There is a recent story out of Florida that’s has generated a lot of discussion. According to WFTS-TV’s I-Team, two fire captains, from two different departments, are chapter presidents of two different motorcycle gangs. One is with the Pagans and the other with the Outlaws. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) defines “outlaw motorcycle gangs” (OMG) […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Opinion
Letter to the editor: Dwindling Fire Service Part 2
By Tom Carlin, Miami Valley Area Firefighter In regard to the last article I have wrote, I feel obligated to us all to write a second response to the first. Whilst in the first its easy to pick out problems and to table this and that as a negative cause or impact. I am […]
Continue readingLetter to the editor: Dwindling fire service
By Tom Carlin, Miami Valley Area Firefighter Why are the numbers in our (Dayton, Ohio) regions fire service dwindling? Well to answer that big question I’ll list my my reasons and expand on them. 1. High turn over rates: Why do we have such high turn over rates in our area? Several reasons, the […]
Continue reading
The Importance of Outside Training
I know there are many of you out there that may not agree with this position, but I feel this is something firefighters and more importantly fire chiefs need to hear. A little background on this article is needed. I was promoted to an officer role early in my career as a firefighter. The captain […]
Continue reading
The Case for Saunas in the Fire Service
So there has been a lot of different opinions coming out about saunas and the fire service. Many of these opinions can be very compelling on both sides of the argument. Now, I am no expert by any means, but my travels for our organization and interacts with fellow firefighters, experts, and others brings me […]
Continue reading
Being a medic in the Heroin capital of the US.
The title may be a bit ambitious but at this point in history, it is pretty widely accepted that Ohio has at least three cities with the highest rates of Heroin related overdoses and deaths. I happen to work in one of them. Dayton, Ohio has been labeled by some to be the city with […]
Continue reading
The Business of Fire & EMS
There has been a lot of talk lately of privatization of either fire service, EMS, or both in some communities. The thing about this choice to do so is that communities will suffer if the choose to do so. Why, do you ask? Because firefighting and even EMS is not a sustainable business model. There […]
Continue reading
The Generational Gap
Here we go. My thoughts on Baby Boomers vs generation X vs millennials and, why I believe we in the fire service are making a issue that shouldn’t be a issue. Baby Boomers. The people that were raised knowing if you wanted something you’d have to work for it. Stuff wasn’t just handed to you. […]
Continue reading