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Overview/Description of the PWR Training Sandbag The PWR Training Sandbag is an exercise sandbag that helps firefighters (and non-firefighters) improve their functional fitness.  It consists of an outer canvas shell with 3 inner tubes which can be filled with kitty litter...

  Health and fitness can seem overwhelming for many firefighters—but it doesn’t have to be that way. While this article won’t be the secret formula for getting fit for duty “in 30 days,” it provides 5 practical steps that every firefighter can use to improve their health. 1....

Overview/Description of The BlastMask™ The BlastMask is a SCBA training regulator that attaches directly to a firefighter’s face mask. When a firefighter has their face mask on, the BlastMask is designed to restrict airflow and mimic the sensation of breathing off of a SCBA...

Overview/Description of The Pig The Pig is an 8-pound striking tool that combines the butt-end of a flathead axe and the pick of a pick-head axe. With an additional two pounds over a traditional 6-pound firefighting axe, The Pig (rightfully) boasts that it is “eight pounds of...

In part 1 of Firefighting and Clandestine Drug Labs, we gave a general background and how to recognize a clandestine drug lab (CDL) on the fire ground.  In this article we will review the hazards that can be present at a CDL and some response guidelines for firefighters. Hazards...

Just when we thought that firefighting wasn’t dangerous enough, firefighters are facing a whole new set of hazards when we respond to fires involving clandestine drug labs (CDLs).  In this article series, we will discuss what can be produced at CDLs, how we can recognize them,...

As mentioned in part 1 of this article series, a minimum of two firefighters is necessary to perform VEIS.  The first firefighter who ascends the ladder and performs the majority of the vent-enter-isolate-search is called the primary searcher.  The second firefighter who butts...

The traditionalists may know it as “VES” (Vent-Enter-Search), yet the current generation of firefighters are being raised to call it “VEIS” (Vent-Enter-Isolate-Search).  Regardless of our terminology, VEIS is a proven search and rescue tactic that we can use to improve victim...

Overview/Description of The Maxximus Rexx The Maxximus tool is a halligan-style tool and a “re-tuned” version of the Pro-Bar. It has been designed to improve a firefighter’s efficiency while performing truck company operations. The Pro-Bar has long been the go-to tool for...

The fire service is facing an epidemic: more than half of all firefighter line of duty deaths are due to heart attack or stroke (usfa.fema.gov). Many of us have heard this statistic before, yet most of us believe: “It won’t happen at my department, and definitely not to me.”...