Tag Archives: firefighter safety

Search-and rescue operations in remote wilderness locations or in urban situations following a natural or man-made disaster require specialized tools and equipment for the first responder. Here are 10 search-and-rescue tools and technologies that can improve a department's operations and make them safer, more effective and more efficient.

Nobody in a fire department’s chain of command should have more influence on the safety performance of its firefighters than the individual company officer. Think about that statement for a moment and see if it doesn’t fit your department.

Nobody can, or should, have more positive influence over the behaviors of a firefighter on the emergency scene than his or her tactical leader.

Sound rather harsh? Sound unrealistic? So does closing fire stations and laying off firefighters. So does continuing to expose firefighters to increasing levels of risk of injury or death because of negligence on the part of building occupants, developers, and builders. So does continuing to increase the fiscal burden to local taxpayers to pay for an antiquated fire protection model that is reactive rather than proactive.

As we prepare to turn the calendar to 2014, here’s a list of New Year’s Resolutions that every firefighter should commit themselves to doing in the new year…and for many years to come.

In these days of budget reductions and inadequate staffing, the best use of RIC is the non-deployment of RIC because our proactive fireground behaviors ensured that they were never needed.