Hello! I am super interested in firehouses, trucks, engines, literally everything. I'm wondering if it would be okay to ring a bell and ask if I could get some pictures ​of the place on my camera. I'll definitely bring some store bought treats!! Im just unsure if its rude to bother you guys when you're working. Do you mind when people show up? Is it better to call and ask beforehand? Please lmk whats the nicest way to do this!! Thank uuuu

It was a good lecture for a lot of reasons. Not only did it show me the other side of things, seeing as I’m a fireman and not brass/leadership, but MAN- it really showcased where my deficiencies as a fireman lie, looking at through the lens of my LT.

I now have a plan for myself when I go back in 3 days.

I have search week coming up here soon at the academy, does anyone here have any tips, or anything for it. The instructors have really talked about it being bad it used to be called “Hell Week” over here.

This is from comments by Luther_Burbank 1 year ago in "Stone coated metal roof?"

"Fire departments do indeed hate this roof specifically. It’s installed on boards over the roof decking that result in a void space. Causes a ton of work having to rip off additional metal panels looking for hidden fire."

...

"The issue arises from the difficulty in checking if the roof has burned through. We must thoroughly inspect all potential areas where fire could be smoldering before leaving the scene. A fire that rekindles and reignites after the area has been cleared significantly damages our reputation."

Do you agree?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Roofing/comments/1jgjx3d/stone_coated_metal_roof/

Now that brush fires are starting to pick up again where Im at, is it reasonable to just use these instead of structural gloves like I have before? I already have a set of these in my gear that I use, but Id like to see yalls opinions.

Hey everyone. The title says it all. This is my second summer as a wildland firefighter, and it is still awesome. This job rules. Yes it can be painstakingly boring, but the highs are so worth it. The rush is unmatched, and hiking in anywhere to fight fire is amazing.

But....

Being so drastically underpaid, and extremely overworked has me curious about structure fire. I have really been struggling to see this as a long time career at all. It is hard to imagine myself not fighting wildland fires. So I have some questions...

Are there structure departments that help aid wildland fires in any capacity? Such as staffing, helping pump water/water tenders, etc.

If you went from wildland to structure, how was it? Any regrets? Why did you do it?

What is a day in the life like at a structure department? What schedule do you work?

Literally any more information about this would be a huge help. I really do love this job, and I think I have finally found my place. But there are some parts about this job that really make life and everything about it difficult, like working over 70 hours a week for a few months in a row

Hi I’m a 22 year old male but my girlfriend of 8 years is a fire fighter she has her BOF cert and she is currently in EMT class and works part time at 2 seperate departments. I am just finding it so hard to love her it seems this job has really affected her mentally and she is gone a lot and the little time we do have together is spent on the couch bet she is so tired all the time. I do not know what to do it makes me sad to see her like that any advice would be very much appreciated, again I’m sorry if I’m not in the right spot for this kind of advice. Thank you for all you guys do!!

I was wondering how tight everyone wears their vest while taking the CPAT.

I’m at a testing center that has a shorter vest I’m planning to use. But it’s also missing one row of straps.

Previous proctors when I’ve taken it have encouraged me to cinch it pretty close to my body, so that the two sides overlap over my torso. My last attempt, the whole course felt better - doing the actual tasks - when it was looser though. Except for the stairmaster, where it may have made it feel like a harder slog for me than normal.

I’m used to practicing/working out with a much tighter weighted vest, but my stomach has more clearance. Haven’t really had to worry about clearance for breathing.

I think I need to tighten it a little bit more, or just suck it up. But I was wondering what worked for other people.

Is looser “heavier”?

#CPAT

Hi all,
Bit of a long shot, is anyone here from the Atlanta FD especially around cobb county I believe?
I am apart of over 200 uk and Ireland firefighters coming this week to take part in a 9/11 memorial stair climb to honour the 343 and raise money for the Terry Farrell firefighters fund. Whilst I’m over I’m hoping to do some kit swaps with any firefighters/firehouses. I do have quite an ambitious trade too that I wondering if anyone could help with, drop me a message or reply if you’re able to help.

I paid for the legacy box last month and never received it and this months box still hasn’t shipped, I can’t get ahold of anyone there and I’ve sent in multiple emails with no response.

I’m a firefighter in Australia and they have always taught us to never ventilate until you gain fire control but I’m interested in other perspectives and reasoning.

I am a male in college, and I am looking at joining a volunteer firefighter locally, does anyone on here work in Oklahoma who could comment on if having longer hair is a problem (shoulder length)

The hole labeled "SFFD 6"

Anyone have any idea what it is for?

So many of my friends and neighbors are in tech and making so many millions and millions in tech. One neighbor worked at nvda for 15 years and is now moving to a 20 million dollar house from his modest current 1800 square foot home and could have retired anytime with more money than he will ever need in 10 lifetimes One year of his pay including stock and espp during the peak gains from the past 3 years is more than many in firefighting even in the Bay Area will make in their lifetime. In the Bay Area, it seems few jobs can compete with tech. CRNA can clear 500k -700k working 40-50 hours a week, but requires more education but it’s easier than medical school. Even regular nursing can pay a decent $200k-250k a year with more growth than firefighting. Nursing school isn’t hard.

Everyone says Bay Area firefighting is the best paying in the country, but compared to others around its peanuts unless I want to live in Modesto, Hollister, or some far middle of the nowhere shit hole.

Hello firefighter community, a missile hit my apartment building and I am looking for an experienced eye to evaluate whether the apartment circled green on the photos has burnt down.

The first photo is showing the back of the building after the fire died out, the second is while it was still on fire, and the third is the front of the building from where the missile hit. Local firefighters started extinguishing the fire as you may see on the second photo, but they could not finish because of a repeated attack, so the fire had to die out on its own.
The building was on fire for a total of 14 hours.

Thank you for sharing your expertise.

I decided to make a post here because I am joining the firefighter cadet program in my area at 16 and my first meeting is next Tuesday, and I wanted to ask to anyone who has been in it a few questions.

1. I have never been really active before, and this program in specifics is really physical with all the gear, etc and what they do changes weekly. How can I prepare myself before then to get ready for that and not give out or look crazy? Along with the Florida heat lately it has been hot so im also somewhat worried about that.

2. I have high hopes I will succeed the program, but I have ADD and I rush sometimes so it makes me afraid I will mess anything up, is there any way I can possibly get better with it?

3. Last question, what will be helpful to study beforehand so I can atleast know a bit? Also if anyone responds thank you for the advice! I don't think i can say thank you to each comment but I will give an upvote. 😅​

(A bit of extra information I am female and I stand at 4'9 and I usually weigh inbetween 80-90 pounds at most so I also want to know ways to atleast be able to withstand the gear I will be wearing, just some information. Sorry if all of this seems messy! I just wanna be prepared.)

What would be your dream fire department to work for and why?

Does anyone know where to find a 1-3-2-3 shift calendar online? I have looked and have not been able to find anything.

I purchased a Mini Fire Fighter LED Flashlight HD 1080P Waterproof Helmet Camera from Stuntcams.com. I recorded 1 training session with it and a couple of nothing burger runs to get use to it. It very soon shit the bed and wouldn’t charge any more. I contacted customer service and they hassled me over how to fix it. Finally I was able to return it for replacement. Stuntcams tried to upsell on an expensive camera that did not fit my needs. I declined the upsale. I received the new camera and took it to a house fire were I was operating on the outside. I go and try to download the video and the computer won’t recognize the usb plug in so I can’t dl the video. I call customer service and he proceeds to tell me I’m doing it wrong. This is my second camera and I had no problems dl before. I go through the same steps and it doesn’t work. I ask the guy to get the manual and confirm what he’s saying. He does and admits he was wrong and tells me the only fix is to remove the micro sd card and put that into my computer. I inform him my computer does not have that feature. He essentially tells me I’m shit out of luck then. By this time I’m frustrated beyond belief bc I’ve used 2 different cameras a few times and both of them have been junk. I email the returns email address and the refuse to refund my money for their shitty products. They offer to replace the camera for another. Why would I want another piece of shit camera. Long story short spend your money elsewhere away from this company and their dog shit products.

I'm in Houston, and I was personally invited to one of their First Friday with a firefighter program. I do see the itinerary includes EMS. Anyone that has gone through this, is it required to be a firefighter in order to get trained for EMS? I'm solely interested in EMS only

I'm thinking of getting a metal roof. A former firefighter told me there are two problems with firefighting on a metal roof: It's slippery to walk on when wet. It takes two different saws to cut a hole through it, one for the metal and one for the wood underneath.

So it seems like it would endanger the firefighters, or at least slow them down.

Would you say those are reasons to not get a metal roof, or to get stone-coated metal shingles, so it wouldn't be slippery?

Has anyone’s departments or nearby police agencies in your area used the portable FST linked above?

I know this would be a common question.

Personally I only carry, Tubular webbing, nails to use a wedges and cutters. Wanted to see if there was anything else that would be useful to have.

Years before breathing apparatus, firemen would wet their beards and taches and pull the hair between their teeth in an attempts to create a natural filter before entering smoke filled compartments. It wasn’t ideal and only somewhat kept out some of the larger particles from being inhaled but that was all they had.

Next time you see a fireman’s moustache. That’s the history behind it. Unfortunately most people do not even know that part. Firefighters of the past earned their moniker of leather lungs.

Now beards are not allowed due to issues in creating a perfect seal when fitting a facemask and thus a moustache is the only facial hair allowed in many departments and countries.

These were men of steel that climbed ladders made of wood.

Pictured is Newry, (Northern Ireland) original smoke eaters.

Alexander McClelland first on the left holding the standpipe.