Health and Wellness

Today, the public scrutiny is almost instantaneous because the Internet and social media platforms give anyone with a device and access an outlet to this "new" court of public opinion. And in this "court" there is no judge and no jury of your peers--only millions of people with Internet access and their own oft-times "half-baked" opinions.

Nobody in a fire department’s chain of command should have more influence on the safety performance of its firefighters than the individual company officer. Think about that statement for a moment and see if it doesn’t fit your department.

In contrast, nearly 95 percent of the firefighters who have attended the class have made personal behavioral changes in their tactical approaches to fireground operations. While it’s a great feat to see individual firefighters taking note of the education, it’s disappointing that the majority of departments are not immediately taking action to protect the lives of their firefighters.

This brings to question, are fireground officers and today’s firefighters receiving adequate training? The question remains, are proper size-ups being conducted to allow for a decision regarding whether it is an offensive or defensive fire attack [situation]? It all comes down to decision making capability and fire ground safety. We simply need to focus on the basic fundamentals of fire fighting.

In the end, firefighters contract disease, illness and death through inhalation, ingestion or absorption. To prevent exposure means wearing air and USING it, clean bodies and clean PPE. While the prescription for prevention is simple, the process is complex.

As much as I was saddened to learn of Frank's death, I was even more sad at the fact that he never got the chance to share that passion and his perspectives on his cancer treatments with his brother and sister firefighters. I'm sure that they would have come to know and love the man that was Lieutenant Frank Vento.

If you are a fire service leader who's REALLY interested in attaining zero firefighter deaths and injuries, you must take 32+ minutes to watch this video that was produced by Dr. Burt Clark. (Dr. Clark has served the American Fire Service for 40+ years and is one of the "founding fathers" of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy, along with the now-retired Charles "Chuck" Burkell).

I began noticing that I had large lump in my neck, and while I wasn’t getting sick, it won’t go away. I’d noticed it about a week earlier, and now I’m going in for a check.

Thinking back on my 14 years with the Las Vegas Fire Department as a Firefighter/EMT-I, I realize that it was one of the most challenging, strength finding, and courageous things I’ve ever done in my life. I am a proud retiree and feel truly blessed. A good and wise friend told me, “that was another life; we all have many other lives.” I think I really understand that now and will cherish it.

Then “sticker shock” set in. When I first saw how much of a difference there was between my regular paycheck and my disability retirement check…I knew big changes were in store.