The Waldbaum’s Supermarket Fire and Collapse: FDNY 1978-2018 40th Anniversary Honor, Remembrance, Learning’s The Waldbaum Super market fire, Brooklyn, New York occurred on August 2, 1978. Six firefighters died in the line of duty when the roof of a burning Brooklyn supermarket collapsed, plunging 12 firefighters into the flames. The fire began in a hallway […]
The Bowstring Truss There’s a tremendous lack of understanding in the American Fire Service as to what accurately defines and comprises a Heavy Timber Bowstring Truss and the Operational and Safety Precautions that must be recognized, implemented and trained on, in order to achieve and maintain operational excellence, company integrity and firefighter safety on the […]
The FDNY members killed in the Waldbaums fire included: Lt. James E. Cutillo, Battalion 33 Firefighter Charles S. Bouton, Ladder Company 156 Firefighter Harold F. Hastings, Battalion 42 Firefighter James P. McManus, Ladder Company 153 Firefighter William O’ Connor, Ladder Company 156 Firefighter George S. Rice, Ladder Company 153
Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse PDF Training Aid The recent post titled: Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse has been receiving a considerable amount of attention as the post makes its way throughout the fire service eMedia sites, links, likes, shares and commentary circles, with over 6,000 views in the past […]
The NIOSH Fire fighter Investigation and Prevention Program, Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports recently released Report # F2009-12 for a Near-Miss event that seriously injured a firefighter  wih significant learnings;  HERE   Through the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, NIOSH conducts investigations of fire fighter line-of-duty deaths to formulate recommendations for preventing future deaths and injuries. The program does […]
Basement fires in both residential and commercial occupancies are one of the most challenging tactical operations that present numerous risk factors that required the highest degree of situational awareness, training skill sets and continuous incident monitoring and assessment to gauge building structural integrity, fire behavior and crew integrity and performance. An explosion rocked a Fairdale, […]
As we approach the July 4th holiday period, two significant LODD incidents previously occurred during this time frame that hold a number of lessons learned related to command management, operations, building construction principles and building performance, fire behavior and the ever present dangers of the job. Take the opportunity to learn more about these events, […]
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