The adage that no two fires are ever the same is a familiar refrain to everyone in the FDNY. Perhaps it has never been more appropriate as on the afternoon of April 14, 2012. This particular incident eventually required multiple alarms, using approximately 200 Firefighters in four buildings, before the fire was placed Under Control. […]
An After Action Review (AAR) is a structured assessment discussion for analyzing operations. It is used to determine what occurred at an incident and why it happened. Additionally, an AAR can generate information concerning how your organization can do things better. It functions as a performance improvement tool. Four-alarm fire (Bronx Box 44-3217, 730 Van […]
Forty-six years ago, Rescue 3 was summoned to the emergency room of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to assist doctors with a problem. A young man had been transported with his hand enmeshed in a commercial meat grinder. The doctors believed that their only medical alternative was to amputate the hand. At the time, Rescue […]
Closely spaced tornadoes ripped through a small beach community in Queens and a Brooklyn neighborhood on Saturday, September 8, 2012, causing downed power lines, uprooted trees and minor structural damage. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported. A bystander captured this shot of the tornado touching down in Breezy Point. The first extreme weather event […]
When civilian drowning casualties began to steadily increase within the confines of the Rockaway Peninsula 2008 through 2009, Battalion Chief Michael McGrath, Battalion 47, sought input from various FDNY units that respond to water emergencies in an attempt to streamline FDNY operations within his Command. Subsequently, Chief McGrath inquired into the feasibility of a Self-Contained […]
Everybody goes. Phone alarm…first-due engine, first-due truck…Fire in a commercial building. The address is 1655 Pitkin Avenue. The fire is reported on the first floor. CIDS (Critical Information Dispatch System) information is available upon request. As Firefighters hear the house watchman read the ticket, FDNY members start their size-up. They are thinking about that building, […]
There is a misconception that the Bureau of Fire Prevention is a separate and distinct entity, with no relationship to the day-to-day fire prevention, inspection and life safety activities of units in the field. This illusion has been entrenched in the minds of Firefighters and Officers. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. […]
Recently on a trip to Colorado Springs, the author had an opportunity to visit Pikes Peak. At 14,110 feet above sea level, it is the 31st tallest mountain in Colorado. In comparison, many parts of Manhattan are only about five feet above sea level. The tallest building, the soon-to-be-completed 1 World Trade Center (the Freedom […]
The adage that no two fires are ever the same is a familiar refrain to everyone in the FDNY. Perhaps it has never been more appropriate as on the afternoon of April 14, 2012. This particular incident eventually required multiple alarms, using approximately 200 Firefighters in four buildings, before the fire was placed Under Control. […]
An After Action Review (AAR) is a structured assessment discussion for analyzing operations. It is used to determine what occurred at an incident and why it happened. Additionally, an AAR can generate information concerning how your organization can do things better. It functions as a performance improvement tool. Four-alarm fire (Bronx Box 44-3217, 730 Van […]
Forty-six years ago, Rescue 3 was summoned to the emergency room of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to assist doctors with a problem. A young man had been transported with his hand enmeshed in a commercial meat grinder. The doctors believed that their only medical alternative was to amputate the hand. At the time, Rescue […]
Closely spaced tornadoes ripped through a small beach community in Queens and a Brooklyn neighborhood on Saturday, September 8, 2012, causing downed power lines, uprooted trees and minor structural damage. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported. A bystander captured this shot of the tornado touching down in Breezy Point. The first extreme weather event […]
When civilian drowning casualties began to steadily increase within the confines of the Rockaway Peninsula 2008 through 2009, Battalion Chief Michael McGrath, Battalion 47, sought input from various FDNY units that respond to water emergencies in an attempt to streamline FDNY operations within his Command. Subsequently, Chief McGrath inquired into the feasibility of a Self-Contained […]
Everybody goes. Phone alarm…first-due engine, first-due truck…Fire in a commercial building. The address is 1655 Pitkin Avenue. The fire is reported on the first floor. CIDS (Critical Information Dispatch System) information is available upon request. As Firefighters hear the house watchman read the ticket, FDNY members start their size-up. They are thinking about that building, […]
There is a misconception that the Bureau of Fire Prevention is a separate and distinct entity, with no relationship to the day-to-day fire prevention, inspection and life safety activities of units in the field. This illusion has been entrenched in the minds of Firefighters and Officers. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. […]
Recently on a trip to Colorado Springs, the author had an opportunity to visit Pikes Peak. At 14,110 feet above sea level, it is the 31st tallest mountain in Colorado. In comparison, many parts of Manhattan are only about five feet above sea level. The tallest building, the soon-to-be-completed 1 World Trade Center (the Freedom […]