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

Blogger Meetup, Chronicles of EMS, and more at EMS Today

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There will be a blogger meetup at the EMS Today Expo in Baltimore next Friday (March 5th). The meetup will include many big names in EMS and Fire blogs. The crew from Chronicles of EMS will be there as well. Fans, readers, friends, and many more will be there!

The Fire Critic will be there! As a matter of fact, I am riding the medic truck tomorrow just to get in the right mind set to hang out with so many needle throwers!

The Happy Medic is boasting this as the largest Fire/EMS blogger meetup of all-time.

Let me know if you will be there in the comments section. I am looking forward to rubbing shoulders with many whom I have never met and would love to know who to look for!

Some of the greats from FireEMSBlogs.com and many other bloggers will be in attendance including the bloggers from The Happy Medic, 999 Medic,  Life Under the Lights, EMS Garage, MedicCast, Fossil Medic of FireGeezer.com, and Fire Daily and Fire Critic (also known as the team of Firefighter Netcast). Please let me know if I need to add a name to the list!

Dave Iannone and Chris Hebert will also be there. They are the team who originally brought you Firehouse.com and now bring you FirefighterNation.com, JEMSConnect.com and FireEMSBlogs.com!

The event will be held at:

Uno Pizzeria Harborplace- Pratt Street Pavilion, 2nd Floor
201 East Pratt Street
Harborplace
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-625-5900

Sponsored by George Washington University, JEMS and FireEMSBlogs.com

Posted by firecritic on February 25, 2010 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , ,

#CoEMS Being a Part of Something New and Refreshing

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CoEMS-logo1-small23I remember when I began this blog, one of my first new acquaintances was The Happy Medic. At the time, he was living under the pseudonym Steph Frolin. We exchanged some ideas and we were both running anonymous blogs (his more so than mine). It didn’t take me long to figure out who HE was though and he totally busted my over-the-top investigative skills by saying yeah that is me and it is no big deal…although he was still anonymous. I considered it OUR little secret at the time.

Justin, as we all call him now that he has “come out of the closet” with his anonymity, was very excited about this project with Mark Glencorse (999 Medic).

I apologize, but I am sure I am paraphrasing stuff I have already written.

Fast forward to this last weekend, enter in many other key players like Ted Setla and Chris Eldridge, mix up hundreds of giddy followers of #CoEMS on twitter, throw in over 3,000 fans on facebook, showcase the writing of dozens of great bloggers, and don’t forget about the social media inept following whose numbers are unobtainable and you have the Chronicles of EMS.

I was there to watch the premiere online and was able to chat with other viewers. The buzz was great!

What is even more amazing is watching, reading, and imagining this grassroots effort take hold.

These guys are not missing a beat. They are pounding the pavement to spread the word about their project, our project, your project.

For EMS professionals not to be in tune with what these guys are doing is like ignoring the next big thing. This is not a fad though. This is a realization of change, a necissary step in making our service better, and a bandwagon that has room for all of us.

For EMS industry leaders, the time has come to embrace the cutting edge of a movement and involve yourself with the professionals who make this industry work.

I must say that episode 1 was excellent. I watched it today with the guys at the station and I heard many comments. One comment that really stuck out was when Justin was helping a patient step into the back of the ambulance…a medic/firefighter watching with me said he applauded Justin for having the guy walk on his own knowing that he was being filmed. Whether it is or isn’t protocol, it spoke volumes on Justin’s behalf (as viewed by us) that Justin was willing to do business as usual and NOT cater to the depths of worrying about what others might say by his performance at work.

After all, that is what it is all about….how we/they/you DO EMS. There were many other examples as seen in the show. The introspect that Mark and Justin were able to give about how San Fransisco/United States does stuff versus how it would be done in the UK was a breath of fresh air.

Keep up the great work guys, we are watching, we are learning, we are INTERESTED!

Posted by firecritic on February 16, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, News • Tagged: , ,

Announcing Medic 999 as Fire/EMS Blog of the Year 2009 #FCBLOG09

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fcems094It 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

n503421450_255292_1345Marty 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

judge1Kirke 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

bioAndrew 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

Blue_star_of_lifeMEDIC 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.

More information on the contest to follow….

Posted by firecritic on January 13, 2010 • Filed under: Contests, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Fire/EMS Blog of the Year 2009 Finalists and Voting

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fcems09_300x250_3finalistThe 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.

Click here to go straight to the listing of finalists and voting area. You may vote once every 8 hours.

Click Here to Vote

Our Finalists are (in alphabetical order):

Vote here, vote often, spread the word.

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!

Posted by firecritic on January 6, 2010 • Filed under: Contests, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Is History Being Made?

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I don’t know about you guys but I cannot stop checking in on “The Project”. For the couple of you who just crawled out of underneath a rock, “The Project” is a meetup between a UK Medic (Medic 999) and a San Fran Medic (Happy Medic).

I will assume that most of you know what I am talking about.

I just can’t get enough of this whole project. It has actually taken a life of its own. While Justin (HM) and Mark (M999) enjoy their time together in California, the twitter and facebook EMS Nation is hard at work making it better. However, that EMS Nation might not be working as hard as Ted Setla and Chris Eldridge who are filming “The Project” to turn it into a pilot episode of an EMS documentary titled “Chronicles of EMS”.

To many readers it seems as though everything has melded into “Chronicles of EMS”. To me there is still a very defined boundary between “The Project” and “Chronicles of EMS”. However, I have no problem with many transposing the events into one and spreading the word. However, I could be totally off base on this whole thing…that is just the way I see it.

So we are clear (in my mind)…

“The Project”: Meetup between Happy Medic and Medic 999 that was dreamed up after the two bloggers met and began discussing differences between the US and England. We soon found out it was more than a language barrier.

“Chronicles of EMS”: The filming of and eventual editing, producing, and releasing of a pilot episode showcasing “The Project”. At this point we will only be seeing the US side. Apparently no roads lead to the UK leading many of us to wonder how we got here in the first place.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Some of you might be sick and tired of the whole deal…I don’t care.

What is really interesting me is how this whole event has grown via some movers and shakers in the EMS Nation of Social Media (I deliberately leave out the word fire even though I know that some of us are involved…remember I am an EMT too). Guys and gals who are currently leading the social media movement for EMS have been utilizing blogs, twitter, facebook, video, and other social mediums.

If you would like to know who those movers and shakers are:

Now I hope you don’t think I am trying to take away from either project by trying separate the two. In all actuality, it seems as though Justin and Mark are realizing how hard it is to keep everyone not in San Fran up to date. That comes with the territory. Luckily for us, Setla and Eldridge are there to post to facebook and twitter what is going on along with Mark and Justin.

It is hard to understand what effect “The Project” and “Chronicles of EMS” will have on EMS. One thing is for sure, it is getting people involved with social media. The real effects that all of this will have on EMS might not be realized for a long time.

I think that in the wake of the awesome work done at the EMS Expo and now this, we will be seeing a lot more of this social networking becoming a part of mainstream EMS.

  • What do you think will be the impact of these projects?
  • How have you changed your social media usage since witnessing this project?
  • How do you plan on making differences to use social media better?

You just have to wonder how much impact this whole event will have on EMS!!!

Check out the latest update from all four of the guys!!

Posted by firecritic on November 12, 2009 • Filed under: News, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Your Unofficial Guide to “The Project”

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If you haven’t heard, The Happy Medic and Medic 999 are embarking on an educational on-the-job meet up. Justin Schorr, whose name I knew before it was cool to know his name, will be having Mark Glencorse over for eight days in San Francisco. The San Francisco Fire Department being the place of Justin (The Happy Medic) Schorr’s employment. Following those eight days, Mark will go swim home and  Justin will head to England a couple of days later to have tea and crumpets and a ride along with Mark. The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust being the place of Mark’s employment.

USA-UK-BADGE-300x189Follow down to the bottom of the post for important terms, how to follow, and where to follow regarding the project!

This whole “Project” came about after a “courting” period between the two bloggers. They often discussed clinical applications of pre-hospital emergency care. Justin being a Firefighter/Paramedic on an engine and Mark a Medic in a car for the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Through comments on each others blogs, email, and phone calls they hatched The Project. Originally, the BBC was going to follow along and film The Project but they pulled the plug in negotiations with Mark’s employer.

Now, Ted Setla (@Setla)is working on filming of The Project (at least State-side).Link

The Project is a unique endeavor planned and executed by the two. The promoting,discussing, and marketing has been a free for all by many top names in the EMS industry! The Project has been dissected, boasted, envied, and examined by many through twitter, facebook, and blogs.

Justin and Mark promise blogging, tweeting, videos, emails, carrier pigeons, smoke signals, and messages in bottles to get their project out to the masses as it happens!

Many industry professionals (EMS, Medics, PIO’s, Social Marketers, Fire, etc.) are watching and maybe even holding their breathe a little to see what will become of this.

On the heels of a very successful twitter/blogging/video social media marketed EMS Expo, many are wondering what is next…We will just have to wait and see.

If you would like to follow along, keep an eye on the links below throughout the next 3 weeks and beyond!

Important terms

  • Justin Schorr = The Happy Medic, Happy Medic, HM. Located in San Francisco.
  • HMHQ = Happy Medic HeadQuarters aka Justin’s house.
  • Mark Glencorse = 999 Medic, Medic 999, That English Guy. Located in NewCastle. (I always wanted to live in a brewery!)
  • The hashtags for The Project on Twitter are #911999 (the project) and #CoEMS (chronicles of EMS)

Follow along with The Happy Medic and Medic 999

In the news and about The Project

Follow the Chronicles of EMS

Can someone please translate this into English for Mark?

Justin…enjoy the boo-doo siren and blue lights! I hope your tall lanky A@# fits in that little car!

Posted by firecritic on November 7, 2009 • Filed under: Must Read, News • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Have you Seen This?

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Ok, this is a link to other stories on other websites. The title is actually inspired by my first little ditty….

TheHouseWatch.com offers a great video of the Buffalo Fire Department. If this video and audio track doesn’t grab your attention go slam your $%# in the door! The video is expertly done! The House Watch also has some of the greatest tactic/strategy posts on the web today!

The FireGeezer is doing what he does best….showing everyone else how branding is paramount. He offers the latest mug shot of Bobby Halton showing off his Geezer Mug! Plenty more news abounds including this post by Mike Ward!

Don’t we all wish we had the connections that Dave Statter has! Dave serves up the latest on the snafu in DC with comments from Dennis Rubin here. Dave is great at what he does…a reporter! His following on his blog is top notch with lovers and haters!!! You gotta take the good with the bad…check the comments on most posts you will see what I mean!

Ok, The Happy Medic pointed to it and so did another blog (I lost which one though). This is the original post on Rogue Medic and this is the follow up by A Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver. Read it and understand what the Rogue Medic is trying to say….according to the Happy Medic and all that we need Reform in the EMS Profession!

FireDaily.com is a new site, but in a recent post he promises that he has something new on the horizon. Keep up with his blog he has a lot to offer!

The Fire Critic is a little sad because FireFighterHourly.com has more facebook fans than him! Try to keep in touch on Facebook with FireFighterHourly.com’s Facebook Page and FireCritic.com’s Facebook Page. Although in my defense, I am a little newer to this thing than Jay is.

Finally, I have great news! The Fire Critic is working on a collaboration with two other individuals. I will have more news in just a couple of days. To be honest, I am working on it with the business I run and not actually the Fire Critic. However it still counts. Look for more information soon!

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

Funniest EMS Calls Ever

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Over at Life Under the Lights, they are having a carnival. Unfortunately it isn’t the kind with hot cousins, toothless women, and midgets throwing knives at a large three breasted woman with a beard. That would be cool though wouldn’t it.

Actually, the carnival is called the Handover Blog Carnival. I have tried to understand it but I haven’t really grasped it. As best as I can tell, it is a traveling post theme where one blogger posts the stories from other bloggers about a similar topic. Please correct me if I am wrong. It does seem to be heavily leaning to the PAIR OF MEDICS side of things. The banner actually says EMS, ER, and A&E Staff. I get the EMS and ER, but why in the hell did they include Arts and Entertainment staff?

Anyways, this months (I think that is the frequency) Handover Blog Carnival is being hosted by Life Under the Lights and has some pretty funny “Funniest EMS Calls Ever”.

If you want more on the Handover Blog Carnival click here.

Posted by firecritic on September 25, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , ,

So You Want to Start Your Own Fire and/or EMS Blog?

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Before you read the entire post let me preempt anything I write by this next sentence. If you are not dedicated to updating your blog regularly DO NOT waste YOUR time. Don’t worry about wasting other people’s time, let them make that judgment for themselves. You will see in your traffic whether your blog is being read. You will see in the comments, or lack there of, if they are enjoying what you write enough to leave feedback or join the discussion.

Once you begin (after reading this post) then check out the top ten marketing tools for fire/ems blogs. This will give you insight into getting your blog read, getting others to link to it, and getting it into the blogosphere.

That being said, blogs are a lot of fun. They are also time consuming.

In the beginning, sit down with a good OLD pen and piece of paper and brainstorm.

Your Blog will be about? Examples: firefighting, EMS, firefighting and EMS, being a paramedic, training, news, humor, videos, the calls you run, etc.

The Happy Medic

The Happy Medic

The first thing you need to think about is what you are going to write about. You don’t have to narrow it down to “The effects of red kneed soapsuckers on wildland firefighting in the small northeast region of Libya” Why not just start a wildland firefighting blog? Don’t narrow your writing so that when you continue down this list you narrow your entire identity. I don’t care about “The effects of red kneed soapsuckers on wildland firefighting in the small northeast region of Libya” however, I would probably check out a blog about wildland firefighting!

A great example of a website that might keep some readers away is The Happy Medic. Some firefighters don’t give a hoot about paramedic stuff. However, you will soon find out if you follow HM that he is a great firefighter too. He writes about firefighting, Paramedical stuff, and everything in between.

What is your Audience? Example: Local, Regional, Statewide, National, Worldwide, medical, firefighting, etc.

The Fire Critic is read Worldwide

The Fire Critic is read Worldwide. Even for a blog that is only a couple of months old!

This is a lesson I have learned. It is not easy to get over. I started a blog local to my department/city. Then I started a website on my State. I wish I had just started out a fire service website and watched it grow. I would be a lot better off 5 years down the road. Figure out how big you want to get and keep your eyes set on the prize. Case and point, FireCritic.com has no boundaries. If we send a firefighter to the moon, I will be there writing about it. If there is something going on in Fiji, I will write about it.

Just make sure that you are planning a blog for the audience you want to capture, whether it is local or Worldwide.

Your Image? You need a name and a logo.

The Fire Critic. This image was purchased at an image shack online for a couple of bucks.

The Fire Critic. This image was purchased at an image shack online for a couple of bucks.

A name says it all. Firehouse.com, FireEngineering.com, FireGeezer.com, FireCritic.com, FirefighterNation.com. All of these names are easily understood in the fire service. Things like “My future life” might not be the best bet when talking about a blog for a Paramedic in Medic school. Make it relevant! Plus, that future paramedic probably will not be in school forever. If they plan on continuing blogging once they graduate, the name is lost in translation. Think down the road! FC Note: “my future life” is an example and I do not know if there is a Medic blog by that name.

Your URL? You can get your own (I recommend doing this). Or you can get one for free.

I would recommend spending the $10 a month getting a url of your own. This will help you out in many ways. First of all, it will be easier for people to remember firecritic.com than it would be if you had firecritic.wordpress.com or firecritic.blogspot.com.

Secondly, your url will show up higher in google searches. This is very important in the land of traffic from search engines! Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) basics will teach you this. SEO is where WordPress makes it easy. Without any plugins you can make the title of your individual posts payout in searches. With some added plugins, you can take your content to the top of search engine traffic for specific terms.

A perfect example is the search for “formosaproduct brick”. You don’t have a clue what that is do you? Well it just happens to be the name of a ship I ran a story about. Click on that link and you will see I came up 2nd in a search on AltaVista. FC Note: that search could change, but that was the first one I came up with for an example.

Trust me though, having your own URL gives you a specific identity and it well worth the $10.

What Blogging software are you going to use? Blogger.com and WordPress.com are the most popular. I recommend starting with one of these!

I run about 7 different blogs. Some are offered more as websites, but the basic interface is that of a blog. Actually, what I am taking advantage of is the Content Management System (CMS) that WordPress has to offer. I began my fruitful enterprise with dreamweaver. I created the websites from scratch. Once I was turned on to what WordPress could do I was hooked and have made the change and have never looked back.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have started with WordPress and I would have saved myself a lot of hard work. WordPress is great because of the vast catalog of plugins and widgets built by users.

My first blog was using Blogger though. I still run one blog with Blogger and I am fine with it. I will probably move it over to my server using WordPress soon. Blogger is very basic and understandable for most. If you have no clue about blogging, I would use Blogger or WordPress.

The great thing about wordpress is that you can import your blog from blogger in its entirety. It only takes a couple of minutes.

Now you have to start writing. Feel free to check out the Top Ten Marketing Tools for the Fire Service. It will give you more insight to starting on your way.

Most of all, please leave some feedback if this helped, if you have any questions, or if you want to add anything!

Posted by firecritic on August 24, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday Morning Shoutout – Your Happy Medic

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Our Monday morning shoutout goes to Your Happy Medic this morning! The Happy Medic is a FF/PM and offers a wide variety of posts on fire and EMS so don’t let the name fool you. Plus, he is one of those guys (although I don’t know his name I am pretty sure he is a guy) who is a Paramedic on the Engine Company. Pretty sweet if you ask me…and so are those wooden ladders!

Posted by firecritic on July 6, 2009 • Filed under: Monday Morning Shoutout, News • Tagged: , , ,

Making the most of blogging

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How’s about another Shrimp on the Barbie?

In a couple of months, two bloggers will be working together at each others jobs. One is a Firefighter and Paramedic on an Engine company  in San Fransisco (The Happy Medic) and the other is a Paramedic for the North East Ambulance Service (Medic999). You might ask Northeast what? Well I assure you it is not Northeast San Fransisco. It is actually in England somewhere…I am guessing in the Northeast but I wasn’t able to pinpoint the location.

After almost a year of hounding each other with questions, they have come up with this ingenious idea that brings blogging to a new level. I have been blogging a while with other sites but never talked anyone into doing a tv show about me.

Exactly how far away are these two bloggers? Something like 5400 miles…so far that google maps cannot give you driving or walking directions.

These two bloggers have somehow curtailed the BBC into doing a television show on their journey. Medic999 will travel with BBC crews to San Fran and ride with The Happy Medic, then once Medic999 gets sick of riding the medic truck like all of the other Medics in our Country he will take The Happy Medic back to England to ride the ambulance there. Medic999 is apparently interested in how The Happy Medic can multitask on the Engine as a Firefighter and Paramedic as well.

Apparently The Happy Medic doesn’t know how good he has it being a FF/PM on the engine (“fire lorry” for those across the pond) that he really wants to see what socialized health care looks like it prior to President Obama making it reality here in the States.

Ok, so I added a little sarcasm in there for effect.

I am actually looking forward to watching this on the television (for you guys across the pond that is tele). There is even a chance of a continued series if the first one is a hit.

Read about the “project” on The Happy Medic here and Medic999 here.

Now if I can just figure out how to translate this into english for my friends across the pond…

Posted by firecritic on June 19, 2009 • Filed under: News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,