One of the most important observation and/or decisions a first arriving officer to a structure fire is the estimate of how long the fire has been burning.  This observation can help make the attack strategies, points of entries, and help predict structural collapse times.  One complication that needs adjusted for is the identification of hoarding […]

Stations and units respond to_________! Why should it make a difference in what type of emergency it is?  Often times in my travels and talks with firefighters from around the world it seems like the answers to this very question depends on the words that are spoken next.  Should it make a difference if it […]

By: Kay Long ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Nine dogs lost their lives in a house fire early Sunday morning at 5998 12th Street North. St. Petersburg Fire Lieutenant Joel Granata says the owner of the home was out and came home to find her home in flames. Granata says there were ten dogs inside the […]

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How long should it take you to force a standard residential door? Do you try and “Kick” it in? With security of homes being a bigger concern these days it seems that the doors are stronger than ever. This offers more security for the homeowner and a bigger challenge for us firefighters. When discussing this […]

A demonstration showing how flammable a dry Christmas tree can be as opposed to a tree watered regularly. This test was conducted by the National Fire Protection Association and Underwriters NFPA: On average, one of every 66 reported home structure Christmas tree fires resulted in a death compared to an average of one death per […]

Another day of Honey-Do checklist getting crossed off I get a tweet from the “Average Jake ‏@AverageJakeFF Now that I’m aware of it they keep popping up in rapid numbers #hoarding #fire #ems #dangerous @Jumpseatviews.  I immediately take to the texting airways to inquire about his experience.  He explains that it was a common occurrence […]