Posts Categorized: Weblogs
Thoughts on the writing process.
It's been a wee bit since I last posted; between wedding plans, a new dog, and writing a very in-depth post that I can't seem to find the proper way to finish, it gets far too easy to say "ah, I'll just write that thing tomorrow." Well, too often, this h…
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Wilkes Barre Arbitration Decision Changes Residency Requirement But Not Staffing
An arbitration decision in Pennsylvania awarded firefighters the right to live outside the community. But the decision is being criticized by the firefighters’ union more for what it failed to do than what it actually did.
A three arbitrator panel hand…
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Retired Brazilian Fire Chief Charged With Vigilante Murders
The former fire chief of Panara, Brazil has been arrested and charged with murdering at least eight drug users after his son was murdered by robbers.
Jorge Luiz Thais Martins is believed to have committed the crimes in retaliation for his son’s death i…
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Another Digital Imagery Challenge: Privacy Issues and Geo Coding
Firefighters and fire departments are struggling to deal with realities that new technologies have brought us. Digital imagery, spy cams, social media, electronic surviellance in the workplace. We have seen the headlines about firefighters being discipli…
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Ethics Charges Settled With EMS Chief
The former chief of EMS for FDNY has been slapped with a hefty fine by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. Chief John Peruggia, who was demoted in early January following numerous complaints over the city’s response to the December 26, 2010 blizz…
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Who Owns The Photo: the Firefighter or the Fire Department
I received an interesting question concerning the ownership of photos taken by on-duty firefighters and thought the subject was worth discussing here in Fire Law Blog. The question: who legally owns a photo taken by an on-duty firefighter, the firefighte…
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SC Volunteer Firefighters Accused in Theft Ring
Two volunteer firefighters from the Ridgeville Volunteer Fire Department, in Dorchester County, South Carolina, have been arrested in Orangeburg County in connection with the theft of nearly $40,000 worth of copper wire.
Firefighters Jeffrey McQueen Rile…
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Fire Law Blog Selected as Finalist in Black Diamond Boots Fire & EMS Blog of the Year 2010-2011 Contest!
I am proud and a bit humbled to announce that Fire Law has been selected as a finalist in the Black Diamond Boots Fire & EMS Blog of the Year 2010-2011 Contest being hosted by the Fire Critic, firecritic.com.
The voting starts Monday, January 24, 201…
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RaisingLadders Photography on Facebook, Indy, and a few other items.
I've finally put together a Facebook page for the photography business; with the increasing functionality of FB's pages for services/businesses, it's almost like you don't need a home website anymore (don't worry, I won't be discarding RLP.com—I'm …
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DCFD’s own in Haiti, plus picture compilations.
First and foremost, I'm proud to see one of DCFD's own searching for survivors after the terrible earthquake in Haiti.
From www.tampabay.com's All Eyes feature: Christopher Holmes from the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue searches for surviv…
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An open letter.
An open letter to the members of the Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Department, as well as all readers/fans of RaisingLadders:Every single
day, I’m damn proud to polish my boots and walk into the Academy with our patch
on my sleeve. Some don’t unders…
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Day 24: Tower blitz
Okay,
good-news/bad-news time. Good news? I brought the camera along today, and
snapped some great photos. I’ll be retro-fitting blog posts with relevant
pictures of the academy or our apparatus, as needed. I also have some nice
atmosphere shots that p…
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Day 23: Almost Truckies
(N.B. - Friday's post is one below, and it's a good one. I know, I know... it was a busy weekend. Cut me a break, would ya? It's worth the wait.)______
Over the weeks,
you find that every so often DCFD gives you a gift. It has no price, nor a…
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Day 22: Just a taste
“Ah, fuck this
classroom shit. Let’s go light something on fire.”
…and thus our
Friday began.
Sgt. Paulson
revealed to us that there really was no agenda for this particular Friday, as
everyone had already passed their EMT tests and it was too ea…
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Day 21: False start?
Firefighting
starts on January 26th.
At least,
that’s what we’re told will happen to the rest of 994. As for the medics? Yes,
that’s right—nobody knows!
As of today, the
orders came down to start the fire suppression section of the academy early,…
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Day 20: How not to cut wood.
Lest we begin
to feel comfortable in our academic setting, DCFD is always sure to remind us
that we can at any time be used for cheap labor.
Fairfax County
is coming back on Friday to use the flashover box again, and a handful of
recruits (myself includ…
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Day 20: Tension
Note to self: I
have to stop backdating posts. (Perhaps a useful New Year’s resolution?)
Interested parties will find Monday’s post below this one.
The roll of
tape went up into the air, pausing a second before coming back down. It landed
neatly int…
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Day 19: Review
Well, we were
disappointed. Or relieved, depending on how comfortable you are with having a
very short man screaming in your face all day. Apparently four people aren’t
worth the effort of strapping on a drill instructor’s hat and trying to scare
the…
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Day 18: A flash in the pan
“The names I
just read off were the only ones who passed the protocol test. Now, to anyone
who failed it: you have one more shot, or you’re going to be dismissed. Not
recycled to the next recruit class, not put on hold… dismissed.”
A collective
s…
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Day 17: Inspection
“Jesus Christ,
recruit. What’d you shine those shoes with, a brick?”
The rest of us
stood at attention and tried to stifle laughter. Carl, on the other hand, was
frozen in place so rigidly that I thought DCFD had slipped a uniform onto a
terra cott…
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