Patience is a Virtue

They say that slow and steady wins the race... maybe I'm getting older but lately it seems like the truth behind this old saying is coming to light.

I have been working on some major things for my department for almost 2 years and they are just now coming to fruition.  After a few false starts and some setbacks, things are finally moving in the right direction and at a much faster pace.

Sorry for getting carried away, because by now, you're probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about. The thing I am most surprised to finally be getting off the ground is our Squad Technician Program.  This is house training curriculum was designed by somemajor of our own subject matter experts, brothers from across the country, and myself. 

It all started when I was placed in charge of our Equipment Committee.  We soon realized that the piece of apparatus that had the most room for improvement was our Heavy Rescue Squad.  We took a look at the risks we had present in our first and second due areas and realized that while we were blessed to have some of the best equipment that money can buy, we were still ill equipped and ill prepared to mitigate many different types of rescue scenarios. So over the course of the past two years we have put a program together and it is just now getting off the ground.

This blog post might be pretty pointless but I'm thrilled and couldn't be in a better mood to head to FDIC tomorrow for the education, freebies, and brotherhood that comes with the best weekend of the year. I promise to expand on the background of the squad technician program soon.

Stay safe!

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The Training Epidemic

Most of you probably read the title of this post and are thinking to yourselves. "What is this lunatic talking about?  We train all the time!" and some of the volunteer firefighters are thinking that the training requirements of your fire department are already harsh enough and are extremely difficult to manage with your family and work.

I agree with you.  The current "training epidemic" that is sweeping the fire service nationwide is not a lack of training, but a lack of relevant, and job oriented training.  Let me explain.

Over the past few months between work and my volunteer department I have sat through some of the following drills:

- Water Systems (Guy from the water department came in and explained how fire hydrants work then showed us a 30 minute video on how to properly open and close a fire hydrant)
- HAZMAT ( refresher on how to use the ERG ( the little orange book) and how to approach HAZMAT scenes)
- A powerpoint presentation straight from Firefighter 1 class about SCBA
- Sepsis in the Pediatric Patient
- Pre-Plans (multiple times)
- Radio Communications
- Looking over our first due on Google Earth

This obviously is not a list of all the drills that we have done, as we drill every day at work and once a week at the volunteer house, but just a sampling. 

Most of these drills were not terrible.  I learned a few things about water mains and how we get our water that are little factoids but of no use to firefighters, the pre plans are always good as we make ourselves visible to the taxpaying citizens by being out and about and we also increase our safety by having an idea of what the layouts of our high hazard structures are, but I could not even tell you the last time that I put on my running gear and did a drill that truely applied to fireground operations.

Most departments these days are "All Hazard Agencies", we do fire suppression and prevention, EMS, Extrication, Water Rescue, Rope Rescue, Ice Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, HAZMAT for the whole county, and a few other odds and ends.  Obviously, a great amount of training is inherent with these responsibilities.  Not everyone is trained in all of these areas, all are certified as a minimum of Firefighter 1 and EMT-B but most are Firefighter 2 and we have tons of Paramedics.  Past the fire and EMS certifications, it's a hodgepodge of people who are certified in the different disciplines.  Most are trained in just a few, but some of us are certified in all of the above areas.  The time initially required to just obtain the certifications is obviously taxing enough but to keep current and proficient truely takes dedication.

At the end of the day however, our two main jobs are Fire and EMS.  We drill ALOT on EMS and are very good at it.  We have an awesome medical director who allows us to be one of the most progressive and best equipped EMS systems in the state if not the country.  Quite a few of our paramedics have part time jobs in the ED at area trauma centers or fly with local medevac helicopters.  On the flip side of that coin though.... the firefighting aspect, our training is grossly deficient.  We have some great firemen who have seen quite a bit in their time on the job, but we rarely actually train for fireground operations.

I couldn't tell you the last time I threw a ladder, did a search, or stretched a line in an "official" department drill.  Luckily, both the guys on my shift and the core group of us at the volunteer house realize that these are perishable skills that need to be practiced so quite regularly, we will have an impromptu training session where we will decide to practice something on our own. 

Sometimes our company level or in house drills are short, simple, and to the point.  We may practice setting up a 3:1 Z- Drag haul system in the engine bays or set up the Rescue 42 stabilization struts.  Other times though, we will pull the reserve engine around back to the training tower where we can practice pulling lines, searching, and throwing ladders full speed. 

I've talked to quite a few people from departments across the country and it seems like we are not the only department having problems like this.  I'm sure that if your department training is anything like mine, many times the powerpoint presentation you sit through for drill is very informative and you will pick up a thing or two, but when was the last time a powerpoint presentation put out a fire?  Or the last time you tried to remember what the 63rd slide out of 141 said about thermal layering while pushing down a hot, smoky hallway?  People are always saying that "fire departments that provide EMS are becoming EMS departments that provide fire suppression services", or "we go to less fires than we used to".  In most places, this is probably true as most departments across the country run at least 70% EMS calls. 

Remember, firefighting is a PERISHABLE skill!!!  "If you don't use it, you lose it."  The knowledge still might be there if you haven't trained appropriately in some time but end up fighting a fire, but the muscle memory will not be.  Muscle memory is what its all about folks.  If you get trapped in a room on an upper floor do you know exactly how your radio is set up so you can call your mayday?  Or which pocket your bailout equipment is in and how it is set up?  At times like these, you will have no time to think, you will have to just DO.  This is why aggressive training fireground operations needs to be the rule rather than the exception.

I teach on the side at a local community college in their fire training program.  Everyone who has been through the fire academy, remembers learning how to throw a 24 footer with 3 guys and all the commands, etc.  But what happens when you're on a 3 man engine and pull up to that house fire at 430 am and kids are hanging out the second floor windows with heavy smoke pushing out above them?  You're not going to have the luxury of manpower or time to think, you have a job, the most important job on the fireground (saving lives), and it needs to be done QUICK.  I've talked quite a bit about ladderwork in this post and you're probably wondering why.  Well, recently we started teaching ladders in the fire classes and started with the good ol' powerpoint, then went out to the training ground and taught them all the commands, etc that are associated with learning to place ground ladders.  After the students had a firm grasp on raising ladders "according to the book", we taught them how ladders can be thrown with two people, or even one depending on the situation.  As a fire service, we need to start to get away from just drilling on how "the book" teaches it.  "The book" is designed to take average people off the street and teach them how to be firefighters.  Once on the job, it is YOUR responsibility to yourself and the entire fire service to research and experiment and find new ways to do things and to become the best firefighter than you can possibly be.  Sometimes, or maybe most of the time, you won't have the luxury to do everything according to the IFSTA manual.  Even at my departments, manpower is an issue.  Especially in the first 5-10 minutes of a fire which is easily the most important time on the fireground.  We all are trying to do more with less and we need to learn how to do it efficently and safely.

This is where your department training comes in.  Talk to your chief or training officer, tell them you would like to see more drills on things that you will actually be doing on the fireground.  Be the vaccine for this epidemic raging through the fire service.  Change the mindset of your department.  It won't be easy, believe me.  As I have written about before, many times the older guys on your department won't want to do much work, they would rather sit in a classroom watching a powerpoint in the climate controlled room in a comfortable chair, then they turn around after the drill is over and complain about how all we do is sit and stare at a screen all the time.  But when you actually do a "hands on" drill, the complaining from these guys increases exponentially or if they know what drill is ahead of time, they just skip.  Chances are, you will not change the mindset of many of these members, but worry about what you can change.  Get your probationary members and those with just a few years on the department involved in training ideas and keep them interested in improving themselves.  At our department, the under 30 guys are the core of the department.  I understand that many of the older people are married, have stressful jobs, and family commitments but if it were not for the core group of guys, day to day operations would be severely hampered.  Try to keep your core group of firefighters involved and interested in training. 

You might not be able to influence the older members or even the training chief/officer/committee, but nothing is preventing you from holding informal drills with the guys who run most of the calls, the guys who the Chief is depending on at the fireground to get the job done.  Stay positive, chances are that you will encounter alot of opposition in your attempt to become a great firefighter. It's tough, I never said it would be easy, but the benefits of this dedication will become apparent at your next fire.

Remember, BE THE VACCINE in your department!

Stay safe.

Squad Goes!

Don't Bring A Knife To A Gunfight

As the title says, if your life is in the balance, you want to be sure that you are as prepared as possible right?

Then why is it that on fires in cities and towns big and small, you can find videos or pictures of firefighters getting off the rig without tools?  Or worse... carrying a tool then not using it?

I work with some great firemen who you know will grab the same tool everytime they get off the rig because they are masters at using the tool efficiently and expertly.  I also work with some people who almost never grab a tool because they "forgot it."  My favorite kind of people are those who get off the apparatus with a tool, then when they get to the front door of the house and find that it is locked, set the tool down on the porch and decide to donkey kick (think watching COPS) the door open.

........... I hope that you are as stunned by this as I am.

Let's evaluate a few reasons why people don't use the tools available to them and how to correct these problems.

1-  Lack of proper training and/or guidance.

Solution:  Maybe you or your officer could pull the member aside once you get back to the firehouse and explain the importance of having a tool or two and how it can affect the entire course of the fire if you can't force the front door but more importantly how a tool can save their life or the life of a brother.

2-  (I think this is the most common) Lack of the proper mindset/adrenaline rush/inexperience

Solution:  It's a well known fact that as a whole, the fire service is running more EMS calls and less fires than ever.  However, less fires does not mean NO fires.  This is where the importance of training comes to light.  By "practicing like you play" (sound familiar?) you learn the muscle memory that it takes for you to automatically grab a tool as you are getting off the apparatus.  If you're a guy who rides in the back, as you're on your way to the fire, take a deep breath and close your eyes for a second.  Get in the right mindset.  You should be able to get an idea of what kind of structure you will be responding to and what kinds of challenges you will be facing.  Remind the other guy in back to grab a tool or maybe ask if he wants to split irons with you.  If you're riding the seat, make sure the men in back are coordinating who is grabbing what tool.  It does no one any good if someone grabs a flathead axe and someone else grabs a flathead axe then you need to force a door on side Charlie of a commercial occupancy.

3- The firefighter who thinks they are a one man wrecking crew

Solution:  This is the hardest mindset to change.  Every department has at least a few of these types of people who see themselves as invincible and that they can kick through any door or wall that they need to.  While this may be true if you are 6'4" 275, why not bring a tool with you?  You can't give me a good reason.  By acting like a fool you are only increasing the chances of hurting yourself, which doesn't only affect you, but everyone else on the scene and the outcome of the fire.  If you get injured, a few people are going to have to stop their fire suppression activites to at least assist you outside or to the ambulance.  I don't know of too many places that have a bunch of people to spare on a fire, manpower is tight everywhere, but taking just 2 or 3 people away from attacking that fire or venting the roof or even throwing ladders for FF safety can have a HUGE impact on the overall outcome of the fire. 

For another example, let's say that while kicking in a door you tweak your back, but you're big and tough and you'll fight through it and if it still bothers you when you get back in quarters, you will tell your officer so you can get checked out.  Toughing it out is just as bad if not worse than sitting in the ambulance because now no one else knows that you are injured, and they expect you to perform at your best.  Your brothers and sisters will be depending on YOU to do your job and do it well because their LIVES depend on it.

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Though I don't like to admit it, I have made that mistake before.  It was a hot day in early summer and I had been helping with some burns at the local college's fire academy all day.  I was in the burn rooms for a majority of the day.  We had just finished and I went home and got a shower, downed a bottle of water and some bad weather came in.  Here, when we get a tornado warning, we respond to the station to take the appratus out to help spot any funnel clouds and so that if the station takes a direct hit, we aren't out of commission.  Anyways, I was driving our Rescue Squad from one wires down call to another with a few accidents in between through a pretty hellacious storm and we finally got permission a few hours later to return to quarters.  As soon as we backed the rig into the station we got tapped out for a house fire.  Our Life Squad (medic unit) was conveniently about a mile down the road from the house and got on scene fairly quickly.  They gave their size up and said that there was smoke showing from both floors on two sides.  We arrived shortly thereafter and ended up beating the engine as they had to detour due to wires down.  So I put the truck as far off the road as I felt comfortable to keep it open for the rest of the apparatus and for the tanker shuttle I knew would have to be in place since we were in a non hydranted area.  We met up with the crew of the Life Squad at the garage door (neighbors who had the combination opened it for us and confirmed that the family was out of town) who said that they had some decent heat and  smoke conditions in the house but they could not find the fire. 

We had a crew of three on the Rescue Squad that day so my officer sent my backseat man with a can to search for the fire with the Life Squad crew and myself and the officer started a search.   As we were coming from the living room through a hallway towards the foyer I noticed some fire coming out of a wall socket and went to investigate. Due to the smoke conditions we were walking at a crouch instead of crawling.  My partner was finishing his search of the last room as I took a few steps to investigate the fire in the wall when I suddenly dropped.  I fell into the floor up to my armpits and somehow dislodged my mask, I pulled myself out and rearranged my mask before I really even knew what had happened.  I then popped a door off its hinges and placed it over the hole in the floor and met back up with my partner and advised him of the hole.  At this point I thought I was going to be fine.  We ended up continuing the search and started opening up walls once the search was completed. 

Turns out this house had been struck by lightning and pretty much anywhere there was electrical wiring, there was fire.  The reason I fell through the floor was because the lighting had struck the meter apparently and where the service entered on side charlie, it traveled along a truss to the Alpha side of the basement to where a panel was and it had burnt out the truss . 

So we continued opening up walls to check for extension and helped the engine companies move their lines around to chase all the fire.  It was then that I started feeling a little funny.  I was light headed and couldn't really catch my breath.  I didn't want to be "that guy" to have to go outside and get checked out so I just kept my problems to myself and kept going.  Well after about another 10 minutes I could barely stand or see straight and figured that I better go outside for a breather and some water before I had to get carried out.  So I got my officer and we headed out front.  Pretty much as soon as I took my mask off and the Chief got one look at me, he called over the medics we had standing by out front.  Apparently, I looked even worse than I felt.  They got me into the back of the ambulance and started a couple of large bore IV's, got me on some oxygen, and got vitals. Then they got a 12 lead.  When it printed out of the lifepak, everyone was very quiet and started passing it around.  It was showing an acute MI.  All the guys I work with know that my Dad has had some pretty serious heart issues in the past few years requiring some serious surgery and very long recovery time and I was rushed to the hospital.  Turns out the findings on the EKG were a textbook example of smoke inhalation and dehydration so luckily I didn't have a heart attack, but I ended up spending the night in the hospital getting poked and prodded for arterial blood gases ( these things hurt like HELL! I'm pretty sure my fingerprints are still in the metal hand rail of the bed in Room 11 at St. Lukes). 

So if you still remember what I was talking about before this long drawn out story, bringing the right tools for the job are more important than you know and it is IMPERATIVE that if you are feeling at all under the weather, you let someone know immediately and you get checked out.  Thinking that you are a big tough bulletproof fireman will only get you or a coworked injured or killed.  Fireground operations are a team effort and missing one person is just as devastating as a football team going onto the field without a quarterback.

Sorry for the long winded post....

Squad Goes!

Training...... or a lack thereof

Every department trains.  Some departments train weekly, monthly, daily, etc.  My question for you is:

HOW do you train?

I already talked about practicing like you play and training hard, so lets talk about training CORRECTLY.

I, sadly, know of more than a few fire departments that are stuck in their old ways.  They train using the same methods that the old salts learned when they were in the academy.  This is not completely a bad thing, as using the irons on a door hasn't really changed too much in the past 50+ years, but how about vehicle extrication.  We can't pull steering columns anymore.  You can try to take a booster line into a structure fire but it probably will not end up well for you and your crew.

I strongly believe that it is better to have less training then it is to have an abundance of poor training.  This will lull the members into a false sense of security.  "We trained on this, we are good."  Well if you train unsafely or improperly, you will get someone killed or injured on a scene.

By reading websites such as these you show that you aren't going to fall into complacency.  You are constantly striving to learn all you can, different methods of doing things, and maybe meet a few cool people in the process.  This is the easiest way to get quality training.  I also would recommend looking to outside agencies for training.  I have gone to classes all over the country, some on my own dime, some paid for by my departments.  I understand that with today's economy this may not be possible for many people, but at least keep reading and learning from the internet.  There are tons of great videos and articles out there that will help you do your job safer and more effectively. 

A tragedy could happen to any of our departments at any time, but by getting GOOD training from a variety of sources and putting some thought into how what you have learned can be adapted for your operations will greatly decrease the chances of an unspeakable tragedy occuring to your department. 

I have friends that run a few fires a day on huge career departments and I have friends that run 300 total calls in a year on a rural department.  I have learned things from guys that are on each end of this spectrum and everywhere in between.  Some things that I have brought back from conversations or trainings are easily adaptable to our operations and have helped us immensely.  Other things, simply would not work in our department.  Remember, just because a big city department does something a certain way, doesn't mean that you and your department should blindly follow their ways and adapt what they do for yourselves.  Analyze what they do, why they do it, and how they do it, and use your head to see if these different tactics could help you.


Until next time... stay safe.

Practice Like You Play

I'm sure that many of you have heard this saying, whether it was on the baseball field, basketball court, or maybe even on the training ground, but do you follow it?

If you lag behind and don't take your training seriously, how can you expect to do a job right on the fireground?  Especially at 3am.... you're not going to have time to think, normal people would be sleeping but the tones and bells just dropped and woke you up from a dream about being on a desert island with a horde of gorgeous supermodels and its time to go to work.  In the middle of the night, you're not going to have time to think about what you need to do, you're going to have to fall back onto muscle memory.

If it's been months since you last threw a 24 footer by yourself, when you pull up on the apartment fire at O-dark thirty where there are people hanging off multiple balconies with fire blowing over their heads, you're not going to have time to think, "Does the fly go away from or towards the building?" (obviously in an urgent situation such as this, it doesn't particularly matter) or " Will the 24 work or should I grab a 35?"

I've heard of some departments where there has historically been a lack of aggressive training and where drills were just "walk-throughs".  Now these departments are paying for this dearly as with new leadership, drills are being made more realistic and full speed.  I think that its a great idea to train "at the same speed" as a real incident, however, if there is a history of walk through training, maybe its a good idea to start slow.

At my vollie house a few weeks ago, we practiced some hose operations and some of the older guys got mad as hornets.  These guys got frustrated as they couldn't remember how to stretch a line, forgot their mask on the rig, or couldn't get the deck gun off the truck mount.  Luckily for our citizens, these guys usually aren't responding on emergency calls, but at any time, they could be on the first due engine.  This mentality isn't totally their fault though.  I'm sure when they first started, they were eager to train and get better but I've heard about some old chiefs who were never really interested in doing good training so everything was half assed.  At some time between their first day and the present time, these guys got complacent and no longer felt the need to train.

Whatever you do, DO NOT fall into this false sense of security. 

On the other end of the spectrum however, we have some younger guys who are off probation and have a year or two on the department and get pissed when we practice pulling lines.  Their comments usually go something like this :

"Aww man, we just did this a few weeks ago.  We all got it right.  Why do we have to do it again?!" 

I tell them "Amateurs train until they get it right, PROFESSIONALS train until they can't get it wrong."

There is no such thing as too much practice.  Do you think that Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, or the Super Bowl Champions ever say, "I/We practiced really hard a few days ago, no sense in giving it 100% today".  Of course not, they are constantly striving to get better ever single day.

You don't need to pick up a huge new topic everytime you train.  Maybe you just learn an easier way to get that 24 footer off the truck, or if you rest your knee on the saw as you're pulling the cord its easier to start.  Keep track of the little things because they matter.

Regardless of where you go through your fire training, whether your department runs an academy, you go to the state academy, or a local college, most firefighting is pretty much the same across the country.  It is the LITTLE THINGS that make certain departments better and more aggressive than others.

So in closing....

1- Never get complacent and NEVER stop learning

2- You can NEVER practice enough

3- Listen to all ideas presented.  Just because a guy has 18 months on the job doesn't mean that he doesnt have a tip that could help everyone.

4- LOVE THE LITTLE THINGS! You're going to get better over time.  Most babies don't just start walking.  They start slow, stumble alot, and eventually get the hang of it.  You will too.  (But as we get older with the comsumption of certain beverages it seems like we never learned how to properly walk!)

5- Don't let bad attitudes drag you down.  ALWAYS keep a positive attitude and desire to learn.  Just because you've been on the job for 20 years doesn't mean that things stay the same.  The fire service is constantly changing and if you want to stay good at your job, you too need to be willing to adapt.

Are You At Work or At The Firehouse?

Many of us have either seen firsthand or heard about the Pride and Ownership series by Chief Rick Lasky of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department so I won't give you a synopsis but rather use it as a building block to talk about some related issues.


Like I have posted before, do you check the rigs first thing in the morning?  Do you get your chores done and then ask the officer what more needs to be done? And if he doesn't have anything else for you, do you find something to do for a bit or do you just plop on the couch and channel surf?

Not to talk myself up, but I am always one to do the rig check first in the morning, get chores done, and find more that needs to be done around the firehouse.  If I can't find anything, it never hurts to go over the bathrooms again in more detail.  But after that, I try to do a little training.  Rarely is anyone else at the house interested in what I'm doing, but I try to learn something new everyday or at least reinforce and sharpen my skills.

Somedays this will mean doing a full work up on the saws and other days it might be throwing ladders.  If the weather is less than favorable, I might go through the RIT pack, polish some brass, and paint tools.  Some say that its easy to see I haven't been on the job for an extended period of time because you "eventually grow out of that stage and just come to work and want to go home."

Quite frankly I believe that's a load of BS.  We have some GREAT firefighters at work and I would take a booster line to the gates of hell with these guys, but we also have quite a few guys that want to do as little work as possible and as much sleeping as they can squeeze out of 24 hours.

On our shift we have multiple guys qualified as drivers so we rotate day to day who's turn it is to drive.  Some days the engine driver will check out the rig.... other days they will blow it off.  When I'm driving, I consider the Engine "MY" truck.  For the day it doesn't belong to the taxpayers or the chief, it belongs to ME.  I take better care of it than I do my own belongings.  I strive to go above and beyond our basic check out that is spelled out for us in our morning checksheet that must be completed every day.  I don't care if the saws were just run yesterday, I want to know that they are fueled up and ready to go.  I don't care if the ladders were just pulled out and cleaned two shifts ago, I want to make sure that the halyards are tied correctly and that the fly section isn't going to get caught up by any debris.  I know how it is, you run a job in the middle of the night, you get back to the firehouse and think I can squeeze and hour of sleep in before the shift is over... the guys tomorrow will clean it up, I'll just let em know in the morning. 

Well, when at 0725 we catch a first due house fire and you're still sleeping and failed to mention that there were equipment issues, we might have some problems on the fireground.  I want to know for DAMN sure that all MY equipment on MY truck is in working order for the day.  I want to know that when MY crews pull something off MY truck that it will work properly the first time, without any troubleshooting or swearing. 

Today we had a relief captain at our station and he was dumbfounded when he came out on the apron at 0710 and I had saws and fans running, the pump in gear, and ladders thrown.  He asked me point blank "What the hell are you doing?"  I said, "Cap, just checking my equipment."  He kind of looked at me for a minute, shrugged his shoulders and went back into his office. 

Not only am I making sure all my equipment works during this check, I'm learning my equipment better every day and I'm training.  I know that our chainsaw will take two pulls on full choke, and after one at half choke it starts. EVERYTIME.  Throwing a 24 footer singlehandedly is like brushing my teeth. 

(Disclaimer: Like I said before, this isn't to puff out my chest and say LOOK AT ME!)

If I do get a chance to sit down in front of the TV or in the kitchen and catch my breath for a few minutes, chances are that ESPN will be on in the background and you could find me with my nose in a Fire Engineering magazine or on my laptop looking at any various Fire/EMS blog or on some sort of firefighting forums. 

A few months after getting hired on, a lot of the guys labeled all of us rookies as money hogs.  They said we were just here for the money and could care less about the community as none of us probies grew up in this city and most of the old timers have lived here for years.  Well, I know for a fact that it didn't take long for their opinion of me to be changed for the reasons described above.  I took better care of the rigs than the guys who paid for them!

At the volunteer house it's the same way.  I'm always trying to wash and wax a truck, check equipment, etc.  I'm actually part time at the vollie house too, so if I'm working a shift (combination department) I am rarely in front of the TV playing XBOX, dozing off in a recliner, or minding my own business in my room.  I am really into all aspects of technical rescue, whether its extrication, ropes, trench, collapse, confined space, or water rescue, count me in!  Now even though my tax dollars have paid for these trucks, I don't take care of them any better than the rigs at work.  I don't know how it would be possible to take any better care of them!  Some of the older guys that really don't know why they are still on the roster, but still hang around and contribute their 2 cents at the most inopportune time give us younger guys tons of crap.  Most of them give me crap about our Rescue Squad being "Jake's Truck." 

And you know what? I'm totally cool with that! 

I love that truck and drive it every chance I get.  If I respond from home for a call, I'll run through the Rescue Squad real quick just to make sure everything is there and nothing is out of place or broken.

Well.... after rambling on about how great I am, I guess I just have one question for you....


Are you at work or at the firehouse?

FDIC

Well after a hellacious 24 hour shift right after getting back from Indy I am finally getting to update this thing for the first time in a while.

Saw some interesting things in Indy and for starters I was super pumped to see plenty of Squads on display this year.  Most of them appeared to be very well thought out and one tiny detail on one rig caught my eye.  A squad from Elizabeth, NJ I believe it was, had a small mirror mounted just forward of the rear cab doors so that crew members can check for oncoming traffic before the members disembark the squad.  This little detail probably cost maybe $50 but is invaluable for firefighter safety.

Of course I saw plenty of new "toys" that I can add to our equipment committee's wish list or at least research more.

Freebies were even more plentiful than last year and I got more than my fair share of them and even conned some vendors out of things for free. All in all, I would say it was a successful weekend.... Even without the hotel troubles we had.

I won't even start about the fun me and the fellas had though.  Count this one as another great weekend in the books.

I will try to get some pictures up soon.