The Not So Excellent “Center For Excellence” Anyone who has paid even the tiniest amount of attention to Harold Schaitberger’s IAFF will have long since concluded that everything is for sale. He sold out our commitment to safety advocacy by taking advertising money from equipment manufacturers thus creating an automatic conflict of interest. He agrees […]

Old Dog, Old Trick I was online the other night and was served an advertisement for the “IAFF Center of Excellence.” A click on the ad provided “404 error messages” or a block by Google which usually happens when there is a security issue with the site. Either way, not so excellent. I eventually learned […]

Busy Day in Fairfax The news and Facebook, of course, were awash with stories of yesterday’s unusual spate of multiple-alarm fires in the western part of the County, including a couple of rows of town homes, a large apartment building and a bank. Those back porches ablaze are reminiscent of Boston. I left the active […]

I’m a bit conflicted about this past weekend’s fire on the 50th floor of Trump Tower in New York, especially after hearing that Trump lobbied against the requirement for sprinklers in residential high-rise buildings. Let’s be honest–any building code that doesn’t require sprinklers is job security for firefighters, the public be damned. Trump apparently said […]

Fatal Accident Data Missing On March 9, 2018, DC Fire and EMS Engine 26 was involved in a fatal accident at 12th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NE. Now, WJLA reports that the data card for the on-board camera is missing. They say, “Investigators are trying to determine when the camera stopped recording, and how […]

It Was Only a Matter of Time Cameras in vehicles are now so prevalent they shouldn’t attract notice much less interest. The combination of digital technology and portability now means that any activity can be recorded, including fire rig operations. Firefighters in Baltimore aren’t happy about that. Several years ago the department installed cameras in […]

Death of a Union The chief and crucial reason for labor unions is to fight or advocate on behalf of their members. It’s very simple, really. To employ collective strength to ensure that we have acceptable wages, benefits, hours and safe working conditions. Real unions remain vigilant, focused, unconflicted and unrelenting in that mission. The […]

Brunacini in a Lab Coat The diesel extraction systems protecting you from particulates? Thank Dr. Melius for that. Better and more targeted medical exams for firefighters? Thank him for that, too. Workers compensation coverage for occupational cancers? Yep. The Zadroga 9/11 Program? Ditto. And the list goes on and on. Jim died on New Year’s […]

 Charming But Potentially Deadly, Too “A woman and her two daughters and a niece on the fifth floor were killed when flames from the first floor rushed up the stairwell, filling the passageway with smoke and sending people scurrying down a fire escape.” (NYT)   Older apartment buildings can be very beautiful but will usually […]