Old Firefighters Never Die: They Just Smolder
So, I’m retiring. Not from my full time job of dispatching to become a Gentleman Author, as I wanted. (It’s like a Gentleman Farmer, a rich person who just farms as a hobby. No real […]
Tag: albion fire department
Cooking Safety Begins With Me Not Cooking
It goes without saying that the best way to maintain safety in a kitchen is to keep me out. But I said it anyway, and as it happens, the theme of this year’s […]
A Fractured History Of Firefighting
On this 100th anniversary of Nation Fire Prevention Week, I thought I’d take a quick look at the history of firefighting. You might want to brace yourself, we’ll be moving fast. Fire was discovered by […]
A Great Day For a Grass Fire
Sunday was a great day for a grass fire. No, not that kind of grass, although wildland fires can make your day go to pot. It’s that time of year. People get cabin fever, and […]
Don’t Wait: Check the Date
In my three (or so) decades in the emergency services, I never heard anyone complain that their smoke detectors worked properly. Well, okay, once—but that guy was an arsonist. Fire Prevention Week this year is […]
Can I Ax You a Question?
I got to break things with an ax at a structure fire Wednesday afternoon. (A small outbuilding.) But then I broke the ax. Good thing they don’t take that out of a volunteer firefighter’s pay. […]
Pining Away Over Smoke
It’s not workable to wear air packs at wildland fires, but you can usually stay out of the worst of the smoke if you’re careful. I wasn’t. Sunday we responded to a fire that burned […]
Great Fires Aren’t Good
This column did get printed in time for Fire Prevention Week—it’s just late getting online. But really, shouldn’t something like this be all year round? Meanwhile, the new publisher has allowed me to write a […]
Bleeding Fire Engine Red
The editor of the newspapers I work for asked me for a fire service related article for our Fire Prevention Week insert last week, and this is what I came up with: It’s […]
Bobbing For Fire
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK After three decades as a volunteer firefighter, I … hurt. A lot, especially when it’s cold. Recently I’ve been seen wearing a sling, to let my arm heal after I […]