Unfortunately, it commands such a presence within my demographic (not only by age, but also by profession—I’d be hard pressed to find coworkers who don’t have a FB acount) that I feel unable to get rid of it. Some of my associates who I contact regularly either a) are so ingrained in Big Blue that it’s pretty much their only form of communication or b) I have no other means of contacting them—either it was lost to time or never provided to me in the first place.

It is this chronic presence of social media, Twitter pictures, mobile updates, etc. within the fire service that I’m concerned about. It’s already bad enough that the citizens we protect can be all too litigious without warning; but if you spread something stupid around the internet, it’s certainly lights out for your career. Both the higher-ups and the general public can get you into more hot water than you thought possible.

Here’s a quick timeline of Internet-based screwups, just from 2010:

February 11th, 2010: South Carolina firefighter/paramedic Jason Brown posts an animated short film which he created using xtranormal.com (a site where you can make various characters interact with dialogue and actions of your choosing)—the video in question depicted a conversation between a firefighter and a doctor. The Colleton County Fire/Rescue Director ruled that “[Brown] displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center.” Amidst several allegations—not the least of which was outright racism—Brown was dismissed. His appeal process was unsuccessful, and he was escorted to his station to empty his locker while his officers watched over him.

“I felt like a criminal,” he said.

Source: WCSC News / Charleston

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July 17th: A 23-year-old female is involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident in Spalding County, Georgia. Responding firefighter Terrence Reid filmed the accident scene and the victim’s body with his cell phone, then passed it around to friends at a bar. After the video hit the internet, it didn’t take long for the victim’s father to learn of the video that contained graphic footage and firefighters’ conversations describing his daughter’s mangled body.

Reid has since been dismissed, for various charges including lying to his supervisors about the incident and conduct unbecoming a public officer.

Sources: Statter911; Blippit

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October 1st: A Florida firefighter awakens from a nap to find an unusual picture on his laptop computer. While he slept, a coworker had exposed himself and stood… unnecessarily close to the sleeping man, then uploaded the picture where the napper would certainly find it. FireGeezer reported more back in late October.

(Note: while I see that the issue is more about complaints of repetitive hazing amongst the High Springs Fire Department, it’s just an example of the kind of stupid uploaded photo that can get you in some serious trouble. )

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October 27th: Austin, TX firefighter Alejandro Garza is placed on indefinite suspension without pay due to the discovery of nude photos he had posted online earlier this year. In the “profile” area of his account, he had included information that revealed him to be an Austin firefighter. Despite arguments that he had posted the photos in 2006 and had since “taken them off the internet,” a second complaint indicated that he had posted additional photos as recently as August.

Source: El Paso Times / El Paso

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November 4th: A Canadian paramedic has been fired over a Facebook photo that showed people “having fun,” said an anonymous source. Spokesmen for various agencies (including unions representatives and county officials) refused to give details, as it may compromise investigations. However, Brian Gregg, the chief administrative officer for Essex County, said that “an employee would not be fired simply over a photo posted on the Internet, though a picture could lead to an investigation.”

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Now, I’m not advocating that everyone trash their social media accounts and hermit themselves up with no virtual communication—far from it. I will continue to use Facebook and Twitter, and all of you will to. My only suggestion is that everyone be careful with what gets posted. The second you hit “post” or “send,” it’s all out of your hands.Go back and delete it all you want, but remember: a bad decision on the internet is like herpes.

That shit never goes away.

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P.S. – BusinessInsider put up two great features regarding everyone’s Facebook use; take the information for what you will.

10 Reasons to Delete Your Facebook Account

10 Reasons You’ll Never Quit Facebook (Even If You Think You Want To)

Edit: TheHappyMedic posted his own take on the matter today, venturing more in-depth into an interesting double-standard out in his neck of the woods. Head on over if you haven’t seen it—take it all together and let us know what you think!

“Victim, if you can hear me, keep tapping on something!”

It started slowly, almost imperceptibly. I pressed the headphones tighter to my head with one hand and turned the volume up.

tap… tap… tap…

It was definitely there, and it was clear as day.

tap… tap… tap…

Whoever was under the rubble had heard us, and their soft taps of flesh on concrete were the only indication that they were still alive.

Nobody else could hear it—-only the Delsar operator wearing the headset. I turned on the electronic filters designed to eliminate electrical hums and the rumble of apparatus, and started to triangulate the sound.

We had placed three of the sensor “pucks” out in a three-pronged attack on the pile of destroyed concrete and rebar beneath us. The other rescuers stood dead still, avoiding making any extraneous noise during this most crucial of times.

Hmm… it’s not so loud on Number 1. A bit stronger on Number 2; and all quiet on Number 3.

“Alright, let’s move ‘em around; it’s loudest near Two.”

And so the process went, calling and tapping and moving and listening.

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Con-Space Communications, Ltd., the makers of the Delsar LifeDetector Seismic/Acoustic listening system (as well as the SearchCams we utilized that day to find our “victims”) was a company started in the early 90′s as a high-tech revolution to the methods of urban search and rescue in use at the time. Today, they’re one of the largest manufacturers of audio, video, and acoustic devices used to locate trapped victims in environments all over the world.

Utilizing the Delsar system and SearchCam devices, the Engine and Rescue Squad trained on finding victims in one of the simplest, yet most intriguing training sites I’ve been to yet. In Crofton, MD, there’s a pile of concrete and rubble that amounts to about one city block of destruction.

Arranged in a giant U-shape and up to twenty-plus feet in height in some places, the site offers plenty of void spaces for us to practice in.

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“I got one!”

The firefighter crouched down on his haunches and shouted back to the group. Cazo—our trusty K-9—had located a victim and alerted us; shortly thereafter, a SearchCam probe inserted into a dark hole revealed a human form. He was dusty, but he was there.

After we had removed the random mixture of pallets, old carpet, and torso-sized hunks of what was once a building, Mike stood up and smiled at us.

“Man, it’s dark as shit down there!”

We laughed as we helped him out of the hole, and moved onto the next evolution. Three hours later, it was clear that we have some very powerful tools at our disposal for the various situations that we may encounter on a true building collapse.

But the emphasis, as with most things, can be placed back on basics. Fancy toys are nice, but don’t always take the place of tried-and-true methods like hailing–just shout to any victims who can hear and listen for a response. Anyone trapped can then be triangulated by rescuers placed strategically around the site.

A special thanks must be offered to Sgt. Holmes and Lt. Kauffman, who helped all the companies out with the drill (especially the Lieutenant, who spent most of the day wedging himself into tight spaces as the victim!)

Also, we can’t forget Cazo! Some of you may remember my post about two of our own working in Haiti. He’s one badass dog.

Future generations—perhaps even our own, within the next few years—may soon be forced to worry about something else. Vulcore Industrial, based out of Fort Wayne, IN, has been developing what they call the “Flat Pack.” With this new design, they’re setting themselves up to revolutionize the way firefighters carry their most essential tool: breathing air. Current systems are based around a metal cylinder with a carbon fiber over-wrap; at 7+ inches in diameter, the added bulk on top of already shoulder-widening gear can make confined or entangling spaces almost impossible to navigate. Accordingly, a significant portion of fire academy instruction is related to maneuvering with the SCBA; at times, areas can get so narrow that one must resort to removing a shoulder strap and swinging the system around to the side of the now “thinner” firefighter.

At a diameter of 2.75″ each, the multi-cylinder system provides firefighters with no more bulk than a mostly empty school backpack. The new system—based off of CEO Stan Sanders’s patented design and a material called Hytrel—is molded into the thin bottles and then wrapped with Aramid and carbon fiber. According to the manufacturer’s specifications, the first “808 model” weighs up to 30% less than current systems, putting the prototype at a hair over 20 lbs. The “Cobra” model is advertised as 30% lighter than the 808. Thus, the potential exists for a breathing apparatus with the same amount of air/breathing time; but at 14 lbs, it’s over 50% lighter than what the fire service is using now. Vulcore Industrial was unavailable for comment, although their full set of Frequently Asked Questions is available here.

Images © Vulcore Industrial, LLC

In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security offered a 15-month, $2.7 million grant to the IAFF for the purposes of equipment research; and although the technology and initial prototypes were born from Vulcore, they just didn’t have the manufacturing power to mass-produce their product. Mine Safety Appliances, more commonly known throughout the fire service as MSA, has been assigned the daunting task of making Vulcore’s dream an assembly-line reality. The grant money will additionally be used for field testing and fulfilling government/NFPA certification requirements. An advisory committee working with the IAFF and International Personal Protection, Inc. has recommended a 45-minute service-rated system for the initial wave, although Vulcore states that they have the ability to produce 30- and 60-minute systems for different applications.

According to the May/June 2010 issue of International Fire Fighter, “Several firefighters from the Washington, D.C. area, conducted rigorous field tests to determine how a new, lighter, and lower-profile system would compare to the traditional SCBA… [the] series of functional tests, including timing, donning and doffing, roof operations, ladder escapes, crawling through tight spaces and fire ground survival skills” appeared to bode well for the system’s future in emergency services. Initial reactions are overwhelmingly positive, due to the light weight and increased maneuverability:

Video © Bobby Halton, Editor-in-Chief of Fire Engineering Magazine.

Additionally, videos posted on Vulcore’s own website show how the Flat Pack simplifies many of the entanglement hazards present inside dangerous environments:

The IAFF is expecting commercial production of the Flat Pack within the next year, marking a new introduction to an application that hasn’t changed since the first firefighting breathing apparatus was developed almost forty years ago.

I’ve finally put together a Facebook page for the photography business; with the increasing functionality of FB’s pages for services/businesses, it’s almost like you don’t need a home website anymore (don’t worry, I won’t be discarding RLP.com—I’m always wary of FB crashing and burning as it becomes too Big-Brother-esque for its own good).

Become a Fan/Like It here, and browse around a bit if you haven’t already seen the photos from the main RLP site. The NikonFest video I made is also up there—damn you, Facebook, for being so versatile.

I’ve created an ad, as well, so keep an eye out for that in your sidebars while you mercilessly stalk your friends and coworkers.

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FDIC 2010 is just wrapping up in Indianapolis; Saturday is the last day, and I regret that I was unable to attend. I will, however, be looking to head out to wherever they hold it next year with my fellow FireEMS bloggers; sorry I couldn’t meet up with you guys! A quick search reveals a whole menagerie of posts on FireEMSBlogs about Indy and FDIC; a few of note come from Backstep Firefighter, FireCritic, and Tiger Schmittendorf (with my vote for the most clever “I’m at FDIC!” title I’ve found yet). He was also the one who was kind enough to use my photos in his presentation—more on that later.

Edit: Damn, I knew I’d miss some cool stuff! Not the least of which is this sweet podium designed to look like the tip of an aerial ladder, captured nicely by FireGeezer (original page):

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Last but not least, Gizmodo had a neat tidbit on a new firefighter’s mask that they found; did anyone see this at FDIC?

Designed by Jason Swartzentruber (and featured on the concept technology website Tuvie.com), all these features like GPS trackers, a rotating cylinder harness, and a voice amplifier are supposed to make us safer and more effective as firefighters.

Any thoughts? To check it out even further, you can find more pictures on the Tuvie site (also accessible by clicking the photo above).

I saw him slap at the remote in frustration, trying to find something less infuriating to watch on the TV.

Trying to drown out the new sounds of some hunting or fishing show behind me (I couldn’t be sure, since I’m not allowed to watch TV in probation—all I heard was a southern accent saying “We got us a big ‘un right here!”), I closed my eyes and shook my head.

I need to get out of probation… because I’d like to have a high-volume discussion about why what you just said is stupid.

Alas, I had to finish my meal in silence, unable to weigh in on The Farm’s Space Talk. Little did any of them know…

First off, NASA’s budget is barely perceptible on the fiscal radar. For FY2009, NASA announced a budget of $17.6 billion. In contrast, the Department of Defense was given just over $515 billion in “discretionary authority”—the allotment to repair and update our nation’s aircraft fleets is $17.3 billion alone.

More importantly, I find it inconceivable that someone—who was alive when a man set foot on the moon, mind you—is unable to grasp the tremendous impact that NASA and space exploration had on our lives as a whole. GPS units, medical imaging (MRI/CAT) machines, ear thermometers, satellite dishes, game controllers, anything made of plastic… the list goes on and on.

Oh, you’d like some more applicable specifics? Well, turn your head away from the TV I can’t watch (yes, Joe Hick’s Fishin’ and Huntin’ Time is being piped through the cable box, yet another invention from space) and listen here.

Power tools that we use, both here and in our homes? Well, a 238,857 mile-long extension cord doesn’t work very well for digging moon rocks.

Temper Foam, like the stuff inside our helmets? It was originally seat padding developed for both aircraft and spaceflight.

Fire-resistant clothing and material? The inherent fire risks associated with space travel (small compartment, oxygen tanks everywhere, sparks and wires, etc.) were unfortunately only addressed after the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

While their poorly-designed suits were only part of the whole picture that led to the death of these heroes, properly flame-retardant gear might have helped keep them alive long enough to find a way out of the test cockpit—instead, Grissom and White’s suits were found melted together. Following this, a great deal of research was conducted into making the entirety of the suit (and much of the material, fabric or otherwise, inside the cockpit) heavily resistant to heat and flame. Today, much of what we all have in our gear lockers is a descendant of NASA material, having adopted and bettered the technology for modern-day firefighting.

Now, you tell me that’s not impressive. Sure, everyone knows that a good deal of modern technology comes from the military—but did you know that a whole mess of other stuff came from the space program? Kindly don’t piss and moan about NASA. They’ve been working for decades to do more for humanity than many other agencies, and on a shoestring budget at that (they’re running with 3% of the DoD budget—a mere drop in the governmental bucket).

Besides, it’s just cool. It’s space. The Final Frontier… “to infinity and beyond…”

Who didn’t want to be an astronaut when they were a little kid? My parents have said that when they were younger and they watched a man get out of a spacecraft and walk on the damned moon was one of the most amazing things they’ve ever seen. I’m jealous I didn’t get to see it myself.

On a funnier note, writing this post reminds me of one of my favorite Onion articles.

So, whaddya think? Are we wasting our time with the Ares-1-X and the new Constellation Project?

Constellation Project logo and Apollo 1 crew image courtesy of NASA in the public domain.

Ares launch pad image © Bill Ingalls/AP/NASA.

Note: If you haven’t already figured it out, I have created this new category/headline for specific types of posts—”The Sitting Room” shall be hereafter reserved for my take on a wide variety of conversations, serious or otherwise, that go on in the firehouse. No, it’s not gossip, and no, it won’t be getting anyone in trouble. Think of it like a “miscellaneous” category.

I’ve received more than a few of these emails in the past few hours, and I suppose I’m to blame for not really explaining how this drastic refurb job came to be.

Some time ago, I was officially invited to join FireEMSBlogs.com, the new home for what are being called the best of the best industry writing on the web. Essentially providing access to our interconnected community of blogs, the new site is designed to serve as a “home base” for news about fire/EMS that’s spread all over the web.

And just how does this affect RaisingLadders, you may ask? Well, it gives me an opportunity to rub shoulders with the big dogs, to paraphrase FireCritic—bloggers with much more experience, exposure, and readership like STATter 911, FireGeezer, HappyMedic, et al. The biggest benefit that I’ll see is increased traffic, because the bloggers who have a lot of eyeballs on their pages each day help drive more readers to those of us in the network who are not-so-famous, myself included.

I encourage everyone to check out the blog network’s homepage and read some of the other blogs listed on the front page—there’s a reason they were chosen by the guys who founded Firehouse.com, and I feel very honored to be included in this group.

Congratulations Chris and Dave for pulling this off! I’ve been eagerly awaiting the launch, and now I’m very excited to see how all this network synergy affects us; we few, we happy few, we band of bloggers…

Enjoy RL v2.0!