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Since 2011, the United States has seen a marked increase in the number of mass violent events (Active Shooter/Terrorism) (FBI, 2014). These increases have put a spotlight on the Public Safety communities’ response. Since the events of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech...

You’re the Incident Commander of your fire service career! Not the Fire Chief, the Battalion Chief, Captain, Lieutenant or anyone else. You are!  Depending on how your department is configured, those people in their positions can help, but you are the Incident Commander of your...

Fire departments are an integral part of the community we serve.  The majority of fire department-community relations occur in moments of crisis with departments responding to the fire or EMS call.  If fire departments are going to continue being relevant in the 21st century, we...

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...

A servant leader. Those are the first words that I think about when someone asks me about David J. Soler. The next thought that comes to mind is that David is a man who is dedicated to God, his family, and the fire service. I remember the first time I received a phone call from...

We are taking today to reflect on all of the firefighters who have paid the ultimate price  on 9/11 and any other day. Please join us and say a prayer for those who have paid the ultimate price and for God to guide and protect us all in the future. To Those Who Have made the...

Live a longer life by eating this sweet treat Today I’m going to tell you some great news.  You can live a longer life by eating something sweet and delicious. The reason is because this treat actually reduces your blood pressure and helps manage your blood sugar. Recently...

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,...

In part one of this series we began the checkout of one of our most important pieces of equipment. Today we will continue with what good goes into a thorough SCBA inspection. Twist your regulator off of the facepiece, there should be no cracks or obvious signs of damage. Press...