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Save Your Balls|WEAR YOUR MASK! received an honorable mention in Bill Carey's recent post on Backstep Firefighter.
I personally just never understood why, if we go to the roof for the purpose of, and with the full intent of being successful at releasing the super-heated and toxic gases of the fire, would we not wear our mask?
Does making the fire more survivable for the trapped-victims excuse us from making the fire more survivable for the trained-firefighters?
While a lot of folks are counting out the days before Thanksgiving by sharing day-by-day what they’re thankful for, I’ve decided to summarize the past few weeks here as they have been some of the most challenging and rewarding times I’ve ever had in my life. Here’s to giving, receiving and thanks:
GIVING: Just a few weeks ago I was deployed with seven of my cohorts on the Western New York Incident Management Team (IMT) to assist in the response and recovery efforts related to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy blowing through Long Island and New York City.
RECEIVING: As we were traveling through New York City on our way to our final destination at the Nassau County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) we were informed that they had absolutely no means of housing our eight-person team. There were no hotel rooms available within an hour or more of our work site and despite bringing cots and bedding with us, there was ‘no room at any inn.’
Thank God I have friends in the fire service throughout the state and country as it took just one phone call to Rob Leonard, a good friend and brother firefighter with the Syosset Volunteer Fire Department and public relations committee chair with FASNY, to find us a place to rest our heads. Despite being without power and heat at his own home, Rob connected us with their chief and commissioners to clear the way for us to bunk at their nicely appointed Woodbury Firehouse.
THANKS: Due to the widespread lodging shortage, Syosset accommodated us for the first three nights of our deployment. Warm beds and hot showers were a welcome relief at the end of the 14-18 hour days we were working. Without them we would have literally been left out in the cold. For their generosity, hospitality and brotherhood in the face of their own challenges – we THANK them.
I am often reluctant to write about commercial business ventures in my blogs and other platforms as I am sensitive to the trusted relationship between a writer and their readers, and leary about self-promotion. Thus I have delayed writing this post for quite some time.
It wasn’t until I came to the realization that this is not about me or what I’m involved in as much as it is about you – my readers, followers and the fire service at large – that I felt the timing was right for sharing this exciting news.
Earlier this year I was invited by my long time and good friends Dave Iannone and Chris Hebert to share in their vision for tipping the traditional training program on its head. Dave and Chris have a knack for surrounding themselves with inspired people and a solid reputation for bringing innovative and successful solutions to the fire service community, so it wasn’t much of a tough sell for me to join them and the other members of their team at the table.
The conversations were very indepth and engaging, even sparring at points, but all with a common goal in mind: to bring a new and exciting approach to providing training for firefighters and first responders. As I looked around the room, I saw a tremendous amount of passion and caring for getting this right.
It wasn’t long before I was hooked and signed on as chief of training, charged with driving the direction of the educational content of their new conference concept.
Box 191 stands as a memorial to the five Buffalo Firefighters who were killed in a propane explosion on December 27, 1983
A year ago I wrote an article titled “A December to Remember” to remind us of our obligation to be better story tellers, for prosperity’s sake — and for safety’s sake. Earlier today, Chicago and the rest of the fire service buried the first of two firefighters killed in the line of duty on the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Stockyard Fire that killed 21 firefighters.
Given recent events and all the heartache they’ve brought, I’m not sure that December is a month to remember but instead, it’s one we’d like to forget.
Last night I had the privilege of joining some 50 firefighters and civilians as they stood in the cold at the corner of Grosvenor and North Division Streets in the City of Buffalo to remember an event that claimed the lives of five of Buffalo’s bravest. Surrounded by those drawn to the small memorial erected at the site, Division Chief Don McFeeley stood in the center of the intersection and retold the story of that fateful night when a propane tank exploded inside a warehouse — shattering windows, throwing debris and burning buildings across twelve city blocks. (more…)
My Three-Part Risk Management Plan: Alex, Laurie and Kathleen
Despite the fact that I wrote this piece for Fire-Rescue Magazine last year, I’m pretty sure its content is still relevant as we ponder recent and not so recent events during Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/usfa-reminds-you-that….
As I stated in comments to another blog by John Mitchell (www.firedaily.com) titled: “The Charleston 43″ (http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/the-charleston-43) — if we don’t make these incidents personal to us, incidents like these have the unique ability to quickly become personal for us.
Thus, I present for your review, a re-post of “Make It Personal” http://tigerschmittendorf.com/2009/09/07/make-it-personal/
Let me know what you think of the piece and what you’re doing to make Safety Week 2010 personal for you.
The Volunteer and Combination Officers Section of the IAFC recently released a new and long overdue guideline focusing on the proper and safe operation of fire department youth programs.
It holds something for everyone including chief officers, youth leaders, fire department administration, parents, support liaisons and the youth themselves.
Read more at FireRecruiter.com>>>
I opened up Internet Explorer where my home page is literally my home page: www.tigerschmittendorf.com and I clicked on the FireEMS Blogs icon in the upper left hand corner to see what my fellow bloggers were up to tonight.
I was drawn to a blog from the “Raising Ladders” site that caught my eye, titled: “Finally, a first due job… and a pretty good one, at that.” I didn’t think much of the title when I first read it until I got into the rest of the story. It was the author’s first real working fire in his career.
His story, along with my story telling experiences earlier in the evening, got me to thinking: “I remember my first time…”
Buffalo radio station WBEN-930AM listeners have overwhelming chosen the first responders to the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Clarence Center, NY on February 12, 2009 as their “Persons-of-the-Year.”
READ THE FULL STORY:
http://www.wben.com/The-2009-WBEN-Persons-Of-The-Year—/5984262
Personal Note:
It’s been almost a year since the crash and I haven’t shared this personal story yet, but this is probably a good time to do so:
The night of the crash I was watching a movie with my 16-year old son Alex when my alpha-pager went off, as it does pretty frequently in our business. Thinking it was possibly another administrative message or perhaps a more routine event, I almost couldn’t believe what I was reading when I looked at my pager that told me: “Alert 3: Plane crash into a house.” (more…)
I stumbled across this post from FireCritic (Fire-EMS Blog Network) and was dumbstruck. I haven’t thought of John Jordan in a long, long time.
In May of 1994, as Managing Editor of The Fire Fighter Newspaper and as a guest of VFIS, I and three other local firefighters (Dave Sherman, Jim Guy and Ric Dimpfl) traveled to Washington DC to attend the National Fire & Emergency Services Congressional Caucus Dinner coordinated by the Congressional Fire Services Institute.
Several hours before the dinner started and before I ever met him, John Jordan taught me a very valuable lesson: Don’t judge a book by its cover. (more…)
I’m not big on forwarding for the sake of forwarding; or just regurgitating information in an effort to build traffic to a web site.
However, my good friend Billy Goldfeder sent out a broadcast yesterday that deserves sharing. His efforts were followed up by a newsletter distribution from the USFA Coffee Break that highlighted similar events.
These stories and Billy’s comments remind us of our obligation to be better story tellers, for prosperity’s sake — and for safety’s sake. It also reminds us that we have an obligation to those we love, those who are making the real sacrifices every time we leave home to go do what we love. Those we are obligated to do everything in our mind and power to go home to after every call.
May we never forget all those lost in these Decembers to Remember. (more…)
HEADLINE: Johnson City to Explore Adding Volunteer Firefighters http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20091116/NEWS01/911160345/1112/Johnson-City-to-explore-adding-volunteer-firefighters
Is it just me or are two worlds colliding here?
At the same time many volunteer fire departments struggle to maintain their ranks, their career counterparts are being stripped to the bone in both manpower and operating budget by their community’s and our country’s fiscal crisis.
This is not the first article I’ve read recently with a recurring theme — career fire departments reverting (or in some cases, converting for the first time) to combination departments.
We have many communities in our county, currently supported by all-volunteer fire departments, where a part or full time staffed career fire department would be simply unaffordable. They would have to go without fire protection if it weren’t for the dedication of their volunteers.
Unfortunately, it seems that several communities with pre-existing career fire departments are coming to the same realization: fire protection is a much needed but costly service to maintain properly. (more…)
Now I’m not the biggest EMS geek but two fellow Fire-EMS Bloggers have embarked on their own home-grown exchange student program that has proven to be pretty darn entertaining so far.
Justin “The Happy Medic” Schorr is hosting Mark “Medic 999“ Glencorse for eight days in San Francisco — the San Francisco Fire Department being Justin’s place of employment.
Following those eight days, Mark will swim home and Justin will head to England a couple of days later to have tea and crumpets and a ride along with Mark. The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust being the place of Mark’s employment.
Their real-time information exchange is being chronicled across a variety of social media platforms so quickly that I think these two “world-apart paramedics” are feeling a little jet-lag.
Follow their adventures as they discover together that the more things are different – the more they are the same – at least when it comes to comparing cross-continental EMS delivery systems.
Check out the full summary including links at: http://firecritic.com/2009/11/your-unofficial-guide-to-the-project/
And of course, visit the blogs of this “pair-a-medics” at http://www.happymedic.com and http://www.999medic.com for the latest posts, videos, photos and more.
PS – Their work is also being filmed for a pilot episode of a web series called Chronicles of EMS….stay tuned for more on that!
Fortune Tellers:
In my last blog titled “Dig In.” I talked about the importance of story telling in the fire service and how it serves as a means of sharing experiences, traditions and values from generation to generation. In this article I try to tell a story, and in that story, I hope you can find a lesson to share for generations to come.
Almost every firefighter I meet speaks of how they always knew, from the time they were a very young boy or girl – that they wanted to be a firefighter.
I was one of those kids. I call them the “run to the curb” kind of kids. (more…)
My family is motivation for much of what I do in the fire service. Alex, Laurie and Kathleen (l-r)
This blog is a companion piece to my article titled “Make it Personal” featured in the June edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine.
I was reading a not so tongue-in-cheek blog on FirefighterNation.com written by my good friend Art Goodrich titled: “Ordering From the Risk Menu” and it reminded me of a Saturday I spent recently, full of fire service activities.
I started the day by attending a heavy dose of an 8-hour seminar focusing on preparation for a Line of Duty Death. If you’ve ever read one of my blogs, you know I’m very passionate about fire service funerals and making sure that they’re planned and executed appropriately, always considering the family’s needs first.
In contrast to Art’s blog, it’s important to plan that stuff too, but if we really think about it, doesn’t the need for proper funeral planning only further acknowledge our acceptance of failure in protecting our own from the risks we face? (more…)
From The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE www.fasny.com
Contacts: Liz Burke (212) 981-5263; (917) 573-1440 / Andrea Vividor (212) 981-5193
STATE FIREMEN’S ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES RENOWNED
PANELISTS FOR THE FASNY CONVENTION IN NIAGARA FALLS
(NEW YORK – May 27) This year’s Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) Convention, which will be held from August 19-21 in Niagara Falls, NY, promises to be the most informative, educational, and family-friendly gathering yet. FASNY has assembled a top team of panelists to discuss the most pressing issues facing our firefighters today, including:
o Loveland-Symmes (OH) FD chief Billy Goldfeder, examining recent major fires and detailing the lessons learned from each
o Ex-Shreveport, LA fire chief J. Gourdon Routley, looking at firefighter safety in relation to large commercial fires
o Phoenix, AZ fire chief Al Brunacini, discussing best practices in leadership, management and organization of the fire service
o Deputy Fire Coordinator Tiger Schmittendorf of the Erie County Department of Emergency Services, offering unique insight into solutions to the challenges fire service leaders face back at the firehouse as well as risk management for all fire personnel (more…)
Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence Center around 10:20pm on Thursday-February 12, 2009 - killing 50 people and changing the lives of thousands more, including mine.
I responded in the first wave of emergency services personnel sent to help restore order to the chaos that the crash created.
Frankly, I’m not ready to write about this experience at length. Not because I’m deeply disturbed by what I saw (how can you not be?), but because I don’t want what I write to be about me, despite my being intimately involved.
I just didn’t want to go any longer without conveying my deep sense of pride, admiration and gratitude to the men and women and the families of the Clarence Center Volunteer Fire Company. (more…)
Buffalo News Photo of 16-year old Amanda Hansen whose life was snuffed out by Carbon Monoxide - the silent killer
This morning’s Buffalo News headline featured the photo of a bright, beautiful 16-year old girl with a promising future, her life snuffed out by a silent killer yesterday.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) is colorless and odorless. It strikes with symptoms that could easily be mistaken for the flu. Small doses accumulated over time can be as dangerous as a prolonged exposure. Left undetected, there is potential for harm and death in almost every household in America.
Carbon Monoxide is a normal by-product of combustion. Natural gas fired appliances (stoves, boilers, hot water tanks, furnaces, etc.) give off carbon monoxide. So do wood burning stoves and fireplaces. However, under normal operating conditions and with sufficient ventilation, the CO does not accummulate to levels that can be dangerous to your health. (more…)
Friendship NY Firefighter Tom Torpey is flanked by his mom Sissy and wife Jessica at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo NY
I recently responded to a post on FirefighterNation.com from my friend Adam Box, who shared the dilemma he was experiencing with his significant other:
Tomorrow, I will be attending the funeral of Elizabeth Fire Department Acting Captain Gary Stephens. This will be my second (unfortunately I doubt it will be my last) time attending a LODD funeral.
I was in a bit of a bad mood (about something unrelated) and was talking to my girlfriend and mentioned I would be attending the funeral. She asked me why, since funerals put me in a bad mood, I would go to another funeral that I didn’t have to go. I know I need to go. (more…)
Chief Billy Goldfeder
The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) has secured volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention specialist Tiger Schmittendorf as part of a round-table presentation at their 2009 Convention in Niagara Falls, NY.
Schmittendorf will join Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder, host of FirefighterCloseCalls.com; J. Gordon Routley, who oversaw the inquiry into the Charleston Sofa Store firefighter fatalities; and Phoenix Fire Department Chief (Ret.) Alan Brunacini, who is largely credited with promoting customer service in the fire service as we know it today.
The four-man team will culminate what promises to be a day of lively, informative and even entertaining presentations at the FASNY convention on August 20, 2009. The panel will field questions from the audience and will discuss everything from firefighter safety to firefighting as a service industry. (more…)
I’m not one to regurgitate information. I don’t do a lot of pass through e-mails. And I certainly don’t perpetuate “Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Some inane subject matter” e-mails like so many copy-and-paste-challenged people do.
But some things bear repeating. Some things strike you so profoundly, so succintly, that you simply feel obligated to pass it along, even if so many others have done so already.
This is one of those occasions. I’m re-publishing (with permission) this excerpt of an e-mail from my good friend and mentor Billy Goldfeder. It’s from his not-so-secret Secret List at FirefighterCloseCalls.com. If you don’t subscribe to it, you’re either out of touch or you don’t care about our brother firefighters getting hurt and dead.
This one hurts to the bone. Read it. Re-read it. Make adjustments to your life and fire service operations as appropriate.
Stay safe. Train often. Happy New Year! (more…)
On Kevin, MD today, Julia Frank, MD demonstrates that being delusional is apparently no barrier to… (more)
The event is a no-fluff, all-meat time of discussion about the basics for firefighters and company… (more)
A Virginia jury has returned a defense verdict in favor of the estate of the driver of an engine… (more)
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