Above, top to bottom: Tom Dunne, Anthony Avillo, and Mike Ciampo

Question: During the past year, was there an event, an occurrence, or a bit of knowledge you came across that moved you to think, “Wow! I must remember to include that in my FDIC class or workshop this year”?

Anthony Avillo  

I read the line-of-duty death report of the firefighter killed in New York State as part of a mutual-aid response. It made me realize how underprepared and coordination deficient mutual-aid groups are.  When the only time they see each other is on the fireground, that means that no training, planning, or interdepartment policy or coordination has been done. That is very dangerous, like “Tower of Babel” firefighting.

Les Baker

While conducting training in Bossier, Louisiana, we had a response for a vehicle that had a significant driver’s side intrusion from a lateral impact. It provided the perfect situation to work on tactics on a vehicle that underwent a collision and allowed the components to act appropriately. After further inspection, there were two car seats in the back seat. In between the two seats was an adult bag valve mask. Based on the clues left, it was obvious that the driver—the parent (or guardian) of the two kids—was critically injured or killed. The kids’ lives would never be the same after the incident. It proved to be a moment of reflection for me on why I train responders and speak at conferences such as FDIC International. It is my hope that I can be that difference that enables a responder to change the lives of victims in a positive way.

Alan Brunacini

For a long time, I have conducted discussions in FDIC International educational sessions about functional boss behaviors. It is a leadership topic that produces a lot of energy, discussion, and expression from the participants on experiences of being a boss or the treatment they have received from their boss. I recently was part of a meeting where we talked about how a boss can improve his effective level of boss engagement in the workplace. I have reflected on that issue; this year in my FDIC International boss session, I am going to slip into the conversation that bosses must focus on what they can control and accept what they cannot control, and that self-control is about the only thing under a person’s control. I am looking forward to the discussion.

More: FDIC Must-Share Moments: Raul Angulo

Deputy Chief (Ret.) Thomas Dunne

New York City Fire Department

Recently, after giving my “Think Like an Incident Commander” presentation to a classroom of firefighters, I was approached by one of the students. Normally, I would expect to handle questions regarding firefighting strategy and tactics, but this particular individual raised an interesting point: He had recently been promoted, but he did not have a great deal of firefighting experience since he had served in the military and was older than most new firefighters when he first came into the fire service.  He proceeded to tell me that he was finding it difficult to feel confident when supervising other firefighters, many of whom had more actual fireground experience than he did. Apparently, the segment of my class that he found most helpful involved the discussion about developing a comfort level as an incident commander and decision maker at an emergency operation.

I was immediately impressed with both his insight and honesty. His comments reflected the exact same doubts I

 The rig is built on an Attacker HD cab and chassis, with a body constructed of stainless steel.

Federal officials plan controlled burns on more than 9,000 acres in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest as the rains ease and the landscape dries. The burns this spring are part of a broader effort in Washington to step up the pace of intentionally set fires that can reduce fuel loads and hopefully lower — in those treated areas — the risk of runaway summer blazes.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2017 1:40:35 PM - SOURCE: Seattle Times

FDIC International is the largest fire service conference and exhibition in North America. Come here once and you will discover why not only firefighters but vendors want to be here. Here are 5 five reasons you need to be here.

1. H.O.T. Training: You simply will not find comparable hands-on training anywhere. If you want to learn from the best of the best in the most challenging environments, FDIC International hands-on training is the only place you can truly achieve that goal.
2. New Equipment Demonstrations: In tandem with hands-on training, you get to experience the newest equipment available to the fire service. This isn’t just seeing it. This is donning it, using it, putting it through its paces, and providing real-time feedback to the manufacturers who supply it.
3. Classrooms: There are more than 200 classroom sessions after you’re done HOT training. After two rigorous days, it’s time to spend some time in the classroom with leading fire service leaders.
4. The Exhibits: You won’t find a bigger show floor in North America for the fire service. Manufacturers come to FDIC International to introduce their latest innovations. You’ll see them here first. And, you’ll get to talk about the equipment or fire apparatus with the people who designed it. FDIC International isn’t a regional show where you’ll only be able to talk with a local sales representative.
5. Camaraderie: Firefighters are firefighters no matter where they are from. When you come to FDIC International, you have an opportunity for camaraderie during training, during the conference portion of the event, and of course, the night life as you gather at the end of a long day of learning to relax and share stories with fellow firefighters. FDIC International gathers more firefighters than any event in North America. The opportunities for building long-lasting friendships abound here.

Couldn’t make it this year? We’ll be doing our best this week to bring you as close to FDIC International as possible without getting on a plane. Keep watching www.fdic.com for the latest updates from the show.

Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar posed this question to some of our FDIC International instructors: During the past year, was there an event, an occurrence, or a bit of knowledge you came across that moved you to think, “Wow! I must remember to include that in my FDIC class or workshop this year?”

Response from Raul Angulo:

Absolutely!

I was walking the show floor at last year’s Fire Department Instructors Conference International when I heard this guy speaking, and I heard this occasional loud “snap.” The booth drew a crown and my curiosity. I met Dave Breiner, an apparatus operator and firefighter/paramedic with the East Hartford (CT) Fire Department, and he was enthusiastically talking about his new product that looked like a gigantic red clothespin. It was clamped to a section of 1¾-inch hose. When Dave pulled the giant red clothespin away from the hose, it would snap shut and an alarm would sound. Well, I had never seen one of those things before, so I decided to join the crowd to see what all the commotion was about.

He asked me, “Have you ever been driving down the road with the rig and have all the hose accidentally deploy, dumping the entire hose bed on the road before anyone noticed?” I immediately started to laugh, as did he. I thought to myself, “How did he know?” It’s happened to me, too. He continued, “It actually happens a lot but no one is willing to admit it. It’s one of those embarrassing questions like, ‘Have you ever been caught sitting on the toilet when the bell hit?’ Sooner or later, it’s going to happen.”

The giant red clothespin is called Hose Alert, and it was invented by Dave after he dumped the entire large diameter hose (LDH) bed of Engine 1 on to Silver Lane. They were backing the engine into the station when this kid came riding up on his bicycle, “Hey fireman!....” Dave yelled at the crew, “Hey guys! Get back on the rig! We gotta go!” After turning the corner, he could see 1,000 feet of five-inch LDH laying all the way down Silver Lane! Since it was also 10°F, they reluctantly called the truck to help load hose…and he paid for that. He said to his buddy, “You know, if there was a buzzer to let me know the hose came off the rig, I would have stopped!” He started thinking that there had to be a way to alert the driver when hose is accidentally deployed, much like a buzzer sounds in the cab when a compartment door becomes ajar or flies open. In fact, many apparatuses also have a warning light in the cab in addition to an audible alarm so when a compartment door is opened, the driver can immediately stop the rig.

Hose Alert debuted at the FDIC International 2016. It is a simple concept to alert the driver when any hose is detached or deployed from the engine, either intentionally or unintentionally. The red clothespin is actually a spring-loaded, hose-gripping unit that clamps on to the top flake in the hosebed or hose slot. The Hose Alert clamp is tethered and anchored to the apparatus with a thin, nonobtrusive steel cable, which doesn’t interfere or gets caught when pulling off hose. When the hose is deployed or removed for any reason, the gripping unit is pulled away from the hose and the contact sensors connect, which sends an electronic signal to the dash unit control screen inside the cab. The alarm immediately sounds notifying the driver that a hose load has accidentally been deployed. The driver can stop in a timely and safe manner before hundreds of feet of hose is laid out in the street.

A Change of Mi