This is a great drill from a great Brother and friend, Lance Peeples of the Webster Groves Fire Department in St. Louis County.  Look for more great material from Lance in the future.     Daily Drill 1: Standpipe Operations   “The Daily Drill” is designed to spark discussion about operational issues in YOUR […]

These factors are all too familiar.  We see the same failures in these large loss of life fires in assembly occupancies.  We sometimes take our inspections and prevention activities lightly because it is not “fun” or interesting to some.  Remember these fires and the lives that have been lost because of poor prevention measures and a lack of life safety measures in these buildings.

That night 77 people lost their lives at a school event that should have ended with celebration and refreshments. Instead the community was tasked with finding the bodies of those who did not make it out.

As I made a right from the lobby, there is a short hallway that honors the fallen Chicago firefighters over the past 200 plus years. They have a badge for each one in a glass case and it is sobering to say the least. There is a great number of badges on that wall for those that made the ultimate sacrafice. When you see how many have given their lives for their fellow man, it truly is a humbling experience.

Simple oversights on fire inspections could make a difference in an emergency. Be thorough and enforce the fire codes.

On this day in 1961, not that long ago, a circus tent caught fire in Niterói, Brazil.  The fire killed 323 people including many children. It is suspected that a disgruntled worker set the fire, but that has been disputed by some. It is another example why we have codes and permits for these special […]

On this day in 1835, a great fire swept through New York destroying over 500 buildings and claiming the lives of two people. The fire reportedly did what would be hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. The fire started on Merchant street and spread quickly through the lower Manhatten area.  Firefighters battled below freezing […]