I know I have said that I blog because I desire to share what I have learned, but it’s really more esoteric than that. I blog often because it helps me to think and to focus. By putting down in writing what I should be considering, it helps drive me positively in that direction.

Okay- it’s on! There is a very nice carnival going on over at The Fire Critic and in addition to the stuff I sent from here on FHZ, there are a whole bunch of excellent posts that are worth reading.  Having never participated in a blog carnival (we had “The Carnival” going on at Station […]

When I hear anyone suggest that the merger of fire and EMS is a mistake because “firefighters lack the skills to provide paramedic care”, I am highly insulted.

Has the bar gotten so low that we’re willing to bring in anyone, so long as they can fog a mirror? I know staffing is tight right now, but if the personnel on my team can’t be trusted to do the right thing when no one is looking, what reason should I have to trust them when the going gets tough?

I am a firefighter because I literally grew up in a firehouse. My grandfather was a firefighter’s firefighter. His nickname was “Smokey”. He was the Chief Fire Marshal in Montgomery County, PA up until his death in 1981. My uncles and my father all became firefighters as a result of his influence; not just firefighters but leaders in their field. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be.