ffmc36

My opinion, absolutely go to college, and definitely not fire related. As many here can attest to, as you pursue a career with the FD, you will take many, many tests...none of which have anything to do with your knowledge/skills/dedication of fighting fires. At the very least, go to school with the idea that you will be great at taking tests. Also, when it comes to making decisions now that will affect the rest of your life, look at your parents as "senior men". Respect the advice they give you the same way you respect the advice of senior men here or at your dept. Only wish someone said that to me when I was a teenager. But at the end of the day, no matter what you end up doing, don't let that passion you have die. Best of luck!

I've seen posts like this on other sites and thought I'd share here. The link is to a slideshow of rooms that are a search team's nightmare. Has anyone ever come across rooms/passageways like these firsthand? My link

My 9-5 is in the social media/technology space, and there are 2 things I tell all my new clients: 1) "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Just because your dept can get the newest car, or the latest technology can offer, does it mean you should? Are there other fundamentals that should be taken care of first, and do you truly believe you need that new gadget, or is it just something fun to have? 2) "Technology is here to help us do our jobs, not actually do our jobs for us". Let's say you get every rig outfitted with computers that can provide updated images/info of every address in your first-due, does that mean you stop doing preplans, stop thinking about how you'd ladder an apartment building when you're walking past it on your way home, stop alerting your drivers/members to road construction? Technology can sometimes make us complacent, we just have to view it as one of the many tools we have on a rig.

This makes me think of 2 sayings: 1. “I’m trying to be more a part of the community, than part of the scene”. Coined by someone within the industry I work. I think this is exactly what JohnnyOV was saying; put more effort into adding value to the fire service community (sharing info in-order to teach and learn from), and a little less effort talking about the not so important buff-stuff. 2. “Function before fashion”. Told to me as a kid in regards to sports, but can definitely relate here. Don’t concern yourself with what kind of blue light you have on your car, and that you have the “coolest” gear; looking like a salty-experienced firefighter doesn’t make you one. I’ve been coming here for over a year, and only as of late really trying to make an effort to contribute. Since I haven’t been in the fire service as long as most, I have hesitated to respond to posts even if I think I know the answer. I never hesitate like this at meetings or drills at my dept because I want to learn as much as I can (would much rather say or do something wrong at a drill then on the fireground ), and should be doing the same here.

Here's a link to a pretty good look at the history of SCBA: http://firechief.com/training/apparel/firefighting_first_breath/

Caught this great episode of Ultimate Factories on Hulu. Great look at fabrication at Pierce...