Posts Tagged: Fire Department
The Conversation is Heating UP! Is an LODD Acceptable Ever?
I would love to hear what you all have to say. This is a great reason to be connected with The Fire Critic on Facebook! Be sure to click "like" when you visit and share the page with your friends. Comments are always appreciated.
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Best of the Rest – Moving Fires, Sweepstakes, America’s Fire Captain and much more!
Come see Superman & Lex Luthor together: Or maybe it's more like Austin Powers & Dr. Evil. Dave Statter meets Rhett Fleitz. Somehow I ended up on the same bill with THE Fire Critic at the Ohio Fire & Emergency Services Foundation's 2012 Leadership Conference.
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Our latest trip to NYC…We had a blast.
Here are just some of the highlights of the trip. We could have fun at an Occupy event...oh wait, we have done that as well. The plans for the year keep filling up. We have scheduled visits, or ones in the works, in North Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, and South Dakota already. We also plan on being at FDIC, FRI, and Firehouse Expo...Harrisburg maybe as well. Speaking of travel, I will be in Nashville on the weekend of Feb. 17th if anyone wants to meet up!
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Black FDNY Applicants Get House Calls to Complete Applications
Some black applicants will be getting house calls by the Vulcan Society to help them complete their incomplete applications. This was approved by a Court Monitor. We are talking about over 2000 house calls! Keep in mind that 52% of the applicants are black.
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Fire Critic and IronFiremen Converge on The Big Apple Again…This Time to Support the Rescue 2 MAYDAY Fund
Yeah, they made a pot of coffee. It meant the world to me. One F$%#in cup of coffee was all I needed. If you remember, I have been kicking myself since our last trip for NOT drinking the cup of coffee I was offered. This time I drank it...and they opened up to us more as time went on.
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Guilty!
Rhett (Lt Rhett Fleitz aka The Fire Critic) and I have been at this for a while now. We share common goals and a direction. We've always known that we would eventually "make it" somewhere ... we just weren't sure we'd end up exactly where we wanted to be (or if we even knew where that place was).
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Another Milestone for Willie and I at the Swoope VFC Annual Banquet
This could be make it or break it to see if Willie and I can share the same stage and talk...and make sense. I am an optimist, so my thoughts were that we would get up there and everything would work itself out.
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Firefighters & EMT’s with Multiple Sclerosis
I have a friend, a brother, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He is a Firefighter & Paramedic in a dual role department. His recent diagnosis was shocking for him to say the least, but he has held his head high. I cannot imagine what he is going through and it shows his strength. He is currently on light duty due to the disease.
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Owning the Job. Part V – A Cup of Coffee
Whether it is someone dropping off cookies, looking for directions, a neighboring crew, a retiree, an off duty firefighter, or Chiefs we should welcome them into OUR firehouse. After all, when someone comes to your house do you just let them walk in without greeting them? I didn't think so.
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Vote Now for your Favorite to Win a Firehouse Kitchen Remodel by The Family Handyman
The firehouse with the most votes will receive a truly heroic kitchen renovation valued at $25,000. And since it’s all from IKEA, it will be full of smart and innovative ideas to make their lives a little bit easier so they can better protect our communities.
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South Bend Firefighter Demoted for Taking Cell Phone Video
The report does not state whether or not the "impromptu video" took away from a task the firefighter was completing. When I teach/present on social media, I always remind the guys/gals that they are firefighters, not reporters. They should leave the reporting up to others. I am also a huge proponent of taking pictures of your crew when the job is done.
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Owning the Job. Part IV – Misunderstood Requirements
Before you read on, please understand that I appreciate smart aggressive firefighting, it is what I live. I think there are some small things that some firefighters view as others trying to change the way we fight fire...I view them as tools for making us better and understand they must be understood properly and implemented into our game plan. They don't really make us "safe", they make us "smarter".
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Best of the Rest – Quick Drills, Shoutouts, FDNY Rescue 2 MAYDAY Fund, Jay Bettencourt, and much more
The Best of the Rest is back with plenty from across the Fire Service World. Check out some of what the other blogs and web sites have to offer!
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Video: Apartment Fire in West El Paso from Multiple Angles. Firefighter Gets Assistance from Videographer
Apparently a firefighter needed some assistance with directions for incoming units. He got answers from the guy holding the video camera. Nice teamwork!
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Team up with The Fire Critic, IronFiremen, and MN8 FoxFire to Support the Rescue 2 MAYDAY Fund
For the next week, today (Monday January 23, 2012) through next Monday (January 30, 2012) Zach will donate 50% of all online sales of MN8 FoxFire products to the Rescue 2 MAYDAY fund!
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Custom Fire Critic Helmet Shield by Box Alarm Leather, LLC
This is the second shield I had made by Box Alarm Leather. The first one, I wear on my new leather helmet at the firehouse. I am not sure exactly which helmet I will be putting this one on, but it is the one I will be traveling with for sure! I just can't see wearing this one out the door every day on the engine. Who would want to mess up something this nice?
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Owning the Job. Part III – The Power of a Firefighter’s Wave
In all the hustle and bustle of our lives, getting children to and from school events, sporting events, the parents events they (the children) get to enjoy a wave from a firefighter in a big red fire truck! Your fire apparatus IS red isn't it?
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Dallas Firefighters Sued After Rescuing Two Dogs from Trunk of Car
Dallas fire and police were called to the scene of a vehicle, parked in a parking lot, with dogs apparently in the trunk. The firefighters forced entry to the trunk to find two yorkshire terriers.
The temperature was 61 degrees. The call came in from two brothers who were concerned when they heard the barking coming from a car parked.
The owners were celebrating a birthday.
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Hilarious Video: Firefighter vs Police Officer vs Structure Fire
Here is some humor for you...perfect timing since I have been posting serious stuff recently.
Enjoy... A funny skit about a police officer showing up first at a structure fire.
Warning: Language...and no offense intended towards America's Finest. Just the Bravest having some fun...
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Best of the Rest – Rescuing Myself, Fat Firefighters, Complacency Kills, FF Certification, Kenny Hendrick Memorial, and Quick Drills
Best of the Rest - Rescuing Myself, Fat Firefighters, FF Certification, Kenny Hendrick Memorial, 2 House Blog, Complacency Kills, Quick Drills, and much more!
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Owning the Job. Part II – Past, Present, and Future
To what do we owe the men who founded our department? The honor, respect, dignity, integrity, pride, tradition, loyalty, and brotherhood that created it? Why am I sitting here almost 125 years after the first fire department in Roanoke was created seeking ways to bring back the best of what it has been? What has been lost? Where can we find it?
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Video: 6 Alarms at Cornwall, New York Industrial Complex
150 firefighters from 14 are fire companies are battling the stubborn fire. The flames are working their way through the large series of connected buildings that once housed the Firth mill company of Cornwall.
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Owning the Job. Part I – Self Evaluation
Low morale, bad attitudes, lacking leadership, loss of traditions, lack of pride, no honor, too little integrity, loss of camaraderie, too little respect, no discipline...I could go on. Hopefully the building blocks are still there and I can help salvage the hull of what is a great fire department.
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Firefighters, US NAVY Seabees, and Luck Save a Woman and Two Daughters in Daring California Rescue
Here is a decent video showing a complicated, involved, and presumably very well choreographed rescue of a woman and her two daughters. The three family members were rescued. The driver of the semi died in the collision. The incident happened in Buellton, California.
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Video: 4th Alarm Basement Fire Burns Dentist Office in Maplewood, MO…Then Rekindles
Maplewood Richmond Heights Family Dentistry burned on Thursday night. The fire went to 4 alarms. The office is located in the 3000 block of Sutton Boulevard in Maplewood, Missouri.
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