Command And Leadership Qualities Of A Firefighter

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/29/2014 to Fire Fighting

A leader must understand when to stand up and say something and when to sit down and listen. Able to show displeasure or pleasure by the words and tone of voice in the actions of subordinates. You have to be able to speak your point without much ado. When seconds count, long winded discussions and instructions are killers. You have to make sure you are quick, to the point, and that your followers understand your objectives.

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Understanding The Basics Of A Radio Network

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/29/2014 to Fire Equipment

Everyone on the fireground has likely operated a walkie-talkie system at some point in the past, but are you a fire department that considers communication the No.1 priority? If you do, then you probably shouldn't be reading this - because you already know that the mobile radio systems currently in use are not your father's walkie-talkies, and you know that training on these networks is every bit as vital as training in various fire situations.

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Spotting Wildfires, The Tools Of The Trade

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/28/2014 to Fire Safety

Wildfires are rather a problem these days and that is due to the lack of rainfall resulting in drought conditions in many portions of the U.S. One of the keys to success in regards toward stopping a wildfire in its tracks is catching it early enough to do something about it before it grows out of hand.

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Getting Above A Fire Safely And Effectively

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/27/2014 to Fire Fighting

When it comes to fighting fires, the conventional wisdom is to attack the fire from the base, having your feet firmly on the ground on equal footing with the fire. However, there is little doubt that sticking with that wisdom can be risky and could result in more damage to a structure, especially if that structure is two or more stories and the fire is on the first floor.

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So You Want To Become A Firefighter

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/26/2014 to Fire Fighting

If you’re thinking about becoming a firefighter, you probably already have the most important trait a firefighter needs to have – the desire to help people. Because, let’s face it, you won’t get rich by being a firefighter, so there are no reasons to become one if your primary motivation is material gain.

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Reset the Near Miss

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/21/2014 to Fire Fighting

A few years ago, the IAFC put forth a new initiative designed to turn some near-miss situations into learning experiences for various fire departments around the country and the world to better protect all firefighters. The Near Miss program was intended to create valuable lessons for all firefighters to find ways to improve training, protocols and even technologies so that one fire crew's near-miss experience will protect hundreds or thousands of other lives later from the breakthroughs developed.

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Firefighters Offer To Cut Their Own Pensions?

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/21/2014 to Fire Fighting

In city and county governments all over the country, the effects of the Great Recession are still being felt. Even years after the recession ended, several cities have filed bankruptcy and there are a laundry list of others on the verge of it unless they get their financial houses in order quickly. And for some, that may mean the difficult step of either laying off workers like firefighters or police officers or cut government employee pensions or medical benefit payments to keep from having liabilities so large that the municipality couldn't recover.

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Could Hobby Planes Interfere with Wildfire Battles?

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/20/2014 to Fire Fighting

We have all seen them - heck, some of us have had them at some point in our childhoods - buzzing around front yards and in parks. They are the model remote-control or wireless controlled airplanes and helicopters that we so enjoy as we pretend to be a pilot.

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How to Be a Champion for Change

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/20/2014 to Fire Fighting

You are a good, talented firefighter in a great department and a great station crew. So this is not to say that there are bad departments out there, but certainly some departments are better than others. And if you are someone who thinks there should or could be changes that can help your department be even better but you are not in a position of authority in order to put some changes into motion, that doesn't mean you should sit by and wait for someone in authority to come up with the ideas on his or her own.

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Assess Your Fitness Level

Posted by Feld Fire on 8/14/2014 to Fire Fighting

Firefighters are expected to remain in good physical condition, even after going through the initial candidate fitness tests. Though firefighters are not formally evaluated on their physical fitness beyond that initial candidate test, having some sort of informal assessment can be useful for some fire captains and crews to give firefighters an opportunity to evaluate the fitness regimen they currently use and determine if they need to change tactics to address any weaknesses in their overall fitness.

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