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Melt Down
It’s been one month since my brother (Jack) choose to take his own life on December 30th. I wrote about some of the effects it had on me over the past few weeks in two posts… read “Searching for a new...
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I dont know ….
I’d like to make this a “regular” Ironfiremen.com post. I’d like to bring ya some controversy, some training thoughts or at least a picture of some half nudity ( I was called the “titty blog” earlier...
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Climbing out ….
. The good news is that I’m back in my “boots”. I’m back in bunker gear and pulling regular tours. The bad news is that I’m still not 100% and I know I never will be again. I’m still working through...
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Opening up
For those of us “on the job”, it’s a fairly common term. We use it when talking about forcing entry into a structure or cutting a ventilation hole in the roof. Sometimes it’s even used for vehicle...
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Positional awareness …. where the hell am I ??
. For the followers of mine (yea…both of you) who aren’t “on the job”, the term positional awareness is one we use in reference to knowing “where” you are. We often refer to it as inside a structure or...
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Still fighting …
. LOL … it’s seems like that’s all I’ve done for the past few months … fighting, climbing, digging etc. At times, it seems it’s all I can do to keep my head above water but I’m holding on. I’ve even...
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Zero visibility
. If you’ve been on the job any time at all, you know what I’m talking about. Well … MAYBE you do because there are several different directions (definitions) I could take here. I’ve been in those...
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When firefighters need rescue!
. It’s what we should all be good at. Actually, it should be what we do best … SAVING OUR OWN! I haven’t been around for a while and I think most of you have some sort of an idea why, but; I’m not sure...
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A variation of “OJT”
. Photo by Nate Camiford (RoanokeFire.com) For most folks, “OJT” means On Job Training. For me however, at least here lately; it means On Job Therapy. In my last post “When Firefighters Need Rescue”...
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A Ticking Time Bomb..
. If you've followed Ironfiremen.com for anytime at all, you have probably noticed a significant change in the style / subject matter of my writing over the past year. More recently, I've tried to get...
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Emotional Parapets / Facades for the Holidays and beyond
. On the fire scene, a parapet wall often hides (masks) unforeseen dangers and can pose MANY threats to firefighters. At the very least, they present several challenges and can / do affect how we go...
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Searching….
Photo by Michael Dick Making the search …. it’s a term we as firefighters are all to familiar with. I wish I was good at it… I’m not. I’m no different than all of you but I’ll say that I’ve” been there...
View ArticleMelt Down
Don't get me wrong when I say it's not the cure because IT IS HELPING. Opening up, talking and sharing my grief is what has been the most therapeutic. It's also the part I feared the most.
View ArticleI dont know ….
Brothers and Sisters I'm telling you NOW ..... we DO have somewhere to go ... somewhere to turn to ... someone who'll listen. I'm going to start talking about it a lot. I'm going to because I want YOU...
View ArticleFinding the strength to do something that you don’t want to but know you must.
What I did yesterday was a lot like "searching". Searching on or above the fire floor. Crawling on your belly in pitch black ... complete darkness... "Zero Visibility" (another link worth your click)....
View ArticleVideo: “When Those Sirens are Gone”
The video and song is by Kevin Davidson . Kevin is a Volunteer Firefighter for Greenwich VFD in Kings County Nova Scotia. He is also a paid Paramedic for EHS in Nova Scotia.
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