: The Farmer and the Firefighter: The Harvest Time Is Now

Justin Brooks reminds department leaders that they are obligated to cultivate themselves to benefit new members and the organization as a whole.

Nov. 19, 2024

A chief’s effect, influence and chances of success on the fireground rely almost exclusively on that person’s knowledge and use of the fireground radio.

Operations & Training

The Fire Scene: Own the Radio

John J. Salka Jr. makes sure that battalion chiefs and other incident commanders don't overlook the importance of their primary tactical channel communications.

Nov. 18, 2024

If the fire service continually educates communities about fire tragedies of the past, public uproar over the needless loss of life can prompt lawmakers to take action to prevent or reduce further loss.

Community Risk Reduction

Community Risk Reduction: Knowing History

Daniel Byrne issues a clarion call to departments to evolve their CRR efforts to include information about previous fire tragedies, to energize the public to demand lawmakers ...

Nov. 15, 2024

Careers & Education

Going Back to School: What to Know Before You Go

Edward Tracey sheds light on matters that firefighters must consider when they contemplate the pursuit of a college degree, such as whether courses meet in class, online or in...

Nov. 13, 2024

A ThermoFisher identiFINDER was used at a recent radiological incident at a Brookhaven, NY, landfill and mistakenly detected the presence of reactor-grade plutonium. This triggered a call to the Department of Energy’s Radiological Assistance Program team, which used a more sophisticated high-purity germanium crystal detector to correctly identify lutetium-177.

Rescue

Technical Rescue: Radiological Emergencies

Scott Burgess explains why members who respond to a radiological incident can't overlook the limitations of radiological monitors.

Nov. 8, 2024