Sherry Brooks | 10/14/2010

Community and volunteer fire departments, are like Friday nights and high school football, or October and pumpkins. In communities across North and South Carolina, you can’t drive very far without spotting a volunteer fire department. You can’t participate in your community events without running across a volunteer, a fire truck at a parade or a barbeque at the local department. Read More...

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David Greene | 10/14/2010

It is always interesting to find the points at which the various responsibilities with which the modern fire service is tasked intersect. For instance, paramedicine and auto extrication can frequently intersect inside the patient compartment of a vehicle during patient care efforts. Technical rescue intersects fire ground operations at the story of a building just above where the tip of the aerial truck reaches. One intersection between fire ground operations and hazardous materials operations is the presence of combustible metals. Read More...

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Sherry Brooks | 04/26/2010

I recently spoke with a chief from a rural volunteer fire department. He told me about the recent death of one of his men. As I listened, my mind remembered other deaths from other departments when the chief asked, “Are you going to write about it?” I thought he was asking if I was going to put something in The Journal about his department’s loss, but soon realized that was not his question. He wanted to know if I was going to write about what we can do to stop these deaths. He wanted an answer, and he wanted a solution. Read More...

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Aaron Peeler | 04/26/2010

If you’ve ever taken a swiftwater rescue course, you probably took a long drive on narrow back roads to a remote venue. You probably experienced varying and unpredictable water levels, and may have even found yourself longing for basic facilities like a restroom. Swiftwater training professionals have struggled to find areas on rivers that provide the basic requirements to fulfill their training obligations. A new type of river has emerged that provides for all those training needs — the artificial whitewater river.  Read More...

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Glenn Clapp | 10/14/2010

You have just arrived on the scene of a major hazmat incident and are looking forward to going into the Hot Zone to use what you have learned in Technician Class to “save the day.” Your well-intentioned plans, however, are derailed when the Hazmat Branch Director tells you that you are now the Research Group Supervisor. The natural response of most hazmat responders would be to hang their head down and trudge over to the hazmat unit, as the “job” of Research Group Supervisor is often the most maligned position in the hazmat organization. This does not have to be the case, as hazmat research can be greatly simplified by knowing how to utilize... Read More...

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Dr. Ronald F. DeMeo | 10/14/2010

Committed to improve emergency preparedness and safety, fire and rescue departments across the U.S. have continuously searched for new personal-protection equipment (PPE) that provides greater protection from an ever-growing list of nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological, bomb and ballistic threats as well as infrared radiation and heat. As a frequent lecturer at the world’s top security conferences, I have witnessed firsthand the archaic nature of the field of radiation protection and the need for fire and rescue departments to deploy practical solutions. Historically, even health care workers in hospitals and medical clinics have l... Read More...

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DAVID PEASE — REDS Team | 04/26/2010

As the hurricane and storm season approaches, we need to evaluate our capabilities to perform swiftwater rescues. Of course, one major factor is your equipment. Do you have the required equipment for the task, and is it in proper working order. The next big question — “are my rescuers properly trained to use our equipment.” Having poorly trained folks with the best equipment would be like having a half million dollar fire engine and no one knows how to flow water out of it. It could prove to be a sad and embarrassing situation. So let’s look at some ways we can prepare our department for water rescue. Read More...

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BOB TWOMEY | 04/26/2010

In previous articles, I have gone into great detail about standards for rescue, equipment uses, procedures, standard operating guidelines (SOGs), safety guidelines  — especially around water-based and high-angle rescues and helicopter rescue support — and all the things a rescuer must know to be, well, a rescuer. All of this is fitting and proper. It is how we stay alive as we assist our victims in a myriad of circumstances we encounter. These are the “tools of our trade.” It is who and what we are. Read More...

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