5-Alarm Task Force!

Since his first appearance on "5-Alarm Task Force" my guest (and friend) Mark Slafkovsky, co-creator of the Nestorbar, has been busy "spreading the news" about this unique tool across both the fire-rescue services, as well as the building and contracting service. And if you have a half-dozen or more years on the job, you'll understand why the Nestorbar is similar to several other tools that we've...

Most of us who have or now serve as first responders have passed out stickers with emergency numbers, fire prevention pamphlets and posters that we hand-stamped with our name and address, key rings and much more. Why? To establish a connection between you and the community you serve. In a word, you are “marketing” your organization! Few people think that a fire, police or EMS organization, volunte...

Returning guest, Deputy Chief (ret) Kevin Burns of the Framingham MA Fire Dept., joins us on this episode to discuss, “21 Tips for the Company Officer.” If you follow Chief Burns on Twitter (@burns227) or you have heard his first episode with us, “The Shift Commander,” you know that Chief Burns is well-experienced and very well-versed in the career firefighting life and ops. In today’s podcast, Ch...

From cigarettes to well-water and from X-rays to cooking pans, almost everywhere we turn over the past forty years or so, we see warnings for cancer. And while we may be surprised by other products that we may be warned about, the last place we ever expected to find carcinogenic compounds was in our protective bunker gear! How the hell could that have happened? Did the manufacturers know what was...

So you want to be a firefighter? Sure, you like all the lights and sirens; the excitement of barreling down the roadways, making others get out of your way! But do you really know what it takes to be a firefighter? Do you know what you have to do to become a firefighter (career or volunteer)? What is life in a firehouse like? My guest on this podcast, Mauro Porcelli, is a former firefighter with a...

The make-up of each firefighter is different, whether career or volunteer, some love humping that hose and always busting through the breach. With a few years under their belt, others start looking for leading that first group on the fireground or other emergency scene. Then, there are those who have their sights on a higher goal, the command level. A group of them remain committed to directing pe...

From an outside view, the life of first responders looks glamorous and exciting. The red, white and blue lights flashing, “busting” the speed limit, sirens screaming. However, when those first responders arrive on the scene, they often find sadness and desolation, the darkest side of humanity or tragic, unnecessary loss. Now, imagine facing those situations day-after-day or on almost every shift....

There are few greater issues facing not only the fire service today, but all manner of first responders. To address these important matters, I am proud to present four current or past chiefs, who share their own experiences and views. Joining me is Chief Anthony Correia (ret.) Burlington Township NJ Fire Dept., Commissioner Jaren Renshaw, Western Berks Fire Dept., PA, Chief Brian Soller, Monticell...

If you’re a firefighter or in law enforcement, if you’re in EMS or another profession where “risk” at the top of the job description, you have probably had that “feeling in your gut.” You know the one; you are about to do something, but that little voice inside whispers to you to reconsider? If you’re in any profession with high risk, you know exactly what I am talking about. That is your inner-se...

I am happy to welcome back the two founders of Hoods for Heroes, Jeff Rountree and Bill Hamilton. In Part I of their program, we learned how Jeff and Bill have dedicated the past year to providing new flash hoods, ones with a special weave, the precludes soot, toxins and carcinogens for passing through to the sensitive skin on our neck and face. Their foundation is raising funds from other foundat...

Technology – it’s all around us. From our homes, to our cell phones and for many of us, where we work. Many of us are enthralled with new technology and make an effort to keep up with it, especially in our personal lives. Yet, the fire service, as much as we like new equipment, tools, etc., can often be reticent to accept and embrace new technology. It goes without saying that we should do our due...

After a few years on the front lines, a number of us believe that we should be officers. Perhaps I “should” have used “could be officers!” And that is because being an officer, from a lieutenant up to the chief, is not an easy job, no matter what you see, think or what your pals have told you! Not sure? Then I encourage you to listen to this podcast. No, it’s not a listing of all the negatives abo...

Career or volunteer, our days are busy, at least most of the time. Nevertheless, training and drills are an important and integral part of the job we do. If you’re in a busy department, you may feel that all the calls that you run are enough training. If you’re a volunteer, you hardly have enough time to take care of the family, work full-time and respond to the calls you can! And to be honest, mo...

You’ve seen it happen. You may have even done it yourself. No, not being a few minutes late for your shift! No, not horsing around in the day room! We are talking about making the type of judgement error that could cost you your job and possibly, your career! So, listen up – this podcast applies to all first responders. My guest is Chief Dennis L. Rubin, currently serving as the first Chief of Fir...

For most folks, especially those who are first responders, if they someone in pain or truly distraught, they won’t have the heart to just pass it by and go on with their shopping, run, picking up the dry-cleaning, etc. My two guests on this podcast, Jeff Rountree and Bill Hamilton, are “cut from the same cloth.” This past May, while first-timers at promoting International Firefighters’ Day in Clay...

It is what it is! This job that we love to do has inherent risks and now, besides everything else, we know, all too well, that one of those risks is cancer. It’s a fact that firefighters have higher occurrences of cancer than the average American. However, we also have excellent medical and research teams around the country who are doing everything they can to learn about our behaviors, exposures,...

When we have one “cookin,” we know we’re going to need water and lots of it. In most cases, if you’re located in an urban or metro area, water will probably not be a problem, but perhaps pressure may. But, what if we could use less water and what we do use, would have a greater effect on our efforts to extinguish the blaze? My two guests on this podcast, Quincy Emmons and Peter Sells, discuss thei...

When you’re on the fireground, it often looks like organized chaos. Why? Because, rarely does the situation remain stagnant. Things are always changing. Whether its redirecting a hose line, raising the stick, one crew heads out to rehab, while a fresh one gets ready for entry. Change in wind direction, etc. My guests on this podcast, Dep. Chief PJ Norwood and Capt. Sean Gray, have seen this occur...

If you’ve been riding the apparatus for as little as a few months, you already know that there is something special about being on the first arriving piece at a “worker!” That’s the first arriving piece, not the first due piece. Traffic, construction, etc., can and does often get in the way, making the first due the second or even third to arrive. As our guest, Capt. Joe DeVito points out in this...

Looking back over the last several months, there have been several firefighters, EMS workers, LEO’s and recovery personnel, who have lost their lives on the scene of an emergency, on active roadways. Sadly, this is nothing new. As the number of distracted and/or drivers under the influence have increased, so have the numbers of deaths and injuries to emergency and recovery workers. This issue hit...

When we think of the fire service, we think of the one where we live. But how often do you think about the fire service in other countries? Luckily, many of our listeners are spread out across the globe. And in this podcast, a good friend of the show, Exec. Asst. Chief Todd LeDuc shares with us hos recent visit to the Irish Fire Brigade. Chief LeDuc traveled to Ireland on behalf of the IAFC-SHS (T...

What happens when you’re the co-creator of a new tool that, although you see it works very well for its original purpose in construction and demolition, you have the feeling that it could do so much more? That’s exactly where co-creator of Nestorbar®, Mark Slafkovsky found himself. He had this new, remarkable tool that combined a standard pry bar with a doubled claw hammer, in three different leng...

Our nation’s capital, Washington DC, is actually a relatively small parcel of land. At the same time, DC Fire usually can be found in the top 12 for total runs and several of its engines and ladders run in the top 5! Our guest today, Capt. (ret) Jimmy Partridge, knows all about that, having served over thirty years in DCFD. In our podcast today, Jimmy starts off telling us about several of the cha...

Smoke from any type of fire has never been good for a human, even long before we could actually know what was in it. All it took was a good “snootfull,” and we were coughing, hacking and crying…all at the same time! Today, nearly 20 years after 9|11 and after losing so many brothers and sisters who worked the pile or anywhere near Ground Zero, we now realize that smoke from almost any combustion,...

The job of being a firefighter has never been a “lightweight, even going back to the days of hauling canvas buckets of water. Over a hundred years later and even with all the tools we have, the job still demands that we fit and healthy. That’s hard enough, but factor in today’s lifestyle and what we face when we fight fires that we cannot even see, this job demands that we are in the best shape po...