Shortly after 6pm on Jan 4, 2012 multiple calls came into fire alarm reporting a house fire at 235 Cass Ave.
Arriving companies found heavy fire in the basement rapidly extending to the upper floors. About 20 minutes into the fire, firefighters had to evacuate the building because of deteriorating conditions. They then quickly knocked the heavy overlapping fire down from the exterior and went back in and finished knocking it down.
It took about an hour to bring the fire under control. 4 families were left homeless.
The Portland Fire & Rescue Department in Oregon has utilized Youtube to spread the word on their hiring process. They use their own firefighters to tell the World about why they are Portland Firefighters.
This is a perfect example of using social media to spread the word on recruitment for an upcoming hiring process!
If you are looking for a job, you better hurry! They only accept the first 4500 applications!
The Berkeley Fire Department responded for a house fire and the homeowner not only recorded a short clip and uploaded it to youtube, they also took the opportunity to thank the fire department on youtube.
Sometimes, we see homeowners and neighbors leave comments on youtube videos asking that the person who uploaded it to remove it. This is the exact opposite of that. This homeowner shares the video AND thanks the fire department.
While the video clip is short, and the video doesn’t offer any useful training or tactical consideration that might be resourceful for other firefighters, there is still a lesson here. This homeowner has suffered a house fire and no doubt lost belongings…yet still took the time to share it with others. The positive effect of this action shows social media in a positive light.
Great positive public relations offered free from a citizen, tax payer, and customer of the fire department.
FC Note: the thank you by the homeowner is in the description of the video.
Lion Technical Footwear recently sent me a pair of their Marshall 14″ pull-on firefighting boots for a product review. I received the boots promptly and was very pleased with the look and feel of them. The first thing I typically look at on new boots are the toe cap and the straps. I know there are more important factors that differentiate a good boot from a great boot, but that is what I look at first.
My boots after 3 months. It feels like you are wearing slippers when you have them on!
The toe caps: Vibram® nitrile-rubber toe area covering provides full toe area scuff protection. They look good and they have kept up with the day to day wear and tear.
The boot straps: The straps are sewn INTO the boot and not ONTO the boot. Hopefully this will give them some extra strength for those of you who hang your boots on a hook. As for guys like me who merely use them to carry the boots from one spot to another they should work just fine. The straps are actually made of 1″ Nomex® webbing.
First Impression: I wore these boots around the station for a couple hours before putting them in my turnout pants just to break them in a little bit. They were a little snug because of the extra padding/insulation but they quickly conformed to my foot!
These boots are comfortable. Think slippers kind of comfortable. They have extra padding/insulation inside and they are just comfortable as can be. I have actually been wearing them for 3 months now and I must say I am thoroughly pleased. I do wonder if what seems like “extra” insulation will be hot in the summer months, but I have yet to pull my feet out of them with dripping wet socks. Sure, I have worked in them and have gotten all sweaty…which means these boots must be able to breathe pretty well. I assure you this…while wearing them during the cold months, my feet never got cold!
The sewn in 1" Nomex Webbing Straps
The heal has a special Lock-Fit Ankle Support System™ which provides anatomical ankle padding that ensures the foot is securely positioned within the boot. The sole is built with a Lenzi® puncture-resistant midsole. This is a very important part of the boot since we rarely get to see where or what we are going to step on. After all, fire boots are all about protecting your feet!
So far after 3 months…Lion is right with their tagline “Comfort That Won’t Quit”
Two drawbacks to these boots…both minor I think.
Made in Canada...a lot better than made elsewhere but nothing beats "Made in the USA"!
They are made in Canada. I consider Canada almost as good as made in America and certainly better than made in China or Indonesia…but I still love seeing that “Made in the USA” on the tag.
The extra padding means that the boots run a little big. This doesn’t mean that you should order them any different than your normal size shoe. It does mean that the overall size of the boot is a bit larger by external measurements than other boots.
Vibram® Fire & Ice™ sole offers durability and superior traction at both temperature extremes.
Large 1” rugged Nomex® webbing boot straps with reinforced stitching ensure easy donning and doffing.
Thermoplastic heel counter individually molded to every size for custom fit.
Leather bound, padded collar trim for better all-around fit with no chafing.
Vibram® nitrile-rubber toe area covering provides full toe area scuff protection.
Silver 3M™ Scotchlite™ Reflective Material provides added visibility.
Proudly wearing my Lion Technical Footwear Marshall 14" Pull-ons
About Lion Technical Footwear:
A comfortable boot is essential to safety on the fireground because when your feet hurt, you can lose mobility and stamina. Made with top-grade U.S. fire-resistant leather, LION Technical Footwear brings superior working comfort, flexibility, safety and durability — run after run. The back of a LION Technical Footwear boot is designed to match the anatomical shape of your heel and the molded ankle guard provides a comfortable, athletic fit. The Lenzi® puncture-resistant midsole offers 30% greater coverage area than a stainless steel sole and the breathable CROSSTECH® fabric ensures better comfort. The patented Lock-Fit Ankle Support System™ grabs the ankle and foot to improve surefootedness and reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls.
March 9, 2011
The first one is a house fire where the fire gets into the attic. The firefighters attempt to get it from the outside, then they move interior. From the video, it appears they might have still had some trouble getting to the fire in the attic.
March 10, 2011
The second fire is fully involved by the time the camera rolls. The firefighters focus on cooling a propane tank on the side of the house.
Newsworking is a youtube channel that offers some excellent video coverage of FDNY in action. This past week they managed to capture several jobs in New York City.
In this video, you will ride along with me while fire chasing in Brooklyn, NY on Friday night.
#1 – Box 2886 1873 Cropsey Avenue. Structural Fire with reported people trapped. The box went to “all hands” and within 20 minutes, crews had the bulk of the fire knocked down. Truckies opened up and all searches were negative.
#2 – W. 6th and Avenue U, EMS 911 box for an extrication. Engine 248 and Ladder 159 find a 3 vehicle accident in the intersection. Minor injuries.
#3 – Box 1652, 2280 Atlantic Avenue for a 2 alarm fire in an O/M/D. Fire on the first floor with extension into exposure 4.
Video 2: February 19th
5th Alarm Fatal Box 2439, 346 East 29th Street Flatbush, NY.
200 firefighters battle blaze in 7-story Multiple Dwelling. A 64-year-old lady was found in the rubble after the blaze was extinguished. The building had over 70 apartments.
Heavy fire throughout the top three floors. Firefighters battled the elements as well, dealing with high winds and freezing temperatures. The whole neighborhood was iced over along with firefighters and their apparatus.
Video 3: February 19th
22:50 Box 0860 was transmitted for a fire in a private dwelling at 91 Saratoga Avenue.
Heavy fire third-floor of the M/O/R with extension into the cockloft.
Video 4: February 19th
Box 4049 Working High Rise Fire at 1530 Pennsylvania Ave. Fire in 6th floor apartment of a 17-story O/M/D
Rescue Me was a hit. Many firefighters enjoyed it. I thought it showed how dysfunctional firefighters can be…not all of us, but some of us. It started out being pretty heavy on the firefighting and light on the drama…it ended up being very heavy on the drama and light on the firefighting.
Trauma was just way over the top…and too many ambo drivers!
Emergency was excellent and still syndicated today…
The question now is what will be the next network show or movie about firefighting…
Here are some of the options…feel free to let me know if I overlooked one!
Updated: Thanks to Ron in the comments, he brought up First In and the Academy…I should have remembered both of these because I have posted on them as well. While they have already been on tv, they still belong on here somewhere!
Hosed is a brand new pilot show being shown on Youtube. It is a comedy about volunteer firefighters. As of this posting, there have been 3 episodes uploaded to youtube. The short videos available on youtube are a part of a grand scheme to get it on a network. Like I said before, I think it is hilarious.
Volunteers The Series offers a pilot on youtube as well. This show is about actual volunteer firefighting.
The mission of Volunteers The Series (VTS): It is our goal to increase public awareness and support by telling the stories of these brave men and women. We want to make a difference in each and every volunteer fire/ems house in the world. Whether it means increased donations or just shifting the public paradigm, our purpose is to see volunteer houses thrive, decrease LODD’s and see that ALL volunteer company’s have the funding to continue to properly support the communities they serve. If we can make a difference in just one volunteer fire/ems house, we will have been successful!
Formed in 1997 by David Furtado, Tule Fog Productions LLC (pronounced Tool-ee) conceives, develops, and produces original content for television, films, and the Internet.
For over three years, Tule Fog Production LLC has been developing and now producing The Battalion-The Series. Each webisode has the look and feel of a fully produced episodic series for television. Using state of the art streaming technology, they can be watched in full screen-mode online or downloaded to be viewed and saved on your computer to be viewed later or on an iPod, Cell-phone, and many other compatible devices.
Burn – One Year on the front lines of the battle to save Detroit
BURN is a documentary about Detroit, told through the eyes of Detroit firefighters, who are on the front lines charged with the thankless task of saving a city — and an American Dream — that many have written off as dead. We made a 10-minute trailer. Please SHARE, ASK QUESTIONS, DONATE so we can start production on the film as soon as possible. From DetroitFire.org
Beyond the Lights and Sirens
Originally the Chronicles of EMS…and before that simply “The Project”
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…I know what you are thinking…What the hell does EMS have to do with it? Well, it has a lot to do with it in this sense. While the pilot episode for Chronicles of EMS was sold as being about EMS (and it is), it is done in a Fire based EMS system. That is right, San Francisco was the setting and it one of the main characters, Justin Schorr, is a firefighter/paramedic for San Francisco Fire Department. I think it fits in the scope of what I am trying to do here.
Burning Down is a brought to you by Christopher Stadulis. He is trying to turn it into a major motion picture. See the information below and a video about the making of Burning Down.
I, Christopher Stadulis, have an incredible story to share that will have an affect on people from all walks of life. My personal story will inspire many who are struggling and or have struggled as recovering alcoholics and or drug addicts, those who have lived or still do live with a substance abuser and empower them with the strength to realize YOU can overcome anything life throws at you, but change starts from within!
My film, “Burning Down”, is a compelling, emotional Drama short inspired by true events. After completion, my long term goal is to pitch it to a number of A-list industry professionals, some of who I am in contact with and some I will reach out to for the first time to see who would be interested in getting it made into a full-length feature for theatrical release.
Tagline: After hitting rock bottom, a troubled NYC Firefighter relives his painful past in hopes of piecing together his future.
Think- “Goodwill Hunting” meets “Rescue Me” meets “Clean and Sober”
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the next one…while it might not fit in with all of the rest, it is about firefighting and offered on video.
Fire Rescue TV
Fire Rescue TV is a news platform developed by retired Virginia Beach Firefighter Martin Grube. The network continues to grow every day. Fire Rescue TV offers news broadcasts, fire coverage, and other news in the fire service. Visit FireRescueTV.com. They also post some of their video on youtube…see below.
Fireman Ross
Hell, maybe we should just make a half hour sitcom about Ross from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno!!! You didn’t think I would pass up an opportunity to post this video did you?
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
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.
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
Matt and Kevin Spacey after the Triggerstreet.com awards.
We have all seen some great video on youtube. There are some hilarious people out there posting original comedy on their own youtube channels. Matt Koval is one of those guys. I actually met him in Baltimore at EMS Today. He was doing some video work for Dave Iannone and Chris Hebert. I have posted links to some of the video from that in the past.
Oh…did I mention that Matt used to be a volunteer firefighter for Hyattsville VFD in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Keep up the great work Matt!
Actually, this is about tagging any videos. Having Youtube in the title is more of a SEO bonus!
Here is a pet peeve of mine…coming across a video accidentally that is named “video S-84394″. No information, no tags, 14 views but it is a great video that you would have loved to have seen when it was uploaded 3 years ago. That might be a little exaggerated but if you upload/search/watch videos online you will see my point.
I like searching for videos. I like finding what I am looking for if it exists.
If you are uploading videos here are some tips to help you get your video watched more:
Name the video – Make it something pertinent like “House Fire in Scranton” or “4 alarm fire in Jacksonville”.
Tag your video – If you are uploading videos so other people will watch you should be a tag whore! Tags are usually separated by commas. Examples would be: House Fire, Firefighter, Fire, Fireman, Firefighting, Scranton Fire Department, Fire Department, Jacksonville, etc.
Describe the video - This day in age of embedding videos on blogs and web sites is getting out of control! But I love it! If you want your video embedded, be sure to NAME IT, TAG IT, AND DESCRIBE IT. “House Fire” doesn’t say much in the description. Add details like Where (City,State), When (date), What time, Who responded, other pertinent data.
Use this simple ideas to increase the views on your videos!
Above all else, email people when it is online. Shoot an email to bloggers and web sites when you have uploaded a video you think they should see!
Here is a perfect example below. This is why you should tag your youtube videos.
Title: Fire at IVC Marikina FC: I don’t know where IVC Marikina is. I might be able to figure it out but why not just give me the info!
Description: house burning near our house, I’ve cutted the video so soon coz the wires from the post were snapping!!! FC: Spelling? Grammer? Where is “our house”.? If I knew then I would know where the fire is!
Tags: Fire FC: At least they tagged “fire”. However on youtube, fire is not a decent tag. It should be “house fire” at least!
I posted a video of a house fire in South Minneapolis the other day here. Today, I was searching through youtube and found another view of the house on fire. Just as I had written about the issues with exposures, this viewpoint correctly identifies my theory. This is a perfect example of the need for exposure protection to keep the damage to the houses around the house on fire to a minimum.
I must admit, I am a youtube groupie. I love checking out youtube daily. My must see searches are for “House Fire” and “Firefighter”. Once I get to the search results all I have to do is select the newest videos. These searches usually offer some great videos fresh out of the video cameras of news channels, buffs, citizens, and firefighters. The great thing is that you never know what you are going to see or where it is from.
I enjoy posting these videos for the readers. However, I don’t like riddling the newest posts with a ton of videos. So tonight, I offer you several decent videos from across the globe. Enjoy!
Hecktown Fire Department Mutli-Alarm House Fire in Northampton County, PA
Another Pot Growing Operation in a House on Fire. This time in Canton Ohio.
5th story apartment blaze somewhere not in the U.S.
08.24.09 – Third Alarm – 5125 Church Drive, North Whitehall Twsp., PA – Great video here. On scene before the first engine!
The City of Bozeman, Montana apparently really wanted to get their name on the map. The City is demanding that new applicants for city jobs like firefighters, and police officers hand over their login AND passwords for sites like facebook and myspace.
I am not making this stuff up…read the entire article here.
I must say that the unfortunate thing is that I know of guys who would hand the information over. You know those guys who would give up their first born for the job but probably have no business doing it.
Trust me on this one…if the City where you want to work wants to play Big Brother with your ass then they aren’t worth working for. Period. It will only get worse! Plus you deserve to have a little self worth and not sell out like that.
I use facebook, I originally had a myspace account. I utilize it for my personal life as well as my professional life. I ensure that anything I post I wouldn’t mind my wife, mother, or boss seeing. However, I am not giving out anything…and if you ask me about something I have said in the past I am going to deny, deny, deny!
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