Tom LaBelle is an assistant chief with the Wynantskill (N.Y.) Fire Department where he is responsible for training. He has worked for the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs since 1995. Prior to that he served as the legislative director for the New York State Assembly's Sub Committee on Fire Protection Services. He is a voting member on the NFPA 1720 committee and is a certified fire instructor and fire officer. "The Butcher's Bill," originates from the British military’s post-battle evaluation of if strategic and tactical objectives were met and the numbers killed and wounded. This they called "The Butcher's Bill."
The better we train and understand fire behavior and construction, the greater the chance a 'calculated risk' pays off
Regardless of who finds themselves in the role of Incident Commander at the fire scene, the rules don't change
These rules place the burden back on you, the firefighter and officer as an individual, which is where safety begins
The level of "risk" you are taking is in direct relationship to the human and equipment resources you're bringing to the table
The 'Rules of Engagement for Structural Firefighting' are a valuable resource for firefighters
Incident in which firefighters let a mobile home burn to the ground because the owner didn't pay an annual fee raises several questions
Often we'll sit around the kitchen table and exalt our own perceived value, but what about outside the firehouse?
We each need to take the time to learn and teach to ensure that we are a mix of intelligent and aggressive
Businesses make decisions every day to accept a certain level of death and dismemberment of citizens in the name of dollars
It's critical for us as leaders to clearly communicate to all in the department why safety must be our most valued priority
The results of the NIST study provide some excellent, scientific-method based analysis of two critical factors
We each have to take personal responsibility for the safety of the fire service, for the sake of those we care about
By Tom LaBelle My previous two articles got some interesting responses via member comments and e-mail. I like getting feedback, good and bad — and it often provides ideas, also good and bad. In t...
Houston's 'Rules of Survival' offer take-home messages for every firefighter
By Tom LaBelle There's been some pretty exciting news this month: the annual death rate for firefighters in the United States of America for 2009 was down, according to preliminary statistics rele...
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