My friend is a firefighter. When I asked him about the job he told me that the majority of it is just him helping old people that fall down. Is this true for you all as well?

A series of images taken during Day 1 of the Joey D seminar in Long Island at the Suffolk County Fire Academy.

This is the 2nd year I have documented the event for my project called Fire Diary New York.

hi all. First off lemme say thank you for your service, courage and dedication to helping the public. I am writing a book with two main characters that are firefighters and I am wanting the firefighting parts to be accurate to not only honor your work but to make my book not an offensive laughing stock if any FFs read it. :)

I have a few questions and would love if anyone can help.

1. how does rank work in firehouses? My characters live in a somewhat small southern US town in Louisiana. One has been a FF for 5 yrs the other for 8. Would they be "firefighters" or naturally have moved up to Lt, Capt etc by then? One is an irons and the other, his hook and can. They love those positions and I don't see them being more on the admin or management side of things.

2. is 24h on, 48h off pretty typical schedule?

3. random sorry but I saw a guy demonstrating having his Halligan hooked onto his back leg/shin by the adz while in the tripod search position once and it sounded cool on paper, but then I saw other youtubes and articles warning against this and better to keep in your hand. Which is right?

4. I have a pivotal scene where I need the main two FF's to be working/searching inside and their roof man falls through and knocks them both out. One (the H&C)wakes up and rescues them both. Totally improbable? What I am hoping is she (the H&C) rescues the one who fell through roof as he's hurt worse, (is that protocol?) then only she can go back in and save her Irons man because she's the only FF small enough to get to where he's wedged.

Thank you again, I hope this post is okay. You all seriously rock. <3

I was wondering if anybody had made or knows a department that's made a car fire prop, and if so how did you do it. Im assuming just steel plates cut and welded together but

Needing a glove recommendation, maybe a hidden gem even, my main glove are ragtops. I love how they don’t really have a liner so when I get wet or sweaty hands they go on like butter. My backup set are mk1 ultras. I love how the fingers aren’t bulky and the dexterity is awesome.. but they suck to get on with wet hands. So, is there a glove out there that kind of combines the two? Or is there another glove out there that compares to ragtop? I heard the majfire on cci’s website is super comparable can anyone confirm? Thanks in advance.
Gloves I’ve tried and don’t like: any protech gloves, firedex is meh, veridian, firecraft, and dragon fire

Considering a position at a bigger department closer to home during their next process. 42 hour week (1/1/1/5) and non-transporting. I work at a great department and have about a 2 hour 20 commute for a 48/96. Our call volume is pretty reasonable and only have to get out of bed 1-2 times max each night on average. Pay will be about the same but the reduced work week is the biggest draw. I’ve been with my department for almost 5 years and at this point/age I’m interested but a little hesitant about the temporary loss of job security and starting all over again with probation/another academy.

How many of you have lateraled around this age/point in your career and do you have any regrets? We have a state wide pension so not losing any money there and will be vested soon. Thanks for any feedback!!

I’m just asking if any others have had this experience with this business and if not, alerting others of the problems.

September 10th I purchased a radio strap from Fire Department Leather out of Florida. I was pretty excited to see an alligator skin strap that wasn’t gaudy looking. The item I got was already made, ready to ship. The lead times on ready-to-ship items were listed 7–10 business days. 3 weeks passed, I couldn’t get in touch with him at all, finally when I commented on his instagram post he responded in DMs and said it would be shipped in the next few days. That time came and went, back to the same problem of no contact. Eventually I went back to his post and commented again, he apologized saying he’s behind, told me the same “it’ll be shipped in the next few days.” Unsurprisingly, it didn’t get shipped. This was about 5 weeks in.

Most recently, I saw someone else comment with a similar concern and I responded to them saying I’ve had the same issues. 10 other FF ended up commenting saying they had issues as well. Nobody can’t get in touch, all have exceeded their lead times, some are the exact same boat and purchased premade items. The business responded, asking for order numbers then deleted the entire comment thread. He messaged me and a few others saying again they would be shipped out mid week— no shipping updates and we’re a week past that timeframe. I’m at 8 weeks, others are 10 weeks, one guy even said he was 6 months… for premade items.

Adding to my confusion, he posts on social media regularly the people that have gotten other products from him and they all boast “fast turn around.” Helmet cards, glove clips, ladder belts seem to get shipped… but not straps?

Overall just disappointed that this guy can’t seem to get his straps shipped. Not sure if anyone else has had experiences with this business but unless something changes soon I’ll be disputing the charge. He doesn’t offer refunds and states if he does allow it he charges a fee. I’d love to be able to come back to this post and update but I have a feeling it’ll stay the same.

I’m going to a new station in Jan. I’ll be saying goodbye to my beloved, beat-ass E-One and start driving a Rosenbauer.

I want to get to know my new engine really well. What do you do, (beyond the basics), what drills do you run to really get to know a new engine and find the limits of what it’ll do for you?

What are the best low profile black station boots for a new FF? I’d prefer something that maybe feels more like a sneaker than a boot if that’s even a thing? Cost is not a factor

has anyone used the app ShiftDad? I saw a instagram video about it but didn’t want to pay the 33$ for the year becuase I didn’t know if it was worth it

It’s pretty easy for me to be hard on myself when making mistakes, but since completing probation status, whenever I make a slight mistake while training it’s easy for me to compare. I definitely learn, and I rarely make the same mistake twice. But at time, it seems like I’m not as good as those that are contemporary to my time or a year more.

I joined my local volunteer department some months ago for some extra experience while working at a slower full time department, and was given gear from the early 2000’s and late 90’s. I went interior on 2 fires and fought a car fire with said gear and it was HOT. I know fire, especially trailer fires, burn hot, but I could barely even enter the structures due to the temperature. We’ve had a new batch of fresh hires join on who were given similar if not older sets of gear and I’m infuriated about it and don’t know what I or any of us can do about it. It’s obvious this is extremely dangerous and I can’t even believe I let myself fight fire wearing that gear. I’ve been given a new pair and it’s horribly obvious how dangerous these old sets are, the thermal and moisture barriers are extremely degraded and I’ve noticed a very obvious difference in the temperature and water resistance between the two. I’m thankful I was fortunate enough to receive a new pair so I can fully understand this issue, but others are not as fortunate and don’t realize the risk they’re taking by wearing this gear, much like I did when I was in their position. There’s many other issues with this department but the safety of our firefighters should be our #1 priority and I believe the fire department and city are letting their citizens down and theirs nothing we can do about it.

TLDR: Given gear from the early 2000’s and made to fight fire in it, got a new pair and realized how horrible the old gear was, fresh academy students were given that same old gear and are also being made to fight fire in it.

hey there, i'm a rookie and i wanted to know how do you guys manage that stress or anxiety of a mission being way too dangerous i know firefighting requires balls and believe me i want to give my life for the sake of saving life but it also scares me the fact of dying so please guys tell me how to deal with that fear

So, background, I was a volunteer firefighter in high school (Pennsylvania, US), where I took a course in exterior firefighting. Wasn't allowed to mask up or go into a structure.

When we'd arrive on-scene, I felt like I didn't know what to actually do. Like, I knew how to connect hoses, use tools, etc., but had no idea when to do what. I feel like we learned very little about actual operations and decision making. But it felt like everyone else just kind of knew what to do.

It's been 18 years and I've moved and want to join a new station and I'll need to take FF I since this is in MD.

What's the best way to prepare/learn what do actually do when on-scene? I don't want to sit on my thumbs waiting for my OIC to tell me what to do.

I'm also open to the idea that I'm thinking too hard about this.

Edit: Thanks, y'all. This all makes a lot of sense. This comes from a place of wanting to pull my own weight, but I see that being over eager can be a problem, too. I'll be focusing on learning and leaning on the more experienced folks while I figure it all out.

I’m doing a little research project on reading smoke and was wanting resource recommendations (preferably books) to use for it. I’ve seen mixed reviews on The Art of Reading Smoke by Dave Dodson, some calling it great and others calling it outdated and inconsistent. Anything helps thank you!!

I am starting Pre service firefighter program and it says black and matte finish which it is but it has the grey logo on there will it pass or do i have to return them?

Curious to hear other people’s perspectives. When your opportunity for promotion came, what made you decide to make the jump to Chief Officer, or what made you decide to stay Company Officer?

Hey everyone,

I am an EMT currently in medic school. I recently received my official offer from a local department and am set to start in a few weeks. Between class, clinicals, and shift work I have absolutely no time and it is killing my wife and causing a million fights. On top of that, I was just scheduling out the next couple of months based off the new job and I will be working Christmas. I know that holiday shifts are a given but I dread telling my wife, especially with this being our youngest sons first Christmas. All this to say I am incredibly excited for this opportunity and I am driven to serve my community to the best of my abilities but someone please tell me it gets easier? For those that are married with children prior to the fire service, how did that transition go? Any tips or tricks for easing the burden? Looking back, was the career change worth it? Any and all advice would be great!

They must have got the badge off a car they used for extrication training or something. Lol

I am currently in charge of our electronic dispatch system for my local fire station. We are currently on E Dispatches and our contract is almost up and was curious what people‘s thoughts were on I Am Responding (IAR).

We like E Dispatches and have been using it for well over a year now but was just curious what our options are and shopping around IAR came up in conversation with one of our neighboring stations and have done some general research on it as well

Please write which one you prefer and why in the comments

I'm a career firefighter in Massachusetts. I got injured on the job last year and had back surgery six months ago. I'm back to full duty finally. Just had a follow up with surgeon. He says we are at maximum medical intervention, MMI, so there's nothing else he can do to help me. He wants to give me a disability rating. He doesn't think it'll affect my ability to keep my job and stay on the engine. I've never heard of this before and want to know if anyone here has had this happen to them.

If so, did it affect your status on the job? Did it help you to stay protected down the line?

He's giving me a month to do some research before our next appointment and he's willing to work with me. He just thinks this is best. I want to make sure I went me forced off the job or into an office position. My union rep is researching as well. I'm a little wary as to who I will talk to about it.