Fire & EMS Leader Pro The job of old firefighters is to teach young firefighters how to become old firefighters!

Growing up most of us have probably been told, “You only get one chance to make a good first impression”! This is also true in the market place for any business, organization or individual.

Let’s “cut to the chase”, shall we? We've got many paradigms in the fire service that we need to “break" and one of them is how we seek resources to get the job done.

Is your department consistently faced with an inadequate number of qualified and properly equipped firefighters arriving at the scene of a structure fire? Are your people launching an interior fire attack solo, or with only another member with them? (We know this is happening every day in the USA, don't we).

Think it’s not important to your efforts to recruit, hire and retain the right people? Here’s an Fire Prevention Demoanecdote from one of my fire service colleagues on Facebook, Firefighter Irene Silknetter Fitzkee, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania:

One of the core responsibilities for any emergency services organization is the proper training of its personnel for safe over-the-road operation of emergency vehicles. This is especially true for fire and EMS organizations operating large trucks, when roughly 25 percent of annual firefighter fatalities occur when responding to or returning from alarms.

One thing we can all agree upon in the world of fire and EMS response is that the scope of our operations has greatly expanded. We also likely agree that the body of knowledge required by our personnel has greatly expanded and continues to do so in quantum leaps.

It is tempting to dismiss thoughts of fire grenades based on our experiences with carbon tetrachloride bombs. But, as we're told to use the technology that works, it is worth revisiting these devices.

Here’s your chance to contribute to the effort. What are the problems or issues or challenges (whatever you want to call them) in your field that need improvements, improvements for which evidence-based research could provide the best solutions?

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.

The most important piece of firefighter safety equipment is the individual firefighter. If the individual inside the turnout gear, wearing the SCBA, working under a command structure, with a portable radio is not in good physical condition he is the weakest link in the firefighter chain-of-survival.