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October 17, 2016
S1, E9 23rd Street Fire Ops with FDNY Assistant Chief Edward Butler (Retired) and FDNY Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn (Retired)
October 13, 2016
A 36-year-old man driving north in the southbound lanes of I-89 in Vermont on Saturday, October 8, 2016, slammed into a car with five 15- and 16-year-old students, killing them all. While the first-arriving police officer attempted to extinguish the burning vehicle and extricate victims, the […]
October 6, 2016
A house fire became the scene of an assault this week, when a man used a flashlight to violently beat a Firefighter who prevented him from re-entering a burning building during a fire operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fellow Firefighters subdued and restrained the assailant, who was […]
October 4, 2016
Recently, I was asked: “What is different about this 15th anniversary of 9/11? Has anything changed”? Personally, I feel the same about it as I did last year and the year before and the year before that. I have stated previously that my internal calendar activates […]
October 4, 2016
I was promoted to Captain for FDNY EMS in August 2001. I went through a training class and was assigned to EMS Operations. My first day working at FDNY Headquarters in Brooklyn was September 4, 2001. I was working directly for the Chief of EMS, learning […]
October 4, 2016
September 11, 2001, marks one of the darkest days in the history of both our nation and the FDNY. In addition to the 343 Department members who were killed on this day, this terror incident represents the largest attack ever made on the American homeland and […]
October 4, 2016
Fifteen years ago, the largest and most unexpected emergency response event in the modern history of New York City forever changed the world in which we live. After losing 343 members of the FDNY family on 9/11, the Department was forever changed, rebuilt out of the […]
October 4, 2016
EMTs, Paramedics and Firefighters are part of a service that is unlike any other. The successful outcome of a situation is not the result of an individual’s actions, but rather the actions and cooperation of a team. Perhaps nowhere else outside of the military does this […]
October 4, 2016
At the time, I thought I would remember every single thing about the response and recovery effort at the World Trade Center. But now, 15 years later, as I look back to that period for this issue of Pro EMS, I suddenly realized that I can’t […]
October 4, 2016
In 1999, as part of the preparation for the anticipated larger than usual Millennium New Year’s Eve gathering in Times Square and the possibility of City-wide Y2K computer and system failures, the City purchased several Gator carts from the John Deere Co. These six-wheel, diesel-powered, off-road […]
February 15, 2017
Mind-set, posture and breathing exercises aid in the advancement of tactical breathing. These three elements require practice and consistency. Once you are thrust into a stressful environment, you can take that second to pause, take a “tactical breath” to re-center and reset yourself and then you […]
February 9, 2017
A married couple in San Angelo, Texas was arrested after an armed confrontation with police in front of their burning house in what was later revealed as a plot to ambush responding officers. The perilous incident began when the 67-year-old husband first called a local television […]
February 8, 2017
First responders are taught the many signs and symptoms of a heart attack, including the common symptoms of chest pain. However, the “Hollywood heart attack”–where the patient grabs his/her chest and falls to the ground–is not always the case. Subtle symptoms, such as chest pulling, chest […]
February 2, 2017
Delaware State police stormed a section of the state’s largest prison for men, after a day-long standoff, rescuing an uninjured female staff member, but also finding Sgt. Steven Floyd, a 16-year-veteran of the Delaware Department of Correction, deceased. The hostage siege began at about 10:30 on […]
February 1, 2017
It wasn’t too long ago that fitness for first responders seemed to be based on the old adage, “Lift things up, put them down” and run slowly and for long periods of time until your shins fell off. There is no denying the efficacy of this […]
January 26, 2017
A police cruiser was deliberately targeted in an attack involving a homemade improvised incendiary device (IID) outside a police station in South Boston last Friday morning. It was roughly 8:15 am when an officer noticed a fire burning beside a parked cruiser, which was quickly moved […]
January 25, 2017
When multiple alarms are required, the number of Firefighters and units on-scene increases and greatly adds to the complexity of the roll call. Fires in high-rise structures, subways or fire and emergency scenes that cover a wide area also make the emergency roll call more complicated […]
January 19, 2017
Inspired by spinning toys (Twirly Whirlies, Whirgigs, etc.), researchers at Stanford University have created an inexpensive paper centrifuge that can separate malaria parasites from samples of blood. The breakthrough will allow malaria diagnoses in areas that do not have electricity or access to commercial centrifuges. Malaria, […]