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LEO: The Fire Within Product Review and Their Model Search is ON!

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LEO: The Fire Within is casual apparel for today’s firefighter. They rolled out their first shirt at FDIC this year.

From LEOFireShop.com:

Why LEO? Look up the qualities of a Leo, the 5th symbol of the Zodiac – honesty, loyalty, self-sacrifice, courage, will, independence and fire. Sound familiar? Not only do these qualities perfectly embody today’s firefighters, but they also embody the fire within – that special quality that every firefighter has – whether you are 5 years or 30 in service.

Honestly, when I heard the name I initially thought that LEO stood for Law Enforcement Officer…luckily I was wrong!

LEOFireShop.com - Twitter @LEOfireshop – Facebook Fan Page

The original LEO design that was rolled out at FDIC 2010

You can actually check out prototypes for their next designs here as well.

LEO contacted me about doing a product review. I told them my size and they sent a shirt. They currently have two designs. They sent me the black “The Fire Within” shirt they rolled out at FDIC. The newest design is on a white shirt. LEO actually let survey participants choose the second design that rolled out after FDIC.

LEO plans on rolling out 2 more designs next year

I asked for large and I was very pleased to find out that their idea of a large was the same as mine!

Sizing includes: Adult M-L-XL ($19.99) and Youth 8-10-12 ($14.99)
You can get both designs for  $34.99 (adult) or $24.99 (youth). Purchase shirts here

My first impression of the shirt was that it was very comfortable! The shirt is 100% cotton and preshrunk by Gildan (softstyle) and made in Honduras (keep reading though). If you know anything about me, I like my shirts made in the U.S.A.

Before I got around to doing this review, I was sent additional information including:

Based on customer feedback our shirts are now being printed on American Apparel t-shirts. 1st design shirts are still not on American Apparel t-shirts but will be in the near future.

Imagine that I would find a bunch of babes wearing the LEO: The Fire Within T-shirts. This is from their facebook page.

The shirt design is done well and not gaudy. I have a lot of firefighting shirts from over the years, but not too many designer type firefighter shirts like this one. Other than the print on the front, the shirt offers a small logo on the right hand arm. The design includes light gray, dark gray, and red as the colors for the design. Not too much….just right!

I must say that I am very pleased with my LEO: The Fire Within shirt! Other than being made in Honduras, I couldn’t really find anything to pick apart. The sizing, fit, and feel of the shirt was very nice and I plan on wearing the shirt more in the future.

However, if I were one of the LARGER firefighters I might find issue with the fact that LEO does not offer XXL or XXXL. I know some guys who would never fit into a XL!

This is a great idea for Christmas!

LEO is Currently Looking for Models!

Here is my submission to being a model for LEO...Imagine that...The Fire Critic a model! What is this world coming to?

You heard me right! LEO is currently doing a model search. They do not require six pack abs (which means I have a chance!). Read more here

We are looking for firefighters to model LEO clothing for the upcoming website – no six-pack necessary. We are not looking for career models, just people with the LEO spirit and confidence to take photos wearing LEO gear.

We are looking for four people to be the face of LEO for our inaugural kickoff year.

Winners will receive:

  • 1 year of bragging rights as the face of LEO
  • Free access to the latest LEO gear
  • A sweet cash prize*

If you’re ready to answer the call, submit your name, contact info and a picture of yourself (HINT: if you have a LEO shirt take a picture wearing it!) to LEO (at) Leofireshop.com.

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 November 8, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Must Read, News, Product Reviews • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Another Custom Firehouse Kitchen Table. Share Yours With The Fire Critic

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You might remember I posted about firehouse kitchen tables here. And no, my crew still has not decided on a design for ours. However, we are getting close! We are running out of stuff to customize and build in my firehouse.

Check out this one from Marion County Fire Rescue in Florida. Hell, I just drove through there the other day on the way back from Disney World! I should have stopped by!

Submitted by Lt. James G. Hensley

Attached are a couple of photos of our new dining table.  It was designed and constructed by one of our firefighters here at our station, FF Charles Osvold.  This table is located at Marion County Fire Rescue Station #21 “The Sleepless Knights”, the busiest house in Marion County, Florida.  We are listed in Firehouse magazine as one of the nation’s top 100 busiest stations.  The table measures twelve feet long by four feet wide.  The bases are constructed of two real fire hydrants.  We would be very proud to include our photo in your list of tables.  This table is a symbol of our station pride.  If there is one thing we attempt to achieve each shift, it is to have dinner together.  With our call load this is often difficult.  Our station has a crew of four on Engine 21, two on Rescue 21, and two on Rescue 521.  Total crew size is eight.  Thank you again for considering our photo for your site.

Posted by on November 7, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Fire Station Custom Kitchen Tables, Firefighting Operations, Must Read, News • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Video Coverage: Northern California Mall, Roseville Galleria Burns

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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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Firefighter Netcast is Moving on Up!

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I have been busy with Firefighter Netcast and some of my other sites.

If you have a guest who wants to be on Firefighter Netcast, an idea of a topic or guest, or good or bad things to say about it we want to hear it!

firefighter_netcastWe have been wrestling with going to 1 hour shows instead of 2 hour shows. More than likely this will happen soon because we are going to start producing shows for other people soon.

The first of those will be on May 17th when we turn over the mic to Chief Reason Art. More information will follow!

Let us know what you think!

We just recently posted an article on Firefighter Netcast about our shows, check it out here.

Firefighter Netcast is the most downloaded Fire Service related content on itunes!

Spread the word, follow us on facebook, and catch us on twitter. All the links are on the top of FirefighterNetcast.com!

Posted by on May 12, 2010 • Filed under: NetCast, News • Tagged: , , , , ,

In Retrospect…The FireEMSBlogs.com Meetup

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The FireEMSBlogs.com meetup was a huge success. The event was hosted by Fire Rescue Magazine, Firefighter Nation, and FireEMSBlogs.com. The event was also sponsored by Black Helmet and Black Diamond Boots.

My time at FDIC was a blast. We managed to pack the week full of friends, fun, and work (Firefighter Netcast). The people I have met through this blog, twitter, facebook, etc. will stay with me for a long time. Our occasional chance to meet is always fun!

L-R Chris Kaiser, Art Goodrich, Rhett Fleitz, Justin Schorr, John Mitchell, Tiger Schmittendorf, Chris Hebert, Dave Iannone, Chris Naum, Bill Carey

L-R Chris Kaiser, Art Goodrich, Rhett Fleitz, Tiger Schmittendorf, John Mitchell, Justin Schorr, Chris Hebert, Mike Ward (if you look close between Chris and Dave in the back), Dave Iannone, Chris Naum, Bill Carey

Whether it be through commenting on each others blogs, following each other on twitter, being friends on facebook, or any other of the many social mediums we stay connected. We know when each other are having a bad day, working, having a birthday, or whatever.

There may not be an exact core of the fire/EMS interwebs, but it grows daily. Mostly it is championed by several leaders. And yes, the Fire and the EMS interwebs are connected. The leaders are not self proclaimed or “formal” leaders. They might not even realize they are leaders. However, they have a following and stay connected to others through social media. These leaders have “tribes” or followers and the various tribes are interconnected as well. I would name a few but I would probably leave out many. The point isn’t the leaders, but the followers. Most of the leaders are followers in other tribes and so on… You get the point.

We all have a stake in this and we are all working towards the same goal…connecting.

One way of connecting is by meeting up. One of those meetups was held this past weekend at FDIC.

The night began with a get together for several of the bloggers. Consider it some down time for the guys/gals to network before the crowd arrived.

I had a great time meeting and talking to everyone!

I was honored to be asked to announce the winners of the raffle items. There were Black Helmet Hats, $100 gift certificates to Black Helmet Apparel, Firefighter Monopoly, and a pair of Black Diamond Boots given away.

A lot of thanks from John and myself to Chris, Dave, Bill, Paul, Jeff, Tim, Shannon, Olga, and everyone else!

All in all it was a huge success… I will give the rest via photos of the night!

Here is an overhead shot of the crowd! It was a great time!
Here is an overhead shot of the crowd! It was a great time!
L-R Chris Kaiser, Art Goodrich, Rhett Fleitz, Justin Schorr, John Mitchell, Tiger Schmittendorf, Chris Hebert, Dave Iannone, Chris Naum, Bill Carey
L-R Chris Kaiser, Art Goodrich, Rhett Fleitz, Justin Schorr, John Mitchell, Tiger Schmittendorf, Chris Hebert, Dave Iannone, Chris Naum, Bill Carey

Some guys I met...I told them I wouldn't remember their names but that I would post the picture!!! I am a man of my word!
Some guys I met...I told them I wouldn't remember their names but that I would post the picture!!! I am a man of my word!
The same booth babes from Black Diamond Boots who were hounding me apparently were also into the owner of BD! I knew it was too good to be true!
The same booth babes from Black Diamond Boots who were hounding me apparently were also into the owner of BD! I knew it was too good to be true!

James from Black Helmet Apparel and firefighter Carrie McAtee (not one of Black Helmet's models as we previously posted...but she could be!!!)
James from Black Helmet Apparel and firefighter Carrie McAtee (not one of Black Helmet's models as we previously posted...but she could be!!!)
An anonymous blogger behind Justin Schorr, Chris Kaiser, April Saling, and ?
An anonymous blogger behind Justin Schorr, Chris Kaiser, April Saling, and ?

Rhett Fleitz, Susan (@SusanABI), and Peter Kirk from SaintGobainOneSuit
Rhett Fleitz, Susan (@SusanABI), and Peter Kirk from SaintGobainOneSuit
Mike Ward, John Mitchell, Chris Kaiser, Tiger Schmittendorf, Justin Schorr, and Dave Iannone (in the back)
Mike Ward, John Mitchell, Chris Kaiser, Tiger Schmittendorf, Justin Schorr, and Dave Iannone (in the back)

Here is the fun pic...I was never in drama in high school. Actually I was taking the photo.
Here is the fun pic...I was never in drama in high school. Actually I was taking the photo.
This is the entire crew of bloggers, Fire Rescue Magazine, FireEMSBlogs.com, and more! I will not even attempt to identify everyone.
This is the entire crew of bloggers, Fire Rescue Magazine, FireEMSBlogs.com, and more! I will not even attempt to identify everyone.

Chris Hebert, Tiger Schmittendorf, Art Goodrich, John Mitchell, Bill Carey
Chris Hebert, Tiger Schmittendorf, Art Goodrich, John Mitchell, Bill Carey
Tiger Schmittendorf, Rhett Fleitz (in the back), Shelly Wilcoxon, John Mitchell. Tiger and John are sporting the Black Helmet hats they won!
Tiger Schmittendorf, Rhett Fleitz (in the back), Shelly Wilcoxon, John Mitchell. Tiger and John are sporting the Black Helmet hats they won!


Posted by on April 30, 2010 • Filed under: Must Read, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FDIC in Retrospect…Great Time, Great People, Great Netcasts

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I managed to attend FDIC this year for the first time. I was there in the official capacity as co-host of Firefighter Netcast along with John Mitchell (FireDaily.com). I was also there representing The Fire Critic and many other projects I am in.

I must state first and foremost…

Tim Sendelbach, Shannon Pieper, and Paul Andrews at the Fire Rescue Magazine Booth

Tim Sendelbach, Shannon Pieper, and Paul Andrews at the Fire Rescue Magazine Booth

A sincere thanks to Fire Rescue Magazine, Firefighter Nation, and FireEMSBlogs.com for sharing their booth with Firefighter Netcast. Special thanks to Dave Iannone, Chris Hebert, Tim Sendelbach, and Jeff Berend as well as the rest of the crews of the aforementioned companies. The hospitality, networking, assistance, and conversation was very much appreciated!

Firefighter Netcast made its debut at FDIC pulling off 2 live netcasts from the show floor as well as around 10 hours of total audio. The first live netcast featured Ray Gayk and Billy Goldfeder and the second with Tiger Schmittendorf and Tom Merrill. We had to scratch on the live netcast with Ron Siarnicki and Cathy Hedrick on Friday, although we did tape the podcast. The netcasts are online and the other audio will be presented as podcasts and should be published on FirefighterNetcast.com once we complete editing this week.

The rundown of the week…

Rhett Fleitz, @Fire_Captain (twitter), Chris Kaiser, Justin Schorr, and John Mitchell

Rhett Fleitz, Jason Quimbly aka @Fire_Captain (twitter), Chris Kaiser, Justin Schorr, and John Mitchell

The hijinx began with John picking me up at the airport…. This guy is like my wife (not always right, but never wrong). We get a long well and it only took a little while for me to piss him off! Then again, and again, and again!

We had lunch with Chris Hebert, Dave Iannone, and Bill Carey and enjoyed the company. These guys are a riot to hang out with unless you get Bill riled up and he starts yelling!

John and I picked Tiger up at the airport where the real fun began. John and I were both meeting him for the first time. If you were in the truck with us, you would think we had known each other for years (years I will continue to try to get back).

Tiger’s wife couldn’t understand how he would just get off a plane and into a vehicle with people he has never met. That is how we are. We wondered the same thing… especially with us! We were going to take him to dinner at Chucky Cheese! That would have sealed the deal!

Rhett Fleitz, Ron Siarnicki, Cathy Hedrick, and John Mitchell

Rhett Fleitz, Ron Siarnicki, Cathy Hedrick, and John Mitchell

We also met up with Fred Simon (FirstResponderLiablility.com). He is a lawyer and a firefighter! Our first show on Thursday was with him and we plan on having more commentary with Fred in the future!

Just to show how well we get along with others… I ended up sharing my room with Fred for two nights. He had intentions of commuting back and forth to Louisville, but I wouldn’t have it. Fred is a great guy and we had a great time hanging out with him!

John and I had a very busy show. As a matter of fact, we were so busy that we only had a little bit of time to get around to many other exhibitors at the show. I never did make it over to the Lucas Oil Stadium to see all of the apparatus. That was a bummer.

Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) poses with the booth babes at Black Diamond Boots!

Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) poses with the booth babes at Black Diamond Boots!

As I said before, I did make it to one spot and these booth babes hounded me to have their picture taken with me! What can I say… The Fire Critic is on the up and up!

Sorry I wasn’t able to get around to taking a ton of photos with the babes…work had to be done.

However, you can check out the following links for more pictures and information on our time at FDIC!

Justin Schorr (The Happy Medic) and Chris Kaiser (Life Under The Lights) met up with us and became part of the entourage that is many of the bloggers, followers, and twitter friends of FireEMSBlogs.com blogs.

Chris McCorkle (BlackJack Holder) and Rhett Fleitz

Chris McCorkle (BlackJack Holder) and Rhett Fleitz

I also got to meet and hang out with Chief Reason Art Goodrich (ChiefReasonArt.com). To me, this guy is somewhat of a Fire Service Legend. He is one of those guys who emboddied the great things about Firehouse.com forums, then a creator (If I am not mistaken) of IACOJ, then on to Firefighter Nation, and finally culminating with his own blog. Art is a GREAT guy! He is opinionated and sticks to his guns. He is very articulate with his comments and his depth of knowledge shines through when he talks. You would think this guy has an entire research team that provides him with a thesis before he opens his mouth… It is that good! Many thanks to Art for snapping a lot of the photos we got at our booth!

The team at Fire Rescue Magazine was very helpful with Firefighter Netcast. I am not sure they understood what it is we were planning on doing, but they seemed to be impressed with our delivery!

Brandon Roark and Rhett Fleitz

Brandon Roark and Rhett Fleitz

I got to meet up with a ton of guys who stopped by to see me and what we were doing as well. Some of these guys I have known through the internet for years. Guys like Brandon Roark (South Bend Indiana), Jason Quimbly (@Fire_Captain on twitter), Robbie and Danny Owens (Henrico Division of Fire, VA), Some guys who know me via VAFireNews.com from Portsmouth, Chris McCorkle of BlackJack Holder, Martin Grube (FireRescueTV.com), David Furtado (The Battalion), and many others.

I was able meet up with Jason Hoevelmann (FirefightersEnemy.com), who presented his class and actually had to turn people away it was so packed. Jason will be a future guest on our show!

Tiger Schmittendorf took John and I to the ISFSI party and I got to meet Dan Shaw and Nick Martin (Traditions Training). We recently had them on Firefighter Netcast and enjoyed meeting them in person!

At the ISFSI party, I got to meet Billy Goldfeder for the first time as well as Christopher Naum (CommandSafety.com and TheCompanyOfficer.com). Chris was a guest of our show on Friday and has been on our show as a caller in the past. I spoke with Doug Cline who will be presenting in my area in September.

The Wild Beaver...Our office in the late night!

The Wild Beaver...Our office in the late night!

Our late evenings were spent at the Wild Beaver. The Wild Beaver is kinda like a Coyote Ugly and was packed with firefighters! Plenty of networking and drinking went on there!

If you are in Indianapolis, the best steaks we had were at St. Elmo’s and Harry and Izzy’s.

Not to worry, if your name doesn’t appear in this post it will in the future. I still have to do a post on the FireEMSBlogs.com meetup! That will be coming soon!

Then we will have several posts up here and at Firefighter Netcast on the netcasting and podcasting that was done! Come back often to check it out! There are also a ton of other photos to share!

Posted by on April 26, 2010 • Filed under: NetCast, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What is all the Buzz About?

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By now, if you are a regular reader of some of the best Fire and/or EMS blogs on the net you are asking yourself what the heck is going on. Several blogs have talked about a new look, a new feel, and a new direction the past several days.

Are all of these blogs just redesigning at the same time? Is is coincidence?

Actually it is not. They are all talking about the same thing. That thing is FireEMSBlogs.com.

FireEMSBlogs.com is the new home of many of the best fire and EMS blogs. We will still be our own individual blog, but  a part of a networking solution that is FireEMSBlogs.com.

Don’t worry, I can still write whatever the hell I want and you can comment respectively.

So what is FireEMSBlogs.com exactly. It is what I would consider a blog community. Our community is about the Fire and EMS service. The homepage FireEMSBlogs.com serves as a one stop shop for what is new and exciting on the blogs contained within. You can and should still visit the Fire Critic at its same old url (http://www.firecritic.com) because not everything I write will end up on the hompage of FireEMSBlogs.com.

What does this mean for the Fire Critic. Well it means that I have decided to entertain the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best like STATter 911, FireGeezer, Happy Medic, Medic 999, and many others.

You will notice a new banner logo, designed by yours truly…but most of the rest of the site stayed similar to the old site. Part of that is due to the designers behind FireEMSBlogs.com liked my template (wordpress theme) at the old blog so well they decided to create one very similar for all to use if they want.

And so it begins….Fire Critic version 2.0. Enjoy!

Posted by on October 15, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , ,

A Thank You From the Fire Critic

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Hey Readers…

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for a great start to this new up and coming blog. This blog is something I have wanted to do for around 5 years and wish I had started it when I first thought about doing it. I didn’t and that is the way it is. I was busy at the time with other blogs and websites which I still run today but have found a balance in the mix.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the Fire Critic and everything that comes with it. I enjoy writing about just about anything related to the fire and EMS service and have tried to balance it as best I can. The blog is only 4 months old and the traffic continues to rise. That is great and I am very grateful for the attention.

If there is anything I can ever do for any of my readers, cohorts, fellow bloggers, or first responders please do not hesitate to ask.

I look forward to a long life here on the web and I hope you continue to enjoy what the Fire Critic is about!

The Fire Critic

Posted by on September 17, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: ,

Facebook Page Created for The Fire Critic

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Ok, I admit that I goofed. Here I spout out social media and marketing tips and tools and I didn’t even get it right.

I learned a long time ago that it is ok to admit you are wrong.

I have corrected my mistake in making a Facebook page instead of the Facebook group that I had created a couple months ago.

Therefore, please come over and join the Fire Critic on Facebook at our new spot. Stop in and say hello while you are there! Post a link or whatever the hell else you would like to do on there!

Link to page here

Posted by on September 16, 2009 • Filed under: Must Read, News • Tagged: , ,

What I Love About The Fire Critic

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You know what I love about the Fire Critic? I love the fact that you never know what is coming next. Much like other sites that veer from the mundane, I try my best to mix it up. I don’t report on too much news and I don’t want to be considered a “news” site. I post a couple of videos, but I don’t want to be known as a “video” site. I don’t write about my daily experiences (I have once and may continue to) so I am not a “personal” blog. I don’t write about a lot of political issues.

I just write about stuff. I like posting different stuff. I love adding some humor or bringing you some good funny videos when I can.

Therefore, I am kind of in a grey area. But I am fine with that.

Look for a newer look and feel to the site soon! It shouldn’t be too much different, but it will change a little. Hopefully for the best!

If you see something you think I might like to post, send it in. Email: firecritic@firecritic.com or use the contact form above. I love to hear from my readers as well.

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

The Fire Critic Twitters!

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This is a reminder to all you twitter users out there that The Fire Critic uses Twitter. On top of feeding the RSS feed from this blog, I find to twitter about other information too. I have found the site (twitter) to be fairly informative if you narrow the people you follow to what you want to read about. Check out The Fire Critic on Twitter here.

You can also catch up with me at Firefighter Nation…


Visit Firefighter Nation

Posted by on July 20, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: ,

The Secret is out…The Fire Critic is Interviewed by Newspaper

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Ok, I admit that I have tried to stay anonymous on this blog. The reason being not what is said by who but moreso I don’t want “who says it” to cloud “what is said”. Even though The Fire Critic is semi-anonymous, I have had a few people guess it was me and others I have told out of professionalism in keeping an open line of communication. I don’t really have anything to hide and those who know me would say that I say what I feel.

That being said, I am not outing myself in this post. I may in the near future though. I had plans to out myself when a future collaboration happened…hopefully soon.

Either way, I was interviewed by a newspaper reporter in a large City within 5 hours of where I live. The reason why he interviewed me was on comments made on the post about flash mobs. I basically gave him answers long the lines of what I put in the post…That I liked the visual aspect of watching the performances, but that I had concerns on where the flash mobs might take place and by how many people.

The interesting thing is that he called me on the land line of my part time job. That peeked my interest as to how he got my phone number. I later found out that he had called the station I worked at. I don’t use my work number as a contact. I am not sure why the reporter didn’t just email me, but he apparently was able to find out who I was really quick. Therefore, my identity as being anonymous apparently isn’t all that hidden. It isn’t a huge surprise, but I was interested in the fact that he found me so damn quick. Apparently I completely suck at being anonymous.

Once I find the article, which should post late tonight or tomorrow, I might properly out myself. Unless he completely butchers what I said and uses it out of context like reporters are known to do. Either way, my name is tied to it.

- The Fire Critic

Posted by on July 14, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , ,