First off, a faulty PASS device is UNACCEPTABLE on any fire scene. When firefighters and officers hear a PASS sounding it should ONLY mean that a fellow firefighter is in need of assistance.

In this latest installment of Reader “Mailbag” I’ve collected several of the reader comments in response to the blog post, The Sexual Sexual Harassment Strike OutAssault and Rape of Women Firefighters: Survey Results. I gleaned the representative comments from across the various social media platforms where this blog appears, e.g., LinkedIn Groups, Facebook, and Twitter.

Solar-capturing technology has made it easier to keep fire truck and ambulances fully charged without leaving them running, and saves money.

There are a couple of realities for fire departments when it comes to vehicles and equipment for emergency responses: fiscal resources are tight and vehicles have to be able to multi-task. Related Article: Size matters: Smaller apparatus provide function and economy Related content sponsored by: One option could be swap-body or roll-off fire apparatus. Another might be a concept used in European fire services: modular compartmentation.

Behavioral research shows that by the time they begin their school years, young girls and boys already have some pretty “defined” ideas of what men and women can or cannot do, especially regarding jobs.

We know it’s a problem. It’s always been a problem. However, NFIRS information influences countless prevention campaigns, safety product development, code development, and a host of other areas so it is far past time to take NFIRS seriously. We must set complaints of data quality aside and take action.

While waiting for Mrs. Avsec to finish a dental appointment the other day, I slipped across the street to a McDonald’s restaurant in Dunbar, West Virginia to get a drink, a hot apple pie and use their free Wi-Fi to get some writing done. While looking around a bit, I saw things and thought of things that prompted these five thoughts on how what McDonald’s does could help any Fire and EMS organization to recruit and retain more people.

Many of us first became familiar with Dr. Clark and his “big thinking” approach to fire service issues when he was among the first fire service leaders on this firefighter safety issue: Firefighter “Mayday”. Dr. Clark was the first to bring awareness to the issue by asking the tough questions...

Sound rather harsh? Sound unrealistic? So does closing fire stations and laying off firefighters. So does continuing to expose firefighters to increasing levels of risk of injury or death because of negligence on the part of building occupants, developers, and builders. So does continuing to increase the fiscal burden to local taxpayers to pay for an antiquated fire protection model that is reactive rather than proactive.

State and local government agencies spend more than $10 billion a year on energy to provide public services and meet constituents' needs — putting a strain on taxpayers and budget decision makers facing shrinking budgets. Here are five tools to increase energy efficiency at a firehouse to cut energy consumption and reduce operational overhead for big savings.