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

After our pumping apparatus, the fire hose complement carried aboard that apparatus represents a significant financial investment for any department. Though fire hose may be one of the less high-tech pieces of equipment that your department carries and employs, your procedures for handling, care and maintenance has the greatest influence on its performance, reliability and longevity.

A fire truck's tires are both a major safety and financial concern for every fire department. Properly maintained, they will reduce waste and the risk of injury. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Perhaps you've heard this before: A camel is a horse that was designed by committee. I always get a chuckle whenever I hear it — and then spend the rest of the day trying to get those two images out of my head.

If your department has not made the switch from using 25 kHz efficiency technology to using at least 12.5 kHz efficiency technology, your department is now on the Federal Communications Commission radar screen.

Wearing dirty turnout gear is no longer cool or macho or a sign of competency (if it ever was). No, wearing contaminated turnout gear exposes you to a higher risk of developing certain types of cancer than other workers.

Frequently, we refer to the pump on fire apparatus, particularly engines, as the heart of the fire truck. Without a pump, the fire apparatus is nothing more than a very expensive personnel and equipment transportation vehicle.

Using computing technology is certainly not new to the fire and emergency services world. The CAMEO (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations) software products have been valuable hazardous materials response and planning tools since the first products were introduced in 1986.

By now, most of us are familiar — or should be — with using our emergency vehicles as a shield against oncoming traffic to protect first responders and civilians while operating on a roadway. In addition, we use emergency warning lights and other items such as road flares and traffic cones to capture the attention of oncoming drivers.

Fire and emergency services products manufacturers are a very inventive bunch that are constantly coming up with tools, equipment and apparatus that can help us do our jobs more safely, effectively and efficiently. This year has been no exception with the rollout of many innovative products; here are the five that most grabbed my attention.

The most important part of a firefighter's respiratory system protection is the quality of the air contained in their SCBA cylinder. And like the old computer adage of "garbage in, garbage out" having cylinders full of quality air is paramount. And this ultimately comes down to the fill station.