Rarified Air

A few days ago on March 27^th, we were reminded of the 6^th anniversary of the Firegeezer blog. It’s crazy, but I thought they had been around longer than that. It sure seems like it.

When I say “they”; of course I am referring to Bill Schumm and Perfesser Mike Ward. They complement each other very well. Bill is soft-spoken and a student of the history of the fire service and Mike Ward is an academian who can fire off articulated rants like a gangster’s machine gun.

 Firegeezer is a blog that I visit daily and it is the quality of the blog that keeps me coming back.

Do we have a point here?

Yes.

I have been writing articles; in essence, “blogging” since 2003. I started doing articles for the Memberszone at Firehouse.com and from there, I went to IACOJ. I’ll come back to this later.

Then, Dave Iannone was starting up FirefighterNation.com and invited me to come and blog for him. In the meantime, he and his partner, Chris Hebert started FireEMSBlogs with the idea that they would bring the best fire/EMS bloggers together at ONE website. I wrote somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 blogs for Dave and Company. I also wrote some articles for FireRescue1, but most recently, I have been blogging for FireEngineering.com.

I would venture to guess that I have written and posted over 500 articles over the years and some of you might remember that I also wrote and posted “The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie”. Currently, I am in the final phases of scrubbing Jake and Vinnie for a launch as an E-book. Those of you who read the series might remember that I didn’t end it with a final episode. Now, it has a final episode! Stay tuned.

My title for today comes from a small website that, in its heyday, had around 1000 members. A couple of server crashes later has seen membership drop. The IACOJ was born out of the discussions that some of us were having at Firehouse.com. In fact; we were so vocal that they created the “Off Duty” forums for the Jakes. One thing led to another and with the guiding vision of Ron “Da Gonz” Ayotte and the IT skills of Steve Gallagher, Dave LeBlanc and Matt Kivela; the IACOJ went on-line as a  website where you could engage in respectful debate and avoid the flame-throwers with their name-baiting.

But, something else came out of this distinguished group of jakes…BLOGGERS!

There may be others, but the bloggers that I follow to this day are Mike Ward at Firegeezer, Bill Carey at Back Step Firefighter, Dave LeBlanc at A View From the Front Seat, Ron Ayotte at Chief Concerns, Grant Mishoe at Sconfire.com and Mick Mayers at Firehouse Zen.

There is one more blog that I visit on a regular basis and that is Dave Statter at Statter911.

Dave LeBlanc recently wrote a blog about the proliferation of training articles and the importance of verifying the information and the “street cred” of the person posting the article. I couldn’t agree more.

As we all know; any person with a computer and an Internet connection can be anything that he wants to be and say whatever trips their trigger. Just because they say it doesn’t make it so and with all of the social media that is available; it extends the reach of what could be bad information.

But, with the aforementioned bloggers, trust and verify is certainly not an issue. They are well educated, experienced and would never dispense bad information. And on matters of opinion; they will leave no question as to where they stand with their respectful and well-reasoned reply. They all have “street cred”.

In the past several months, I have not been very active with my blogging. There have been a series of family events that have taken priority and I haven’t been in the right frame of mind to write.

I will find my groove again. Bobby H. gets concerned when he doesn’t here from me.

I hope to get to FDIC this year and perhaps I will get to talk with fellow bloggers.

In the meantime, I would encourage everyone to visit any of the bloggers mentioned in this article.

You won’t be disappointed.

Take care and stay safe.

Blogging Then and Now

Every now and then, I have to remind myself that I have been blogging for a long time.

My first article went up at Firehouse.com during the early days of the MembersZone feature. Back then, you could sign up for free, but if you paid, you could get content that wasn’t available with the free membership. That first article was posted in the “Volunteer’s Corner”.

From there, I went to the IACOJ website, where I posted several blogs in the “ChiefReason” section.

The Board there gave me a piece of their pie and we had many, many great discussions.
So many fond memories there; too many to count. From the many strangers that I met through the website, I was privileged to make many friends and it was done from both sides of a debate.

I always felt comfortable. It felt like a home and that I belonged.

Then, I went on a new adventure.

I was asked by the founder of FirefighterNation to come and join his new venture and that took me to FireEMSBlogs.com, where I managed to post 2-3 times a week, as well as participate in their forums.

That exposure lead to a slot on FirefighterNetcast, an up-and-coming blogtalkradio show that was gaining popularity. It was live and unscripted-right up my alley!

But, nothing ever remains the same and you look for new challenges or they find you.

However it happens, you find yourself somewhere else, doing what you love to do.

I have been with Fireengineering.com for more than a year now. Bobby, Peter and Scott have been a blast to work with.

From Firehouse.com to now, I have posted well over 400 articles. Anyone who has read my blog knows that I write about an array of subjects. Many have been about fire service issues and many more have not been.

Having the freedom to write about whatever I want is what draws me to blogging. I don’t expect everyone to get it and I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with me. Anyone who has blogged for as long as I have has been called every name in the book and yet; that doesn’t serve to discourage me or to entertain thoughts of giving it up.

It DOES cause you to step back now and then to re-examine your words, because the right words properly presented can be powerful and the wrong choice of words can be hurtful.

And though I have always taken great pride in choosing the right words, I haven’t always been right. As I am not one to be satisfied with hitting for percentage; I don’t want to hit a home run at someone else’s expense, either.

Firefighter safety has always been close to my heart. I have advocated for it at the local, state and national levels. I have had the grand opportunity to use what I love to do to put it into the public arena as a blog.

During my active, fire career, my department made several, interior attacks. That was back in the days when doing a 360 simply wasn’t done by small departments. We had to rely on our training from smoke classes and building construction class to keep us safe. You see; back then, if the chief didn’t respond, it was the guy first on scene who was in charge.

It was only after taking tactics classes taught by the likes of Rick Lasky, John Mittendorf, Tom Freeman, Bob and Ray Hoff, Eddie Enright and many others that I realized the importance of doing a proper size up.

And still; we never made a rescue from a structural fire in those years then or since.

My rescues came as an EMT and as a rescuer at vehicle accidents and there were many.
There are many in the volunteer service like me, who go an entire career, believing that we were prepared to fight our way into a structure, race to the victim(s) and pull them out of Harm’s way, but will never know if our heart and our training were up to the task.

I still get excited and a little emotional when I hear or read about a crew that got in, made the grab and everyone went home.

I can’t say that I know that feeling, but I can say that the willingness of anyone to make that effort is one of the pillars that built America’s fire service.

Unless you write strictly opinion pieces, where you simply write within a single dimension, you have to do a lot of research, which in my case, requires a lot of reading. All of that reading goes into my blogs.

Risk management (safety) is how I make my living, so I tend to gravitate in that direction.

The best fire service book that I have ever read on firefighter safety is Paul Grimwood’s “Euro Firefighter”.

I don’t know if that was Paul’s intent for it to be a safety manual, but it is to me.

From the many case studies, interviews, NIOSH excerpts and strategies discussed in his book, it is written in a way that immediately impacts the reader with many key elements needed on the fireground by officers and firefighters alike. Paul is one of those authors who must be read. He absolutely knows what he is writing about. The last I knew, Paul held the highest fire service degree awarded in the UK AND he has worked out of some of the busiest stations in the UK. I am honored that he calls me “brother and friend”. I am humbled that he used some of my work in his book. If I never write again, I will always have that.

That brings me back to the point of this blog.

You can write something that has impact and relevance; you can state opinions designed simply to get a reaction or you can write what many others write about and in the process, get lost in the maddening crowd. It’s simple for me; I don’t want to go with the crowd.

When Priceless Paul Combs posts one of his extraordinary drawings, I always study it for several minutes, wanting to see every nuance and subtlety. His gift is that every drawing tells a story in vivid detail and he leaves no questions about his intent.

What Paul is able to accomplish with drawing pens and paper, I try to do with a combination of words. His is more visual and mine is more of a visualization.

While watching the movie “Contagion”, I was struck by a line that Elliot Gould’s character spoke to Jude Law’s character.

Gould said, “Blogging is graffiti with punctuation”.

Really?

I thought that blogging was a more highly-regarded medium than that. Why; some blogsites have been sold for millions.

Blogging has kept my brain hitting on all cylinders. This year, I will turn 60. Not only am I looking forward to it, but I am embracing it.

Six decades on this Earth with over three decades in the fire service.

I’ve got plenty left.

TCSS.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author, Art Goodrich, who also writes under the name ChiefReason.  They do not reflect the views and opinions of www.fireengineering.com, Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or his dog, Chopper. Articles written by the author are protected by federal copyright and cannot be reproduced in any form.

Fire Engineering Talk Radio Debuts ChiefReason

My first show with Fire Engineering Talk Radio is, as they say, in the can.

If you didn’t have the chance to tune in live on April21, you can go to Fire Engineering Talk Radio and you can listen to the archived version. You can also see the schedule of some excellent upcoming shows.

I am also hearing that shows might be offered as Mp3 downloads in the future.

As host, I don’t know how well or how badly a show went until I can go back and listen to it for myself. When I say that, what I mean is; did the delivery make it to the audience?

It’s easy to fix equipment issues, but let’s face it; if there are several seconds of “dead air”, you cannot have a “do-over”, because it’s live! Where it can be fixed is if you prepare it as a download. Then, you can go back with editing and “scrub” it to remove the mistakes. But, a few blemishes add character.

So, I have to work on eliminating “dead air”.

Then, I have to cut down on my use of “um” and “and uh”! They are said to fill the gaps in my thoughts and it annoys the heck of me when I hear it. The Little Guy In My Head is supposed to be my wingman and he dropped the ball.

The last, technical issue that I have to improve upon is mastering the controls. If I hadn’t had Scott Nelson doing yeoman’s work in that regard, the show would have been very painful for you and me.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Scripted shows with scheduled guests are always going to be high quality for the listeners. Questions and answers will fly back and forth between hosts and guests like a ping pong ball at the Table Tennis World Championships!

I love having guests on that you can basically turn the mike over to and then, I can kick it with the rest of the audience and learn right along with them.

But…

I get the biggest buzz out of callers who call in with questions or comments.

Why?

Because you have no idea where the show will go at that point.

The show that I did on Thursday evening had an international flavor. My first call came from England!

Rob Aiers of www.carbonmonoxidekills.com called in to talk about carbon monoxide poisoning and how it is reported. We became fast friends. He was very engaging, knowledgeable and passionate about his cause. I was thrilled that he called in, but not in a creepy way.

Bobby Halton called in. Bobby is quite simple a walking/talking SET of encyclopedias. If you don’t learn something from him, then you weren’t paying attention. He is very humble and one of the most unpretentious individuals that I know. Keep your eye on him. I predict great things for him.

DaGonz called me. An old friend, he is. Otherwise known as Ron Ayotte; I own him plenty.

For those of you who don’t know the story, Ron is the founding father of the International Association of Crusty Old Jakes. Ron’s dream of a fire site where you could learn from respectful discussion became a reality under his guidance. It was there that I wrote my first of several blogs; only back then, we called them “op-ed” pieces. I honed my debating skills with some of the best minds in the fire service.

A word of caution, though; never, ever take him on in a game of music trivia; especially in classic rock. Oh and if you want to get on his good side, just tell him that you love Ford Mustangs. And if you have ever heard the fire station referred to as “the puzzle palace”; that is classis Gonzo.

Sippy from Manchester called in to talk about his fire department’s current predicament. He described what can only be called a nightmare, if it comes to pass. In short; his city council is “considering” a plan that was submitted by a former firefighter that will eliminate ALL district chiefs and replace them with captains. Yeah; you reacted just like I did when I heard it. The plan is currently in committee, so stay tuned.

Stephan Charlton called in from Canada to ask about blogging.

It’s weird, but I have never really broken blogging down to a “process”. There are plenty of people out there who believe that they are “experts” who can tell you how to write a successful blog and in my opinion, it’s a bunch of crap. I don’t want my blog to be like a thousand others. I want it to mean something to me and hopefully, to the reader. I don’t want you to read anything like it anywhere else.

Blogging is very personal and anyone willing to bear their soul in their writing for others to read is both unselfish and courageous. READERS decide if you are successful. I don’t do it to sell ad space and I don’t wear a big “B” on my chest. Consider that it’s your personal journal of your personal journeys and thoughts of your next journey that may or may not make a difference to the person who reads it.

When I blog, I have but one goal and that is to grab one person who thinks about what I write after they’re read it; good or bad. I am not looking for agreement or affirmation from the reader. I want what I write to be like that catchy, little tune that you can’t get out of your head!

Just like the best player doesn’t always make the best coach; I might not be the best person to give tips on blogging, but I am willing to help anyone who wishes to give blogging a shot.

I had a blast on my “debut” for Fire Engineering Talk Radio. If you would like to be a guest, email me at art.chiefreason.goodrich99@gmail.com.

If you would like to chat with me or just listen, then watch the schedule. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time…

TCSS

The opinions and views expressed are those of the article’s author, Art Goodrich, who also writes as ChiefReason. They do not reflect the opinions and views of FireEngineering.com, Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or my dog, Chopper. This article is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-produced in any form.