According to a New York Times report, more major cities have resorted to rolling brownouts of fire stations to balance the budget in an increasingly difficult economy. Fire and police protection, once the “sacred cows” for city officials looking to trim the budget, are now in danger as cities across the country have already cut deep into other municipal department spending with no end to the economic downturn in sight.
Some critics blame uncooperative unions and unmanageable pensions, while others insist that city officials are cutting into fire and police budgets that are already spread too thin.
Has your city experienced rolling brownouts? How do you think cities’ budget crises can be reconciled with maintaining adequate fire and police protection?
A lot of firefighting boots look flashy. But are they built for working comfort, and are they built to last? The design and construction of the Marshall and Commander leather structural fire boots from Lion Technical Footwear is driven by firefighting ergonomics to enhance comfort and reduce injuries.
Do you ever feel like your feet are on fire after an hour or two in your boots? When your feet hurt, you lose mobility and stamina. That’s why the back of Lion Technical Footwear is designed to match the anatomical shape of your heel, and the Lock-Fit ankle support system provides a comfortable, athletic fit, run after run.
If you’re thinking about buying leather firefighting boots, here are just a few things to consider when evaluating your options:
All leather or leather-and-fabric composition
Steel or composite toe construction
Kevlar or polyfelt insulation
Removable insoles
Ankle guard/lock fit ankle protection
Goodyear welt, cement or direct attached construction
Soft or rigid shin guards
Check out the below video as Battalion Chief Kenn Taylor of the Violet Township Fire Department in Pickerington, Ohio, shares his testimonial about the Marshall pull-on leather boots from Lion Technical Footwear.
Adults want to know the “why” of what they are being taught, and how that applies to what they will be doing with that information on the job. Adults bring mature reasoning skills to the learning environment. Trainers must stimulate the recruit to use those reasoning skills as soon as possible in the training cycle. Telling an adult how to perform a task without establishing the relevancy of the task to job application is simply indoctrination without setting context.
Safety is at the top of the list of concerns for every fire department in the world – volunteer or career, small town or big city. Many departments have a dedicated safety officer.
While the role of a safety officer might vary from department to department, he or she is typically charged with ensuring the safety of all department personnel, ensuring the safety of all equipment and apparatus, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and certifications and ensuring the department is current in its response protocol, technology, etc.
As tactics change, certifications are updated and new generations of personal protective equipment are developed, safety officers must constantly educate themselves – and each other.
The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA), which was founded in 1989, exists to support safety officers by focusing on topics key to their roles, sharing information and knowledge and providing a safety officer’s point of view to the broader fire service.
Each year, the FDSOA holds an annual conference for firefighter safety, and this year’s conference is just around the corner. Click here for details on the 2010 conference, which is being held Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 in Orlando, Florida.
Are you thinking about becoming a paramedic or emergency medical technician, but are not quite sure what it entails? Do you want to get into the fire service but have questions about the medical side of the career? Here’s some information about what you can expect in this field.
The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program recently released the investigation report of the line of duty deaths of two career FDNY firefighters during a 2007 seven-alarm high-rise that caught fire while undergoing deconstruction and asbestos abatement.
By the time the fire was extinguished, 115 fire fighters had suffered a variety of injuries. Key contributing factors to this incident included: delayed notification of the fire by building construction personnel, inoperable standpipe and sprinkler system, delay in establishing water supply, inaccurate information about standpipe, unique building conditions with both asbestos abatement and deconstruction occurring simultaneously, extreme fire behavior, uncontrolled fire rapidly progressing and extending below the fire floor, blocked stairwells preventing fire fighter access and egress, maze-like interior conditions from partitions and construction debris, heavy smoke conditions causing numerous fire fighters to become lost or disoriented, failure of fire fighters to always don SCBAs inside structure and to replenish air cylinders, communications overwhelmed with numerous Mayday and urgent radio transmissions, and lack of crew integrity.
Last Friday, the fifth day of the NVFC’s National Firefighter Health Week, focused on fitness and nutrition, an essential part of firefighter
health and wellbeing. Practicing good fitness and nutrition are key factors in achieving a healthy heart, body, and mind. These two components of a healthy lifestyle go hand-in-hand, lessening your risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, as well as helping you to maintain your strength and energy so you can perform your duties as a first responder. Good fitness and eating habits will also help keep you mentally prepared for the challenges you face as a first responder.
Start building strong lifestyle habits that include healthy eating and fitness. Keep the momentum going all year long so that you remain strong for your own sake as well as for you family, department, and community. Make the commitment to take care of yourself and practice healthy behaviors for life.
I always enjoy attending the expo at my state chiefs training conference. I go wading through the sea of techno cool stuff. Programs here, gadgets there and the techno-crowd all become giggly. My problem is that it goes without saying; I have not seen a gadget solve, or for that matter arrest, book or pop out a set of handcuffs yet. OK, I know about computer tracking, evidence tracking and all the cool nicky neat gadgets but I sometimes am not the more high tech guy in the crowd.
The National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) National Firefighter Health Week runs August 16-20. It’s an annual week-long initiative held each August to educate the fire and emergency services community and the public about a variety of health and wellness issues that affect first responders. NVFC, through its ground-breaking Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, launched the initiative in 2007 to create awareness around important health issues in the emergency services and encourage first responders to take action.
The 2010 theme - “Only you can Keep It Strong. Are you up for theChallenge?” – asks first responders to take personal responsibility for their health and wellness and take the steps necessary to keep their heart, mind, and body strong. Each day of National Firefighter Health Week is dedicated to a different health issue of particular concern to emergency service personnel.
Click the links above for information about each of these important health topics and steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones. Click on the links below to find resources and tools for implementing National Firefighter Health Week in your department as well as information on becoming a National Firefighter Health Week sponsor.
PoliceOne.com regularly posts helpful health and fitness information for law enforcement. Here’s a tip for allowing yourself to decompress after your shift:
Before work, most cops take some ramp-up time to tactically focus and mentally prepare to enter the shift with the right on duty mindset. If you don’t, you should!
According to a New York Times report, more major cities have resorted to rolling brownouts of fire stations to balance the budget in an increasingly difficult economy. Fire and police protection, once the “sacred cows” for city officials looking to trim the budget, are now in danger as cities across the country have already cut deep into other municipal department spending with no end to the economic downturn in sight.
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