Category Archives: Combat Ready

The New Yorker “Urban Legend”

Posted on by

The New Yorker

“URBAN LEGEND”

garrity life lite fireman

     The New Yorker style helmet with a Garrity light held on by a rubber strap; that was all I wanted as a young junior firefighter. I cut out the Garrity light advertisement from Firehouse Magazine, and requested both the New Yorker and Garrity light for my next birthday. I wanted that helmet, the light, and everything that I viewed came with that advertisement. That image was as COOL to me, as the Malboro Man was to many.  I so badly wanted to get out of my Metro and into a “Leather New Yorker” style helmet. I didn’t get a New Yorker the following birthday, but I did get a flashlight to mount on my helmet. I then ordered a full box of Garrity lights direct from Garrity; a full box of 50 lights. I then had my Dad get me a large black inner tube to cut up as helmet straps, and  I started pushing helmet lights as a junior firefighter.

Shortly after this, an upstate New York firefighter had relocated, and joined the next FD over from mine. I first met him on a call, and he was in full gear with a box light held on by a rope sling. I thought, he’s from New York, wears a leather helmet, and has a hand lantern held on with a rope sling, he must be an URBAN Firefighter.  I immediately requested a new hand light from my Dad.  He picked me up a nice rechargeable hand light, and I built a rope sling. I now had a Garrity helmet light, a hands free lantern, and had acquired a plastic version of the New Yorker. I was on my way to being just like an FDNY FIREFIGHTER. I believed in wearing full bunker gear on all calls, carrying a box light, and always having a tool in my hand. I was all about this and I had yet to see my 18th birthday. I just knew that New York firefighters wore their gear, had hands free lights, and always seemed to have a tool in their hand. I wanted to be an FDNY FIREFIGHTER.

photo (2)

Suburban Tools of the 80s and 90s

This was in the late 80s and early 90s. I started reading Firehouse and Fire Engineering Magazine cover to cover, always reading the URBAN authors first. I officially got issued my first set of gear on May 21, 1988. It consisted of pull up boots, a long coat, and a TURTLE SHELL style helmet. I was so excited on this day, and really had no clue how lucky I was to be subjected to the Fire Service. I started reading the back page of Fire Engineering called  “Random Thoughts”, and this became the highest priority on my monthly reading list. How LUCKY I was for Tom Brennan to have started this monthly column only months before I started legally wearing gear and legally operating on the fireground. Each month I read and

re-read Random Thoughts. I would read about carrying a rope, and then immediately drive up to ACE Hardware and purchase a personal rope.  I would read about carrying wire cutters, a personal radio,  having a good search light, a personal alert sounding device, and many other excellent tips before 1990. Tom Brennan, an URBAN Firefighter was teaching me, a young junior firefighter from a small SUBURBAN/RURAL community.

I would then share what I had learned with others in the firehouse. It was at a very young age that reality set in, and I learned another valuable lesson.  Not all firefighters share the same passion, enthusiasm, and love for the job as others.  I also learned that many grown men have serious insecurities about this job and themselves. They would say, “This isn’t NEW YORK,  and we are NOT the BIG CITY”. I just couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want to read and learn from somebody that had been to so many FIRES.  This would get me a little frustrated, but I continued to read Random Thoughts and implement everything I could.

I started reading Chief  Vincent Dunn’s articles and books, and then the book Firefighting  Principles and Practices by William E. Clark made it into my hands. Chief Clark was appointed to the FDNY in 1937 and served for 20 years. He then moved on to Prince Georges County Fire Services to assist in the regionalization of fire protection. Chief Clark did not stop there, he then went on to become the Bureau Chief of the Florida State Fire College.  There are so many leaders like Chief Clark, Chief Halligan, Chief Dunn, Chief Downey, Chief Norman, Lt. Andy Fredericks, and so many other FDNY Firefighters that have highly and positively impacted the American Fire Service. I sometimes wonder where we as a fire service would be without these great leaders and visionaries.

The FDNY and other Large URBAN Fire Departments have made a huge impact on the SUBURBAN Fire Service. The experience they receive from a high volume of fire activity has given them the ability to fine tune techniques and tactics. If you do some research, you will see where these authors were from back in the late 80s and early 90s.  I look back and realize that the URBAN Firefighter and the FDNY  in general has made a huge impact on my career, and I have learned so much from their instruction and experiences. I try and deploy URBAN Tactics in the SUBURBAN/COUNTY setting. Yes, I said URBAN Tactics. When forcing the back of a stripmall, I use the Forcible Entry techniques taught to me by URBAN Firefighters  Mike Lombardo and  Bob Morris. When operating the nozzle, I use the nozzle position techniques taught to me by Tim Klett and Andy Fredericks. I could go on, but hopefully you see my point.

I believe URBAN Tactics are many times necessary in the SUBURBAN/COUNTY setting.

The fire does not care what your staffing is or is not. Stretching a line, forcing a door, venting a roof, searching a house, throwing ladders, and every other tactic or skill performed on the fire ground does not always require URBAN staffing. It seems that recently, many want to discard what the URBAN FIREFIGHTER has to offer us as SUBURBAN/COUNTY Firefighters. I couldn’t imagine operating at a JOB without the knowledge and training given to me by highly EXPERIENCED URBAN FIREFIGHTERS. I believe that ALL firefighters have something to offer, but we cannot discount an individual’s experiences on the fire ground. Tests, experiments, and training are great, but nothing replaces true combat experiences in the field under stressful circumstances. The URBAN Firefighter has been conducting ongoing tests through trial and error for decades….on the FIREGROUND.

So, before you dismiss the URBAN Firefighter and what they have to offer as LEGEND, remember what they have done for us in the SURBURBAN/COUNTY Fire Service. Where would we be without what they have given us as a COLLECTIVE FIRE SERVICE over the last 40 plus years.  I would like to thank all the URBAN FIREFIGHTERS who have personally impacted my career and taught me so much. I deploy your URBAN tactics on the SUBURBAN fireground regularly. Without URBAN professionals like Mike Hayes, Tim Klett, Bob Pressler, Jim McCormack, Ray McCormack, Mike Ciampo, Andy Fredericks, Mike Lombardo, Bill Gustin, Bob Morris, and so many more, myself and many others would probably still be deploying the SUBURBAN tactics of the 80s on today’s fireground.  A fireground that now

more than ever, requires the knowledge and precision of an URBAN LEGEND.

photo

County/Suburban Firefighter of Today.

Remember, much of what is  taught by the fire service LEADERS of TODAY is derived from the LEGENDS of YESTERDAY.  So why do all these “Random Thoughts” matter to the SUBURBAN firefighter today.  It doesn’t matter whether you operate on the URBAN or SUBURBAN fireground, many of these tips and tactics can be applied equally.  The helmet mounted light is always illuminating where your eyes are looking.  It is hands free, and allows you to look up while pulling ceiling, and does not require you to hold your light vertically. If you don’t need it, just turn it off, but when you do need it, is always there, shining in the right direction.  The radio sling carrying your radio makes simple sense, as it holds and protects your radio under your coat, and allows the lapel mic to be hands free.  URBAN firefighters were doing this decades ago, yet the debate still rages on today.  The lantern on the sling was a no brainer to me the first time I saw it, as it keeps your hands free to carry not one, but at least two tools.  Why show up to go to work without having the proper tools in your hands?  So many of these ideas I tried to share with others many years ago, but met serious resistance as a young, inexperienced URBAN wannabe.

Many in today’s fire service jump at the latest trends and techniques endorsed by manufacturers without so much as a second thought. Yet, try to replace the hooligan tool with its nearly useless straight adz, and a fork more fit for a door chock than forcing a door, with a Pro-Bar halligan, and the arguments commence.  “You only want that because they that’s what they use in FDNY”.  The IFSTA manual told us that when we encountered a steel door in a steel frame, we should find an alternative entry point.  It’s a good thing that as a SUBURBAN firefighter, I went to a forcible entry class taught by an URBAN firefighter, and learned that with the proper tools and techniques, entry was achievable. Another tool, the NY roof hook provides more uses on todays fireground than the traditional fiberglass pike pole that is specified as standard equipment on many of today’s apparatus. The 8 lb flat head axe will outperform the 6 lb axe day and night, and as we know is quite versatile.  Carrying a personal rope is worth more than its weight in gold.  Carrying the “can” (2.5 gallon water extinguisher) can be extremely helpful in trained hands, as SUBURBAN staffed companies work to stretch an attack line.  Converted channel locks  and a multi tip screwdriver in your pocket are  other great tools, again many ideas brought to us by our URBAN fire service brothers.  Give ANY trained and motivated firefighter a six foot NY roof hook, a pro-bar halligan, the “can”, and watch out.  So from the URBAN to the SUBURBAN fireground, always remember it is the QUALITY not the QUANTITY that matters on your FIREGROUND.

Curt Isakson

Searching Without a Line!

Posted on by

SEARCHING WITHOUT A LINE: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
05/01/1998

More Articles like this at http://www.fireengineering.com

SEARCHING WITHOUT A LINE: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
BY MIKE LOMBARDO
Risk analysis models influence much of the fireground decision making in the fire service today. But at times we are called to go against these models, act against the odds. The results of such actions are sometimes tragic and sometimes successful. Regardless of the outcome, the fire service must remember that we are a human service, and a standard set of rules or guidelines cannot always dictate the actions of the firefighters who serve the public.
On the evening of January 29, 1998, at approximately 6:30 p.m., a full first-alarm assignment was dispatched to a report of a fire on Townsend Street in Buffalo, New York. The assignment consisted of three engine companies, two truck companies, a rescue company, and a battalion chief.
Truck 11 arrived right behind Battalion 3; the fire was only two blocks from the unit`s quarters. It is a single unit stationed only with the chief; it carries no water and was staffed that evening with five firefighters and an officer. On arrival, the fire was observed venting from two doors and two windows on the number 4 side, from the first-floor rear apartment of this two-story wood-frame dwelling.
With very heavy fire venting from every opening on the number 4 side of the building except one and no engine company yet on location, the prudent decision would have been to await the arrival of an engine and the stretching of a line. However, there were also a frantic mother and father screaming that one of their children was not yet out of the apartment.
Battalion Chief Tom McNaughton also relayed to us that a child was indeed inside the building. He requested that we attempt to enter and search for the child.
There were no openings on the number 3 side of the structure, and windows on the number 2 side were immediately inaccessible by security bars (doors to the apartment were on the number 4 side).
I made the decision to enter the only remaining window into the apartment that was not venting fire. Heavy smoke pushed from the window. Firefighters Tom Jackson and Chuck Sardo and I entered the window into a bathroom. There was a high heat condition in this room. Ahead was a small hallway, where fire was rolling across the ceiling. Jackson crawled through the hallway and into the kitchen. Conditions were worsening rapidly. Fire was heavy in the kitchen.
Outside, Truck 11`s driver, Firefighter Tom Schmelzinger, handed a 212-gallon extinguisher into the bathroom window to me while Firefighters Tom Sullivan and Mike Taube went to the number 2 side of the building to force entry through the security bars on the windows there. (There were also scissor gates on the doors of this apartment house, though they were not a factor in the fire.)
Jackson traveled through the kitchen, with Sardo following. I tried to protect them as much as possible with the water can. Then Jackson entered a small bedroom off the kitchen. He searched a set of bunk beds in this room, with negative results. He came to a pile of clothes in front of the bedroom closet. He found a two-year-old boy.
The bedroom window was barred, providing no exit. Jackson rushed the baby out of the room and almost became trapped in the tiny space at the beginning of the hall between the kitchen sink and hallway wall, which measured less than 18 inches. His helmet was dislodged halfway off his head. He handed the baby to Sardo, who handed the child to me, and I passed him outside to firefighters. The child was in cardiac arrest, and the firefighters performed CPR as they rushed him to a waiting ambulance.
Meanwhile, I used the water can to protect Jackson and Sardo as they made their way forward to the bathroom. It did not extinguish much fire but slowed its progress. I ascertained from Chief McNaughton that this was the only person reported to be in the structure, and we exited the structure. Engine 3`s crew had advanced a line into the building by this time and pushed into the apartment, quickly controlling the fire.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
There was tremendous heat in the bathroom, where our team entered. The tub surround had melted into the bathtub, and a medicine cabinet had melted off the wall. Firefighter Jackson received minor burns to his head when his helmet was dislodged in the hallway. These types of conditions normally would indicate that entry should not be made without a handline.
However, with reliable reports such as those given that evening by the child`s family, an attempt must be made to enter and search. If a handline had been immediately available, it still may not have guaranteed success; it most likely would have been advanced in through the apartment door, and crews would have had to delay the search while this line was advanced.
About two months after this fire, a man and woman walked into the quarters of Truck 11. With them was their son, Elijah, the boy rescued from the fire. The child had a fairly large burn on his head that was still healing, but otherwise he was in great shape. If his parents were asked about the firefighting risk vs. benefit of the rescue of their child, there is no question what their answer would be. And with the successful rescue of the baby, I am sure that the collective fire service voice is in agreement.
At the time we entered, Elijah Hall`s life was in the balance, and the duration of that life would be decided within the next few seconds.
But what happens when the child does not survive, or a firefighter does not survive or is seriously injured? It seems, then, that the collective fire service voice is very muddled with armchair quarterbacks saying, “I told you so.”
Decisions such as the one made on Townsend Street are not made by a computer or in a classroom with time to ponder. They are made in a split second and often without complete information. Elijah Hall`s life was saved primarily by the actions of Firefighter Tom Jackson, but also in part by all the members of the team of firefighters who responded that evening. He was saved because Tom–with his training and experience and his team behind him, fully recognizing the risk–“went out and did what he had to do.” And that`s the essence of the fire service.
Events like this take place throughout the fire service. We seldom see names associated with these types of actions. They are not a component of ICS. What drives them cannot be taught in the classroom. Even with our ever-increasing reliance on technology and business management philosophies, the fire service must not lose sight of our primary mission–to save lives–and the fact that it is often the immeasurable personal qualities of individual firefighters that are the driving force behind the accomplishment of that mission. n

County Fire Tactics “Hands On Training”

Posted on by

County Fire Tactics
At the Atlanta Fire Conference.
MAFFC 2015 Hands on Classes
Class Format: Hands on Training

More info at http://www.MAFFC.org

Class Description:

This 8 hour hands on class will cover both engine and truck tactics required at your typical house fire. All students will force a door, vent a roof, take a window, conduct an interior search under smoke conditions, perform VES with ground ladders, and make a victim removal. Students will also complete a downed firefighter scenario, including packaging and removal. Engine operations, including stretching, advancing, and flowing hose lines will be practiced. This includes 1 ¾”, 2”, and 2 ½” hose lines. Understanding and making the proper WEAPON SELECTION for today’s fire ground will be stressed. This is a FAST PACED hands on class, for firefighters who want to challenge their fire ground fitness, and want to keep working with very little idle time. The instructor to student ratio will be 1:5 with additional support personnel to allow for rapid movement of the class through six rotations in full bunker gear.

Instructor(s): Curt Isakson, Jim Smith (Squad 41 FDNY), Ray McCormack (L28 FDNY), Jason Martino (Palm Beach County), Shannon Stone (Battalion 6 Fort Walton Beach), The ESCAMBIA BOYS

Firefighter or Employee?

Posted on by

“The five steps in teaching an employee new skills are preparation, explanation, showing, observation and supervision.” -Bruce Barton

“An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager.” -Bob Nelson

Is it safe to say that a fire goes as the first line goes?

JOBS Post

Who are our managers, or senior men? How did they get to be in that role, and who are they leading? Are you an employee, or a fireman? – Thats a new catch phrase around my job but is very much right on if you search it out.

As a boss, are you instructing your people to handle business appropriately? Or are your people dictating what your limitations are under any given circumstance. Understandably, theres always going to be a company limitation of some sort, but when do you concede to this notion as a supervisor, and when if ever is it OK that you realize you can not get the proverbial blood from a given stone?
When do you push the envelope as far as a persons retention and skill set go? Are they unaware, unwilling or unable to perform? How many opportunities does one get to prove some semblance of reliability?
If your mindset is that of privilege, meaning you are union protected or that your relation/nepotism clause covers your position in a paid or volunteer aspect, then do us all a favor and beat it.

We all need to work hard every day to earn our positions. Regardless of if your position is 75K a year or totally for free, make sure a 15 year old explorer nearby isn’t going to make you look like a total idiot when you need water from a hydrant. If you are an elected volunteer officer, please understand that lives hang in the balance just as they do for the career guys.
Excuses are for PU^^#@’s, no matter what your role is.
If you are not fulfilling said role to the greatest of your ability, then don’t put your pissy pants on when someone better calls you out on it. We will all s#@t the bed on occasion, but when is enough enough? We need more operational pride these days, not operational indifference.

Officers typically try as they might to instill company pride. “Whatever company your in, is the best company there is” says a good friend… But after repeated attempts and training sessions it may become clear that lost causes can & do still exist.
How is it that you may be assigned to a unit with a company logo and that logo is not on your Class A or Class B attire after even the first day your assigned to that particular company?
When these issues are the case, administration can’t hold fast to the company line of “it’s your responsibility to train so-and-so to the level you feel comfortable with. “Thats pure S H ! T to quote Charles Bukowski.

If so-and-so doesn’t understand that his gear should be set up and ready to go on the rig prior to his first load of laundry in the firehouse washing machine or the vacuuming-out of his personal vehicle in the firehouse parking lot, than what can one really do to instill pride and ownership in him? The point becomes more moot than moot can moot.

Excuses aside, theres a right and wrong way to do everything as a fireman, no matter how many ways there are to skin a cat, so pick one and get your function handled appropriately please.

If your fireman liable, please understand that your mindset must have it’s priorities straight, and that the greater good is the most good. Its about we, not me. So to quote Jim Malone “what are you prepared to do.”

We are labeled a Fire Company for a reason, so that we can rely on one another to be in the right place, at the right time, ready and willing to handle our business. Minimum manning isn’t in place or an NFPA standard so that two or three guys on a rig can do the work while one or two guys are spectating like a fraud, in constant battle with a mask problem or a phony injury.

Take a look at this photo… do you think this Ladder Company is prepared to handle business, or blow it?
The trash man isn’t surprised when he turns the corner onto a new block in the AM and sees trash out for collection. Why are our people surprised when they turn the corner and theres fire venting from a structure?

SFFD Photo credit: Joe Aguirre
Www.joeaguirrephotography.com
@thoughtlesshero

Gabriel Angemi

Gabe

Poser

Posted on by

Don’t be a Poser

image

Growing up on the Gulf Coast, and in particular a surfing town, I am well aware of what a poser is. A poser is someone that wants to be a part of something, or is viewed as part of something without the full commitment. See you have true surfers, the ones that get up before dawn when it’s 30 degrees outside and the water temperature is below 70, just to catch a few waves. You also have the ones that carry a board on top of their car 24/7, but that board rarely sees time in the water. The board is for looks, and lets all around you know you are a surfer. By now, you must be thinking…..how does this relate to the fire service? We have more fire posers than the world of surfing has surf posers. The other issue is, surf posers don’t ever get financially compensated unless they have truly arrived. They have only arrived because of significant dedication to the art of surfing. See, I was a poser for short time. Yes, I owned boards, both a skateboard and a surfboard. I wore the clothes and hung out on the beach. The issue was, I didn’t really have the passion or desire to become good enough to really enjoy and master surfing, and surely not when the temperature was below 80 degrees. I would not commit to checking the weather or getting out to size up different breaks, or see where the latest break was.
I have been in the fire service for a while now, and I realize there are way more posers wearing fire t-shirts and hauling gear around with them than there are posers in the world of surfing. My issue is this, posers in surfing will most likely not hurt anyone but themselves. Yes they may need assistance getting back in if they go out on a good day. But, a poser in the fire service is not only a danger to themselves, but to all those operating along side of them.
image
This job takes teamwork, dedication, and passion to master, not to mention the countless hours of training and studying. To have that passion and desire to become good enough to really enjoy and master this craft, one should be immersed in firefighting, not merely posing with your shirt and gear. Are you a poser, or are you committed to doing what it takes to be the real deal?

Curt Isakson

On-Duty Checklist “The IDIOTS of the Fire Service”

Posted on by

When reporting to the firehouse, are you ready for a shift change FIRE? Have you prepared for the FIRE that will happen just as you relieve the off going firefighter? We must look at a Tour Of Duty/24 Hour Watch in the firehouse like a marathon. We must show up READY! You just don’t wake up one day and say, I’m going to run a marathon today. No, you train, train, and train some more. You prepare and plan out all 26 MILES, just as you should be training for the marathon that will happen while On-Duty. It doesn’t happen every watch, but it does happen, and usually on a  day when you least expect it.

photoAre you ready for the early morning/shift change fire? Are you scrambling when the tones drop? Do you put your gear next to the rig first thing? This could be your first call of the day….

You walk in the door and tell the off going firefighter sitting at the kitchen table  “I Got Ya”, and a minute later you get toned out for the worst fire of your career. The question is, did this firefighter already store his or her gear away in their locker, and have you even gotten your gear out of your locker before saying “I Got Ya”?  Are you ready for the early morning/shift change fire? Are you scrambling when the tones drop? Do you put your gear next to the rig first thing? This could be your first call of the day…

This job is for REAL, and is not very forgiving when you fail to prepare and take it seriously. You must respect your fellow brothers and sisters, and the civilians that are relying on you to be READY! Being ready to be On-Duty, starts before you arrive at the firehouse, it starts when you decide to be a firefighter, and chose a career to SERVE OTHERS!!

On-Duty Checklist for 2015

1. Do you eat properly the night before your watch?

2. Do you properly hydrate?

3. Do you get a good nights sleep or were you up all night at your SIDE JOB?

4. Do you shower and shave before leaving the house?

5. Do you show up in uniform, or get to work early so you can be in uniform?

6. Do you go straight to your gear and put it next to the rig?

7. Do you ask for a proper pass down before you say “I Got Ya”?

8. Once you say “I Got Ya” do you start checking the rig or eat breakfast first?

9. Do you confirm your SCBA is FULL and READY?? Actually turn it on and breathe from it?

10. Do you confirm your 911 System works?? That would be your portable radio!

The above 10 steps should be completed before the off going firefighter even leaves the firehouse..

If you are a Firefighter and you are overweight, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT??
We do not care about EXCUSES….. Manage what you eat and burn more calories.
I have watched the BIGGEST LOSER, and it can be D O N E!!!  If you are overweight, everyone sees you and wonders if you will be able to get the job done at crunch time. The majority of LODDs are from firefighters being overweight and out of shape. If you are overweight and are spending you’re time talking about those that are trying to make the fire service better, you are an IDIOT!!  The definition of IDIOT is a person considered stupid, foolish, or ignorant.

If you are in shape and take this job seriously, THANK YOU!

The link below is an article I wrote a while back. I am very proud that I did not succumb to the IDIOT mentality.  If you are a young firefighter and love this job, please do not give up. Do not let those that view working at the Fire Department as JUST a JOB keep you from training and doing the right thing. Just because they come in to work with a three day beard and sit at the kitchen table for hours before putting their gear next the rig, doesn’t make it right. Even if they have 20 years on the job, it just means they are a 20 year IDIOT. If you are a firefighter and your Company Officer doesn’t wear their gear, or gets off the rig on fire calls without an SCBA, they are an IDIOT. You must make a mental note of all the IDIOTS you work with for your own SAFETY.

The New Yorker “Urban Legend”

Curt Isakson

Tactical Safety for Firefighters- No Hose Butts

Posted on by

Ray

Tactical Safety for Firefighters
No Hose Butts

By Ray McCormack

I have repeatedly stated that the engine company officer has the biggest impact on the fireground. You IC’s out there needn’t worry. You’re important too and of course, so is the ladder officer; however, fire extinguishment is why we are in business and that comes from the exit port of a nozzle directed by the engine officer.

For those that aspire to be engine officers, there is plenty to learn and discover. A good portion of learning should have already taken place as you observed others. The discovery portion is truly the variable because it is about individual effort. To discover new ideas, new methods and try them for suitability is one very important component of professional growth.

Can you honestly say you are into it? If you find yourself with a lack of passion for engine company operations as an engine officer, it’s time to turn the tide. I would hate being in this business and just let it all pass me by without hitching along for a ride. The diversity in engine operations alone should spark an area or two of potential interest and perhaps eventual expertise. When you encounter someone who works at a business and is asked a question that they should know the answer to, but doesn’t that’s bad, worse is when they don’t care to boot. You have just encountered a compartmentalized employee. This person has a narrow band of knowledge, and is in a rut. If that’s you, that’s bad, but not inescapable.

The tuned in engine company officer sees opportunity where others see extra work. They see variations as possibilities and possibilities as platforms for enhanced operations. By going to extra lengths for yourself and your company you ‘ll be able to increase your tactical safety and call for water quicker than the rest.

Keep
Fire
In
Your
Life

The New Yorker “Urban Legend”

Posted on by

The New Yorker

“URBAN LEGEND”

garrity life lite fireman

     The New Yorker style helmet with a Garrity light held on by a rubber strap; that was all I wanted as a young junior firefighter. I cut out the Garrity light advertisement from Firehouse Magazine, and requested both the New Yorker and Garrity light for my next birthday. I wanted that helmet, the light, and everything that I viewed came with that advertisement. That image was as COOL to me, as the Malboro Man was to many.  I so badly wanted to get out of my Metro and into a “Leather New Yorker” style helmet. I didn’t get a New Yorker the following birthday, but I did get a flashlight to mount on my helmet. I then ordered a full box of Garrity lights direct from Garrity; a full box of 50 lights. I then had my Dad get me a large black inner tube to cut up as helmet straps, and  I started pushing helmet lights as a junior firefighter.

Shortly after this, an upstate New York firefighter had relocated, and joined the next FD over from mine. I first met him on a call, and he was in full gear with a box light held on by a rope sling. I thought, he’s from New York, wears a leather helmet, and has a hand lantern held on with a rope sling, he must be an URBAN Firefighter.  I immediately requested a new hand light from my Dad.  He picked me up a nice rechargeable hand light, and I built a rope sling. I now had a Garrity helmet light, a hands free lantern, and had acquired a plastic version of the New Yorker. I was on my way to being just like an FDNY FIREFIGHTER. I believed in wearing full bunker gear on all calls, carrying a box light, and always having a tool in my hand. I was all about this and I had yet to see my 18th birthday. I just knew that New York firefighters wore their gear, had hands free lights, and always seemed to have a tool in their hand. I wanted to be an FDNY FIREFIGHTER.

photo (2)

Suburban Tools of the 80s and 90s

This was in the late 80s and early 90s. I started reading Firehouse and Fire Engineering Magazine cover to cover, always reading the URBAN authors first. I officially got issued my first set of gear on May 21, 1988. It consisted of pull up boots, a long coat, and a TURTLE SHELL style helmet. I was so excited on this day, and really had no clue how lucky I was to be subjected to the Fire Service. I started reading the back page of Fire Engineering called  “Random Thoughts”, and this became the highest priority on my monthly reading list. How LUCKY I was for Tom Brennan to have started this monthly column only months before I started legally wearing gear and legally operating on the fireground. Each month I read and

re-read Random Thoughts. I would read about carrying a rope, and then immediately drive up to ACE Hardware and purchase a personal rope.  I would read about carrying wire cutters, a personal radio,  having a good search light, a personal alert sounding device, and many other excellent tips before 1990. Tom Brennan, an URBAN Firefighter was teaching me, a young junior firefighter from a small SUBURBAN/RURAL community.

I would then share what I had learned with others in the firehouse. It was at a very young age that reality set in, and I learned another valuable lesson.  Not all firefighters share the same passion, enthusiasm, and love for the job as others.  I also learned that many grown men have serious insecurities about this job and themselves. They would say, “This isn’t NEW YORK,  and we are NOT the BIG CITY”. I just couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want to read and learn from somebody that had been to so many FIRES.  This would get me a little frustrated, but I continued to read Random Thoughts and implement everything I could.

I started reading Chief  Vincent Dunn’s articles and books, and then the book Firefighting  Principles and Practices by William E. Clark made it into my hands. Chief Clark was appointed to the FDNY in 1937 and served for 20 years. He then moved on to Prince Georges County Fire Services to assist in the regionalization of fire protection. Chief Clark did not stop there, he then went on to become the Bureau Chief of the Florida State Fire College.  There are so many leaders like Chief Clark, Chief Halligan, Chief Dunn, Chief Downey, Chief Norman, Lt. Andy Fredericks, and so many other FDNY Firefighters that have highly and positively impacted the American Fire Service. I sometimes wonder where we as a fire service would be without these great leaders and visionaries.

The FDNY and other Large URBAN Fire Departments have made a huge impact on the SUBURBAN Fire Service. The experience they receive from a high volume of fire activity has given them the ability to fine tune techniques and tactics. If you do some research, you will see where these authors were from back in the late 80s and early 90s.  I look back and realize that the URBAN Firefighter and the FDNY  in general has made a huge impact on my career, and I have learned so much from their instruction and experiences. I try and deploy URBAN Tactics in the SUBURBAN/COUNTY setting. Yes, I said URBAN Tactics. When forcing the back of a stripmall, I use the Forcible Entry techniques taught to me by URBAN Firefighters  Mike Lombardo and  Bob Morris. When operating the nozzle, I use the nozzle position techniques taught to me by Tim Klett and Andy Fredericks. I could go on, but hopefully you see my point.

I believe URBAN Tactics are many times necessary in the SUBURBAN/COUNTY setting.

The fire does not care what your staffing is or is not. Stretching a line, forcing a door, venting a roof, searching a house, throwing ladders, and every other tactic or skill performed on the fire ground does not always require URBAN staffing. It seems that recently, many want to discard what the URBAN FIREFIGHTER has to offer us as SUBURBAN/COUNTY Firefighters. I couldn’t imagine operating at a JOB without the knowledge and training given to me by highly EXPERIENCED URBAN FIREFIGHTERS. I believe that ALL firefighters have something to offer, but we cannot discount an individual’s experiences on the fire ground. Tests, experiments, and training are great, but nothing replaces true combat experiences in the field under stressful circumstances. The URBAN Firefighter has been conducting ongoing tests through trial and error for decades….on the FIREGROUND.

So, before you dismiss the URBAN Firefighter and what they have to offer as LEGEND, remember what they have done for us in the SURBURBAN/COUNTY Fire Service. Where would we be without what they have given us as a COLLECTIVE FIRE SERVICE over the last 40 plus years.  I would like to thank all the URBAN FIREFIGHTERS who have personally impacted my career and taught me so much. I deploy your URBAN tactics on the SUBURBAN fireground regularly. Without URBAN professionals like Mike Hayes, Tim Klett, Bob Pressler, Jim McCormack, Ray McCormack, Mike Ciampo, Andy Fredericks, Mike Lombardo, Bill Gustin, Bob Morris, and so many more, myself and many others would probably still be deploying the SUBURBAN tactics of the 80s on today’s fireground.  A fireground that now

more than ever, requires the knowledge and precision of an URBAN LEGEND.

photo

County/Suburban Firefighter of Today.

Remember, much of what is  taught by the fire service LEADERS of TODAY is derived from the LEGENDS of YESTERDAY.  So why do all these “Random Thoughts” matter to the SUBURBAN firefighter today.  It doesn’t matter whether you operate on the URBAN or SUBURBAN fireground, many of these tips and tactics can be applied equally.  The helmet mounted light is always illuminating where your eyes are looking.  It is hands free, and allows you to look up while pulling ceiling, and does not require you to hold your light vertically. If you don’t need it, just turn it off, but when you do need it, is always there, shining in the right direction.  The radio sling carrying your radio makes simple sense, as it holds and protects your radio under your coat, and allows the lapel mic to be hands free.  URBAN firefighters were doing this decades ago, yet the debate still rages on today.  The lantern on the sling was a no brainer to me the first time I saw it, as it keeps your hands free to carry not one, but at least two tools.  Why show up to go to work without having the proper tools in your hands?  So many of these ideas I tried to share with others many years ago, but met serious resistance as a young, inexperienced URBAN wannabe.

Many in today’s fire service jump at the latest trends and techniques endorsed by manufacturers without so much as a second thought. Yet, try to replace the hooligan tool with its nearly useless straight adz, and a fork more fit for a door chock than forcing a door, with a Pro-Bar halligan, and the arguments commence.  “You only want that because they that’s what they use in FDNY”.  The IFSTA manual told us that when we encountered a steel door in a steel frame, we should find an alternative entry point.  It’s a good thing that as a SUBURBAN firefighter, I went to a forcible entry class taught by an URBAN firefighter, and learned that with the proper tools and techniques, entry was achievable. Another tool, the NY roof hook provides more uses on todays fireground than the traditional fiberglass pike pole that is specified as standard equipment on many of today’s apparatus. The 8 lb flat head axe will outperform the 6 lb axe day and night, and as we know is quite versatile.  Carrying a personal rope is worth more than its weight in gold.  Carrying the “can” (2.5 gallon water extinguisher) can be extremely helpful in trained hands, as SUBURBAN staffed companies work to stretch an attack line.  Converted channel locks  and a multi tip screwdriver in your pocket are  other great tools, again many ideas brought to us by our URBAN fire service brothers.  Give ANY trained and motivated firefighter a six foot NY roof hook, a pro-bar halligan, the “can”, and watch out.  So from the URBAN to the SUBURBAN fireground, always remember it is the QUALITY not the QUANTITY that matters on your FIREGROUND.

Curt Isakson