Skip to content

Archives for

See all posts in the network tagged with

You Want to Know What I Hate…Promotions

3 comments

I hate when promotion time rolls around. It is like working around a bunch of zombies. Promotions in my department suck already, there is no sense in selling yourself out and becoming a No. 1 bootlicker. I pity those guys.

Promotions where I work happen this way….

  • Announcement of testing
  • Sign up for testing
  • Written test…the same thing for like 5 years. Most guys have most of the answers
  • Practical testing…incident command, problem employee, in-out basket
  • The create a cut off score from the tally of everyone’s 4 events above
  • Those above the line are on the list

Then they promote whoever the hell they want. It is hilarious. It used to bother me, it doesn’t anymore. I don’t have any expectations. I enjoy my job. I will not shoulder the burden of selling out and kissing ass. Too many guys do it and don’t even realize it.

What good is it anyways. Once they get promoted everyone remembers. I have seen all kinds of ass kissing too. Some normal and some way over the top.

Don’t get me wrong, many of our Officers deserve their promotion and did it the right way. It just seem each year that the bar raises on how to suck ass the best.

I often wonder if they can sleep at night.

I know I can and I am good with that.

I am going through the process. It is probably a waste. I am one of those guys who likes to question Administration. Yes indeed. I don’t mind asking why we did this or how we are going to fix that. I do it tactfully. Hell, someone has to do it. I try not to complain, more so be productive and offer solutions.

I am not the only one wondering why things are done certain ways. I am just one of the few who has the gumption to ask questions. I have seen some progress.

What those other guys don’t realize is that if they sit back and don’t raise an eyebrow…things won’t change. If the driver is asleep at the wheel you know what happens next.

In the coming months, I will give you an update on how I ended up in the promotional process.

Posted by on October 12, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , ,

Monday Morning Shoutout – Rescuing Providence

2 comments

This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout Goes to Rescuing Providence. The blog was just recently moved from blogger to WordPress and given its own url (something I highly recommend).

Lt. Michael Morse, the blogs owner, is also an author. He wrote “Rescuing Providence” and is currently looking for a publisher of his second book. You can purchase Rescuing Providence at Paladin Press.

I have not read his book yet, but I intend to purchase it soon. I haven’t been a long time reader of his blog, but I intend to keep it in my weekly reads.

Michael is currently assigned to Rescue 1 in the City of Providence Rhode Island.

His blog is very well written (I know that kinda comes off like a “But she has a great personality” comment, but it is true. You can tell that he spends time writing his posts and that communicating with the readers comes easy. His writing keeps you wanting to read the next post and the next post and so on.

Take a minute to check out Rescuing Providence.

rescuing providence

A little note from the Fire Critic on Monday Morning Shoutouts…I always enjoy looking around at various sites and checking out their links pages. I never know where I will end up. This is usually the process for picking the next MMSO. However, if you have something that you want me to check out shoot me an email or use the contact page. Maybe your site will be next!

I rarely let people know their site is the next MMSO, and I rarely let them know I picked them once I post it. I just let them find it on their own.

Posted by on October 12, 2009 • Filed under: Monday Morning Shoutout, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

H1N1 and Pre-Hospital Care

8 comments

Last week, my daughter got the flu. The doctors office tests for influenza, but not specifically for H1N1 or the “swine flu”. The doctor said that she tested positive for the flu and they don’t test for swine flu, but that it was the only flu going around (at least in our area). Therefore, more than likely she had H1N1. Was I worried? Somewhat. Obviously I did not want my daughter to become a statistic of the swine flu. However, I have tried my best to understand H1N1; what it is and what it isn’t.

Some of my neighbors looked at us as if they should burn the block to keep it from spreading. I assured them that they had nothing to worry about. We kept my daughter out of school for the week.

Her symptoms started last Friday. I was at work. My wife called Urgent care….They told her to go to the ER. Blah. So she called our Pediatrician. They said to take her to the ER if her fever spiked to 104 and we set up a sick appointment for Monday. Her fever got to 102.8 at its high. By Monday she was still maintaining. I took her to the doctors appointment (where she tested postive for the flu). She was given TamiFlu which made her puke the first three times she took it.

The good thing is that by Tuesday she was fever free. By Thursday (I stayed home with her all week) she was bugging the hell out of me to play with her friends. Out of respect for the flu and those my daughter would come in contact with, we kept her out of school all week. She will return this week and is feeling great.

Lessons learned:

The flu is not a joke. As a matter of fact, influenza (none H1N1) kills many each year. H1N1 is just a strain of influenza which is pandemically moving across America.

If you or someone in your family gets the flu, keep them away from others to prevent the spread.

Wash your hands ALL THE TIME to prevent the spread.

Listen to health officials, pay attention, and follow their instructions.

Some hospitals are creating triage staging areas outside their ER. Patients with flu-like symptoms are not being allowed entrance to the ER for care unless they meet certain criteria (age, health history, fever severity, etc.).

If you would like to learn more about H1N1 “swine flu” I suggest you take a look at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention webpage on the topic (link).

Posted by on October 11, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Learning From Our Mistakes

6 comments

STATter911 has a great post about a public education event by the DC Fire & EMS that took a dangerous turn for the worse (link). When doing an educational event like this one, it is imperative that we ensure proper procedure and that we don’t come out of it looking like clowns. After all, this is a perfect opportunity to show off our skills and build our customers positive view of us. Many firefighters who have commented on STATter911 have pointed to coincidences between this evolution and that of a live fire training public education event by “Hillendale Firefighters”. I believe that I have included this video below the videoof the one in DC that STATter911 reported on. I could not find much more information on it, but I have viewed the video before.

Either way, hopefully we have learned from both of these mistakes. Both of which should not have happened in the first place. Simply put, we don’t need to advance that far in to put these fires out! Why you might ask? Look at the results! Need I say more…

Ok, I can’t help myself. I hope for a speedy recovery for those injured in this event. I also hope that firefighters learn from these mistakes and that we don’t see this kind of incident in the future. It appears that many are enjoying throwing their anonymous jabs around on STATter911. I am sure that DCFD firefighters know what they are doing and are capable. I don’t think that many of the comments are true testament of who they are or what they do. The fact of the matter is that this could have happened anywhere. It shouldn’t happen anymore now that we have video evidence of what can happen when we don’t take everything into consideration!

The DCFD incident:

The Hillendale Live Fire incident:

I will add that there are similarities in the two events. However, these guys below should have immediately been put back through elementary firefighting classes. This should never have happened in the first place. I don’t have a clue in the world what the hell these guys were thinking crawling into that little shack o’ fire!

Posted by on October 9, 2009 • Filed under: News, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Some Cop Humor for you this Friday

No comments

Ok, I admit that I received this email…but I am not big on forwards. What I am a fan of is humor. Anything that makes me laugh…and this made me laugh. Enjoy!

The following 15 Police Comments were taken from actual police car videos around the country. Count down to #1…

#15 “Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch after you wear them a while.”

# 14 “If you take your hands off the car, I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.”

#13 “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

#12 “Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that’s the speed of the bullet that’ll be chasing you.”

#11 “You don’t know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”

#10 “Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I’m the shift supervisor?”

#9 “Warning! You want a warning? O. K., I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket.”

#8 “The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”

#7 “Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and corn dogs and step in monkey poo. ”

#6 “Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.”

#5 “In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC.”

#4 “How big were those ‘Just two beers’ you say you had?”

#3 “No sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we can.”

#2 “I’m glad to hear that chief (of Police) Hawker is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail.”

#1 “You didn’t think we give pretty women tickets? You’re right, we don’t. Sign here.”

Posted by on October 9, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

New Fire Engineering Website

1 comment
The new site!

The new site!

You may remember my critique of Fire Engineering’s website a while back (read it here). The whole thing was kind of impromptu at the time and was done because I got pissed off one day. I look at the site everyday and I always had to scroll down just to see what was new. I was surprised to find out that they were actually working on a brand new site at the time. As a matter of fact I got a comment directly from Bobby Halton, the editor of Fire Engineering.

The new site is live. I like it. I feel as though I was the catalyst for change and they listened to my every word. Ok, I am full of s@#$, but the look in the end is exactly what I wanted. I doubt I had much to do with it, but I am happy. As with most new websites or redesigns, there is a honeymoon period where the readers get used to it and find bugs with it.

One thing I do hate is that damn ad that unravels the homepage. I hated it on the old site, I hate it on the new site. However, I understand completely why it is there. It pays the bills. I can only imagine how many accidental clicks that darn ad gets.

I think the new navigation is tops! I think they got the right for sure!

Old Fire Engineering Site...blah

Old Fire Engineering Site...blah

Then there are the guys who just hate change. Any change at all. They get pissed off then they have to change their underwear once a week. Those guys piss me off. They will be there in the forums somewhere lurking wanting the old site back. Blah…

The biggest problem I have seen with sites like FireEngineering.com and Firehouse.com is trying to keep all the information organized. We are talking about 10+ years of information. If you don’t plan well in the beginning you will fall prey to poor navigation and poor organization. I think that both sites have this problem somewhat. Maybe not due to poor planning, but due to having so much damn information on them. How in the World could they have planned 10+ years ago for technology today…I only hope I have that problem with Fire Critic in 10 years!!!

Take a minute to check out the new FireEngineering.com site here.

Then feel free to shoot over to the new Firehouse.com beta testing site here. Let me know what you think.

Posted by on October 8, 2009 • Filed under: News, Website Critique • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Vote Now for CNN Top 2009 Heroes

No comments

CNN is currently hosting the 2009 CNN Heroes Competition “Ordinary people extraordinary impact”. Of the list of finalists is Paul Embleton. Paul created the BRAVE Foundation. BRAVE stands for Bomberos Resourceful and Valiant Efforts. You can visit his website here. They also have a blog here. Unfortunately, Paul didn’t make the cut this year and was not a Top 2009 Pick. Therefore he cannot win as Top Hero. However, he made it to the top 20 or so and that is very respectable!

On his blog the latest entry reads:

We Need Your Help in Guatemala!

PROJECT DATES – NOVEMBER 8-18, 2009: the next work party is scheduled to arrive in Guatemala on November 8th to complete the fire station in San Juan La Laguna. We are coordinating a group of volunteers to help with tile floors, cabinets, painting and finishing electrical work. (no experience necessary) We hope to host a community celebration at that time.

If you are interested in participating, contact us at http://www.bravefoundation.org/ or bravefoundation@gmail.com.

I don’t know if the offer still stands, but if you are going to be in that neck of the woods….

I must admit. This sounds like a great effort and something I would love to help out with if I could find the time….maybe in the future!

Paul Embleton
COMMUNITY CRUSADER
Paul Embleton is helping Guatemala’s volunteer firefighters save lives. His BRAVE Foundation has trained more than 1,000 firefighters in emergency response and provided more than $1 million in rescue equipment.
Click here for more information

paul.embleton.archive.cnn

Posted by on October 8, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Richmond Firefighters Working Themselves out of a Job?

4 comments
Richmond Ambulance Authority photo from here

Richmond Ambulance Authority photo from excellance.com

At least that is what the title to a piece by Chris Dovi in Style Weekly says. According to Dovi, Richmond firefighters will soon not have any calls at all. Meanwhile, the Richmond Ambulance Authority will be saving lives more and more.

Ok, I am exaggerating. Dovi does get it wrong though. Read the one sided article here.

In his attempt at dissecting Fire and EMS in one of the few Cities left who have separate services, Dovi misses the boat. The unfortunate part is that readers will not know right from wrong and ASSume that Dovi did his homework.

Here is the thing. I (The Fire Critic) worked for the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) back in the day. The day was 1998. I worked for American Medical Response (AMR), Mercy Ambulance, or some other company name. I was never really clear who I worked for that year. My checks came from AMR, we wore RAA uniforms. The work was fun, the experience was good, the company (AMR) had big issues, the working conditions were pathetic, and the job was dangerous. There were some great people who worked there, some of them are still employed. I keep in touch with others who have moved on to work at FD’s in surrounding areas.

I digress.

For a while now, there have been talks of a merger between the Richmond Fire Department and the Richmond Ambulance Authority. More recently the talks have heated up after RAA scrapped AMR for staffing and decided to do their own thing.

On the cover of Style: A quint truck, like one from Fire Station 6, is capable of fighting fires and providing advanced life support. Such technology as well as a new partnership are the future of emergency response in Richmond. Photo illustration by Scott Elmquist

On the cover of Style: A quint truck, like one from Fire Station 6, is capable of fighting fires and providing advanced life support. Such technology as well as a new partnership are the future of emergency response in Richmond. Photo illustration by Scott Elmquist

One thing is for sure, the system is working now. If budget cuts are the catalyst to merging the departments then I say BLAH! That is not a reason. Trust me, working in a department with remnant issues of a merge 15 years ago I can tell you that it has to be done right, for the right reasons, and most of all YOU HAVE TO HAVE EMPLOYEE BUY IN ON THE CONCEPT.

Please do not think that I am against change. I am all for Fire/EMS Departments. I just know that merges are not easy. You can already tell there is some tension at the top. You have the managers of two departments asking for everything to be laid out on the table. Let’s get to what they really care about…Who will be in charge?

I cannot help but think that this will end in misery. Misery for the firefighters and misery for the EMT’s and Medics. I do not know of a decent plan for merging. The firefighters aren’t going to want to ride the boxes, the EMT’s and Medics will want to work on the engines/ladders to get a break. I see it in my department.

One thing is for sure. I don’t think that RAA will be able to continue on with their bare bones staffing if they go into a merge. In order to staff Fire Stations with ambulances you will have to have more staffed. If I remember correctly, when I worked there RAA had 20+ ambulances. However, at night they only ran like 6 of them. During the day staffing swelled to accommodate for transports to and from home and inter-facility.

I just hope that the bean counters get it right if they entertain a merge….You have to take the boots on the ground into consideration!

Posted by on October 7, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Kidnapped

No comments

A Ransom Note To The American Fire Service

IF yoU CoMplY witH theSE

S A F E T Y

DeMAndS wE will LowER The NUMber of LODDss

S SEAT BELTS                WEAR EM

A ACCIDENTS               AVOID EM

F FITNESS                      GET IT

E ERRORS                       END EM

T TRAIN                         EVERYDAY

Y YOU                             MAKE IT WORK

tHe CloCk has StaRtED

tHE NeXt MovE is yoUrs

we wiLL be WATCHing!

Hey guys, I was sent this catchy acronym yesterday. I like it. I like the housewatch’s comment on it too. It was better than what I came up with. I am working on something on the subject though!

Either way, the Fire Critic Blog has been kidnapped…The ransom is above. Take care, be safe, and put the fire out!!!

Posted by on October 6, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , ,

Win a Fire Critic T-Shirt Hot off the Shelf

6 comments

Announcing the Fire Critic’s First Ever Free Stuff Giveaway. The winner will be picked on October 30th.

Be sure to read the rules. They are simple…two steps to enter for your chance to win!!!

410167174v6_480x480_Back_Color-White

Ok, I have been chomping at the bit to start a contest for the Fire Critic via Twitter. I finally have something to give away. It isn’t huge, but it is a start (hint: feel free to get your product free adverstising via a giveaway here!!! Contact firecritic@firecritic.com to get your product featured.)

The Fire Critic will be giving away a Fire Critic T-shirt (seen here).

The rules are simple:

Step One: Follow me on Twitter

  • Go to Twitter and if you don’t already have an account there, set one up. It’s free. Then follow me – @FireCritic. Go to http://www.twitter.com/firecritic and click on the Follow button that appears under my profile. If you are already following me, then skip to the next step.

Step Two: Tweet about the Contest

  • This is the last step, simply write out the following tweet (you can copy and paste)…

Win a new Fire Critic T-Shirt from @FireCritic Pls RT. Details here: http://bit.ly/WC7Jn

That’s it. Just follow me on Twitter. (http://www.twitter.com/firecritic) Send out that Tweet – and you’re done. You only have to do this once. If you do it more than once, you will not increase your chances of winning.

I will verify that the winner (chosen randomly) is a follower of @FireCritic and has retweeted the message above. If you have your tweets set to private, I will not be able to verify your retweet (unless by chance I follow you, but I wouldn’t bank on that).

We check the FireCritic Twitter account for a list of followers. We verify the aforementioned re-tweet. We throw all that information at a random number generator and pick a winner.

Ok, now the legal mumbo-jumbo….

I will pay taxes on the item. You don’t have to worry about it. I am that kinda guy. I will even pay shipping…and then eat my words when someone wins in some small island that has astronomical postage!!!

You must be 18 to win. Period. This contest is void where prohibited by law. If you do not want to participate, or do not like the idea of free stuff being given away then please do not participate.

futher disclaimer…some of rules and terms were inspired by Scott Bournes Giveaways.

Posted by on October 6, 2009 • Filed under: Contests, News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Tuesday Morning Job Security Check – Firefighter Drag Fail

No comments

No, they aren’t dressed in drag. Sorry to burst your bubble. Actually, I think I have seen a successful attempt at what they are trying. However, I have successfully done what they appear to be doing ONCE. Yeah, I think it was Senior prom….it was great!

You might be asking yourself why this fits under the title “Job Security Check”. Well the answer is because if indeed this was a female firefighter being dry humped against her will……..just watch the video. This guy gets it all wrong! Talk about protection!

Posted by on October 6, 2009 • Filed under: News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Burnin it Down – A podcast by The Bravest Online

2 comments

bravestonlineLast week, I found myself pondering doing podcasts.My issue is that I felt that the Medics have  been doing so much with podcasts and that the Fire Service has been missing out.

I am sure that there are others out there. Maybe even some great ones I have never heard about (leave a comment if you know of a good one). I know that Jay Lowry at FirefighterHourly.com has been doing them for a while now.He does a pretty good job, but he talks so much about South Carolina. I listen though.

My dilemma is that while some people may have a face for radio….I have a face for TV. I am freakin beautiful. Really guys, I have a career in commercials ahead. Ok, I am lying to you all. Actually, I am nothing special…but what is worse is I CANNOT stand to hear my recorded voice. I cringe. I think and wish it sounded like someone else! I will not rule out podcasts in the future, but they will not be regular!

Which brings me to my point of this post.

I am soooo excited! From what I have listened to so far these guys are doing it right!

The guys over at TheBravestOnline.com have created a podcast Burnin it Down. They record on Sundays and have two more planned. You can go here to listen to their previous podcasts. I admit I am currently listening to the latest episode as I type this. This guy, Chris David who heads up the podcast is great at it! I am currently listening to the Vollie/Paid issue. If you catch it while they are doing the show live, you can actually chat, listen, and call in if you want!

This Sunday the 11th they will have a special guest on the podcast…Fred Simon of the First Responder Liability Blog.

I hope to listen in on the following podcasts and you might even hear the Fire Critic online with Chris talking about the subject at hand!!!!

I am going to email The Bravest Online right now about finding out more!!!

Keep up the great job guys!

And if anyone else out there has something great they think that the Fire Critic needs to know about be sure to let me know. Any time I can talk about myself in the third person I love it!!!!

Posted by on October 5, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Embracing Social Media in the Fire Service

3 comments

I have been using some sort of social media for years. I haven’t always used social media for firefighting, EMS, Networking though. I originally started out on myspace and have since discontinued the use of myspace for what I think is a more professional and all around better choice of the two.

My post today is about utilizing social media to learn, network, and grow as a Firefighter, EMT, or First Responder.

In my opinion, there aren’t nearly enough of us using social media to its fullest. If you look at the traffic of blogs, followers of some of the best Fire/EMS Twitter users, message boards…Whatever you use to measure the amount of users there is a lot of room for improvement in numbers!

This includes

  • blogs
  • facebook, myspace, FirefighterNation, JEMS Connect, linkedin, twitter, youtube, flickr, etc.
  • forums/message boards

I would imagine most firefighters can direct you to Firehouse.com. It was the first and I am sure it remains the most popular.

But how many can direct you to great daily reads like FireGeezer.com or STATer911.com. I realize those are just two great Fire Blogs and there are so many other great ones.

How many EMT/Paramedics know about Mediccast or TheEMTSpot? How many visit regularly to read the great content?

How many have harnessed the capability of Twitter? How many people realize that they can follow their favorite blogs on Twitter and pick and chose what they want to read by title.

Many of the Fire/EMS Bloggers feed their RSS feed directly to their Twitter account. This means that every time they post a new entry on their blog, the title and url (link directly to the post) are posted to their twitter account.

I have tried (as others have too) to provide a decent explanation of what Twitter is and how you can use it to benefit you the firefighter and/or EMT.

This is a list of just some Fire/EMS Bloggers who you can also follow on Twitter (Blog url – Twitter User url).

I follow these guys and I suggest you should too. If you don’t have a twitter account, set one up at twitter.com and start following these guys immediately. You will be amazed at the amount of information that is communicated on Twitter. Just another way of staying in touch with the ever changing Fire/EMS Service!

As I said, these are just some examples. Feel free to add yours in the comments section!

Posted by on October 5, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Monday Morning Shoutout – SConFire.com

No comments

This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout goes to SconFire.com. The website is the Fire/EMS news source for South Carolina. SconFire.com is run by a friend of mine Grant Mishoe. Grant is a Captain with the North Charleston Fire Department and has a passion for firefighting.

The site took a back seat for a while after the loss of 9 brothers in Charleston, SC. However, the site is back and better than ever! Check out the site and all it has to offer.

sconfire

Posted by on October 5, 2009 • Filed under: Monday Morning Shoutout, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

I am looking for Bloggers who feed their RSS through Twitter

11 comments

This may seem like a different language to some of you. The ones I am looking for will understand the question.

I am looking for bloggers who have a twitter account and feed their RSS feed through their Twitter Account.

This is for a future post on FireCritic.com about the topic.

Be sure to get me your twitter username and Blog url!

Thanks

Posted by on October 4, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Fire Service Limbo

4 comments

As the “economy” continues to wane, the fire service continues to be bashed by poor leadership and one sided statistics which show room for more cuts.

Some say the economy is on an upturn. I am not an economist.

Fire Departments are not a new casualty to money issues. Actually, Fire Departments were being cut long before the economy went south. The FD’s were an easy target by politicians for downsizing when their special interest programs needed funding. Simply cut the FD’s and use the “new” money to fund their special pet projects. Once one person did it and got away with it, everyone else saddled up. The continual cuts to FD’s became an issue that firefighters kept raising their eyebrow to.

When the economy took the downturn, the FD’s continued to become the whipping post for budget cuts. Now more than ever, the politicians have been able to sell their downsizing ideas to the public. What the public isn’t shown is how the FD’s have been continually cut since way before the economy turned.

It is a simple sell to the public. We don’t want to increase your taxes so we have to make these cuts. People eat that up. They don’t want to pay more taxes.

That is where the Fire Service Limbo comes in. Just how low can we go?

Let us look at it this way…

Take the 80′s at the end of “America Burning”. FD’s were fully staffed, in service, and well fed. We had what we needed and didn’t ask for much. We ran emergencies. False alarms existed, but were usually handled if possible to curb future false calls.

By the 90′s, most City FD’s had merged with their EMS counterparts. The intent was good, most department merges were not handled ideally though. In the end, some departments still suffer the effects of poor merge practices/planning. Soon after, management realized that we had many more personnel and could cross-train Fire/EMS to create all in one employees.

By the end of the 90′s, we had trimmed the “fat” of the departments. We closed down engine companies and ladder companies because we can utilize the firefighter/EMT’s on the ambulances as the contingent of firefighters on scene of fire calls. We still have the same number of firefighters on calls, just not the same makeup of apparatus on those calls.

By 2000, we saw the need to continue twisting statistics. FD’s cut the amount of apparatus on responses, cut firefighters on rigs, cut more engine companies. Raises became intermittent, benefits became huge bargaining chips, health insurance premiums steadily increased. The Fire Service became younger, the training became harder to get on duty. Firefighters who were once hired to become firefighter/EMT’s were now hired to become Firefighter/ALS (paramedics and EMT-Intermediate). Fire calls increased, EMS calls increased.

Which brings us to now. We have seen administration positions continue to increase to help with all the bean counting, regulations, and pet projects. Much like private business, managers increase the amount of subordinates to make their jobs easier. FD’s see brownouts, closures, and lay offs. Firefighters see increased insurance premiums, lost benefits, loss of annual raises, loss of merit raises, loss of longevity raises, loss of overtime, fewer firefighters on rigs, fewer firefighters on scene, longer response times, waiting longer to get enough firefighters on scene, decreasing morale, less training, more regulations.

That is just a snapshot of what I see as the economical/management crippling of the fire service. This goes for EMS too. I realize that all of us may not be affected by all of these situations and others may see worse.

The limbo continues. It is only a matter of time before we will find ourselves laying flat on our back.

Posted by on October 4, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

2009 National Fallen Firefighters Memorial

No comments

weekend09_logoThis is all you need to know about today (Sunday)

Click here to find watch video and live streaming footage.

Posted by on October 3, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , ,

The Fire Critic’s Take on First In – BET’s Take on Compton FD

16 comments

first inFirst in is a brand new show on BET (Black Entertainment Television). It premiered on Wed. Sept. 30th. I have just gotten a chance to sit down and watch episode 1 and 2. Apparently they played two videos that night. Luckily for me BET has added the full videos on their website ( I embedded the videos below). What is additionally great is that they have removed all the commercials and merely added in two 30 second commercials per episode.

First in is based on the Compton Fire Department and is narrated by Tyrese Gibson. As best as I can tell, Compton FD does EMS also, but they have an interesting make-up of firefighters and “ambulance operators”. The ambulance operators work in the station but they are not firefighters. I don’t have a clue who is a Paramedic and who isn’t, they don’t give any information on who is certified in what.

“First In” is a documentary, or maybe even more clearly a docu-drama. These are real firefighters, real calls, real lives, and decent editing!

Episode 1 opens with an EMS Call DOA (gunshot if I remember correctly), an overdose with a combative patient, a car fire, then a plane crash. I am certain that these calls probably did not happen in exact succession nor did they happen all in the same day. I could be wrong though. The main characters detailed below are stationed at Station 3 which is also the Training Center. The City of Compton has 4 fire stations, a population of 100,000 and 75 known active gangs.

Today the Fire Department has 84 sworn employees and five civilian employees. Its resources include four fire stations and nine front-line emergency vehicles comprised of four fire engines, one truck, two paramedic squads, and two basic life support transport ambulances. (ComptonCity.org)

My first impression after watching the first two episodes is that we have a quality show. The camera operators ride in the rigs giving you a great view of all aspects of our jobs. The on scene interviews give introspect on what is going on (for those of us who don’t already know). The firefighters are respectful of the citizens and operate as I would imagine all of us would if we had cameras following us around.

The show is not riddled with house fire after house fire after house fire. The show actually shows EMS calls, vehicle accidents, car fires, a plane into a house, station life, training, and even the recruit process. I believe the show has a great balance of what is going on in FD’s across the States. The editing isn’t over the top, the show does a great job of giving the public a view of what we go through on a day to day basis.

What I didn’t like was how the show brought in some family life but didn’t go into too much depth. I am not saying I want more depth, but if you are going to do it you need to do more. However, there is only so much you can show in 30 minutes.

It seems as though the show actually follows accidents throughout the entire City and not just ones for Station 3. That is fine, but it almost hints at station 3 apparatus being added to calls just so some of the main characters end up on scene for the show. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, unless it is undue response while leaving other areas uncovered while they accommodate for the show…but that is me being VERY picky.

Think of this show like a Cops version of firefighting. Maybe even Trauma Life in the ER for firefighters…given they show more character of the nurses and doctors, something that Cops shies away from besides in car interviews.The show is not too different than the show “The Bravest” ( I believe that was the title) which chronicled the day to day operations of FD’s.

I give First In a thumbs up and I plan on checking in on the entire 10 episode season. Let me know what you thought in the comments. I tried to find some other reviews of the show, but didn’t have much luck. It seems as though the premiere of “Trauma” wore everyone out.

The main cast of the show is below:

Marcel Melanson – Battalion Chief – a 12 year veteran of the service. The show bills him as one of the youngest BC’s in the Nation. I concur.
Jerome Goodall – Ambulance Driver – Trying to get on as a firefighter.
Shon Halverson – Firefighter -Billed as the quintessential firefighter.
Danny Salazar – Firefighter -Apparently he is the rebel.
Marcus Wilson – Probationary Firefighter – Trying to earn respect.

There are plenty of other firefighters on the show, they just don’t go into detail on them. All in all it seems like a pretty decent crew out there in Compton.

Click (more…) below to watch episode 1 and 2 (I had to do this because the episodes start instantly) Simply pause the episode you don’t want to watch right away.

(more…)

Posted by on October 2, 2009 • Filed under: News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fire Critic Apparel and Mugs Now Available

9 comments

Click here to go to our CafePress webpage.

The Fire Critic has created an online shop at Cafepress for you to purchase your shirts and mugs. We have coffee mugs (large and small), short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, aprons, boxers, beer steins, insulated coffee mugs, water bottles, and even a woman’s thong.  The best part about it is that if you don’t see what you want, let me know and I will create it if possible.

There are plenty of various shirts to choose for women and men both. These will make great Christmas gifts too!

I have attached several images below. I just got my shippment in today so that I could do some quality control. I am pleased with the quality.

The Fire Critic would love to see the mugs and apparel in action! Send in your photos of yourself or your crew with the merchandise! Just please do not send photos of the beer steins full of beer in firehouses! Coffee is ok though!

A note for those who sent in their ideas for text on the merchandise. If you see an item you gave the idea for please contact me and I will send you the free stuff. I tried to get a hold of everyone (4 winners).

withfiregeezer

The Fire Critic Beer Stein, Fire Critic Large Coffee Mug, FireGeezers Mug, and Fire Critic Small Coffee Mug. If you are looking for the FireGeezers mug click here.

Close up of "The Site Chief Warned You About Shirt"
Close up of "The Site Chief Warned You About Shirt"
Back of "The Site Chief Warned You About" Shirt
Back of "The Site Chief Warned You About" Shirt

Fire Critic Thong
Fire Critic Thong
Front of Fire Critic Shirt
Front of Fire Critic Shirt

Long Sleeve Fire Critic Shirt
Long Sleeve Fire Critic Shirt
The Fire Critic Mugs
The Fire Critic Mugs

The Fire Critic Mugs and Beer Stein with FireGeezers Mug
The Fire Critic Mugs and Beer Stein with FireGeezers Mug
Fire Critic News, Views, and Brews Apron
Fire Critic News, Views, and Brews Apron


Posted by on October 1, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dangers of Decks…From the Creator of FirefighterSpot.com

2 comments
FireFighterSpot.com

FireFighterSpot.com

Today I was sent an article on FireRescue1.com. The article is about the “Dangers of Decks” and written by Jason Poremba.

The article is a good read and has many videos. This is a great training tool for you guys on the job today. Have your company sit down in front of the computer and follow the article and watch the relating videos. You might also check out FireFighterSpot.com directly to check out a site that probably has THE BEST Firefighting videos on the internet.

While I read the article, I took a stroll down memory lane.

I remember Jason (although we have never formally met) from years ago. I was running a local fire blog that had local news as well as some of the stuff I now put on FireCritic.com; He started up Firefighterspot.com (aka BestFirefighterVideo.com) which was actually known as the “Hamptons Fire Blog”. When Jason started it, he found himself leaning towards videos. If my memory serves me right, I think he actually went through some growing pains with local departments of posting photos of scenes. That was probably because it was new to them and they didn’t have full control (we see a lot of that in our business).

Jason made the switch to an almost entirely video driven blog. Probably the first Firefighting Vlogs when he created FireFighterSpot.com.

It is great to see the various bloggers, vloggers, webmasters, and such grow throughout the years. We have each found our own niche and have supported each other along the way. I have created some great friends along the way and intend to continue learning from them and showing them what I have learned.

If you must see the original blog that I started and continue to run…click here. It has been on since 2005. It is not the oldest, but I have created one hell of a network of friends! Keep up the great work guys. I also run various other sites found here.

Posted by on October 1, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , ,