Obtaining a water supply for fire suppression from a static source like a lake, stream, or pond has always been a cornerstone of rural water supply. Not that it's always been easy. But a new generation of hard suction hose and appliances are making this crucial rural water supply task much easier.

However, the more I look at news stories involving FEMS organizations that have been “ripped from today’s headlines”, through this “lens”—that of the organizational leader as a curator of organizational culture—I can’t help but feel…something must have been missing from their system of “law and order”.

…And all of these present serious reputation risks that can hurt a department's ability to raise money, gain support for projects or attract quality candidates. What Fire and EMS organization anywhere needs to take that kind of “hit”!

About a week ago, after I finished showering, Mrs. Avsec was standing nearby (everything is nearby in our “comfy” one-bedroom apartment here in Alexandria) and she asked, “What’s that spot on your back?”

Every engine, truck and ambulance in the CFEMS response fleet has hotel voucher forms on board that are honored—through prior agreements with the establishment—to provide immediate lodging for one night. The officer on-scene completes the voucher and then a staff officer on scene is tasked with “resident relocation”, i.e., going to the hotel with those folks—and providing transportation if necessary—to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

The fire apparatus business in the United States is extremely competitive, but then, you already knew that. The fire apparatus manufacturers are also a very innovative bunch who are constantly looking at ways to build pumping apparatus that meets the tactical needs for fire suppression, rescue, EMS, hazmat, wildland-urban interface fires, etc.

Reminds me of the story of what happens when you throw several lobsters into a lobster pot to cook. When one of the crustaceans tries to climb out of the pot, the other lobsters pull them back into the boiling water.

When you take action to help the citizen, ask yourself, “If called upon to do, can I honestly say that I would have done the same for any member of my family?”

It hasn't been that long ago that firefighters first began seeing radio/intercom headsets for their riding positions on the apparatus. Those wired-in systems enabled the crew to communicate better amongst themselves while the vehicle was in motion.

Back in 1969, an Australian lifeguard from the Avalon Surf Lifesaving Club was returning to the Land Down Under from lifeguard duties in the United Kingdom. Australia has beautiful beaches along its more than 16,000 miles of coastline, and in addition to the beauty, those beaches have a wide variety of some of the wildest surf on the planet.