Fire Chief

Friday, March 12, 2010

Future Funds Need NIMS 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge approved the National Incident Management System on March 1, creating the first national standardized...

Decision-Making on High Alert with New Threats 

[ John Linstrom ]

The majority of calls for fire and rescue agencies will continue to be based on small, manageable accidents; medical emergencies; natural disasters; and...

Are We Ready for Our Medicine? 

[ John Eversole ]

When chemical and biological weapons moved from the military arena to the civilian world via terrorism nearly 10 years ago, we in the fire service didn't...

Fireground Shuffle 

By David Gallagher

For firefighter accountability, most departments combine a comprehensive status board and individual name tags to list active crews and their assignments....

DHS Approves National Management System 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on March 1 approved the National Incident Management System, the first national standardized...

Crews Blind Without Organizational Vision 

[ Mike Chiaramonte ]

While sitting in his office, a fire chief wondered how to motivate the members of his department. It was a busy department with a large amount of EMS...

Static Shock 

By Donny Jackson

Wildfires that raged out of control for weeks and scorched much of Southern California presented the sternest test yet for the state's public safety communications...

Chief Officers Urged to Step Up Vehicle Security 

A Staff Report

In light of continuing reports of missing or stolen emergency vehicles, sources at the Department of Homeland Security encourage fire department officials to step up security of their vehicles and to actively watch for emergency vehicles that are not what they seem....

Take Control of Driving Distractions 

Mike Chiodini Tim Rollins

It's so critical to the job that all federal, state, and local agencies, as members of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, elected to focus special...

Wildland Fatalities Worst Since Storm King 

With 29 deaths in wildland incidents, 2003 was the deadliest year for wildland firefighters since 1994, when the Storm King Fire killed 14 firefighters...

Bush briefed on California's record-setting fires 

As firefighters neared containment of the worst wildland fires in California history, incident commanders and state fire service leaders involved in the...

USFA: No burnover deaths, but more fatalities in 2002 

In 2002, there were no firefighter fatalities as the result of wildland fires overrunning firefighters' positions. That's the good news from the recently...

Temperature's Rising 

By Jeffery W. Petersen Correspondent

Heat stress refers to the combination of factors that increase core body temperature: environmental conditions, clothing and metabolic rate. Our bodies...

My Other Hat 

Janet Wilmoth, Editor

In the wake of a high-rise fire that killed six people just a few blocks southeast of our office building in Chicago, new sprinkler legislation will no doubt be passed, building managers are reviewing evacuation safety of stairwells and citizens are asking tough questions about the fire department's response to the fire. My big question is this......

How the INRP Affects the Fire Service 

Pat West, Senior Editor

Last week Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge unveiled the Initial National Response Plan, which will give him the authority to coordinate federal response assets and agencies reorganized under the Department of Homeland Security. How does this plan affect local fire chiefs? Leaders of the International Association of Fire Chiefs offer answers....

Unexpected Guests 

Although the USFA's plea for firefighters not to "self-dispatch" to disaster areas made some bristle, it's just 20th century common sense. The fire service must use established mutual aid systems in major disasters. We also need a national identification system so that those who do show up have some credentials....

Fire Down Below 

By Chief Fire Officer Gary Morgan Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, Australia

More than one million hectares that's 2.5 million acres of national park, state forest and grazing land were burnt by a single wildfire event in eastern...

Stihl honors forestry hero 

Stihl Inc. is accepting nominations for the company's 2004 National Forestry Heroism Award. Each year, the award recognizes one person in the forestry...

Some assembly required for fire crews 

Lark McDonald

But by the second day, the incident management team privately predicted that an explosion was imminent. They strung out along an exposed ridge, milling...

Two years of change 

Janet Wilmoth

Has the fire service changed since Sept. 11, 2001? One West Coast chief said no, departments still are begging for money. The fire service is a splintered...

Par for the course 

By Scott Gerber, Director, Carver County (Minn.) Risk and Emergency Management

At first fire departments may not think of emergency planning for special events as particularly special, but each type of event presents challenges....

While not in like a lion, summer fires still roaring 

As many predicted in seasonal outlooks, overall wildfire activity has been moderate. The numbers have been lower than in previous years, with 30,911 fires...

NWCG supplements food distribution policy 

In response to many concerns regarding the escalating cost of large fires, the NWCG tasked the Incident Business Practices and Safety and Health Working...

NWCG orders review of work/rest guidelines, assignment length regulations 

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group tasked an interagency group to review the current work/rest guidelines and length of assignment policy. The group...

Russian forest fires rage over 100,000 hectares 

There are now 645 forest fires burning in Russia with a combined territory that exceeds 100,000 hectares as of May 19, according to Interfax Information...