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Getting your Blog To Work For You, Making the Most of it, Creating a Network, and Gaining Readers

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It has been a while since I have posted a “Blog Tip” (previous ones on monetizing your blog) on Fire Critic. After speaking with other bloggers and hearing that some of them are reaching for readers and trying to comprehend the best ways of increasing readership I felt I would offer some tips.

These tips can be useful for any bloggers, although some of the tips might be catered to the crowd on the FireEMSBlogs.com network. I have been blogging in some form or another for the past 6 years. I have not learned it all, and I realize that best practices can be altered, discovered, or modified daily.

I will follow up with many more “blog tips” in the future. This is a beginner “blog tip” to get new bloggers rolling and some extra tips for others who are looking for that extra boost.

This article will focus on spreading the word to a larger audience and when, how, and why to write articles.

Writing articles

Be original!

  • Focus on your audience. Hopefully you have defined your audience. Obviously I have not!
  • Write at the frequency of your choice. Don’t make it a chore. The Happy Medic has said before that if he sits down and has to think real hard about what to write about he gets up and does something else. This is a good practice. Don’t force it.
  • Write about your readers…not yourself. Unless you blog in the format like IronFiremen.com, you should write about your readers. Most of them don’t want to hear about you. You can add your thoughts, but don’t make your blog all about you…nobody cares.
  • Create conversation. You want comments? Ask a question.
  • Write about controversial subjects. Not everyone is a STATter911.com or FireGeezer. However, you can still write about controversial subjects. Be sure to be clear if you are offering your opinion. Even if you merely write about a subject, whatever you write will be read as your opinion. I often write about stuff without offering my opinion until after the comments begin.
  • Follow up with your articles. If the commentary leads to more conversation you can write another post about the new information. Likewise, if you are writing about a news story be sure to follow up on any future news on that story.
  • Pictures and Videos - readers love watching videos and seeing pictures.
  • Limit your words – Many blog gurus have put a limit of words in a single post. I am not quite that strict on this. However, use as few words as you need to get your point across. Most readers scan the content, they go back and read verbatim if they see something that captures their attention.
  • Give Credit - if you use a photo or quote another blog be sure to give them credit and link to their content.
  • Share what you read after you write it….read on!

Sharing, Networking, and Social Media

There are numerous social mediums out there. Facebook and twitter are probably the most worthwhile.

Facebook – Fire Critic Facebook Fan Page

  • Facebook Fan Page - Create a facebook fan page for your blog! Utilize this fan page to connect with your fans. Facebook is the busiest site on the internet. People spend hours on facebook every day.
  • Networked Blogs – Networked blogs is an application on facebook that parses your rss feed from your blog to your facebook fan page. You can also post your articles directly from networked blogs to twitter. I don’t recommend this though, you are better off with twitterfeed…read on.
  • Follow the comments on Facebook. Be sure to follow your blog posts as they appear on facebook. The comments can take off before you know it and they don’t translate to comments on your blog (yet).
  • Make your Fan Page Known. Be sure everyone knows about your facebook fan page! Make the link easy to find and blog about your fan page!
  • Facebook Share and Facebook Like – install these plugins on your blog to make it easy for readers to share/like your articles on facebook.

Twitter - Follow @FireCritic

  • Twitter Username – Make your twitter username easy to remember for others and short! Twitter constrains you to 140 characters. You don’t want half of that to be your blog name if your blog has a long title. Chris Kaiser (Life Under the Lights) uses CKEMTP for everything. The branding of his username makes certain cohesion for people seeing his username on social media sites. He has created a brand others remember.
  • Syndicate on Twitter – Use TwitterFeed.com to syndicate your content from your blog to your twitter account. That way everyone gets your content as soon as you post it. Twitterfeed can also be used to send your content to facebook, but  I recommend using networked blogs for that.
  • Tweetmeme – install the tweetmeme plugin on your blog. This plugin offers your readers the ability to share your article on twitter easily.
  • Start Conversation – use twitter to create conversation about topics. Engage other users.
  • Follow other Twitter users – Follow other twitter users you are interested in. Don’t autofollow. I don’t do it and I think it is cheap. I follow the people I want to follow.
  • Retweet - Retweet others tweets that interest you. If you do it, they might return the favor. It is a cycle that people create by sharing others thoughts, and links.
  • Use hashtags – If you are a Fire Service blogger, use hashtags like #Fire and #Firefighter and #Firefighting. If you are EMS, use #EMS, #EMT, #Medic, and #Paramedic. They help! Some people follow hashtags to see what the latest news is on that topic!

Tricking out your blog

Ah, the age old question of what plugins, widgets, and other stuff you should add to your blog.

  • Social Media links - Be sure to have icons with links to your facebook fan page, twitter account, email, rss feed, and maybe more like firefighter nation account and jems connect account.
  • Tweetmeme, facebook share, and facebook like - make it easy for others to spread the word about your articles.
  • Related posts – using a related posts plugin in the bottom of all of your articles can provide more clicks to stories you have written in the past.
  • Copy other blogs - Don’t copy the content. If you see something you like, ask the blogger what it is and where you can get it!
  • Statistics – I recommend the very easy and free statcounter along with google analytics for following your stats!
  • All in One SEO – Search for this on WordPress Plugins and maximize the Search Engine Optimization of your blog easily.

Increasing Traffic

  • Link to other blogs – If you see an article that someone else wrote link to it. Write a small paragraph about it and offer the link. They will appreciate it and might do the same for you if they see something they like on your blog.
  • Syndication - Syndicate your blog on twitter, rss through feedburner, facebook, Firefighter Nation, Jems Connect, and other sites that will provide trackbacks and clicks to your content.
  • Tags and Categories – Especially on FireEMSBlogs.com, but also very useful elsewhere. Take the extra minute to tag your articles appropriately (look at all the tags on this article). Likewise, utilize categories to properly place your articles in respective groupings. You would be amazed at how much traffic you can get from tags/categories being properly used.

Again, this is a list of things to do for the beginner blogger as well as some extras for those who are looking for an extra boost.

Check back in the future for more tips!

What do you have to add?

What works for you?

What doesn’t work?

Posted by on October 29, 2010 • Filed under: Blog Tips, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, News, Technology & Communications, technology-communications-ems-topics, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Record Keeping in Omaha FD Questioned. Citizen Groups Complain While Fire Chief and Former Union President Stands Behind his Firefighters

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Omaha Fire Department’s record keeping is being questioned. The State Auditor has stated that with the records available, an audit is not possible.

The issues involve a SAFER Grant, The Kloewer Fund, and Union leave hours. The SAFER Grant for 18 positions was awarded and subsequently canceled after the inability to maintain proper staffing.

You can read the entire letter from Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley to Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle here.

KMTV.com:

Nebraska Auditor Mike Foley calls the fire department books “un-auditable” targeting several areas of the budget, including the fire department’s big payroll and accusations from The Alliance for the Public Sector that the fire department plays games with your money.

The complaints range from dishonesty, misuse of city money and criminal acts by some of the fire department’s top ranking officials.

“There were allegations brought to my attention that certain members of the department were not showing up for work. Is that true, I don’t know, you can’t prove it by the records,” says auditor Mike Foley. Read More

Related Links:

Posted by on October 28, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Funding & Staffing, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fire Board Fiasco in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Board Members Worried about Physical Altercations.

2 comments

I think this is worth posting, however I admit that it is hard to decipher exactly which fire department they are talking about.

Updated: Thanks for some info via twitter. The area they are speaking of is Pointe Coupee Parish Fire District 1. The fire department is the Innis Volunteer Fire Dept.

Feel free to let me know if you have more to this story.

New Roads Daily (scroll down):

Tempers also ran high as the jury heard about the fire board, which is embroiled in internal struggles that have immobilized it. The situation is so dire, the fire chief has been banned from the property.  Fire board members themselves worry, the “out of control” environment that is plaguing the department, might lead to physical altercations.

Here is one of the many videos…What a mess!

The rest of the videos can be found here (scroll down)

Posted by on October 28, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Funding & Staffing, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Compassion in the Fire And/Or EMS Service? Captain Wines at IronFiremen.com tells us his story.

4 comments

Captain Willie Wines Jr. (IronFiremen.com) has posted an interesting two posts on a call he ran recently. The type of call could happen anywhere to any of us. The post is here titled “Ramblings”.

Who the call was for didn’t really matter either. Who made the call does.

In this case, there is a young child who is not living in the best conditions.

After the Captain ran the call and wrote the post “Ramblings”, he followed up with another post titled “Update..”. In the second post he talks about calling in an order for a pizza for the child just so he knew that the child would have a meal that evening.

That is completely unnecessary in our job and on our wages, but it is compassionate and acceptable.

Compassion is not easy to come by in our jobs. Some are able to meld compassion in with our day to day jobs, but we all know that we can perform our jobs without compassion. We get the job done, it just doesn’t come across as well when we add compassion.

Compassion in the fire service is learned. Officers and veteran firefighters need to teach compassion to our new firefighters.

Does that mean we buy everyone pizzas? No, but it means we have to care.

Take a look over at IronFiremen.com and read about the call and then check out the comments. What do you think about some of the comments?

Link to the story “Ramblings” – Read the Comments

Link to the “Update”

Do you think we need to be compassionate?

I will tell you this, compassion will get you a lot farther than discarding the need for it. Our patients, victims, and their families and friends can tell when we are compassionate or not.

Posted by on October 27, 2010 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, News, Patient Management, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Alpine Township, MI Firefighter Uses Emergency Lights in Accused Case of Road Rage. Driver thought the Firefighter was impersonating a Cop

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An Alpine Township (Michigan) paid-on-call firefighter is suspended after using his lights while tailgating another vehicle. The incident is being considered a case of road rage. The driver thought he was impersonating a police officer.

From WZZM13:

The car behind him was an unmarked vehicle with a red flashing light on top. “His flashing lights were on, sirens were going and I looked over to my buddy and said, ‘I’m not about to pull over, that’s not a cop,” said Stiles.

Stiles pulled over to slow down and allowed the unmarked car to pass. “He finally passes us and gets about two to three car lengths in front of us and turns his lights off. I said to my friend, ‘call the cops, dude, this guy is trying to impersonate a cop,” said Stiles.  Read more

Alpine Township Fire Chief Ron Christians says that this situation did not warrant the use of the lights.

The Kent County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case.

Posted by on October 26, 2010 • Filed under: Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Lessons Learned, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Massive fire on South Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon, Ohio

4 comments

Correction: Mount Vernon is in Ohio, not Washington as I previously had reported. In case Dave Statter is reading….The Fire Critic is not perfect!

Mount Vernon, OHIO

MountVernonNews.com has been all over this story. They have covered it on twitter, facebook, and youtube.

photo by Corby Wise as seen on MountVernonNews.co

They captured several videos of the fire. In one of the videos they actually talk about using cellar nozzles. That alone is a once in a lifetime!

MountVernonNews.com: The Mount Vernon Fire Department responded to a call of light smoke coming from the basement of the building on the southwest corner of South Main and West Gambier streets at approximately 6:30 a.m.

According to MVFD Assistant Chief Chris Menapace, the fire started in the basement of the building which is used for storage. A gas line ruptured, which helped fuel the fire, Menapace said. Read more

Posted by on October 25, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuscon House Burns as Caught by Different Angles on Video. Propane Tanks or Ammunition can be heard exploding

1 comment

Here is footage of a house fire in Tuscon from the 24th. The fire was in a remote area and was well involved by the time the firefighters got to the scene. The fire was on Webster Road, near Cloud and Sabino Canyon roads.

The news reports that propane tanks exploded. That may the be case, but after watching the video I think it sounds like ammunition exploding as well. In the first video you can watch the firefighters jump at the first explosion as they advance a hoseline to the front of the house.

More information here

Posted by on October 25, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

911 Rap, What Firefighters Wear and Why, AlSimmons.com – Fire Prevention/Education Monday Morning Shoutout

1 comment

Check out the videos below for a taste of some fire prevention education videos from Al Simmons.

I thought the videos are well done and might get the message across to children.

If you are looking for more on Al, check out:

Posted by on October 25, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

House Fire Video with an Interesting Music Selection

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I think this is Shelby County, Tennessee but I am not exactly sure.

Listen for minutes while a PASS alarm sounds during this fire. It is a pet peeve of mine when firefighters allow PASS devices to go off without turning them off. It makes me wonder if I were laying injured in a fire with my PASS alarm going off if anyone would stop to help me or just keep working.

The house is already pretty much gone when the video starts and the firefighters set up drop tanks and tankers to bring water to the scene.

Posted by on October 24, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, News, Technology & Communications, technology-communications-ems-topics, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Albany, New York Cold Storage Warehouse Fire Might Burn For Days

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A cold storage warehouse fire in Albany, New York might burn for days according to authorities. The fire has many reminiscing of the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire back in 1999 that claimed the lives of 6 firefighters.

cbs6albany.com:

photo from http://alloveralbany.com

ALBANY — Crews worked through the evening Friday to fight a fire in an abandoned warehouse in downtown Albany. The fire forced the closure of an I-787 exit and surrounding streets.

One fire official said crews at the time were having some trouble getting hydrants open on the other side of the building to tackle the fire at the far side of the building. With two streams of water going at one point — one on the south end and one on the north end — that meant one thousand gallons of water per minute was being directed at the fire, overwhelming the hydrants, the firefighter said. At one point, six hydrants were being accessed. Today, only two hydrants are being used. Read more

Here is a short clip from Youtube

Posted by on October 24, 2010 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Union City Fire Chief Weighs in on the “Pay to Play” Fire Protection District Subscription Issue

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On Thursday, John Mitchell and I (FirefighterNetcast.com)had the opportunity to speak candidly with Chief Kelly Edmison of the Union City Fire Department in Obion County, Tennessee.

Click the play button right here
to listen to the podcast while you read along.

You can also listen to the first netcast on this topic where Dave Statter joined us to discuss the topic here

Chief Edmison was able to offer his view of the “Firefighters Watch as House Burns” story that enveloped the Fire Service and headline news just weeks ago.

In listening to Chief Edmison talk last night, he gave credence to many of my thoughts. He also explained what the future holds for all of the Municipal fire departments in Obion County.

He further went on to explain that:

  • The homeowners had been told 3 times that they hadn’t paid the fee.
  • One week prior, the Chief of South Fulton had been reprimanded for putting out a fire at a non-subscribers house.
  • When the Cranicks house burned, the Chief of South Fulton contacted his City Manager to see if they could put it out and he was told NO.
  • The fire at the Cranicks house got out of hand 2 hours before the garage caught fire.
  • This same issue happened in 2008, Chief Edmison thought that the only difference between that occurrence and this one was that the Fire Chief in South Fulton was attacked after the fire.
  • Plus much more! Listen here if you haven’t already!

Chief Edmison was also afforded the opportunity to give his accounts on STATter911.com in the days following the incident. Dave Statter was very quick to jump on my back for my opinions of what I thought about the incident. Thanks for the traffic Dave!

I found humor in the fact that other than Dave calling the Firefighters morally and ethically wrong we actually had very similar viewpoints about the incident. I guess Dave just hadn’t pissed off his quota of firefighters that week.

My posts on the topic here

Dave Statter’s posts on the topic here

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted by on October 23, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, NetCast, News, Podcast • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Commentary from a Firefighter While Raleigh Firefighters Battle a Residential Fire on Springfield Park Dr

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Check out this video from Raleigh, NC. The fire is in a residential house build with lightweight construction. The view from the video doesn’t offer us everything that is going on, but you can get the gist of it.

All the while, a firefighter (from some other department) is giving his friend answers to his questions about what is going on. At first it seems as though there is a delay in getting water. However, I think that after watching the video, the firefighters actually go inside and then are called out when the exterior operations are set up.

Posted by on October 23, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Helmet Camera Video of House Fire in Hagerman, New York. I can hear it now: And the Oscar for best Score in a Helmet Camera Video Goes to…

3 comments

Check out this Helmet Camera video from a fire in Hagerman, New York.

Hagerman is located on Long Island. Their website is here.

No doubt they spent some time figuring out the songs for this video.

1st Assistant Chief Tony Citarella (5-10-31) was the first to respond to the call. While en-route dispatch notified him that the caller is stating the house is “fully engulfed”. 31 arrived on scene and confirmed he had a working structure fire. He immediately requested for 1 Engine from Bellport Fire Department, a RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) from Brookhaven Fire Department, and North Patchogue Fire Department for an Engine to standby at Hagerman’s quarters.

Posted by on October 22, 2010 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Video Coverage: Northern California Mall, Roseville Galleria Burns

1 comment

Firefighter Nation has the story of the Roseville Galleria Fire in Northern California here.

City officials said part of the roof on the mall’s south end collapsed as huge clouds of black smoke poured from the 1.3 million-square-foot Roseville Galleria, which is about 17 miles east of the state capital.

A supposed armed man had barricaded himself in the mall and set the place on fire.

The best videos from the scene are below:

Posted by on October 21, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I Say Fire Him…Spalding County Video Voyeur and Wannabe Firefighter Doesn’t Deserve to Be Called a “Firefighter”

11 comments

I have said for a long time in my department that we have a job that is hard to lose. It is hard to get fired. Yet time and time again, some find the easiest ways to get fired.

What I am referring to in this post is firefighters who make the wrong decisions. In the latest case, it is a Spalding County, Georgia firefighter who is currently suspended with pay for taking video at the scene at a gruesome and fatal accident. The Spalding County firefighter is under investigation for the taking and sharing the video he took on his cell phone.

Victims have names, families, loved ones, and identities. We need to respect that.

The video was taken 4 months ago, on July 17th, when 23 year old Danya Kempson Schacht was killed in an automobile accident on highway 1941. She had two children.

That video ended up being sent to the victims parents, Lucretia and Jeff Kempson.

Unacceptable!

I believe in due process. This man should be afforded the justice of being innocent until proven guilty.

However, it seems as though the writing is on the wall.

Why do I think he should be fired?

That is simple. If indeed he took the video and shared it as the story states, he should be fired. We aren’t the news media. We are firefighters. If he wants a job behind a camera, he should go get one.

From 11alive.com in Atlanta:

The Kempsons received a text message containing the graphic video two months after the crash.

“At the moment we heard about this, the anger was just, there’s no way this could be,” Jeff Kempson said. “I was praying when I looked at that video it wasn’t her.”

The images are painful enough, but the Kempsons said the audio is agonizing, too, since they say it reveals a lack of concern and urgency by first responders.

“They didn’t care for my daughter,” Lucretia Kempson said. “I have a hard time that she wasn’t treated with love.”

We (firefighters) are killing our once polished perception by the public…one dumb ass firefighter at a time.

Links to the Story:

Posted by on October 21, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Must See Video: Firefighters take out another with a handline at a house fire

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Firefighters in Kugluktuk, Nunavut Territory, Canada lose control of their hoseline just long enough to give another firefighter a huge spray of water right to the face. No doubt this had to hurt.

I am just wondering why you would post this on the internet.

Posted by on October 21, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Lessons Learned, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Miami-Dade Firefighters Become Brief Fuzzy Faced Stars on MTV’s Jersey Shore

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Miami-Dade Firefighters get called out for an activated smoke alarm at the house of MTV’s show Jersey Shore. The show is a formidable train wreck of young men and women who live together and do all that fun stuff that single people do. I vaguely remember those times.

While it appears that much of what goes on is at least staged in planning, I don’t believe that this was one of them. Unfortunately for the firefighters, they didn’t become overnight sensations. Their faces are blurred out.

Here is the short clip…

Posted by on October 21, 2010 • Filed under: News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Firefighter Netcast Live Thursday Night with Chief Kelly Edmison of the Union City Fire Department to Discuss the Newest Developments in the Obion County/South Fulton Dilemma

2 comments

Chief Kelly Edmison of the Union City Fire Department in Tennessee. will be joining John Mitchell, Art Goodrich, and myself  Thursday night live at 9pm on Firefighter Netcast.

Chief Edmison has been following the story and has been trying to educate others on what exactly is going on down in Obion County.

If you haven’t seen the latest news on Obion County, check it out on Statter911 here.

The direct show link is here at 9pm EST. This weeks show will be 1 hour long.

Chief Kelly Edmison has been in contact with Dave Statter discussing the latest developments in Obion County that effect all of the Municipal FD’s in the County.

Thursday night at 9pm, Chief Edmison will be joining John and I on Firefighter Netcast.

We will be discussing the dilemma. We will also be joined by Cheif Reason Art Goodrich of ChiefReasonArt.com and fellow podcaster on Firefighter Netcast who hosts his own show The Voice of Reason.

Here is the promo for the netcast.

Unfortunately, Dave Statter will probably not be able to join us.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted by on October 20, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, Must Read, NetCast, News, Podcast • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Firefighting Book Review: One Foot in the Black by Kurt Kamm

1 comment

One Foot in the Black
Author: Kurt Kamm
Published 2007
ISBN- 978-1-4357-0626-2
(250 pages)

Available for sale at KurtKamm.com for as low as $11.55 or $6.95 on kindle.

One Foot in the Black

One Foot in the Black is a coming of age tale that crosses many aspects of how, what, when, and why people become firefighters. Firefighting is not a job fit for everyone. Greg Kowalski happened into it…or did he?

One Foot in the Black (definition): A position on the fireline which is next to an area already burned (“the black”). it is at once the most dangerous place, usually close to the flames, and the safest place, a zone into which escape is possible. (page iii).

One Foot in the Black is the story about Greg Kowalski. Greg is a 19 year old who has no idea what he is going to do with his life. His abusive father is no help in molding Greg into the man he would become.

Greg’s father is a Saginaw, Michigan firefighter. His father’s Captain ends up being his saving grace when he suggests Greg to head to California to become a seasonal firefighter. Greg leaves everything behind to begin a journey that ends up being the beginning of his new life.

This story really hit home with me. While I am not a wildland firefighter, nor do I live on the west coast, I left home at the same time I was getting all my life together to become a paid firefighter.

The family that Greg leaves behind in Michigan is quickly replaced with the firefighting family he meets in California. That family would be torn when they experience a fatal firestorm.

I recommend this book to anyone involved in wildland firefighting or firefighting in general. The ones of us who are firefighters have experienced much of what Greg experiences in his journey. Learning to co-exist with other firefighters on the job, the dangers of the job, and even death of other firefighters meld Greg into a respectable young man.

I reviewed another book by Kurt Kamm recently: Red Flag Warning.

Kurt Kamm

Just as I said about that book, it holds true with this one…

Kamm doesn’t just throw a book together from the comfort of his living room. In the acknowledgments of the book, you can plainly see he did his homework on this book. Kamm spent considerable time with members of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department, State of California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CalFire), the Culver City Fire Department, and many other firefighters.

His ability to entrench himself in the life of the characters he is writing about is outstanding. He spares no detail in building up each character making them seem real to life and does a great job of helping the reader develop the characters in their imagination.

Kamm has lived through several wildfires in his home in Malibu, California.

The Fire Critic offers product reviews. Please visit this page for details on how to get your product reviewed and what our policy is on reviews.

Posted by on October 19, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Must Read, News, Product Reviews, Wildland • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

San Jose Fire Explorers are Shown One of the Oldest Firehouse Pranks in the Book

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I am not exactly sure what hey have achieved exactly. I do know that they have now been a part of one of the oldest pranks in the fire service.

Note to newbies…never pose for a photo in front…ah never mind.

Posted by on October 19, 2010 • Filed under: Firehouse Pranks, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Firefighters Train with the FIT-5 $1000 Fire Interuption Device

13 comments

The video states:

The Verde Valley Fire District along with Jerome Fire Department, Cottonwood Fire Department, Clarkdale Fire District, Montezuma-Rimrock Fire District, evaluated the FIT-5 (Fire Interruption Technology-5) device. The device was placed in the living room of a Mobile Home with a recliner as the only furniture. As directed the device was given time to deploy before water was used. One firefighter suffered hand injuries through his gloves. Link to vendor website

If you watch the video, it says the FIT-5 was deployed at the :05 second mark. Soon after, it appears as though the fire dies down a bit. Right at about the :25 second mark it appears as though the room flashes. If not, it is very close to flashing. A second or so later, the firefighters spray water/foam on the fire and put the fire out. I would love to hear what the firefighters thought about the product.

Anyone else out there had any experience with these types of products?

It just doesn’t appear as though this was a positive evaluation of the product.

There are more links to videos here.

ARA Safety Pro

I have to disregard the firefighter injury in this case, the guys were sitting in the doorway and allowing fire to blow back right at them. That certainly is not a fault of the FIT-5.

I have seen other products like the FIT-5, I just wonder if they really have an application. At $1000 a piece (one time use), I know that they will never be purchased by my department.

I can’t help but think that if you are close enough to throw one of them in a fire, you could probably have a hoseline in your hands to put the fire out.

You can view the applications in the fire service here.

Posted by on October 19, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

FireTactics.net – Monday Morning Shoutout

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This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout goes to FireTactics.net – The site for fireground tactics, strategy, and firefighter survival topics.

The site is run by Ron Kuley and Keith Bresnahan. both from Fairfax County Fire & Rescue in Virginia.

The purpose of this site is to simply create dialogue between the members of your shift/station as you review these events, pictures, and videos. Any of the incidents or topics we review on this site can happen anywhere, at any time, especially here in the Fairfax County/Washington DC metro area. So think about it…

Be sure to stop in, check it out, leave a comment, and send them stuff in the future if you want.

Posted by on October 18, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Monday Morning Shoutout, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

You Can’t Win Them All: Springfield, NJ Firefighters lose Apartment Complex in 3 Alarm Fire

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Springfield, NJ firefighters battle a 3 alarm fire in this apartment complex in September. The video states the fire was in the cockloft. Unfortunately, the firefighters are unable to suppress the seat of the fire and end up going defensive.

We can’t win them all.

Posted by on October 18, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Video: Building Fire in San Francisco

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Here is a clip of a fire in San Francisco. Not sure what is going on here exactly. I am somewhat amazed at how they are able to get 2 aerials set to the roof, supply line laid, and what sounds like ventilation begun, however the fire is not put out yet.

I have heard how the truckies in San Fran are some of the best in the World. They set ladders like nobody’s business. Maybe that is all that is going on here is that they are that quick with setting the aerial it seems as though the suppression is slow.

Then again, maybe there is a hell of a lot more fire than what it appears at the front of the building. Or potential life safety issues created a need for manpower to focus on rescue.

Check the comments for some details from The Happy Medic. He is a San Francisco FF/PM.

Another thing I thought was interesting was at how many people were sitting their capturing the job on their smartphones.

Posted by on October 17, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Lightweight Residential Construction at its best

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Obviously this fire has a decent hold on the house. This is a house Fire from a house on Summer Creek Rd in Oconomowoc, WI. It doesn’t take long for a good portion of the house to collapse. The placement of the aerial is not the best, but their might be a reason for it. If they have the water for that aerial, then they should have enough water for a 2 1/2″ (that would be my choice at this fire). Strong winds are never fun at a fire.

Posted by on October 17, 2010 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , ,