Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
I want to see photos of you with the Fire Critic/ IronFiremen coin, chip, or patch. Hell, for that matter send in photos of anything pertaining to us and we will publish your photo! We are in the talks of having our shirts designed soon. Send them to firecritic@firecritic.com. Continue to send in photos of your rigs, firehouses, crews, and whatever else as well. More columns are starting up each week.
Shoutout
This week’s shoutout goes to Box Alarm Leather (on FB here) and Commercial Solutions (on FB here) for offering the gifts we are giving away on Facebook right now. I set out when we reached 5000 fans to do something. Both of these companies stepped up to the plate and offered stuff without me asking. What more can I ask for? Hell, just tonight I reached 6000 fans. That is 1000 fans in just a week or two. Not bad. The sweepstakes is located here on Facebook. You can enter once a day and the more you share it on Facebook (you will be prompted) the more chances you have to win. So far we have given away a Dragon Fur FR fleece skull cap, a bunker gear bag, and a streamlight tactical flash light. There is plenty more to give away.
Speaking of giving away…The National Firefighters Endowment is also doing a give – a – way…They are giving away a truck! Vote & Enter to win your choice of a new Ford or Chevy truck. 50% of your donation will go directly to support the fire department you vote for. The department with the most votes will win an additional $5,000 equipment grant from National Firefighters Endowment. More information on this here.
Training
From Average Jake FF Blog: August Drill of the Month: Triage
Events
Roanoke Fire Officer Seminar: Chris Naum will be in Roanoke, VA for our 5th Annual Fire Officer Seminar on September 20th and 21st. The topic will be Fire Star Command; Redefining Fire Officer Training for Operational Safety & Excellence. Read more: 2012 Fire Office Seminar Registration Form South Dakota Firefighter Benefit: Captain Wines Jr. and I will be in South Dakota for the benefit. We will be speaking as well. Look for us on our tour across the State with Spartan ERV as well. In the meantime, be sure to get a raffle ticket for a custom Phenix leather.
Click here for info on the raffle for the helmet below
Tweet of the Week
News and Opinion
Leatherhead 109. I got to meet him in Denver. Great guy…writes very well too. This post “Warrior Poets” I picture him standing yelling this speech in a bar with a pint in hand…and everyone listened. I quote: “We should not seek to dance in beer halls half naked in our bunker pants like some in the news lately, not to flex our muscles on calendar glossies, not to wear “I fight what you fear” shirts or worse yet, that we terrorize our recruits in the firehouse with pranks that defy common sense in this modern age, or paint our elected official’s faces on bathroom stalls…need I go on? Where is the honor and integrity in these acts? Such behavior reflects the depth of depravity our society plunges to.” Read the rest here
STATter911.com has a video of 6000 ft. of 5″ hose being laid for training. He also has the story of a former DCFD Chief whose house burned twice in 36 hours. More on that here.
Backstep Firefighter – San Francisco Working: Audio, Video of Four-Alarm Fire on Ocean Avenue
Fire Service Warrior – Being that guy by Kevin Stokes. “You will without a doubt encounter hurdles and others who will discourage you along this road. Pay these people no attention. After all, giving up is easy. But remember, you are not most people; you are “that guy.” Keep fighting the good fight. Take things you learn and keep them in the back of your mind to either apply when you can, or save for the day when you are in a position to influence the way others do things.”
Black Hat Radio – Check out the newest radio show for firefighters. Mike McCarthy is your host and he has a bunch of shows under his belt already.
MN8 Foxfire President Zach Green recounts his trip to Denver in this post on the MN8 blog. I think he left out the part of running out of gas.
