OUR INFLUENCE: Every day we have an opportunity to influence those around us. Some days, even if unintentional, the impact of our posture could be negative. Always must we stay vigilant and maintain good attitudes. “Good?” you may be asking yourself. We need to be honest; we are not our best every single day. Although we may strive to, life is dynamic which could keep us from having our best day [ Read More ]
Firefighter Corner
Looking at annual Line of Duty Death statistics, anyone can easily see that cardiac arrest is a Firefighters foe. In fact, heart attack is at least 50% of the reason why we lose so many brothers and sisters each year. We can all agree that improving our health, getting annual medical physicals and exercising are the right things to do. However, I have two questions. First how many of us [ Read More ]
Picture your neighbor’s house…steam and smoke lazily coming out of the hole in the roof as you watch salvage and overhaul crews entering the house. Most of the men and women too busy to realize that you are there watching, not knowing that you are a firefighter and understand the entire process that is unfolding in the front yard of the house next door. You know it will only be a matter of [ Read More ]
How does the bench press or bicep curls help a firefighter lug two and half inch hose down a hallway or lift a 300-pound patient up off of the bathroom floor? Does having bigger trapezius muscles or a stronger gluteus help us breach a wall quicker or force a door more easily? It’s no secret that strength training helps us look and feel good, but does lifting weights translate to [ Read More ]
Building a stronger heart is the best life insurance there is. Each year heart attacks take the lives of more firefighters than all other line of duty deaths, and hundreds more are forced into early retirement. One often over-looked and underestimated solution to this epidemic is cardiovascular exercise. We all know that regular cardiovascular exercise makes your heart stronger and more efficient, burns calories, lowers your blood pressure and helps [ Read More ]
By Christopher Huston What is a tradition? One web reference defines it as “an inherited pattern of thought or action”. We do what we do because it’s always been done that way. The fire service has many great traditions. Honor, Pride and Bravery just to name a few. But where do we draw the line between traditions and just bad behaviors? Let’s take a look at some bad behavior. [ Read More ]
