Product reviews are in the works. I have about 10 of them to complete. The hold up is the new site. Look for it in a couple of weeks. If you want/need a product review, let me know and I will set it up!

Shoutouts

• Web site: National Firefighters Endowment
• Facebook page: safefirefighter. Check it out, like it, and join the discussion.

Quick Drills

You can view all of the weekly drills by FirefighterCloseCalls.com here. Try these two at the firehouse this week:

• Vol 18-211 Structural Watch Out Situations
• Vol 20-240 Personal Performance Rating Log

News and Opinion

National Firefighters Endowment. The NFE is giving away a bail out kit. You can enter the sweepstakes once per day. It ends Friday! The bail out kit was donated by JB Rescue, Inc. in North Ridgeville, Ohio. Click here to enter. Plus you get 5 entries for every friend who signs up through facebook!

Presenting Dave and I. Dave Statter and I will be presenting in Ohio in May. Dave is already thinking up dreamy names for him and I. Not to worry, I get it a lot. It just never works out for the other guy. They always seem to want to be the bad guy!…I quote

“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. It is May 23 & 24 in Newark, Ohio. Lt. Steve Robertson from the Columbus Division of Fire will also be at the conference and may end up having to referee. Click here to sign up.”

Petaluma battalion chiefs appear in Chrysler Super Bowl commercial. Two Petaluma Fire Department battalion chiefs appeared in one of the acclaimed Super Bowl Sunday commercials. Phil Sutsos and Jack Schach appeared for about two seconds in Chrysler Group’s “It’s Halftime in America” narrated by Clint Eastwood.

Statter911.com - Must see video of a fast moving fire: See the firefighter starting to run in the picture to the right? There is good reason. Firefighters in Australia had just pulled up on a box truck fire only to see the location of the fire suddenly move to the other side of a busy four lane road. Don’t miss this video.

Backstep Firefighter  So Much For That “It’s Not Vacant Until We Search” Ideology. Bill dissects a fire where a search occufred, a victim was missed, and a body was recovered during demolition.

IronFiremen.com (America’s Fire Captain) just wrapped up a 3 part post about our latest trip to New York City (Haw Dilly). Check them out here, here, and here.

FireRescue1.com:

• Firefighter critical after Philly fire. Lt. Martin Melvin was in critical but stable condition Sunday night in burn unit at Temple University Hospital
• Utah dad blows up house with sons inside. More than 2 years ago, man’s wife went mysteriously missing; man’s emails seemed to confirm that he planned deadly blast

MN8 Products is the leader in illuminating technology for firefighters. They also have a blog where you can keep up with their travels and new products! Check it out here

Firefighter’s Truck Stolen As He Battled Fort Gibson House Fire. A Green Country firefighter is fired up. The firefighter was the victim of a thief while he was out risking his safety on a house fire. When Virgil Walters got in his pickup and headed to the Ft. Gibson fire station for a house fire call, it was like most other calls he’s had during 16 years as a volunteer.

Check out these stories of rescues…Winston-Salem - Firefighters found a 3-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl unconscious at the house on 1809 Trellis Lane, off La Deara Crest Lane near 25th Street. INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Firefighters rescued a man from a house fire Monday afternoon in the 200 block of N. Glenwood in Independence, Mo.

This is firehouse antiqueing!

Willie Wines Jr. and I recently made our way up to New York City. We actually stayed in Hoboken, New Jersey. We were travelling and hanging out with Zach Green once again.

This time, we had several reasons for being in NYC. One specific reason was to drop off a couple of checks to Captain Liam Flaherty. Willie, Zach, and I headed up a fund raising campaign for the Rescue 2 MAYDAY fund which netted around $2300.

I wrote about our experience at Rescue 2 here. Willie and Zach followed up with posts about our NY trip:

• I DON’T KNOW WHERE WE’RE GOING BUT WE’RE MAKING GOOD TIME!
• TAKING “BROTHERHOOD” TO THE FDNY AND SO MUCH MORE!
• TAKING “BROTHERHOOD” TO THE FDNY AND SO MUCH MORE …CONTINUED!
• TAKING “BROTHERHOOD” TO THE FDNY AND SO MUCH MORE… 3RD AND FINAL PART!
• MN8-Foxfire, Iron Fireman, Fire Critic Support FDNY Brothers (Part 1)
• MN8-Foxfire, Iron Fireman, Fire Critic Support FDNY Brothers (Part 2)

I was a little under the weather on my trip and still not 100% when I got home. I rested and made it back to work in time. Among working on a brand new web site that will debut soon, I have been trying to catch up on email, house chores, and being a father and husband.

I am not going to write a real long post here. There are a couple of pictures I would like to share though.

The entire set of pictures can be viewed on The Fire Critic’s Facebook Page. Actually, the direct link for the photo album is here.There is so much more on that page than here including links to the stuff I write on the blog.

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!

The FDNY’s application process is under scrutiny by the Vulcan Society of the FDNY. Watch the video below for the entire story.

Apparently, the application process was too difficult for some applicants and incomplete applications were turned in.

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.

HUH? Should incomplete applications warrant house calls? Should incomplete applications be given extra time to get it right?

Isn’t part of the application process…following directions?

I understand the need for recruitment and a focus on recruitment towards minorities. I remember learning a lot at an Affiliate Leadership Training Seminar and Human Relations Conference put on by the IAFF. It was an eye opener for me. The way I understood it was that there are fewer minorities on the job as firefighters because for years they were unable to get the job due to a multitude of reasons including prejudice and racism. Only by efforts in recruiting certain minorities have departments been able to increase the number of minorities on the job. That being said, I do believe there is a right and a wrong way of doing things.

Do we need to draw a line somewhere? I mean for all applicants. What do you all think? Is this special treatment warranted?

I just can’t think of a single company willing to hire anyone who can’t even correctly fill out an application.

Links:

• Read the article here: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/fdny-vulcan-society-good-day-ny-20111227
• Related: http://www.amsterdamnews.com/news/local/city-appeals-judge-s-decision-on-black-firefighter-lawsuit/article_c5c1aeac-4dc4-11e1-ad5d-001871e3ce6c.html
• Also related: http://www.meritmattersusa.blogspot.com/
• FDNY Vulcan Society: http://www.vulcansocietyfdny.org
• FDNY Employment: http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/community/employment_index.shtml

FDNY Vulcan Society: MyFoxNY.com

Willie Wines Jr. (IronFiremen.com), Zach Green (MN8FoxFire.com), and I showed up today in New York City. Haw Dilly! Willie and I drove in…<cough>, I drove in and Willie slept off his hangover today. We showed up in Hoboken, New Jersey and met up with Zach. Once Willie got his thumb out of his mouth, we headed directly to FDNY Rescue 2 to drop off the check from money we raised for the Rescue 2 MAYDAY Fund. Let me tell you…it was a blast. Remember, we had been here last trip (read more here). However, this time it was more…it was better. We were supporting them. They had just returned from a fire and were eating. We didn’t want to interrupt, but we enjoyed some coffee while they ate.

Yeah, they made a pot of coffee. It meant the world to me. One Effin 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.

Remember, we are in their house. We felt welcome. However, if you ever travel with Willie or I, you will quickly learn that you get in and get out before anyone gets tired of you being there. Often this means leaving before you might need to…but you leave on good terms.

We visited. I drank a cup of coffee, as did Willie and Zach, and then we left. We felt great. Oh, and we left several Brotherhood Chips…just as we always do!

Here are some pics. Below that is the press release on the money we raised for the Rescue 2 MAYDAY Fund.

Zach Green, Captain Liam Flaherty, Willie Wines Jr., and Rhett Fleitz presenting the check from Swoope VFC in Virginia for $100 just after presenting a check from MN8 for $1900. The total donated was around $2300 for the Rescue 2 MAYDAY Fund.

Effort Led by MN8-Foxfire, FireCritic.com and IronFiremen.com Cincinnati, OH, January 31, 2012— More than $2,300 was raised through efforts by MN8-Foxfire, the developer of breakthrough illuminating products for firefighters, Lt. Rhett Fleitz of the Fire Critic blog (FireCritic.com) and Captain Willie Wines Jr. of the Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen blog (IronFiremen.com) to support two injured firefighters with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Rescue 2. During the weeklong fundraiser, MN8-Foxfire donated 50 percent of product sales through the company website to the FDNY Rescue 2 Mayday Fund. Contributions were also collected through donations from firefighters and individuals.

Today, MN8-Foxfire President Zachary Green, Fleitz and Wines presented a check to the FDNY Rescue 2 Mayday Fund to Captain Liam Flaherty at the Rescue 2 station in New York. “We were especially devastated to learn about the fire that injured the two Rescue 2 firefighters, as we have a special connection with Rescue 2 since we spent time with Captain Flaherty and his crew last year,” said Green. “It was an honor to have participated in the efforts to raise money to help these heroes and visit with Rescue 2 again today,” said Wines. “When something happens to one of our firefighting brothers, the firefighting community pulls together,” said Fleitz. “I’m proud to be part of a brotherhood that cares about and helps one another.”

On Monday, December 19, 2011, two firefighters from Rescue 2 suffered severe burns during a brownstone structure fire and were in critical condition upon hospital admittance. Both men face long recoveries. One is still hospitalized in critical condition and the other is now recovering at home under the care of a burn center outpatient program.

Best of the Rest is a weekly column aired every Tuesday. If you have something to share, let me know! Our shoutouts (formerly the Monday Morning Shoutout) is now in this column and includes a Facebook fan page, blog or web site, and a Twitter profile.

This weeks is short because I am travelling…I am just getting to finalizing this post tonight…enjoy!

Shoutouts

Facebook Page:

Web Site: EverydayEMSTips.com. Here are some recent Everyday EMS Athlete profiles:

Twitter:

Quick Drills

You can view all of the weekly drills by FirefighterCloseCalls.com here. Try these two at the firehouse this week:

• Vol 24-287 Drag Rescue Device Drill.pdf
• Vol 17-204 It’s the Basics-Kinked Hose Lines

News and Opinion

Fire Service Warrior – Last week I posted an article from January on The Fire Service Warrior. Chief Ron Siarnicki commented on the post directly on FSW and apparently the two caught up to discuss it. This week, Chris Brennan talks about why he wrote the article and his discussion with Siarnicki. Read the original post here and the newest post here.

S.A.F.E. Firefighter offers a post titled I “Get It”… And I’m Gonna Give It To You. The post is short and sweet. It offers introspect to an issue that many bloggers, writers, and firefighters have been trying to put their thumb on.

 ”The Cure” is a response to “The Sickness”. Both are written by Jason Hoevelmann on FireEngineering.com and both are worth a read.

FireRescue1.com – Mississippi Chief cracks down on Social Media use…what do you think about the new policy? Read it here

Whats going on at FDIC this year? A lot. I will be there and will have plenty of information coming up on the happenings, what I will be involved in and what you shouldn’t miss at the largest firefighting conference of the year. However…I was checking out the Facebook page for the event and saw this photo that was apparently tagged with FDIC. Yes, this is one of those loopholes and shows the need to keep an eye on your social media sites. Or, I could be wrong and I will be posting on the class where you can see more of her soon!

What is going on at FDIC this year? I want to sign up for that class! Check out the pic of the lady! It seems as though someone has been very liberal with tagging FDIC in this pic!

In our travels, Willie (IronFiremen.com) and I have talked about getting into speaking together. Over the past year, we have discussed it and began plotting our course. We realized that this isn’t something that would be a piece of cake, yet we were willing to get started. Months of dragging our feet while we were busy doing other things had us putting off the effort to getting started.

Willie and I with the SVFC

In short, our speaking would be “motivational” but we had only identified a brief outline of our core values Pride, Respect, Honor, Tradition, and Brotherhood. We identified these words as what we are about and they help in our motivation to be better firefighters and individuals. We placed them on the edge of our brotherhood chips.

Then two things happened. I attended Rick Lasky’s “Pride and Ownership” and a firefighter I didn’t know invited me to speak at a department I had never heard of.

Willie and I with the plaques the SVFC presented to us.

It took me a couple of weeks to ensure that my wife wouldn’t disown me for wanting to do speaking gig on my birthday and the course was set. I told the firefighter, Chris Botkin, that I would speak at the Swoope Volunteer Fire Company’s annual banquet with one stipulation…Willie would be speaking as well. Chris said we were welcome to come as a team.

Now we had to create some semblance of our thoughts in a matter of weeks. To be honest, due to our schedules, we did most of our outline and talking points on the way up the road last night. The notes and emails back and forth weren’t even used in the end. It was a matter of those core values. Don’t get me wrong, we had prepared several rough drafts of talking points, but we hadn’t collaborated our thoughts face to face. We were prepared except for the one thing we had no control over…would we be able to pull off speaking together.

This must have been ONE HELLUVA story!

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. Luckily, speaking several times over the past year had enabled me to learn how to get comfortable and not be nervous. I am not sure about Willie, but he did just fine.

The men and women of the Swoope Volunteer Fire Company were very warm and welcoming. We got to meet many of the members before dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed the awards and some words from their Deputy Chief.

After the awards, we did our thing. I think we did a great job. From the feedback we got, we did a decent job as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better venue for Willie and I to get started.

We talked about what we are passionate about…the job. Whether you are a volunteer or a career firefighter, we don’t really care. “The Job” as

They actually invited our wives...luckily our wives invited us!

we call it by default is what we do. It encompasses firefighting in a simplistic format that firefighters can understand. We shared our passion and explained how we remain passionate. We used examples of how we keep learning and moving forward. We were also able to use examples simply from what we saw that night. They get it! Don’t get me wrong, Willie and I have a lot of work to do to polish our material and delivery!

We will be able to expand on our speaking topics in the future. Until then, enjoy my musings on “Owning the Job” right here on The Fire Critic.

To be honest, we owe a lot to the Swoope VFC. They made us feel welcome, they treated us like one of their own, and they were more than hospitable.

Willie and I with Swoope's Deputy Chief Kevin Wilkes.

What a great group of firefighters they have at Swoope. The department was incorporated in 1980 after being started about a year prior. They are just one of the many departments located in Augusta County, Virginia. I got to meet other members of departments from the area including the Fire Chief of the City of Staunton and the former Fire Chief of Augusta County. As a matter of fact, one of Roanoke’s own is now the Deputy Chief of Augusta County. Mike Armstrong retired from Roanoke just this past month and began in Augusta County. I worked for Mike when he first made Captain. I wish him the best in Augusta.

Needless to say, the event was a huge success for the SVFC. I foresee great things for the department in the future. They have made significant improvements in the past several years including just recently adding storage racks for their gear at the station.

They get Pride, Respect, Honor, Tradition, and Brotherhood. And, if this whole speaking gig works out for Willie and I, they can say they popped our cherry!

We are proud to call them Brothers!

The Swoope VFC Annual Banquet Video is below!

It was my birthday. They got me a cake!

Chris Botkin and I. Chris is the one who got Willie and I to speak.

I am seeking information on this topic. Leave links, info, etc. in the comments please.

Discuss it on the Fire Critic Facebook Page as well

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. I admit, I did not know much about the disease until he told me about his diagnosis. He informed me of what he knew about it and I have read up on it a little since then. There is no cure for MS. Also, Multiple Sclerosis is not the same as Muscular Dystrophy.

Image from U.S. National Library of Medicine - The World's Largest Medical Library

I speak with him occasionally about his progress and the disease’s progression. Since his diagnosis, he has been able to begin medication which (from what I understand) will lessen the effects of MS and prolong its progression. He wants to come back to work and when I spoke to him the other day he said he felt great. His medication has helped with the signs and symptoms he was experiencing prior to the diagnosis.

I hope he is capable to return to work. I also hope that if he isn’t able to, our department doesn’t cast him away as they have some of my other brothers who have suffered from ailments (including injuries sustained at work).

So what is Multiple Sclerosis?

PubMedHealth:

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).

It is more common in women than men and commonly diagnosed between the ages of 20-40.

The outcome varies, and is hard to predict. Although the disorder is chronic and incurable, life expectancy can be normal or almost normal. Most people with MS continue to walk and function at work with minimal disability for 20 or more years.

The range of people who are effected by MS is 2-150 out of every 100,000.

More information on Wikipedia here.

I have not been able to find much information on firefighters and/or EMT’s who suffer from the disease and are able to maintain an active duty role in suppression operations. I have found several articles on firefighters able to continue working in a non-suppression role.

I did find this article about Oswego Firefighter/Paramedic Dave Sackett from April 2011.

MS has not changed Sackett’s daily work routine. He completes all trainings, all house duties and all physical tests. However, he is more cautious and refuses to take any risks that put himself, co-workers or patients in danger. read more

I also found a thread on MSWorld.com. the thread started in July of 2010 and has been updated as recently as September 2011. read more

If you have any information, words of wisdom/encouragement, or links to other stories please leave them in the comments section below.

Read all of the “Owning the Job” articles here

Many firefighters enjoy coffee.

FireGeezer is always talking about putting the coffee on after his Morning Lineup:

Now let’s check out our own equipment and get ready for the day.  I’ll get the coffee started and see you back in the day room in a little while.

From what I understand, when he was on the job he would enjoy the morning lineup and offer some interesting news to his firefighters each morning (prior to the blog).

The Tailboard Blog offers this on his about page: Grab a cup of cahfee regula and have a seat on The Tailboard.

What is it about that darn coffee?

This post is about two things

• Enjoying “coffee time” each morning whether you drink coffee or not
• Welcoming visitors into your station

Enjoying “Coffee Time”

Roanoke Firehouse #3 Bunn-o-matic CW Series three burner coffee maker. Yeah, we are proud of her! Stop in and enjoy a cup of joe!

Most of us don’t actually have a defined “line-up” in the morning when we get to work (or when duty crew starts for volunteers). We simply meander on in to the firehouse sometime hopefully before the bell rings. Back in the day, firefighters would dress out in their uniforms and stand for inspection. After the inspection, the firefighters would get the rundown of the days activities, chores, and other news from the Captain.

I am not sure I would mind it either way. I do enjoy “coffee time”. We show up and say hello to the off going shift, get some coffee, and listen to what happened the day before. There are some great stories to be heard each and every morning at our firehouse.

Enjoy that time, listen to what is being said. Jump on the “one upper” when he sits there chomping at the bit to tell a “better” story!

One thing that I am trying to change in my firehouse (on my shift and starting with me) is the complaining about the other shifts. I don’t think our shift does it too much, nor do the other shifts. Trust me, we typically have something to jump on them about…but what good does it do. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying not to fret them at all. We just need to tone it down a bit. Let the Captains handle any of the actual serious stuff that needs to be taken care of. After all, everybody can’t be on A-shift!

If you are the rookie, or the least senior firefighter…make sure their is coffee on!

Welcoming Visitors

This is actually the first thing I brought up to my company after attending “Pride and Ownership”. We all sat down and I went over some things I think we can do better. Welcoming guests is one of them.

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.

Remember, a high percentage of people only see us when we are in the fire trucks. Make sure that if they stop in at the firehouse they get a warm welcome!

If it is a retiree or Chief, everyone should be notified. Everyone should then come and greet the individual(s). Shake hands, and someone should offer them coffee.

I did get one interesting question…

Let’s say you have a Chief who nobody likes. Do you ignore them or not treat them with respect? NO. Remember, you must respect the rank. You don’t have to respect the person, but always respect the rank.

What about someone who you just don’t get along with…both of you can’t stand each other. Shake their hand. Trust me, if you walk over and shake their hand and welcome them in your firehouse or do the same in theirs they might just start to get it…that we can still be Brothers even though we don’t get along.

I have been in a lot of firehouses. The only thing I regret is not drinking that cup of coffee. From now on, when I am offered a cup of coffee, I will drink it. It shows that I feel welcome in THEIR firehouse.

As loud as I can be, as much as I can cut-up, as much as I enjoy conversation and seeing other firehouses…for some reason, I always walk around like I am on eggshells in other peoples firehouse.

Oh, and one more thing when visiting other firehouses…don’t overextend your stay. Get in, enjoy your time, and leave before the conversation lags! You never know, they might have something planned and don’t want to push you out the door.

By the way, I drink my coffee black…

The voting for the Rescue Remodel Contest is underway. There are 5 firehouses on the ballot to win. 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.

You can vote once per day until 2/28/2012.

The firehouses in contention are:

• Redondo Beach Fire Station #1
• Palos Fire Protection District Station #1 
• FDNY Squad 61
• Yonkers Engine Company 306
• Sheridan Fire District

A South Bend Firefighter has been demoted for taking a video of a recent fire with his cell phone.

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.

I wonder at what point this video was taken. Was it really worthy of demotion?

I would also love to see the Facebook Policy for South Bend.

ABC57:

“As far as the punishments, the union doesn’t dole those out, that is an administration thing. Our job is to make sure that it is fair and equitable from member to member,” Kottkamp.

Through documents obtained by ABC 57 News and through close sources with the fire department, that is not the case. Several firefighters have gone unpunished for violating the same Facebook policy, including an instance back in 2010, where a firefighter posted an internal email to his Facebook page, followed by snide remarks. Yet, no action was taking against him.

The union says the new policy is violating the firefighters’ First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. Read more