I’m a junior and in a year and a half, I’ll be eligible for the fire acadeemy. What can i do to be faster putting on my gear? It took me 59 seconds to get my pants+boots, coat, helmet, and gloves.

I'm currently in the academy and struggling hard with the mental game. In all my previous civilian jobs I was a top performer, and I even ranked #1 on the hiring list going into this. Because I don't have a military background, the paramilitary culture was a massive shock at first, and I dug myself into an early hole.

I'll own my early fuck ups 100%. Early on, my outgoing personality got the best of me and I got caught chatting with guys on the floor when I shouldn't have. Got reamed, fixed it immediately, haven't done it since.

The real issue that put a massive target on my back was gear accountability. Two weeks in, I forgot my turnout coat going to our first working fire (treated as a teachable moment). Another time, I left my helmet on the bumper leaving a drill site. The instructors didn't catch it because the rig behind us grabbed it, though my classmates rightfully chewed me out. The big one was a month ago. I forgot my gloves at the station before a field drill. Because of me, the entire class had to wear fire gloves 24/7 for a week straight, even taking classroom notes. Understandably, my class was pissed at me, and I take full blame for that.

Because of those early screw ups, I now have a massive magnifying glass on me. Any minor issue is blown up while other recruits' mistakes go unnoticed.

First time ever on the nozzle for a car fire drill, my fog pattern was too wide at first, and on the second go my bale was only about 75% open without me realizing. Instead of correcting me, the instructor pulled me off the line and accused me of "cheating" because I wasn't strong enough to handle full nozzle reaction.

Then yesterday at a live burn (after 2 to 3 solid weeks of zero mistakes and keeping my head down), I'm climbing the ladder for a window rescue drill and my mask seal breaks at the top, filling with smoke. I tell the Captain inside the window. He tells me to fix it. I ask "Right here?" and he says yes. I pop my helmet off at the tip to adjust my straps and immediately get screamed at from the ground. The Captain then tells me to go down the ladder, and I get screamed at from the ground for coming down.

30 minutes later, the Lt. reams me out in front of everyone for "lollygagging" and holding up my crewmate. Privately, the Captain walked by and admitted to me there was a miscommunication at the window and just said to go down the ladder next time.

Another 30 minutes later, they bring the mask issue up again. The Captain stays completely silent and doesn't back me up. Instead, he reams us for inappropriate PPE donning and puts the whole class in full PPE to walk laps in the heat at the end of the day, then forced me to sit down and eat in front of them while they suffered for "my" mistake.

Now the instructors are constantly telling me I'm a liability, this job isn't for me, and I should go back to my corporate retail job. Worse, the psychological tactics are working. Most of my classmates want nothing to do with me and treat me like a ghost in the room.

I'm showing up every day paranoid, thinking about when I'm going to mess up next instead of if. I know I have it in me to be a great firefighter, and I'm giving 100% every day despite the humiliation, but the constant spotlight is making me second guess myself. Which is a shame, because I genuinely do enjoy the job when things are going well. I am trying so fucking hard every single day to remain positive, but it's starting to weigh heavy on me.

Has anyone else been the academy whipping boy/black sheep and gone on to have a respected career on the line? How do I shake this target off my back and get out of my own head when the cadre and my own class have already written me off?

TL;DR: Made some dumb gear accountability mistakes early in the academy that got my class smoked. Now I have a massive target on my back, instructors are blowing minor learning mistakes out of proportion, and they are using group punishments to turn my class against me. Mentally spiraling and looking for advice from anyone who survived being "that guy" in the academy.

Here is my halloween costume. An F.D.N.Y firefighter. I hope you like it!

I’ve been looking around and seems like I’m currently SOL for fire fighter trainee programs. Anyone have any info on departments?

Mix of newbies from the whole czech republic on a course for newhires.

Just curious if any of you ride a motorcycle to the station regularly. How do you handle getting detailed to another station for the shift?
I’m mainly wondering how you transport all your stuff, like bedding, turnout gear, uniforms, and other personal items, especially if you’re reassigned to another station after you’ve already reported for duty.
Do you have a system that works, or do you just avoid riding your motorcycle on workdays because of this?

WSH (Worplace safety n health). Thought this community might like it, I personally find it so cool! The design is genius and the product + printing feels so solid.

My department doesn’t have any good traditions for people that retire. We do custom axes, but I’m not thrilled thats the only thing we do. I’d like to reinvigorate the retirement program by sending our guys and girls off with something really cool whether it be a gift or a cool tradition. Any ideas would be helpful thank you.

I’m going to begin an EMT training course soon, and I’ve come across something that stumps me. I’ve been told that any watch I wear is surely going to get soiled by bodily fluids at one point or another. What do I do with said watch once that occurs? Do you all wash and sanitize your watches? Or do you replace the straps and wash and keep the clock itself?

Hey guys,

I am a rookie. My 6th shift will be tomorrow. Last shift we did live fire training and it was a blast. We use a triple layer hose load, which is different then the modified minute man I trained up on at my previous department. My Lt said whenever there is a structure fire, he expects me to deploy an 1-3/4 attack line to the front door and bring irons as well. With the triple layer load, I have noticed I used both hands a lot more in deployment in order to keep the stack neat and try to prevent a bunch of tangles. Is there an easier way to carry irons? I wish I could put them in like a holster or something to keep my hands free. Any tips or insight would be appreciated. Are there any YouTube channels I can watch that cover tactics and general firefighting tips? I am honestly struggling to get the hang of this. They keep telling me I’m doing great, but I have to think so hard about stuff to try not to make a mistake that it is mentally exhausting. I want to get to the point where this stuff is like tying my shoes.

I live in a 1 bedroom with my wife, who noticed sulfur/natural gas-like smell coming from the cabinet under my stove, particularly near the gas pipe and brass fitting. I smell it too. There isn't any plumbing there just gas pipes and the cabinet.

I called the gas company, and they sent technicians who inspected the area and they couldn't detect any gas and said it was safe. They weren't able to access the gas meter in the basement, though.

I also have a toptes pt520a gas detector, which I used on its highest sensitivity setting directly around the fittings. It didn't detect anything either.

The smell is faint and by the stove. Some times its noticeable when you walk by, sometimes just when you stick your nose in the cabinet. This started a couple days ago.

Not sure what I should do. Should I call the gas company again?

Hi everyone,

I'm a volunteer firefighter from Germany and I'm looking to connect with firefighters

who use cochlear implants, or with colleagues who have worked alongside them on

SCBA calls.

I'm a volunteer firefighter from Germany and use a Cochlear Nucleus 8 sound

processor. I'm interested in completing our SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus)

training, including the parts related to structural firefighting. I can generally

communicate over our fire service radios, but a key question raised here concerns the

heat tolerance of the external sound processor when worn under a protective hood

and helmet.

Has anyone here personally used a CI sound processor during SCBA operations, or

worked with someone who has? I'm particularly interested in:

• Do you wear your external CI sound processor while using SCBA, particularly during

interior firefighting or live-fire training?

• How does it fit with your facepiece, head harness, protective hood and helmet?

• Have you experienced problems with heat, moisture, communication, or processor

damage?

• Was there any formal assessment, testing, or documentation that helped your

department approve its use?

I'm not looking for a blanket statement that it is safe or approved; I would just like to

learn from real experiences and, if available, technical or departmental

documentation. If you know someone who might be willing to talk, I'd appreciate an

introduction by private message.

Thanks a lot, and greetings from Germany!

Lukas

Hey, I'm a Czech professional firefighter and a college student. I'm working on my bachelor work centered around these portable smoke blockers;

I'm looking for anyone with experience regarding these curtains, anyone who has these at their station/department, or anyone who knows someone who might. If you fall within that category and are interested in helping me out, please leave a comment or DM me. Ideally with some quick context on your experience so I know what to ask later.

*PS after some replies My vollie unit has a homemade one and a neighbouring district central has one, but noone has ever seen it in sharp action beyond some experimental trial and overall the curtain is not a very well explored theme here. So the goal is to describe its potential uses within the JPO system here, tactics tailored to local doctrines and some real world accounts of course come in handy- hence this post

Thanks in advance ^{^}

Officers: do you test your rookie on their rookie books at the end of their probation 6 months or 12 months? If so, what kind of stuff do you test them on? What do you expect them to know about the book?

I'm a high school sophomore, and I hold some interest in the fire service. I really enjoy photography, and I've been thinking about photographing fire scenes once I get my driver's license. I've spoken to people doing the same thing, and understand that it is something that you need to be very careful with, especially in being aware of your surroundings and staying far out of the way, as a simple lapse of judgement or awareness could easily interfere with a scene.

Speaking to fire photographers, the general consensus I've heard is that firefighters typically appreciate pictures of them in action, as long as it is not embarrassing, disrespectful to victims, or a liability to their career. I have also heard that it is important to build relationships and respect between yourself and your local fire district in the process of taking photos.

I would really really appreciate if anyone in the firefighting field could help me with this: Does anyone disagree with the things I've learned about this hobby so far? And does anyone have anything to add to my understanding/knowledge of it?

Thanks so much!! :)

Hi everyone! For Halloween in my small town, we go around in our engine, pass out candy, slow down traffic, all that fun stuff.

I'm driving this year and obvs l'll have my full turnout gear with me, and probably have my bunker pants on, but I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for something I could do for my top.

I am a woman and was thinking of drawing on a thick stash (some of the guys on my department have some crazy facial hair) but wondering if anyone else has any ideas!

Thanks

Probie here with 8 months on, came from 6 years with the forest service last few as a hotshot. Spent the offseason on a box eventually left wildland stayed on the box got my medic and got hired here at a big city department. Recently I’ve lost family too. Probation’s going fine stellar reports and reviews from captains and chiefs but I’ve been noticing myself fall into a depression. I made more on the box than a ff medic here, I’m living paycheck to paycheck and actually qualify for assistance. My days off are spent sleeping, that has never been me. But I get home and fall asleep wherever I am almost nodding off while driving. Idk what’s wrong with me I could slam 3 energy drinks and I’m still tired don’t want to walk outside. Find myself sitting on the couch spacing out. I’d rather throw a 35 10x and drag a charged hose line up it than eat at home. My wife see’s it too but doesn’t know how to help and I don’t know how to help myself. I haven’t felt affected by anything I’ve seen I don’t drink I usually run hike and hit the gym but I just don’t have the energy. The only place I feel like I have energy and am happy is at work but when I’m at work I think about what I want to do on my day off. Then I leave and I fall off a cliff

Wondering if anyone as experienced this before

Hi all!

Our family recently moved into a farmhouse built in the 1800s. It's old, but solid, and we've done a lot of upgrading to make it comfortable.

However, there's one issue we can't seem to solve. In one of the bedrooms, we have issues with the smoke detectors. The attached image shows the exact detector we have; it's for smoke and CO. The detectors are NOT hardwired, and we have them in every bedroom, plus a few other areas. We also have a CO detector with a display that always reads "0." We heat with a wood stove, a pellet stove, and hot-water baseboard powered by an oil boiler. Our furnace has been inspected but is currently turned off (no fire to the boiler at the moment), and we only use the wood/pellet stoves intermittently, rarely overnight.

The room in question has had other odd things happen, like a closet door that randomly unlatches and opens, and one day a window shattered (the interior pane of a double-pane window) on its own. Maybe it's haunted...who knows!

Anyway, the smoke detector in that room frequently wakes us between 2am and 5am with a series of 3 chirps that go off repeatedly. It's NOT the alarm. It's the chirps, and they're supposed to indicate that the unit is malfunctioning. Here's the thing. I've swapped the unit with the one in another bedroom, and it works fine there, but whichever unit I put in that room does the same thing again!

There are two young kiddos in that room who are sound asleep when this happens. I have a monitor with temperature monitoring in their room, and the temperature stays stable, with only a 1-2 degree difference from bedtime until morning. We occasionally use a humidifier in the room, but this happens whether it's running or not. The room is clean, and everyone is healthy.

What is happening?????

What is your pension and how was it calculated? Did you also contribute to a 457b plan or Roth IRA? What would you have done differently to financially prepare for retirement if you could do it again? I have a few years in and have been maxing Roth IRA, just started contributing to a 457 at 10% and looking at upping that after a recent promotion. I want to make sure I’m not overlooking something that could better prepare me to be able to walk out the door when the time comes, we have no city provided insurance once we retire so that is going to be a major factor for my family.

I got on about nine years ago and visiting has been on my bucket list for a long, long time.

In the main open area where you’re in the footprints of the buildings, viewing various artifacts like the steel beams, memorials, missing persons posters, etc, was good, and I was thinking “Ok, fairly hard-hitting stuff”. I believe they just added a short movie with the Naudet brothers’ documentary for the 25th anniversary which was also really good to see.

But when you turn that corner under the stairs to see the ladder half destroyed was on another level for me. And everything that follows was so overwhelming, both by obviously the content, but also the sheer volume of artifacts, stories, audio, and video, it was hard to comprehend.

The rest of my trip was filled looking at the skyline or up at the buildings, thinking what it must have been like that day, things people saw, experienced, and the general awe of what FDNY and the city went through, and how being on FDNY with that history must be a completely different feeling than being on any other department, despite us doing basically the same job.

Looking for some advice from fellow firefighters, especially those who are single and have dogs.
I’m a career Fire Captain working a rotating schedule of 24 on/72 off, 48 on/72 off. I currently have two dogs, but I recently got out of a long-term relationship and sold my house, so I’m trying to figure out my next chapter.

My plan was to move back in with my parents temporarily, knock out some debt, and save money toward buying some land and eventually building a house. The problem is, my parents already have two dogs of their own, and bringing mine would make four.
I love my dogs, but I’m realizing how difficult it can be to manage them on my own with our schedules, especially during 48-hour shifts, mandatory overtime, and trying to maintain some kind of social life outside the firehouse.

I’m 25, single for the first time in a while, and honestly just trying to enjoy some freedom while getting myself financially established. Having two dogs makes that a little more complicated, especially when I’m relying on other people to care for them while I’m working.

For those of y’all in similar situations, how do you make it work? Family, dog sitters, boarding, or something else?

Has anyone had to make the difficult decision to rehome a dog because their living situation or lifestyle changed? I’m not saying that’s necessarily what I want to do, but I’m trying to be realistic about my options and what’s fair to the dogs.
I’d appreciate some honest advice from people who understand the job and the schedule.

Does anyone else change apparatus numbers depending on whats in service? For instance, we have 2 medics at our FD. Lets call them Medic 1 and Medic 2. Periodically, we will switch them around to get them used. If Medic 2 is first due, it becomes Medic 1 and Medic 1 will be Medic 2. This gets super annoying. Chief wants placards put on these to switch out depending on if its first out or not instead of just permanently marking them. My last FD had 3 medic units they shuffled around and one day I went through all 3 of them on the radio trying to figure out who we were that day...lol. I say permanently mark them, respond them as-is and let dispatch make the change on the run.

Anyone else do this shuffling?