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Introducing The Hydra Ram Firefighters have a multitude of forcible entry tools at their disposable. One of the most formidable is the Hydra Ram, the brainchild of two FDNY firefighters who set out to improve on the Rabbit Tool. (The Rabbit Tool is a set of jaws that are...

Today I’m going to tell you the most effective, yet simple thing you can do to lose weight. That’s right, this strategy is not only easy to implement, it’s the absolute best thing you can do to shed weight – something that many firefighters want (or need) to do. This simple...

Why Convert The SCBA Waist Strap Into A Harness? One of the biggest challenges in the fire service is to drag an unconscious firefighter out of a fire.  Setting up the SCBA pack as a harness will allow us to drag, move or carry that downed firefighter much more effectively. ...

FIREFIGHTER CODE #1 – Love God Love & serve God.  In God We Still Trust. Trust in the Lord with all your heart;do not depend on your own understanding.Seek His will in all you do,and He will show you which path to take. -Proverbs 3:5-6 In my life experience and beliefs,...

Poor Leadership Happens At some point in every firefighter’s career, we are going to have to deal with poor leadership. This reality can be a struggle for us. I can recall being very frustrated with some leaders I have worked for. However, there are some things we can do that...

Everyone in fire and rescue knows that sometimes we just don’t have time to eat.  But that is only one reason to have a smoothie.  As crazy as this sounds, I wouldn’t eat fruit or vegetables, other than corn and potatoes, for most of my life. (Yes, me, the supposed health...

Dangerous Does Not Mean Unsafe Certainly, we all know the profession of firefighting is dangerous. However, that does not mean it is unsafe. On the surface, “dangerous” and “unsafe” are synonymous. If we dig a little deeper into the meanings, however, we...

The Promotion Process In our fire service journey, we all will come to the threshold of an important decision: Do we take the next step in our fire service career? Many of us prepare diligently for the promotion process and do well. Let us stop for a moment and consider a few...

The expectation and pressure on today’s chief officer continues to rise and it’s doubtful that this will change in the future. More pressure, more work, more stress, more challenges … the list goes on and on. — Fire Chief Les Karpluk (Ret.) Tip #3 – Never Give Up...

Everybody wants more energy – especially firefighters! There are many things that we do to sabotage our energy level and today I’m going to tell you about a major one. Eating the wrong types of foods, while they may feel good at the time that you eat them, can lead to major...