Fireground Toxins don’t care if you’re Paid or Volunteer

How volunteer departments can overcome challenges related to health mindset and limited PPE cleaning equipment

Fire service leaders in small communities experience such close bonds to those we serve, our “customers,” as Chief Brunacini called them. In many cases, our customers are our actual neighbors or relatives. They are the people we grew up with and went to school with.

As if our community members are our customers, then our members are our internal customers – an even tighter-knit group. Our firefighters know each other and their families and share extremely close bonds.

My first instructor told us that it was his responsibility to train members in a manner so they could retire healthy. It was relevant then and it is even more so now, as research continues to enlighten us about the occupational health hazards of firefighting. Read More…