Lessons from the Fireground; December 27,1983 Buffalo, New York Five Firefighter Line-of-Duty Deaths As Buffalo (NY) firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported propane leak in a four-story radiator warehouse (Type III Ordinary and Type IV Heavy Timber construction), a massive explosion occurred, killing five firefighters and injuring nine others, three of them critically. […]
Reflections of 9|11: You do what God has called you to do. You get on that rig, you go out and do the job. No matter how big the call, no matter how small, you have no idea of what God is calling you to do, but God needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us. God needs us to keep supporting each other, to be kind to each other, to love each otherÂ…
The Waldbaum’s Supermarket Fire and Collapse: FDNY 1978 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 near the […]
Lessons from the Fireground- Third Avenue Collapse FDNY 1956 4065 Third Avenue Bronx (NY) April 4, 1956 FDNY- Box 4-4- 2904 Bronx (NY) Box 2904 was struck at 20:40 hours on April 4, 1956 for a reported fire in the basement that had communicated vertically into the first floor and had spread into the wall […]
Lessons from the Fireground: Watts Street Fire-FDNY 1994 On the evening of March 28, 1994, FDNY responded to a report of heavy smoke and sparks from a chimney of a three-story apartment building located at 62 Watts Street, in the Borough of Manhattan.(NYC). Smoke and sparks were evident from the chimney upon arrival of first-due […]
Buildings on Fire: Lessons from the Fireground 2016 Fire Department Instructors Conference- FDIC International 4-hour preconference workshop: Tuesday afternoon April 19th, from 1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. As you’re planning your preconference workshops, classroom sessions and networking opportunities for FDIC International 2016, I’d like to personally invite you to consider attending my 4-hour preconference workshop: Buildings […]
Southwest Inn Hotel Fire – 2013 6855 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas May 31, 2013 Incident Number 1305310305 A few weeks ago on Father’s Day, while in Houston (Texas) on business I stopped by to pay my solemn respects at the site of the May 31, 2013 Southwest Inn fire that claimed the lives of Four HFD firefighters and […]
Buildingsonfire-Lessons from the Fireground Remembrance Firefighter Mark Falkenhan 30 Dowling Circle-Baltimore County, MDOn January 19, 2011, at approximately 1855 hours, a 43-year-old volunteer fire fighter died after being caught in a rapid fire progression. The victim and another fire fighter were conducting a search of a third-floor apartment above the fire, which had started on […]
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