By Sherry Brooks | 07/05/2011

The South Carolina Fire-Rescue Conference was held in Myrtle Beach last month. What a great way to get in touch with our readers. We certainly enjoyed seeing everyone who visited our booth. Thanks for your feedback on what you would like to read in future issues of Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal. Read More...

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By John Scott Loftis | 07/05/2011

There is an old Scottish proverb that states “The grandfather buys, the father builds, the son sells, and the grandchild begs.” This proverb is of course referring to the cycle of generational wealth. It means that the first generation invests and sacrifices to obtain the object that will generate wealth. The second generation lives through the sacrifices, and is usually committed to continue building the wealth by operating and maintaining whatever it may be that is generating the wealth. The second generation does this because they have witnessed firsthand what it took to obtain whatever it is that is producing the wealth. The third genera... Read More...

Relevant Tags: Forum, generation, service, wealth, leadership, proverb, fire service, next generation, second generation, third generation, generational wealth, first generation, wealth leadership

By Tim Wojcik | 07/05/2011

Anyone wonder where our volunteer forces have gone lately? There is a myth in the American fire service that our volunteer forces are dwindling at an alarming pace. While there has been a marked decline in numbers of volunteers across all sorts of areas — churches, youth sports, school groups, etc. — it appears that the alarmists in the fire service have tried to convince us that we have an epidemic shortage of volunteers. According to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), there are 1.1 million firefighters in America: 800,000 of those (71 percent) are volunteers. In 2009, over half of the line of duty deaths (LODD) were volunteers. Of ... Read More...

Relevant Tags: Education And Training, volunteer, fire, career, fire service, volunteer fire, education training, volunteer firefighters, american fire, paid staff

By John Winstead | 07/05/2011

The Nash Community College NC Fire Recruit class of 2011, finished 16 weeks of grueling fire and rescue training ending with a live burn in an acquired structure. With the completion of the academy the recruits will take their place among a proud group of graduates from the Nash Community College (NCC) Recruit Firefighter Academy. Previous graduates of the NCC Recruit Firefighter Academy are currently employed by the City of Rocky Mount NC FD., Greenville Fire and Rescue, Nashville Fire and Rescue and Tarboro FD. Seventeen students participated in the live burn. Fifteen recruits that did not possess a NC EMT certification will now proceed th... Read More...

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By Capt. Trey Smith | 07/05/2011

So you want to be a truckie, or even a nozzleman? Assuming these roles takes tremendous knowledge of the responsibilities and expectations to be performed which should not be taken lightly. These positions will make or break a good offensive fire attack. These positions are the workhouses of the fireground and one does not perform or work efficiently without the other. For the moment, let’s try to put aside our egos and focus upon the task at hand of getting the wet stuff on the red stuff. Following two large scale incidents in my first due area in recent months, I have had time to reflect upon some of our successes and our shortcomings of t... Read More...

Relevant Tags: Education And Training, fire, smoke, education training, hooks hoses, ceiling pullers, pro actionarism

| 07/05/2011

Should pump transmission fluid be changed every six months in a reserve engine as in the busy rigs? Commonly, we utilize the manufacturer’s recommended procedures. Every six months is overkill to the old seasoned EVT unless you have issues with high humidity that indicates a need to change more often. If the pumps are run for long periods of time, the heat generated in the gearcase will cook off moisture in the pump transmission. If water from the firefighting pump is entering the pump transmission, corrective action MUST be taken to prevent further intrusion of water into the gearcase. Utilizing spectrochemical analysis of the gear oil on a... Read More...

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