I am not exactly sure how they do things in Poland. However, one guy is extremely lucky his wife asked for his undertaker to grab a necklace off of his supposedly dead body before burial.
That is right. A man in Poland was pronounced dead by a doctor…but when an undertaker went to retrieve a necklace from the man’s neck he found a pulse.
Not only was the man not dead, the man is alive and well today.
According to the report, the man was released from the hospital after a couple weeks of treatment.
“The undertaker saved my life. I am so grateful. The first thing I did when I got out of hospital was take him a pot of honey,” he said. Read the entire article here
If you want to know where I get my news at…some of it comes from The EMSNetwork.org. Subscribe for daily EMS news updates at the site!
You can access all the latest posts from some great blogs at FireEMSBlogs.com
FireEMSBlogs.com is a “community” of Fire Blogs, EMS Blogs, Fire/EMS Blogs, Training Blogs, and even News Blogs related to the Fire/EMS service. Let me start off by saying that I am not speaking for FireEMSBlogs.com, I am merely explaining my view of what it is and what it isn’t. I don’t work for them.
What we are….Independent blogs which operate in a community. Think of “The Kitchen Table” over at FireRescue1. Kinda. Actually, some of the bloggers you see in this community also write for The Kitchen Table blog. Maybe even the family of bloggers over at Firehouse.com or FireEngineering.com…but not quite. All of those bloggers are writing specifically for those publications (web sites).
The creators of FireEMSBlogs.com merely took independent blogs and brought them into a community. That community feeds off of each other through commonalities like certain areas of the each blogs template.
What we aren’t…We don’t write for anyone but ourselves and our readers. The stuff we write is born of our own thoughts and we are to blame if we piss you off. There is no oversight from FireEMSBlogs.com on our content, although I am sure there are some rules somewhere along the way to prevent things like pornography for example.
FireEMSBlogs.com got started a couple of months ago and I decided to hop on board with FireCritic.com. I did this after many questions about the new community and I needed to know what it was and what it wasn’t. After all, I didn’t want anyone telling me what to do or what not to do. After finding the answers to my questions, I decided to take the plunge into the unknown. I figured at least there would be an increase in traffic so it couldn’t hurt.
In the end, or the beginning of FireEMSBlogs.com if you want to look at it that way, I am happy with my decision. I have been able to maintain if not increase traffic and I have become a part of a very powerful community.
Not too many people know about the community though. There hasn’t been much mention of FireEMSBlogs.com or what it is. That is mainly due to the building, maintaining, designing, and adjusting by the men and women who run it. The individual bloggers have been adjusting to the new platform and trying to garner the potential content of having our stuff show up on other blogs.
That being said, they have been marketing our content through several different mediums. For the most part, this has been through their facebook page of Firefighter Nation or the facebook page for JEMS Connect. They also have twitter accounts they use to network. In case you didn’t know, Firefighter Nation and JEMS Connect are brought to you by the same people as FireEMSBlogs.com.
Throughout the homepage for FireEMSBlogs.com there are various ways of seeing content, popular content, and the newest content from the individual blogs in the community.
For instance, STATter911.com is a very popular site. I don’t have any numbers so don’t ask. What I do know is that I get a decent bit of traffic from Dave when my stories show up on the global footers, or my banner shows up on the global header. If you don’t know what I am referring to, scroll all the way to the bottom and you will see 4 stories by bloggers in our community. It is a powerful networking tool.
When you get a chance, check out FireEMSBlogs.com. The site is really only one page that offers the most recent stories by the bloggers in the community. It also offers a Blog of Note in the top right. Even more cool is that you can scroll by topic and see what we are writing about any specific issue.
Outside of the “global” areas of our individual sites maintained by FireEMSBlogs.com, we have full control of what shows up on our posts and pages.
I guess you could think of FireEMSBlogs.com as being an rss reader of all of the blogs in the community. There are some great blogs here. As new posts are written by the various blogs they show up on the front page at the top and drop off the bottom as new posts are written.
So there you have it…FireEMSBlogs.com in a nutshell as I see it. There have been many blogs added since its inception and there will be more to come.
In case you don’t know what blogs are on here, there is a dropdown menu at the top of the page. I will also incorporate all of the blogs by listing them below. I only realize now that I should have named this site AAAA Fire Critic!
This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout goes to “A Firefighters’ Own Worst Enemy“. The blog is a new one that recently captured my attention. I would categorize it as a hybrid training blog with some real World experience written in by the author.
The “about page” states:
Jason Hoevelmann is a Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal with the Sullivan Fire Protection District, a combination department, and a career firefighter/paramedic with the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District in North St. Louis County.
and also that:
The blog is based on a class developed by Jason that he will present at Missouri Winter Fire School and at FDIC 2010. Here is a brief description about A Firefighter’s Own Worst Enemy:
A comprehensive look at why firefighters make bad decisions on the job and off duty. This class is designed to offer methods for dealing with your own problems and challenges as a firefighter and how to help officers assist their men and women with these problems. We will discuss why the same situations are killing us year after year and identify ways to avoid becoming a statistic. Finally, we will point out ways to enrich our own careers and personal lives, as well as assisting our firefighters in advancing their own careers and ways to help the organization improve and grow.
If any of you will be at FDIC, plan on attending Jason’s class! I plan on attending FDIC, we will see what kind of trouble I can get into!
I admit it, I am a junkie when it comes to stupid humans. I love sites like Break.com, NothingToxic.com, and EvilChili.com. These sites offer the best in stupid humans along with other viral video. One thing that really amazes me is watching people (most often young kids) lighting themselves on fire.
I don’t remember specifically being told by my parents, the nuns who taught me, or anyone else not to light myself on fire. I think it was just inferred by my common sensibility and realization that I am not immune to combustion.
Either way, some kids think that they are fireproof. I assure you that they are not. Burns are not fun, burns will change the way you look, and burns which are bad enough can indeed kill you.
That being said, some kids still believe that they can run around on fire and nothing bad will come of it.
Please, whatever you do…DO NOT SET YOURSELF ON FIRE.
Of course I have video evidence. Check out this idiot below. What the F was he thinking.
I just watched this video below on Firefighter Spot (video is embedded from Firevideo.net). The video really caught my eye because the firefighters were operating so well. I just couldn’t get over how the firefighters seemed to go to work on their various tasks at a steady and efficient pace. No one was running, yelling, freaking out, or even yard breathing. Hoselines were being pulled, guys were masking up, ladders were being thrown, and the job was getting done. Almost like it was choreographed.
The fire has been dubbed a close call because of the smoke explosion which occurs at 1:40. Even with all that, the crews don’t freak out and it is obvious everyone is ok.
That being said, I feel the need to point out one issue I saw. The roof vent firefighter hits the ladder at about 3:05. He fails to sound the roof although he does start his saw before getting on the roof. Taking a pike pole or axe to sound the roof would have been ideal. If the saw stalled, he could have resorted to using the axe. Around 3:55 we lose all sight of the firefighter who is working alone on the roof (by my standpoint). I believe he went to the rear of the roof where a ladder had been thrown earlier in the fire. Either way, if I was the Incident Commander I might have had to move around a little bit to keep track of him. Ideally, he would have had a partner up there with him and he would have been on air prior to getting on the roof in those conditions. After all, if I fall through the roof I would want to be on air already.
Engine 3 - Combination Utility Non-aerial Truck...you figure it out!
I have new digs…not here at the Fire Critic, but at my job. I got moved from a station which was built in the 70′s to a station built last year. I went from most recently driving a 75′ Quint (single rear axle) to driving an engine with an elevated master stream. Both trucks have the same cab and relatively the same engine components. This one just weighs less and is by all intents and engine, just doesn’t look like one.
The biggest difference is the crew. Myself and my Captain are the most senior guys (with almost 11 years a piece). That was a nice welcome for vacation signups. The Captain and I were actually in Recruit School together and is one of two out of my recruit school to make it to Captain first. I probably have several more years….no big hurry.
We have 1 firefighter and 3 firefighter/ALS (2 paramedics and 1 intermediate). The average of their tenure is about 6 years. Needless to say, we have a fairly young crew.
So far we are enjoying ourselves. We burn through a ton of coffee a day which may prove to be expensive…but I am sure we will make it just fine.
Our station houses an engine and a medic unit. We typically ride 2 on the medic and 3 on the engine, but on occasion we will enjoy 4 on the engine.
Wish me luck!
Don’t worry, I will be back with several posts tomorrow!!!
Heather as seen in the HFD Pipes and Drums Calendar. Click on the image to purchase now... $12 to support the HFD Pipes and Drums...and get this awesome photo!
Dave Statter ran a story about a Houston Pipes and Drums Calendar that is causing an uproar. The story accompanied another story in Houston that is related sexist and racist remarks surrounding female firefighters. I covered some of that story in the past and will leave it up to Dave to hammer out. The links are here and here.
On the other hand, the deal with the Houston Pipes and Drums Calendar is right up my alley. Why you might ask? Well mostly because of the picture to the right. You might remember the Top Ten Female Firefighting Calendars post I ran a couple months ago. Yes, I am very proud to have taken the time to dissect such and important issue facing Firefighters across the Globe….And Yes, I am willing to be the talent scout if anyone needs me in the future.
Therefore I need to step in where Dave left off. I took it upon myself to hunt down Heather and speak with her. That was actually pretty easy, I have a friend who is friends with everyone…Joel? Did she actually speak with me you might ask? Of course she did via email. I just told sent her a picture of ruggedly handsome Justin Schorr myself and she bought it!
As I said, Heather graced the Fire Critic blog once before (see number 1). This morning, as I was sipping some coffee made just like FireGeezer said to prepare it, and I nearly lost all senses. There she was again…
Heather in all her glory has posed for a benefit calendar for the Houston Pipes and Drums. The calendar was created to raise money for their group. Buy the calendar you will not be disappointed. Mine should be in the mail soon as I ordered it online already (order yours here).
This is an example of an image in one of the Houston Firefighters Calendar. You can order your 2010 Houston Firefighter Calendars here.
This brings me to the situation. SOME people are making a big to do about Heathers dress…or lack there of.
I must say, she looks stunning. Hell if I had a washboard stomach you would be looking at it right now.
Judging by Heather’s photo above and the one to the right could we be talking about a double standard?
Why is it that we cannot choose for ourselves what we want to look at and what we want to purchase. My guess is that these calendars will sell like hotcakes!
Heather offers the following on the situation:
I standby my decision and the fundraiser. The Houston Pipe and Drum Team are an awesome group of dedicated fire fighters who unselfishly give their time, energy and effort to beautifully memorialize our fallen Brothers and Sisters across the US, many times paying for instruments, uniforms and travel from their own pockets. They are a part of a long standing tradition in the fire department and one of the only ones we are allowed to still have and enjoy. I was thrilled to be able to help and had no problems with the vision of the photographer and and the pictures taken. There were no department rules violated and the benefit is in no way affiliated with the city. We all appreciate the support.
And may I add that I am damn proud to be a Houston Fire Fighter and would not change a thing about my near 15 years here. I have and still work with some of the BEST!
I will add one note that none of the local news channels in Houston asked Heather’s side of the story prior to running the story on the nightly news.
“It’s pretty indicative of your view of women,” said Joe Ahmad, the attorney for Draycott, Keyes and other female firefighters. “The problem with photos like this is they maintain the image of women who aren’t viewed in term of being competent at the workplace but merely as sexual objects.”
The Fire Critic says that as long as women inhabit the Earth they will be seen as sexual objects by men. That is just a fact…maybe not all men, but that is another story all together. The same way cougars flock to handsome half naked pictures of male firefighters in their own calendars and view them as sexual objects.
This does not mean that women cannot fight fire. This actually has nothing to do with it. Just because Heather has a fantastic body doesn’t mean that men will think she cannot fight fire. I actually think the opposite. Just by looking at Heather you can tell that she eats healthy, works out often, and take care of herself. Isn’t that what everyone is talking about now anyways…Healthy firefighters. So what gives of this double standard? I say forget about it.
In a response to scrutiny about the calendar, the HFD Pipes and Drums offered this:
I do not feel that the calendar is exploitative. I do not believe that the calendar has “gone to far”. This calendar was designed and produced by the same group that has produced many calendars, including the Houston Fire Fighter’s Calendar. They produced the calendar at their own cost and will be donating the proceeds to the band. Without the support of the community, the band would not be able to honor the careers and memories of the brave firefighters that have dedicated their lives to the service and protection of the citizens of Houston, and the greater Houston area.
As some of you may know, I am also the editor of VAFireNews.com. VAFireNews.com is an online State fire news website. I have been following the news and emails on Virginia Task Force 1 out of Fairfax County and Virginia Task Force 2 out of Virginia Beach. If you have links, info, news, photos, video, or anything else to share please let me know via Fire Critic or at editor@vafirenews.com.
At this point in time, Virginia Task Force 1 has two teams operating in Haiti assisting with rescue operations following the 7.0 earthquake.
USA-1 is the original heavy response team of 72 members which arrived in Haiti on the 13th.
USA-2 Medium is the 36-42 member team which arrived in Haiti this morning (15th).
Virginia Task Force 2 has one team of 80 members which should have arrived in Haiti last night or this morning.
At this point, the teams have made several rescues and are certainly making an impact in the Haiti Earthquake relief efforts!
To keep up with the news on Virginia Task Force 1 and Virginia Task Force 2, please direct your attention to a constantly updated thread on VAFireNews.com here . Much of the information on Virginia Task Force 1 can also be viewed at STATter 911.
As I said before, if you have anything to share, please let me know.
This question is posed for both Fire and EMS work.
At what age should you decide to hang up the badge and either retire, quit volunteering, or go to a supportive/auxiliary role in your department?
This question is brought on by discussion we had last night over at Firefighter Netcast. We dissected LODD’s and spoke about the many things causing LODD’s as well as ages in when firefighters and/or EMT’s are dying in the Line of Duty.
We discussed about a 72 y.o. LODD.
I am merely posing the question, should we still be fighting fire (or running EMS calls) at this age. Let us be honest, firefighting is dangerous and physically challenging. Are we really doing ourselves a favor by remaining active for this long.
My angle is not for departments to start discriminating or deciding at what age you have to quit. My angle is that individually, we need to understand that there will come a point in time where we will need to stop being active.
I had another discussion today about it via twitter. I did not have an answer. We all know that you could have a 60 y.o. who is in better health than a 40 y.o. Likewise you could have an 80 y.0. who might be in the shape of a 60 y.o. In theory, there probably isn’t a perfect age to cease active service. I know in my department there used to be a sunset of 66 on working as a firefighter. This came to a stop after certain legislation was passed to end discrimination on age.
I know from speaking with coworkers that it is not easy to retire and go on with your life after spending 20-30 years doing what you love. Many have a hard time leaving because they think the department cannot operate without them. Others have a hard time realizing that the department can operate without them.
When do you think you will turn in the badge? When do you think you should turn in the badge?
It is my honor (or honour) to announce Medic 999 as the Fire/EMS Blog of the Year for 2009. Medic 999 is run by Mark Glencorse who is a Paramedic for the North East Ambulance Service in England.
Mark has run Medic 999 since December 2008 and discusses the times and tribulations of being a medic in England as well as hot button topics of paramedicine and prehospital care.
Mark has recently enjoyed the spoils of being featured in the Chronicles of EMS. Chronicles of EMS was born from the efforts by Mark and Justin of The Happy Medic (San Francisco) to dissect the differences and similarities in EMS services at their respective departments.
I have a lot to say about the contest…what I learned, what I didn’t learn, what I will do differently, and how this contest will be over the top next year!
Unfortunately for Mark, the only prize this year is BRAGGING RIGHTS. However, I predict there will be more in the future!
Thank you for competing, thanks to those who nominated and voted for Medic 999, and thanks to everyone for publicizing the event!
I would also like to thank the judges who narrowed down the 23 nominated blogs down to 10 by judging on certain criteria…
2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year Judges
Marty Martin
Search Engine Optimization Consultant
Marty Martin is an Internet marketer and search engine consultant with over 12 years experience in the web industry. He has consulted for companies and government organizations across the USA and Europe and has been a guest speaker at business organizations, colleges and universities. http://mear.is/me http://twitter.com/mosquitohawk
Kirke Phillips
Kirke Phillips, known as ‘Mookie’, is a Firefighter/Paramedic/Web Designer in Texas. Mookie has been a firefighter since 1991 and is currently employed by the City of Leander. In 1997, he founded a personal website that has grown into what is today known as Texas-Fire.com, which provides news and community to Texas emergency services professionals. In 2001, along with his brother (also a firefighter) he founded CenTexFIRE Web Designs which hosts and designs websites. As of December 2009, Texas-Fire received over 3 hits a day, which includes Mookie, his brother, and their mother. On FaceBook
Andrew Catron
Andrew Catron is a career firefighter for the city of Kingsport in Kingsport, Tennessee. He entered into the fire service in 2005, and has been fulltime with KFD for two years. He is a member of the Town of Chilhowie Fire Department as well and maintains their website – www.chilhowiefire.org. Once he realized he enjoyed managing a web site he decided to start one of his own. Recently he began a web site for Tennessee Fire News. The web site is growing and he realizes nothing is built overnight. Check out TNFireNews.com – www.TNFireNews.com.
Medic 22
MEDIC 22 is a Radio DJ turned Paramedic Student in the Pacific Northwest. After over twenty years of working in the broadcast industry, M22 decided to quit his full time job, return to school full time, switch careers and write about it. His website, strangely enough called www.medic22.com details the trials and tribulations of a middle aged guy going through paramedic school. His website is full of polysyllabic words and sometimes people actually even read it. Oh, and he doesn’t like biscuits. Be warned.
I have not posted anything besides the contest to give as much airtime for it as possible. I am now posting the MMSO for this week.
The Monday Morning Shoutout goes to Firefighter Netcast this week. The reason for it is because we are announcing the winnner of the Fire/EMS Blog of the Year during the Live show. If you haven’t checked out the Firefighter Netcast, be sure to do so now. The netcast is brought to you by its hosts John Mitchell of Fire Daily and myself.
The show airs at 8pm EST tonight. Listen, chat and call in!!!
I apologize for the issues with voting. Trust me, it has been an issue that has bothered me. I have corrected the problem by changing the voting platform. You may continue voting and now you can do it once every 6 hours instead of 8 hours. This is solely due to the new platform not offering an 8 hour timeline.
Please click on the image below to vote now and thank you for your patience.
The Fire/EMS Blog of the Year 2009 contest finalists have been announced and voting has begun. Our judges narrowed down the nominated blogs to ten. Now it is time to vote.
The winner will be announced on January 12, 2010 at 8pm EST on the FirefighterNetcast.com first “official” live netcast! Tune in to follow along and listen in for the winner!
This video is wild. You have gotta watch this. I do not know how old this video is, but it just showed up on Liveleak. From the information, there were no fatalities.
A security camera captured the moment an ambulance crashed in the southern Turkish province of Hatay. Four people in the ambulance were injured. Check Out The Guy Thrown Out Of The Roof…Sheesh! .
A recent down pour,which left the road quite slippy,was said to have contributed to the accident
Your chance to nominate for Fire/EMS Blog of the Year 2009 ends today(January 5th) at 1459 hours. The complete list of nominated blogs is below (as of midnight 1/4/09).
*Important: If you nominated a blog which you do not see below please contact me via email immediately. We had an issue with our contact page which has been fixed now. We were able to get the messages which were still in the queue.
Click here to see the judges. They will be narrowing the nominated blogs down to 10 finalists. Voting will begin this evening (January 5th) at 23:59 hours.
If you would like to nominate a blog you may use our contact page here
Here is a list of the nominated blogs so far in no particular order. I tried my best to notify each and every nominated blog, however some of you do not post email or other ways of getting a hold of you.
Just a reminder that nominations will close at 1459 hours (2:59 pm) tomorrow, January 5th. Once our judges pick the ten finalists, voting will begin tomorrow evening at 2359 hours (11:59 pm).
If you have not nominated a blog, have not heard of your favorite Fire/EMS blog being nominated, or wish to nominate a blog please do so. Follow this link for the full information and rules.
We have over 17 blogs nominated by over 40 nominations currently. I am expecting several more later today. Be sure to get your nomination in today!!!!
This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout goes to DCFD.com. The site is all about fires/firefighting in the District of Columbia. It is run by Administrator – John Mullen, Webmaster – Justin Baer, Contributor – Vito Maggiolo, Photographer – Elliot Goodman, and Graphic Design- Kevin Copley.
The site is updated all the time with great photos from Vito, Elliot, and others. If you keep up with STATter911 you will see their work on the site regularly.
It is amazing how much press that a handful of guys can give a department…Keep up the great work!
I have been busy here at Fire Critic Headquarters! Unfortunately, most of what I have been working on is not for immediate posting. Not to worry, the stuff is really good.
Fire/EMS Blog of the Year
The Fire/EMS Blog of the Year contest is going on for 2009. Be sure to nominate your favorite blog today! If you don’t see your favorite listed then be sure to nominate yours today. You can use our contact form, email (firecritic@firecritic.com), or even nominate via twitter. Read the full rules here!
Here is the list of the nominated blogs so far in no particular order.
The full list of nominated blogs will be sent to our judges and our list of 10 finalists will be up for voting on the evening of the 5th.
USAFireTrucks.com
USAFireTrucks.com is a project I have been working on with Jeff Harkey of FireNews.net and Grant Mishoe of SCFireWire.com. We have turned the corner on 3 months of solid work and marketing and have ended up with a one of a kind product.
Basically, if you have a used/stock/demo/new fire or EMS apparatus for sale or are looking for apparatus to purchase then this is the site for you. We advertise apparatus for Brokers, Dealers, Manufacturers, fire/EMS departments, and individuals.
John Mitchell of Fire Daily and I have created Firefighter Netcast. There isn’t a ton to listen to other than our test netcast from last night. We are getting geared up for our first live “official” netcast on January 12th at 8pm. If you would like, you can go listen to our netcast from last night…again it was a test but it was fun doing it with live callins from some of our friends!
For a little while, I have been talking about podcasting. It is one of those things that was on my list of things to do way before Fire Critic came about, but it just kept being put off. A short while ago, I looked around for a partner in crime. John Mitchell (FireDaily.com) and I decided we would give it a go. Since then, we have been diligently working on all things “podcast”.
We ran a test podcast the other night and it was insightful. To be completely honest we learned a lot.
On January 12, 2010, we will be debuting the first of many live netcasts over at Firefighter Netcast.
What is Firefighter Netcast you might ask? Our goal right now is to create a brand of prerecorded podcasts and live netcasts. We also hope to create live radio shows at the spur of the moment if the need arises (think of breaking news reports for large incidents). You never know, you might see us at events in the future doing a live netcast (yes Firehouse Expo and FDIC we are available).
The show on January 12th will be live. We will be discussing LODD’s and everything encompassing them. Did you realize we finished the year with less than 100 LODD’s? Do you think they should all be considered LODD’s? Do you know of other firefighter deaths which should be considered LODD’s? Are we doing enough to prevent LODD’s? How many LODD’s are acceptable if any?
Join us on the 12th to let us know what you think! You will be able to live chat while the show is going on as well as call in to speak with us!
A fire guts the five-story Huntington Hotel in Midtown Detroit on Thursday. Fire officials said three people were critically injured. (Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News)
2 people have died and 2 firefighters have been injured in a large fire that extended into the New Year. The fire in Midtown Detroit consumed the Huntington Hotel and kept firefighters busy with numerous rescues. There are reports of many other people who were injured. The hotel was home to many who are disabled or on oxygen treatments.
From WXYZ.com: Fire officials said three people were critically injured and two firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Fire officials also said that a woman, whom Walker identified as his girlfriend, was missing.
A fire chief said that a ceiling in the building collapsed on the third floor, falling on several firefighters. The fire is thought to have begun in that area, authorities said.
Fire officials, who would not give their names, said oxygen tanks in the building exploded but likely did not spark the fire, which started around 9 p.m. continue reading
Recent Comments on FireCritic.com