FireLink

Determining which helmet an incident command safety officer should wear--Does the safety officer have immediate authority to stop or prevent an unsafe act, or do they have to go through the "chain of command"? Very interesting article!

"Rural departments should not rely on preconnects to cover great distances & produce great flows". Article in Jan 2009 issue of Fire Rescue magazine by Patrick Pauly.

This is a pretty sweet link to scenerios with Video Simulators.  Not a bad training tool!

New Jersey passed a law say that all emergancy personal who responde on any highway are to where neon safety vests.  The reason is the State Police can't always shut down lanes on the highways and drive have had hit emergancy responders because they couldn't see them.  Now if you where a safety vest the on coming traffic will see and ...

If you haven't been reading the papers or watching the news word around is a lot of volunteer departments are going to start making there members get monthly physicals.  This means every few months you will have to meet with your copmany doctor and have a full physical done.  If you pass the physical you will be cleared to return to active duty, ...

The reports as a result of research conducted in regards to Thermal Imagers is available for viewing. "This research partnership has developed critical information to support the development of a national standard on Thermal Imaging Technology that previously did not exist which will enhance the safety of our nation's firefighters."  Click link to review those findings.

Looking for the rules and regulations about facial hair? The rules have been bent by many a firefighter who just can't part with his beard. Some departments will allow facial hair if and ONLY if the hair does not interfere with a seal. In the next page of this article, the Washington Times details the story of a Muslim firefighter who ...

A free program in illinois that provides free training to Fire Depts.  An instructor from the Illinois Fire service Institute will actually come to your Dept.

    Are you overtraining?     Overtraining or “burnout” occurs when you push your body beyond the body’s ability to recover. Training too hard and too long without sufficient rest and proper nutrition will lead to overtraining syndrome and decreased performance. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get better results, but you do have to get ...

EMS Transportation Dangers PART 2 National Safety Council Article February 2009   EMS Highway Much like the air medical ground industry, EMS highway transportation also has had its fair share of horrific crashes. Catherine B. Custalow, former emergency room doctor and associate professor in the Department f Emergency Medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, remembers a string of ...

EMS Transportation Dangers PART 1 National Safety Council Article February 2009   What new challenges will emergency medical services face?   Last year was a horrific one for emergency medical services response transportation. As of press time, seven fatal EMS-related aviation incidents had been reported in 2008, resulting in 28 fatalities. No causal link has been reported among the crashes, ...

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants are managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program Office. SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase their cadre of frontline firefighters. The goal is to assist the local fire departments’ staffing and deployment capabilities, in order to respond to emergencies whenever they ...

In 2009, the US government will offer $510 million in Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG). These AFG awards, will be distributed in phases, and will help fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations throughout the country. There is $190 million dollars in SAFER grants for volunteer and career fire departments to assist in recruiting and retaining fire fighters. The SAFER ...

THE SPECIALIST: DR. SAMIN SHARMA As the Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab and Intervention at Mount Sinai, Dr. Samin Sharma is a cardiologist who performs 1400-1500 interventions per year. In practice for 18 years, he has the highest angioplasty success rate in New York state. WHO’S AT RISK: Coronary angioplasty is a procedure that reopens the clogged arteries of the ...