Fire Engineering

09/21/2026

What happens when an incident changes by the minute and there isn't time to wait for every decision to come from the top?

Palm Springs Fire Department Captain Matthew Kearney shares lessons from his department's response to the May 17, 2025, terrorist bombing in downtown Palm Springs.

Crews faced collapsed walls, fire conditions, injured civilians and a rapidly evolving scene. But Kearney says the response wasn't about one person. It was about firefighters, engineers and company officers who were trained and trusted to lead.

Read the full story: https://ow.ly/vke450ZPKxP

09/21/2026

09/21/2026

“We need more nobodies in the fire service.”

The more firefighters I meet, train, and interview across the country, the more I hear the same phrase:

“I’m just a nobody from nowhere.”

But what if being a “nobody” isn’t a weakness?

What if the nobody is the firefighter who shows up early, trains when it’s inconvenient, studies the craft when nobody assigns homework, cleans up the messes they didn’t create, and checks in on the person everyone else overlooked?

They aren’t chasing titles, recognition, or applause. They’re doing the work because it needs to be done.

The fire service doesn’t move forward because of rank, awards, or recognition. Sometimes it moves forward because a nobody from nowhere showed up and took ownership.

Read the full article: https://ow.ly/tBSl50ZPCEr

09/20/2026

Welcome to Tactical Decision Gaming (TDGs), where you learn by doing. Today's game: A big box store.
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Click the link to begin the simulation: https://ow.ly/IGPa50ZPu1B

How a TDG works:⁠
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- You are the company officer on the first-arriving engine.⁠
- You will be dispatched to a fire.⁠
- Uncertainty is part of the game. You will get some, but not all, information.⁠
- Just like the real world you will arrive at the fire and make decisions.⁠
- Give your size-up IN RADIO LANGUAGE.⁠
- Direct your crew.⁠
- Give orders to the next arriving companies IN RADIO LANGUAGE.⁠
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That’s it. Do your best! Have fun! Learn!

09/20/2026

I’ve watched firefighters try to hide a bad attitude behind a cloud of hot air, thinking that if they talk around the problem long enough, they can call it solved. I’ve learned the hard way that my attitude is my responsibility. I can blame the call, the crew, the chief, the circumstances, or the toy I stepped on that morning, but eventually I have to look in the mirror and do the real work.

A better attitude doesn’t come from excuses, empty words, or pretending everything is fine. It takes honesty, effort, listening to others and change.

STAY FIRED UP, but you can’t fix a bad attitude with hot air: https://ow.ly/Wt0L50ZPeCI

09/19/2026

Engine Company Tactics for Stretching Hose

Host Anthony Rowett welcomes Mickey Farrell, an FDNY lieutenant, and James Stallings, a captain in Mobile, Alabama, to break down size-up and hose stretching. The panel talks through practical, repeatable methods for single‑family homes, garden apartments, center‑hall buildings, and standpipe/vertical stretches. They also emphasize slowing down to see the big picture and simple drills that turn unknowns into knowns.

09/18/2026

For years, dirty gear was seen as a badge of honor, while the long-term health risks of firefighter cancer were often overlooked. Today, fire departments are reevaluating this mindset to better protect their teams. How is your department addressing the hidden dangers behind the gear?

🧑‍🚒 Learn more: https://ow.ly/XWKh50ZONmR

09/18/2026

09/18/2026

Life Safety Rope Care

Life safety rope is the central component of rope rescue systems, and extra care and consideration should be given to how it is maintained and stored.

https://ow.ly/bQLJ50ZOlMR

Sponsored Post

09/18/2026

NFPA standards can feel intimidating. But the people writing them are trying to solve a very practical problem: how do we give firefighters the training they need while reducing unnecessary risk?

At FDIC 2026, Brian Brush sat down with Dan Shaw, retired operations chief for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and coauthor of 25 to Survive, to talk about NFPA 1400, the standards process, live fire training, and the science behind decisions that affect departments across the country.

One point stood out: “The way you train” keeps coming back to us when we look at line of duty deaths and close calls.

They also get into the debate over OSB in live fire training and why eliminating a training material without a tested replacement can create its own problems.