Published reports are being stating that the least senior of three construction officials in the Deutsche Bank manslaughter trial was acquitted of all charges today — after telling jurors that he had no idea the giant pipe he helped remove from the basement had anything to do with providing water to firefighters. A construction […]
The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program has released the investigation report of the line of duty deaths of two career FDNY  firefighters during a 2007 seven-alarm high-rise fire in the former Deutsche Bank building undergoing deconstruction and asbestos abatement. On August 18, 2007, two FDNY firefighters; Fr. Joseph Graffagnino and Fr. Robert Beddia both assigned […]
Buildings Behaving Badly; Ok, it’s been a very quiet morning. Nothing much in the way of any work or excitment. The bells come in….Your company gets a dispatch for a report of walls showing signs of cracking and movement in the building. You arrive at curb side with the balance of the one and one […]
Take a moment to look back at an incident: On December 18, 1998, Three FDNY Firefighters died in-the line of duty while conducting suppression and rescue operations at  fire on the tenth floor of 10-story high-rise apartment building for the elderly. At 0454 hours Brooklyn transmitted box 4080 for a top floor fire at 17 Vandalia […]
When we look at various buildings and occupancies, past operational experiences; those that were successful, and those that were not, give us experiences that define and determine how we access, react and expect similar structures and occupancies to perform at a given alarm in the future. Naturalistic (or recognition-primed) decision-making forms much of this basis. […]
A 44-year fire service veteran and a highly regarded national and international instructor, author, lecturer and fire officer, he is a distinguished authority on building construction issues affecting the fire and emergency services and has traveled throughout the United States and internationally delivering training programs on building construction, command management and operational safety. A former Adjunct Instructor with the National Fire Academy, he is a past member of the Board of Directors, IAFC Safety, Health & Survival Section and a past Vice-President with the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. A former architect and fire protection engineer, he was the 1987 ISFSI George D. Post National Fire Instructor of the Year. He is the Chief of Training for the Command Institute (NY|DC) is a Consultant to NIOSH (USA) Firefighter Fatality Investigation & Prevention Program and a well-respected Tactical Theorist, researching and developing emerging and cutting edge strategic and tactical operational methodologies and is active in numerous national & international fire service agenda programs and committees. He is the Executive Producer of the Buildingsonfire.com, FiregroundLeadership.com and Co-produces TheFireOfficer.com. He lectures and instructs throughout North America and Internationally