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Features
Fire attack
Robert Krause has been a speaker at FDIC Atlantic in Wolfville, N.S., for the last couple of years.
Recipe Rescue: January 2012
As members of the fire service, I think we can all agree that one of the finest aspects of our profession is the camaraderie and unity we share as a brotherhood/sisterhood.
Learning how to learn
The delivery of fire-service training and ongoing education hasn’t changed much in more than 20 years.
Volunteer response
One hundred volunteer firefighters from 16 departments responded to a blaze at the White Point Beach Resort at Hunt’s Point on Nova Scotia’s South Shore on Nov. 12.
Making changes that make a difference
We hear every January that change is good, that we need to shake things up, do a better job, adjust our attitudes, exercise more, mend fences, train harder, play safer, share, expand our horizons, push the envelope, count our blessings, sleep longer, and work less (I can hear you chuckling).
Been there, done that
In your 44 years in the fire service, what was the most significant change you experienced that affects the way firefighters do their jobs?
Keeping track
Fire-service agencies and stakeholders across Canada will be consulted in the spring as part of research for the country’s first national fire statistics database.
Truck training
As a new training officer in the early 1990s, I was tasked with training firefighters on a newly purchased aerial ladder apparatus, and told to hurry up and get it done.
Recipe Rescue: October 2011
When we choose fire fighting as a profession, or decide to help serve our communities as volunteer firefighters, I am sure we consider the risk-versus-reward aspect of this career.
B.C. tanker crash challenges first responders
Emergency responders in British Columbia can’t understand why 40,000 litres of gasoline and 600 litres of diesel didn’t erupt into flames after a truck pulling two tankers went off the road, overturned and spilled a majority of its contents.
Collecting trouble
Ontario Fire Marshal Ted Wieclawek used blunt language to describe the worst hoarding fire in Canada, the September 2010 highrise fire at 200 Wellesley St. in Toronto: The tremendous growth and spread of the fire was a result of the excessive amount of combustible materials stored on the balcony and in the suite of origin . . .
Sorting through the clutter
In March of 2010, I was in Kingston, Ont., taking stock photos for the magazine and I spent the day at Station 1 with Capt. Shawn Babcock and his crew.
Flashback 9-11: Hands across the border
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the November 2001 issue of Fire Fighting in Canada.
Flashback 9-11: One city’s response to the events of 9-11
Editor’s note: This column was originally published in the November 2001 issue of Fire Fighting in Canada.
Flashback 9-11: Fireball Over Manhattan
Editor’s note: This column was originally published in the October 2001 issue of Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly.
Flashback 9-11: Fireside Chat
Editor’s note: This Fireside Chat column was originally published in the November 2001 issue of Fire Fighting in Canada.
The status of disaster management
Sept. 11, 2001, changed the world forever. Fire services worldwide stood up and noticed how vulnerable they are to terrorist attacks.
The status of the FDNY
I ended up going down [to Ground Zero] from home. I didn’t see newspapers from that day or from Sept. 12 or 13; we were busy.
The status of airport security
Editor’s note: Fire Fighting in Canada editor Laura King interviewed Fire Chief Brian Hicks, manager of Safety and Airside Operations at the Gander International Airport Authority, during the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire Services conference in June. Here is Hicks’ account of 9-11.
We remember
I was the deputy fire chief on 9-11 at Toronto Pearson and happened to be the acting fire chief that day.
The status of interoperability
It has been seven years since the U.S. National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9-11 Commission) released its report suggesting that communications interoperability among first responders must improve. Yet even now, most Canadian fire, police and ambulance organizations still can’t connect to each other all that easily.
Comment: September 2011
It wasn’t a single, blindingly clear moment of realization that the world had changed. For me, it wasn’t until the second plane hit the south tower of the World Trade Center, about 17 minutes after the first attack on the north tower, that I understood America was under attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
Comment: August 2011
It’s frustrating, by times, to read about turf wars between fire and EMS (see page 34), or demands for a 24-hour shift, when volunteer departments are gratefully accepting donations of used equipment (see Station to Station, page 6) and selling calendars or tickets on ride-on mowers and barbecues to buy PPE.
Fully Engaged: July 2011
As a boy, I didn’t think much about money. I came from a middle-class family with two brothers and one sister, and life was good. The older I got, the more I thought about money; there were more things I wanted than my money would allow. So, as a teenager, I cut lawns to save money and I worked part time at an auto-repair garage – the owner of that garage was a volunteer firefighter, like my dad. I was happy.
DEPARTMENT PROFILE: Comox Fire Rescue
Department name/location Comox Fire Rescue, Comox, Vancouver Island, B.C. Founded 1946.
Slave Lake firestorm
Wildfires started burning 10 kilometres south of Slave Lake, in northern Alberta, on Saturday, May 14. Several communities west of Slave Lake were put on two-hour evacuation notice. By 5:30 p.m. a second fire had started east of Slave Lake. Residents of Poplar Estates, Mitsue and the Sawridge Indian Band were evacuated. At 10:30 p.m., the Town of Slave Lake declared a state of emergency. The fires burned for days, claiming 480 homes and countless hectares. Fire Fighting in Canada editor Laura King talked with Jamie Coutts, chief of the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service, on June 21, a little more than a month after the wildfires, as he continued to replace burned equipment. The fire that consumed Slave Lake moved faster, and with more force – pushed by 100-kilometre-an-hour winds – than any other in recorded Canada history. Coutts’ powerful narrative follows.
More saves than losses in Slave Lake
Fire services exist to help people on the worst days of their lives. That’s why the men and women of Canada’s fire services are so highly regarded in their communities. Communities like Slave Lake.
Letter to the editor: June 2011
Having recently returned from the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs Annual Meetings and Educational Seminar (AMES), I sat down to read the May edition of Fire Fighting in Canada (FFIC). From the cover story on high-tech tools to the closing Flashpoint column, two themes rang out to me as I perused the magazine: change and safety.
Comment: June 2011
Late last year in northern Lynn Lake, Man., a 20-month-old toddler died in a house fire on a First Nations reserve. There were 13 people living in the home and everyone but the toddler got out safely, which, as you can imagine, was little consolation to anyone at the time.
Guest column: May 2011
Most of us know what it’s like to drive the same route every day, or drive a long distance, and all of a sudden realize we have arrived at our destination but aren’t sure how we got there. Life is like that – we drive on autopilot. Sometimes the drives are short; sometimes the drives are long.
Comment: May 2011
Tragedy is a harsh teacher. I was in Nova Scotia on the March Break when I got an e-mail alert saying two firefighters in Listowel, Ont., had died on duty while in a burning dollar store.
Three Questions: CFF firehall food writer Patrick Mathieu
DEPARTMENT PROFILE: King Fire & Emergency Services
King Fire and Emergency Services, Township of King, Ont.
Recipe Rescue: April 2011
When I started at Waterloo Fire Rescue 11 years ago, I vividly remember a wise veteran explaining to me during lunch break (which, to him, was the most important part of the day!) that you had one responsibility of two possible tasks: you cooked or you cleaned.
Shifting arguments
The 24-hour shift. Just four words, but an issue that has created a firestorm in some of Canada’s largest fire departments, as firefighters look for better work-life balance and managers weigh operational realities and public safety.
From the Editor
A lifetime ago when I chased fire trucks for a living as a young reporter, I worked shifts, often 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. when much of the good stuff happened for those of us on the police/fire beat.
Dual Duty: April 2011
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” –Henry Ford
The 911 dilemma
Despite advances made in Enhanced 911 (E911) communications, which provides 911 call centres with the physical addresses of callers, Canada’s 911 system is failing to keep up with the pace of telephone technology.
Comment: March 2011
Napanee is like a lot of places in Canada. It’s an eastern Ontario town, a cozy place where it seems everyone knows the fire chief, small-town values matter, people worry about the declining fortunes of the Ottawa Senators, and they are button-bursting proud to be the home of pop sensation Avril Lavigne.
Committed contingent
Feb. 11, 2011 - While fire departments in some parts of Alberta have closed their doors during the day or shut down altogether because there aren’t enough volunteers to meet the demand for service, the all-volunteer Redwood Meadows Emergency Services has created a recruitment and retention model that works.
Comment: February 2011
As Canadians, we are lucky in innumerable ways. Our education and health care are the envy of much of the world. Most of our neighbourhoods are safe and our kids have incredible advantages and opportunities.
Careers in fire fighting 2011
Thinking about becoming a firefighter? Want to know which schools offer what programs, or what's required to get in? Our comprehensive careers in firefighting guide will give you edge on the competition and help you decide which fire program is best for you.
Volunteer firefighters save Mountie in daring rescue
Peggy’s Cove, just outside Halifax, is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Nova Scotia. The picturesque village and its famous lighthouse draws an estimated 750,000 visitors a year. When that many people closely interact with an unpredictable Atlantic Ocean, some tragedy is inevitable.
Challenges and changes
As the City of Toronto EMS chief, Bruce Farr has led the charge in emergency responses to crises such as the SARS epidemic in 2003, the G20 riots last summer and many others.
Hurricane havoc
On the morning of Sept. 21, fire departments across eastern Newfoundland were tasked with protecting the public from firefighters’ traditional ally: water.
From the Editor
As I mentioned in October, we’re now the proud owners of the Firehall.com website and, with that acquisition and a refined direction, come some changes here at Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly – changes we think you’ll like. |
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