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A December to Forget?

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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 Flag

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The view of my flag --- from my hammock.

Whenever I get the chance, I take full advantage of the opportunity to lie in my hammock on the front porch of our house. The porch is covered and it’s on the east side of the house, protected from the sometimes gusty winds that come off Lake Erie not far from us.

The hammock is made out of soft woven strings stretched to a metal ring on each end. The rings have heavy chains connected to them that are attached to hooks that secure the entire hammock to its metal pedestal. The rope strings are covered by a comfortable bedding pad that even has a built-in pillow tied to it. (more…)

Get Fit. Get Safe. Make It Personal.

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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.

If you’re worried about getting cancer — you probably shouldn’t be a firefighter!

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loddThat’s what I overheard a certain young fire officer tell a probie recently.

“If you’re worried about getting cancer — you probably shouldn’t be a firefighter!”

I didn’t miss-hear or mis-understand him, nor did I take his comment out of context. That’s exactly what he said.

I nearly blew my cork. What an immature, ignorant, reckless thing to say.

Here’s all I have to say to him: “This one’s for you.”

THE FOLLOWING IS A MUST READ ARTICLE – DON’T SKIP IT.
IF YOU’VE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT TAKING YOUR MASK OFF, EVEN JUST FOR A SECOND, WHILE THERE IS STILL SMOKE OR FUMES PRESENT — THINK AGAIN!  READ, PRINT, POST AND DISTRIBUTE THIS ARTICLE
TO EVERY FIREFIGHTER YOU KNOW.

“We Danced With The Devil: One Firefighter’s Cancer Chronicles”

Editor’s Note: If you can stomach reading this gut-wrenching story, you might like to read:

Stay safe. Train often.

Change, for Safety’s Sake.

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ITP10CF_LIf you are a Fire/Rescue Chief, Commissioner, President, Fire Officer or in a leadership role of a Fire Department or Fire Company, you have the responsibility of ensuring firefighter safety.

 

With the holidays right around the corner, here’s a cool opportunity for your organization to provide something to your members, and support the work of the Safety, Health and Survival Section of the IAFC. By policy, the IAFC does not fund the section, the section must raise all of their own funds in order to operate. (more…)

A December to Remember

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North Division Explosion Victims RememberedI’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…)

Make It Personal

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Firefighters must start living the Life Safety Initiatives for us to see an impact on LODDs.

Firefighters must start living the Life Safety Initiatives for us to see an impact on LODDs.

The following article is a reprint from the June-2009 edition of Fire-Rescue magazine. It is also a companion piece to my blog titled: Clean the Litterbox.

I recently attended a seminar on preparation for line-of-duty deaths and firefighter funerals. If you’ve ever read one of my blogs here or at FirefighterNation.com, you know that I have very strong feelings about firefighter deaths.

But, for the first time, the subject really hit home with me. While it’s important to plan that stuff, 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…)

That’s Why.

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Friendship NY Firefighter Tom Torpey is flanked by his mom Sissy and wife Jessica at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo NY

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…)

Some things bear repeating

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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…)

Death Toll

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Here’s a hot topic that might set off some fireworks. Who knows, it might even incite a reader to leave a comment.

This is something very near and dear to me and something I feel very strongly about. I’ve wanted to write about this for a long time and a recent conversation with a friend prompted me to pick tonight to write it. And, now that I have the forum to do so, here goes.

I’ll be involved in at least two fire service funerals this week, and hopefully not a third but it’s quite possible.

In my role as Deputy Fire Coordinator, I’ve honestly probably attended perhaps hundreds of such funerals in my fire service career. We have more than 5,000 firefighters in our county, so that number isn’t probably too far off.

Let me start by saying that I mean absolutely no disrespect to any fire department for doing everything they can to honor their fallen brothers or sisters, regardless of the circumstances of their death, nor do I mean any disrespect to any brother firefighter who has gone before us, nor their family.

This is a topic that I have struggled with for quite some time and I’m frankly torn as to the right way to approach it. (more…)

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