OK... I am not real sure what has been going on lately, but apparently my hypocrisy knows no bounds and it seems to be at the forefront of my thoughts lately. For years I have been whining about the lack of brotherhood in the fire service lately.

"It's not like it used to be!"

"What happened to the Brotherhood!?!!?"

Those are legitimate complaints. Things are not like they used to be, and I do wonder where the brotherhood went. I find myself painfully missing the tight…

I recently had the displeasure of being in a bad fire. While I understand that all structure fires are bad, those of you in the fire service know what I mean when I say bad fire. I must admit, it was the first time in 17 years that I was scared BEFORE I went in. That was an interesting feeling. I was terrified of going into this fire and when we breached the front door we were met with a wall of fire. It was an intense battle to say the least…

As I sit here behind my desk at work reading today's headlines I see we have lost another fellow firefighter and a fellow police officer today. I felt deeply sad at this tragic loss of life at first, but it is giving way to a remarkable feeling of joy and pride. No, I have not completely lost my mind, and yes, I am feeling joy in the midst of tragedy.

First, I felt sadness. Sadness for the lives lost and sadness for the families that have lost a loved one so close to Christmas.…

This is a note from a remarkable young lady I know and have had the pleasure of working with. She was a tremendous comfort to me (ironic, right?) during a rough call in which I lost a friend of my own. We often use catch phrases like "honoring the fallen" and "never forget", but this young lady, at the ripe old age of 21 shows us how she truly honored the memory of her friend.

This has been shared with her permission.

I started my EMT-B in May of…