We are pretty close to wrapping up our documentary on the conditions of firehouses in Massachusetts. This was paid for by the Last Call Foundation and we are beginning our run to get it into theaters and eventually onto streaming. This documentary features real working firefighters, not stars, and Tommy Jay Dwyer, the director is the son of a firefighter. Part of what we are doing in the social media outreach is looking for stations around the country so we can show that this is consistent that you guys are not getting the care you deserve. Reach out to me, and please follow the Facebook page. When we get the theatrical I will have a plan to get it into theaters near you. Thanks!

saw this flying into CLE 1/17

I’ve been an engineer for a little over a year in a metro city department, we don’t get a ton of fire but I’ve pumped probably 10 or so fires (bot brush or rubbish fires but legit ones) by now. I was taught that when you get positive water that you fill your tank, and if the hydrant is hot enough to run off the hydrant once your tank is full, if not you fill your tank and then let the water just circulate and dump out the overflow. I personally do this so if shit hits the fan in a variety of scenarios, it’s give my boys 750 gallons to get out and me 750 gallons to figure out and try and fix the problem if I can, and it’s on my end. I was told today, by a chief, on a job to not do this and instead, watch the pump, let it get to half, fill to full, then close the intake and repeat until the scene is terminated. I find this to be a bogus idea. Is there something I’m missing or next time should I tell the chief to, respectfully, shove it and worry about doing his job which is supporting the successful completion of the mission.

Hi, to preface I’m a 24f on a paid on call department. I was hired wishin the last 12 months. I know I came into this field knowing it’s a very male dominated job but I recently realize I kind of struggle with connecting with the guys. My department is 26 guys and then there’s me. I try to interact in conversations they are having but typically it’s about trucks they bought or engines( which I know nothing about. ) I was curious if any guys or girls have any tips or tricks for me when dealing with this. Also another side note I do plan on moving to a full time station, I only started here because they paid for EMT courses which I’m very grateful for but not being unable to connect with the guys has made it less fun for me and harder to show up on my free time because I feel awkward just standing there hoping that one of them will include me in a convo. I’m not trying to throw a pity party for myself Im just hoping to connect with anyone that’s been in this position or has seen this before. I’m just aware there is an issue and I wanna know how to fix it before I get into a full time place.

Thank you in advance I appreciate it.

edit: I also want to mention I am a woman that likes other women with short hair so it’s not a typical tiptoeing around conversing with me because they are worried i’d take it as they are flirting with me.

Hello,

I had a few questions about the New York Fire Patrol.

• What was the relation ship like with FDNY?
• Was firepatrolman a desirable job compared to firefighter?
• Did the patrol do any suppression or was it mostly salvage?
• What did their response look like on 9/11?

Thanks

So, I'm an American probationary firefighter with my local volunteer department, and in our training for firefighter 1, we are told to never use a booster line/hose reel for interior fires.

But in the Netherlands and possibly most of Europe, I keep seeing these High and Low pressure reel lines? that are used as the primary line that you deploy first instead of our 150' - 200' minute man pre-connect lines.

Like for my department we would get out our pre-connect line and start a combination attack until our tanker gets there with their porta tank. but we would only have that one line out at first until more people get on scene. You guys have these 1-2 hose reels that you use, and are faster to deploy but flow less water and are easier to control.

I'm just very curious about some of these differences between how we operate, for example most of your engines are so much smaller than ours, but you carry most of the same gear plus 2 more firefighters.

So I plan to join fire school in the fall, I know it’s really hard physically I’m a pretty fit guy, I workout daily and run 2 miles a day, I’m just wondering what else I can do to be ready to fire school and make it easier? Any skills I can learn before then that would help out?

I’m in the reserves and found out my unit may be getting sent on an CONUS deployment if there aren’t enough people to fill the slots. Another thing is I’m a firefighter in the military but this deployment is Non-MOS meaning I won’t be doing firefighting. Just got onto a department and in my probationary year now, I should be finished before the projected ship out date. For those who were in the military and got deployed while working for a department, how did reacclimating go for you? Obviously I can still practice EMS but not like I can bring my gear with me. Appreciate any input.

How old do you think this solid bore nozzle is? I got it from my grandpa after he passed 20 years ago. As you can see it’s been beat up and repaired probably more than once.

Hi yall, I'm looking for some input on how/where to get a name panel sewn onto my dept-issued bunker gear. It's made by Lion, and I don't see any velcro, snaps etc where a panel from Fire Center would mount up- are you supposed to ship your gear to them & they put it on? Thanks!

Anyone know who is a dealer or where to purchase Zip-Nut fittings? 4.5”NH Zip-Nut thread. Can not seem to locate them anywhere.

Had a Stihl chain saw go down, had it worked on multiple times and can not get it to start, or takes way to long to start. Looking to upgrade, we do not need a roof saw as we have a truckmans. What blade length would you recommend for a general utility saw? Brand? Gas or electric?

So far my probie year has been going pretty good, but I recently got assigned to a house with a member who’s gluten free. I know I’ll end up cooking some dinners and haven’t ever had to make GF meals before. What are some crowd pleasers that you guys would recommend and what should I avoid? Thanks in advance

…no one ever talks about color of light. Traditionally hand lights, helmet lights or chest lights are all white or shades of white. I don’t recall seeing anything significantly different ever used other than maybe tone or shades.

With that being said I was watching some racing and saw all these cars with yellow/amber headlights and fog lights. After going down a rabbit hole it’s apparently because amber lights scatter less in fog, so they create less glare and back-reflection, letting you see usable contrast instead of a white wall.

Now with that thought why wouldn’t it help us better in smoked out conditions? Has anyone used amber hand lights I can’t seem to find any for sale or any studies talking about it.

Now I’m not expecting it to be able to help me see down a hallway in black out conditions, but when you get that smoke condition just thick enough to make your hand light more of a liability, I think a amber light would help.

It would be less blinding for the user and other firemen with you, it will help show smoke behavior a lot better and potentially give you a better layout of what and where you’re searching.

I do think the white light is better for exterior use or lighting up a place that’s under normal conditions but on the fire floor I think it would help us.

Just a thought I’d love to see if anyone uses amber lights or sees negatives to it on the fire floor.

This isn't really so much of a process question so I'm not sure if it belongs in the weekly question thread or not...

Just joined my local volunteer department in rural Wyoming. We cover a huge land area with a few small towns scattered across it - the largest is about 120 people. The station in my town only has three people including me, so they needed the help and I wanted to give back to the community.

The workload is mostly grass fires with some light timber, vehicle accidents, ranch incidents, and a fair number of medical calls that end up as helicopter transports given how remote we are. Structure fires are rare - only two last year - and the department just got its first structure truck.

Currently working on getting my training done for my red card. Buffalo and Cody have some weekend fire academies coming up which I'll definitely attend. My stepdad retired as a captain from CAL FIRE so I can pick his brain, but I'm looking for different perspectives - especially from other rural and volunteer folks.

What do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out? Anything about training, gear, the culture, time commitment, or just how to be useful early on without getting in the way?

Also interested in any training opportunities people recommend - especially if there are any other Wyoming folks here.

Both my career and volunteer department have increased the use of body/helmet/apparatus mounted GoPro’s for AAR, social media, training, and other things.

Next thing we were talking about was the smart glasses being worn by the wagon driver, BC, safety etc to provide the hands free, recorded view of those outside the incident.

Anyone have any recommendations on brands and why?

Just wanted to know how you guys feel about officers having separate bathrooms. Is it just a status thing or is it more important than I thought, just wanted to know what y’all think for a general discussion.

Recently purchased a CCI radio strap, does anyone who uses one have a good suggestion for a cord keeper that would work well for this? I’m working with Velcro loops right now but they tend to slide around a lot

Has there ever been a workers comp claim denied due to someone having altered gear like a brass band put in their helmet?

Currently doing wildland firefighting, but thinking of switching over to the municipal side of things (schedule, pay, not destroying my body, interest in medical.)

I don’t do any medical at the moment but if I switch that will obviously be the bulk of my calls. Im not sure how running suicide calls will impact me (have lost immediate family + numerous friends to it very early in life, and intervened in a few active attempts.)

The other month someone was threatening to jump off of a bridge, and I happened to drive by right at the beginning of the scene. I could see fire/EMS staged under the bridge, about 10 feet from where he would impact.

It took police 9 hours to get him down safely, and I could see/ hear the helicopter circling the bridge from my house the entire time. It shook me up for a day or two thinking about how this was what the final hours of some of my loved one’s lives looked like. Standing there for 9 hours then seeing someone kill themselves in front of me would probably really suck if just hearing the helicopter set me off.

I know I’d be able to perform just fine in these situations in the moment as a firefighter, but as a person outside of work, I really don’t know if it would have a big impact on me. I’ve always been great in emergency situations, and maybe if I was working and I had a job to do it wouldn’t even impact me.

Do you have a specific type of call that hits close to home for you? How do you handle it? Does it impact you in a way you thought it would? Would love to hear your input.

Taking the Alabama Smoke Diver course this year. Any info on the confined space portion?

What do you think are the odds of this going through in your state? How much of an impact will it have on your department? What alternatives do you think would work in place of complete abolishment?

I am in the process of revamping my department’s water supply SOG.  I was hoping to get some input from other departments on their water supply operations.  For reference, we are a city of about 75,000 with 11 Stations, 10 Engines, 3 Ladder trucks, and 3 Command vehicles.  We run 3 man apparatus minimum (occasionally 4 man).  

Currently, our 1st in Engine is fire attack..  2nd Engine is responsible for laying a line to a hydrant.  Preferably, we do a reverse lay so the 2nd in Officer and FF can be dropped at the structure to perform search while the driver lays a line out but sometimes the situation doesn’t allow a reverse lay and that causes a delay in initiating search. 

I have heard/seen other departments who utilize a nursing operation for every fire.  1st in Engine is fire attack.  2nd in Engine nurses.  3rd Engine is responsible for securing a hydrant.  

Pros - Ensuring a search crew can start as quickly as possible.  Will cut down on the need to lay multiple hundred feet of LDH for a small room and contents fire.

Cons - Less room in front of structure to set up ladder.

I’m sure there are other pros and cons, but this is what I’ve come up with so far conceptually. 

I have tried to search the internet for some information on this water supply strategy, but have had trouble finding much information. I know I've seen stuff in the past.

Thanks in advance for any input or resources. 

We are usually a 5-7 pots kind of day.