Happy Hour with Guest Host Justin Schorr

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This show aired on July 6, 2010 and features Justin Schorr, The Happy Medic, in a recurring program we call the Happy Hour.  It gives Justin the opportunity to address some of the stories and topics of interest to him along with a hearty invitation for the live audience to chime in with their comments, concerns, and criticisms.

Part I is attached. Part II is here.

Justin talked about four Sacramento firefighters injured in a house explosion.  An interesting sidebar to this call was the homeowner’s curious reaction to the firefighter’s activities.  See my blog over at Fire Daily to read about how this guy earned Fire Daily’s Wingnut of the Week.

Justin also comments on Alton, IL firefighters who were fired upon when responding to a dumpster fire during the neighborhood’s “celebration” of Independence Day.  Next up, Justin points us to a video of a firefighter bailing out a window immediately upon the command to evacuate the building.

Justin Schorr- "The Happy Medic"

Talk begins to turn toward Rapid Intervention Teams, or Crews.  They may go by a different name in your area, but they are tasked with purpose- to be immediately available to affect the rescue of downed firefighters should that need arise.  With several callers, we discuss the various make-ups of a RIT/RIC team, and the different procedures they may follow in performing their duties.  We also discuss the role mutual aid plays in the formation and response of a RIT/RIC team.

RIT/RIC talk continues after a break, and in segment two Justin offers his disdainful view of the quint apparatus, which he refers to as a political apparatus composed by committee which replicates an engine and a ladder with an engine/ladder.  On paper, it looks pretty.  On the fireground, it just doesn’t work that way.

The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) published in their May-June magazine their report of what happens on the fireground with various staffing.  The amazing result hidden within that data?  We do better when more of us arrive later.

In other words, four firefighters responding from further away accomplish a fireground task more quickly than a three-person crew responding from a closer location.  The implications are potentially dangerous to firefighters in that agencies may decide to close stations and increase response time with apparatus staffed with extra manpower.

Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV) fans and their use on the fireground draws Justin’s ire next.  It’s probably because, in many if not most instances, the PPV is not used in conjunction with our brains.  As we introduce exactly what the fire needs to exactly where the fire wants it, we need to be sure that what happens is exactly what we want to occur.  In most of the videos out there, this isn’t what is happening.

Finally, we close the show with a look at Chronicles of EMS and the competition currently taking place. Ted Setla, producer of a new TV Reality Series starring our own Justin Schorr and Mark Glencorse from the United Kingdom brings us up to date with all their activities.

Look for future Happy Hour programs on finer podcasts throughout the interwebs, as well as right here at Firefighter Netcast!

Our next show will be this Wednesday, July 14 at 9pm ET.  Firefighter Storytellers sits down with Chief Tim Sendelbach, a 24-year fire service veteran and Editor-in-Chief of FireRescue Magazine.

Like many others, Tim’s roots in the fire service started with his Dad, a firefighter in his hometown of Bellevue, Kentucky.  Tim will share stories of his upbringing in the American Fire Service along with photos and reflections on the influence his father and the tragically historic Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire had on the start and success of his career.

Listen in, call in and follow Tim on his journey from Run-to-the-Curb kid to Fire Service Leader.