Author Archive for Christopher J. Naum, SFPE
Leadership, Purpose, Service and Reason
Leadership, Purpose, Service and Reason Here are two powerful videos that share important messages that apply to each and every firefighter, company officer and commander: coming from very different perspectives and areas-But directly applicable, IF you listen to the messages, the themes and relate them to what we do each and every day. The names […]
Training Download: Are you Combat Ready?
There comes a time; when a single call or the associated demands of a shift or tour that is defined by frequent and repetitive call demands that define you as a firefighter, company officer or commander. Be combat ready for engagement each and every call; be prepared and ready to implement with those attributes that […]
Reported Structure Fire with Trapped Occupants: Are YOU Combat Ready?
Just another day… On any given day, at any given time in the streets, buildings and occupancies that comprise the fabric of our communities and ultimately our response district and first-due areas; the citizens we protect go about their daily lives and activities as we go about ours. On any given day, at any given […]
Los Angeles Firefighters Battle Major Emergency at Townhouses Under construction
Los Angeles Firefighters Battle Major Alarm at Townhouses Under Construction Under-construction building fire forces dozens of evacuations A townhouse complex under construction caught fire on November 10, 2011, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles (CA). The six-unit, wood-framed complex was in its construction phase, where at least two of the units were fully involved […]
NFPA 2010 Fire Loss in the U.S. Report issued
NFPA releases 2010 “Fire Loss in the U.S.” report New report shows lower number of fires but increased fire deaths Public fire departments responded to 1,331,500 fires in the United States during 2010, a slight decrease from the previous year and the lowest number since 1977, according to a new report (759 KB) issued by […]
FDNY: Building Collapse Claims Life Of 1 Of 5 Workers Rescued
A five-story building under construction suddenly came down on Monday afternoon in Brooklyn, New York. Three workers became trapped under the rubble after the top two floors fell onto the third, sending it all crashing to the ground, officials said. Published reports indicate that the likelihood of the weight of the concrete caused the 3rd […]
Hal Bruno: The best friend a firefighter and the fire service could have
“Hal Bruno is one of the most important figures in the history of this country’s fire service. Hal died last night (November 8, 2011) at age 83. I imagine that many of the younger firefighters and a few older ones who read this site aren’t familiar with the name Hal Bruno. Hal wasn’t a […]
Commericals- Got Fire; Anticipate Collapse
Got Fire?……Anticipate Collapse.. A recent video clip making its way around the cyber fireground clearly depicted a very close-call and resulting near miss event to four firefighters at a four alarm fire involving a commercial building that housed an established insulation manufacturer and installation contractor. The video shows within a very compressed time frame, the […]
Fire Modeling Software from NIST
Fire Modeling Software These fire simulation programs were developed or sponsored by the Fire Research Division at the NIST. The list of programs is divided into two broad categories below: currently-supported software and archival (unsupported) software. In order to get further information or to obtain one of the programs, click on the appropriate name. […]
Three Alarm Fire: Apartment Complex under Construction ignites
A three-story apartment building that was under construction caught fire on October 27, 2011 in the early evening in Carson, California (LA County). The rapidly advancing fire quickly ran through an apartment building under construction and spread to a nearby mobile home park damaging at least 10 homes and forcing evacuations, according to published reports. There were […]
Wind Driven Mansion Fire
A million dollar Baltimore County, Maryland home was destroyed Sunday December 13, 2009 by a fire that tore through the 4,700-square-foot structure with such intensity that firefighters were forced to battle the flames from the exterior. Shortly after 21:00 hours, Baltimore County Fire Dispatch alerted crews for Fire Box 50-2 at 12607 Nancy Lee Court in […]
Engineered Structural Systems- Hazards
CNN recently presented an informative piece on the continuing trends in the design and use of engineered structural systems (ESS) . CNN correspondant Gerri Willis provides an informative and insightful look at something the fire service knows all too well. Here’s some additional information for you; According to the Wood Truss Council of America (WTCA), […]
The Argument for European, North American Unification
While doing some research on UK and US Strategic Leadership and Operational issues, I came across an article published on FireChief .com on April 28, 2011 and written by By Glenn Bischoff titled: The Argument for European, North American Unification. After reading through the piece, I thought this had some interesting connotations worthy of reposting […]
Size-Up: Report of the Week (ROTW)
Size-Up and Risk Assessment Skills: How are yours? In this week’s issue of the National Fire Fighter’s Near-Miss Reporting System’s Report of the Week (ROTW) an informative focus was provided on near-miss reports related to Size-Up. We’re posting the ROTW alert in it’s entirety below. Go over to the National Fire Fighter’s Near-Miss […]
NFPA releases state-level fire service needs assessment for every U.S. state
NFPA releases state-level fire service needs assessment for every U.S. state. Findings based on Third Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service with comparisons to earlier studies The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released a fire service needs assessment for each state based on findings from the Third Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire […]
