Before you continue reading, understand that this is real, raw and very personal. It focuses on the behavioral health of one of our (yours, mine and ours) Brother Firefighters, the issue of suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse. Many of you, if not most, like me, know a Brother or Sister Firefighter who has struggled....Read More
Yesterday the Manhasset-Lakeville FD on Long Island New York was alerted to respond to an automatic fire alarm….just like each of us do daily. Below is a photo of what the first arriving Chief found upon his arrival. It’s a reminder to everyone of us that while many AA’s are false or good intent, or systems...Read More
Committing more money to fight occupational cancer, including raising dues to fund research on the fatal disease, was a top priority at the IAFF’s convention in Ottawa, Ontario last week. General President Edward Kelly stated ““Take a look at those f—ing walls,” he said, citing the large screens listing the IAFF members who have died...Read More
“I Died In An Airplane – Then a Rescue Chain Saved Me” is the powerful story of Jim Wick, who also had a close call with colon cancer 2 years after his Sudden Cardiac Arrest in the plane. He tells the story from the perspective of a recipient of emergency medical services. You may be...Read More
With more than three decades under his belt, FDNY Captain Jim Kiesling has experienced “some collapses” while responding to blazes; but he was always able to get out of them by himself. That changed Wednesday, when he was pinned to the ground after a “lean to collapse” while responding to a Brooklyn fire. He said the debris “flattened”...Read More
My attempt at writing the below linked article was to provide a very basic but very honest “firehouse talk” article about cancer. So yep-I was diagnosed late last summer. Some people are afraid of even the word cancer. I completely understand. That said, this piece has some words to intentionally draw your “Firefighter” attention—with the...Read More
