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In my department I have been recently promoted to the position of company officer. I realized that my degrees and certifications did not prepare me the way I expected they would; I still had a lot to learn and I was not sure where to get this knowledge or how to find it. I wanted...

How to Get the Most Out of Firefighter Lectures, Classroom Training, and Seminars If you’re like me, you’ve attended many firefighter lectures, classroom training’s, and seminars. I’ve had the privilege of training with many of the great leaders in the...

What do you tell your crews after you go though what the Baltimore City Fire Department went through on the shift of April 27, 2015 if you are the Battalion Chief? Well, I had the inside scoop from boots on the ground of what they were experiencing.  One of the numerous...

When I became a Lieutenant I was immediately assigned a mentor to assist me during my probationary period, which has become a standard practice in our department.  My mentor was the Captain of the Training Division.  My mentor asked me to go to lunch one day, and during our...

Have you ever been on a call where three Chiefs, two engine companies, and a truck company all arrive on scene at the same time? And without any organized plan of attack, everyone just looks at one another to see what’s actually going on. Situations like this can cause a lot of...

In the last article we discussed some ways of getting around the slam lock. Today we will continue with it, as well as discuss the techniques to get through doors with the key-in-the-knob lock. #4 – Weed Eater String Another great trick for overcoming the slam lock was...

Forcible entry can take on many roles. Occasionally, we may encounter locked doors on alarms that aren’t of a high priority. By accessing any area without creating much damage to EMS alarms, automatic alarms or any alarm, we behave more professionally. Two possible locks...

The 360° size-up is a must do task at every structure fire. It provides us with vital information to many factors so we as fire officers can formulate our IAP (incident action plan) to best attack and extinguish the fire. This is accomplished by actually walking around the...

The halligan is one of the most utilized pieces of equipment in the fire service. Since its creation, the halligan has shown itself to be the “Go To” tool. There are 4 simple modifications that will enhance your halligan. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes...

In part 1 we looked at understanding weather data to help identify a frontal boundary. In part 2 we will conclude by examining wind speed and direction as part of our understanding the front, its movements and its expected behavior.Lets begin by looking at a very important...