October 2025

Issue Description: The October issue of Firehouse includes feature articles on firefighter decontamination, updates on NERIS and roadway response safety technology.

Cover Description: The Palmer, PA, Municipal Fire Department was dispatched to a reported dwelling fire. First-arriving units found heavy fire on the first floor extending up to the second. A second alarm with RIT immediately was dispatched. The elderly resident of the home required an oxygen tank, and it’s believed that the fire started near her oxygen unit. Two explosions were heard from inside; members suspected those likely were oxygen bottles. Approximately 40 firefighters and eight apparatus from various departments were on scene to place the fire under control in about an hour. Temperatures in the area that day reached at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Photo by Thomas Kohler.

Dedication: Three U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty— Fire Police Capt. Ed Margavich, Capt. Christopher Brown and Firefighter/Sawyer Ruben Romero. This issue of Firehouse is dedicated to these firefighters.

October 2025

Detroit Fire Department 165th Anniversary: History of the Detroit Fire Department

Nov. 7, 2025

firefighting operations farmhouse South Windsor Connecticut Fire Department

Operations & Training

Hot Shots 10/25

Nov. 5, 2025

Leadership

The Fire Scene: The Importance of the Fire Department Company Officer Spending Time on the Apparatus Bay Floor

Nov. 5, 2025

fire department cadet testing training AI platform time savings

Technology

Harnessing AI in Fire Department Training

Nov. 4, 2025

The six-year-old daughter of one of the authors went into severe distress from croup. At the hospital, the ED team prepared to intubate. The girl’s father, who is a respiratory therapist and paramedic, asked the physician to try BiPap first. Within minutes after BiPap was employed, the girl’s breathing stabilized. Now, pediatric CPAP is part of EMS protocols throughout the state of Ohio.

EMS

Prehospital Patient Care & CPAP for Children

Nov. 3, 2025

More content from October 2025

fire department station renovation Joshua Mandell FGM Architects

Stations

Station Design: Fire Station Renovation Benefits & Pitfalls

Joshua Mandell shares several benefits of renovating a fire station rather than building a new one but also warns of pitfalls.

Oct. 31, 2025

The Detroit Fire Department’s (DFD) fleet of 14 drones are used in numerous ways. Ultimately, the devices’ application improves the safety of the department’s members.

Operations & Training

Detroit Fire Department 165th Anniversary: Investment in Drones, Records-Management Software

Fire departments that are struggling with staffing issues can benefit from the efforts of the Detroit Fire Department in terms of drone deployment and personnel and records-management...

Oct. 30, 2025

Many of the PPE sizing tables for women that are used today were developed using decades-old studies of military personnel. Improperly size turnout gear can interfere with mobility and introduced unnecessary risks.

PPE

One Size Does Not Fit All When It Comes to Firefighter PPE

Amanda Newsom's two decades of experience testing and certifying first responder PPE provides the platform for her stance that how firefighter turnout gear is built must evolve...

Oct. 29, 2025

Leadership

Leadership Lessons: The Fire Department Assistant Chief's Influence on Crew Members

Dr. David Griffin's experiences as a fire department assistant chief are invaluable for those who aspire to the position and for those who serve under those leaders.

Oct. 28, 2025

A dashboard that was created with a geographic information system (GIS) shows the location of apparatus and associated details.

Technology

How GIS, Advanced Communications & Predictive Modeling Are Transforming Fire Department Disaster Response

Chad Beam provides the ins and outs of the implementation of GIS, advanced communication systems and predictive modeling to ensure that staffing, to whatever extent, is utilized...

Oct. 27, 2025

Where once the Detroit Fire Department’s (DFD) approach to training might have been deemed basic, the department has injected excitement into its training program, including via the construction of a new training tower and the launch of specialized training modules. Photos courtesy of the Detroit Fire Department

Operations & Training

Detroit Fire Department 165th Anniversary: Transformative Training

For the Detroit Fire Department, a change in perspective about how training is handled opened the door to improving the DFD is numerous ways.

Oct. 24, 2025

Safety & Health

Firefighter Decon: On the Fireground and at the Station

Firefighters must be diligent about decontamination, from the moment they step away from a call to when they take a shower. Numerous innovations aid in the effort.

Oct. 23, 2025

Making the lip on the trench safe and placing/moving ladders are key tasks that members of first-arriving companies can assist with under the guidance of a technical rescue team member. This safely engages the first-arriving companies and frees up technical rescue team members for more technical tasks.

Trench Rescue

Technical Rescue: Force Multiplier: Optimized Trench Rescue Involves Specialists and Regular Firefighters

Christian Brown and Jeffrey Mondo tell how basic trench rescue training of firefighters serves as a force multiplier for technical rescue teams.

Oct. 22, 2025

Tucson, AZ, Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Noble calls members’ ignoring flow path, including propping open the front door, a “flagrant foul” in the response to a fire at an abandoned gas station. This combined with interior crew members pulling a 3 x 3-ft. section of ceiling led to a smoke explosion.

Operations & Training

Close Calls: Lack of Consideration of Flow Path Puts Firefighters in Danger

Billy Goldfeder learned from the Tucson, AZ, Fire Department how the lives of members were put at risk when flow path was ignored at a fire at an abandoned commercial building...

Oct. 21, 2025

Technology

FireFusion 2025 Takeaways

Being apart of FireFusion 2025 will leave attendees with new ideas, best practices and insight into the most cutting-edge technology. Takeaways from three sessions serve to illustrate...

Oct. 17, 2025

The tethered Sigma unmanned aerial system from FotoKite provides a maximum vantage point of 150 ft. A rooftop case configuration is designed to be integrated in SUVs and apparatus.

Safety & Health

8 Innovations to Keep Firefighters Safe at Roadway Incidents

Jason Moore shares insight into eight products that address the fact that one-fifth of annual fatal injuries to firefighters result from roadway vehicle accidents.

Oct. 17, 2025

The Detroit Fire Department (DFD) instituted its Medical First Responder (MFR) program in 2015. For the first time in the department’s history, firefighters would be trained to provide basic care to citizens, including those who are the person in need from a Code 1 call. Life-saving results from a response to a cardiac event at which an engine company and a medic crew arrived now are the norm. “Firefighters are able to provide a higher level of care, which creates better outcomes,” Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms proudly states.

Operations & Training

Detroit Fire Department 165th Anniversary: A Case Study in Improved Operations, Morale & Community Service

Ten years ago, trust in the Detroit Fire Department was lacking, from the community and its members. Today, that’s turned around, and the DFD is on the same footing with some ...

Oct. 16, 2025

This Special Section explains recent achievements of the Detroit Fire Department that correlate with the city of Detroit's rebound from bankruptcy. These include decreased response times, an improved ISO rating, its Medical First Responder training program and implementation of various technologies to further its service to the citizens of Detroit.

Operations & Training

Detroit Fire Department 165th Anniversary Special Section

This Special Section explains recent achievements of the Detroit Fire Department that correlate with the city of Detroit's rebound from bankruptcy. These include decreased response...

Oct. 16, 2025

Information that incident commanders (ICs) can’t gather from their position must be communicated to them as quickly as possible by officers who coordinate operations within a structure/building.

Operations & Training

Fire Studies: An Insufficient C-A-N Report Puts Fireground Commanders, Officers & Firefighters at Risk

Michael Daley explains why company officers who operate within a burning structure/building who aren't versed in the importance of the Conditions-Actions-Needs (CAN) report put...

Oct. 15, 2025

Technology

2025 Firehouse Innovation Awards

The 2025 Firehouse Innovation Awards recognize products and services that help fire service agencies to provide critical services to their community.

Oct. 13, 2025

Technology

As Firehouse Sees It: Embracing Technology On and Off the Fireground

Peter Matthews shares his enthusiasm about current and future technological advances and how they smartly combine with traditional strategies to improve operations and firehouse...

Oct. 13, 2025