Summer Storms are Here!

Sullivan EMS
Scene Size-up
By: James S. Vooght

Summer Storms are Here!

Summer storms are here. Well, at least they have been here for the better part of the month, especially with the unwelcomed beginning of hurricane season as well. Not sure what Mother Nature is up to lately with the flooding from the past few years, and now a couple of severe storms over the past 2 weeks. But these storms are popping up with more frequency and more severity. And with anything else, the worse it gets the larger EMS involvement there will be. Read more »

More on Retention and Recruitment Issues

6/15/2008                    FIREFIGHTER’S NEWS & VIEWS #396               Paul Hemmer

Retention and recruitment has been a concern of the fire service for over a decade now and there seems to be no cure all for this dilemma only some band-aid fixes we hope will stem the tide for the immediate future. At times it feels like the story of the little Dutch boy plugging the leak in the dike with his finger and then watching five or six more leaks occur and hoping that the whole thing won’t give way. Most recently the New York State Senate has approved legislation that is intended to encourage Volunteer recruitment in the fire and EMS services across the state. Read more »

Consider Hot Weather Rehab Precautions

6/8/2008                      FIREFIGHTER’S NEWS & VIEWS #395               Paul Hemmer

 

Once again the brutal hot and humid weather we have all been suffering with the last several days brings to mind the necessity of being prepared when operating at emergency scenes under these conditions. Little or no activity is needed to bring on heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or dehydration. Everyone should take precautions to protect themselves from succumbing to these dangerous conditions during these times of stifling heat and humidity. Imagine if you can the conditions under which firefighters are subjected when battling a fire under these conditions. Read more »

Drills and Practice

Sullivan EMS
Scene Size-up
By: James S. Vooght

Drills and Practice

Welcome to the world of NIMS. The National Incident Management System was supposed to revolutionize the way we operate in EMS and in the emergency services as a whole. From my perspective in the cheap seats it has standardized things at the risk of being too much for the average volunteer to have to sit through. But it does teach our EMS leadership what it is that needs to be done in order to appropriately plan and draft comprehensive incident management protocols. Read more »

Preparing the Next Generation for Leadership, Are we doing enough?

5/18/2008                    FIREFIGHTER’S NEWS & VIEWS #394               Paul Hemmer

 

During the leadership seminar conducted on May 3rd at the Monticello Firehouse by Chief John Salka and Chief Rick Lasky they touched on the subject of building our next generation of leadership and I think this subject deserves a closer look. Read more »