(fireengineering.com)

New on the Web. January begins another exciting season of Training Minutes. Segments include Nick Martin on engine company and truck company operations, Paul Capo on firefighter drags and rope management, Walter Lewis on overcoming water supply and forcible entry problems, and Ric Jorge on securing ground ladders and using self-contained breathing apparatus. This unique content resides only on emberly.fireengineering.com.

FDIC: TRAINING YEAR-ROUND. Don’t get shut out of your hands-on training evolution and preconference workshop picks. Register now for FDIC 2015 to guarantee you get your first choices! See and hear speakers describe their classes at www.fdic.com, your source for original FDIC-quality training year-round. You can watch Webcasts on Demand of popular FDIC classes including “Science in the Big Room,” “Bruno and Norman Unplugged,” “Issues and Challenges in Today’s Fire Service,” and “Hoseline Operations for Fires in Multiple-Family Occupancies.” You can also read original training articles. New training content is posted daily. Train for free until the next FDIC!

FIRE LIFE. In his fitness article “Successful People,” Michael Krueger writes: “You can put two people in the same situation with the same resources available to them and one succeeds and one fails. If you ask the successful people, they can tell you exactly what they have done to get to where they are, but they more than likely wouldn’t use the word ‘success.’ If you ask the ones who failed, they will be happy to tell you about all the bad breaks and injustices that have been heaped on them. They will tell you about how they haven’t the time, the money, or the advantages of those who were successful … ending with ‘it just isn’t fair.’ What really sets these two very distinct types of people apart and, most importantly, which one are you?” Read more at www.firelife.com.

WEBCASTS. On January 8, Battalion Chief Jim Silvernail, Metro West (MO) Fire Protection District, will present “Fireground Decision Making for Suburban Company Officers.” Webcasts are free, but you must register. They are archived on emberly.fireengineering.com for six months.

COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Name: Paul M. Rank. Department: Inver Grove Heights (MN) Fire Department. Rank: lieutenant. Years of public service: nine. Agency structure: combination department. Professional qualifications: associate of applied science degree in fire science technology.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Buffalo (NY) firefighters responded to a two-story brick warehouse with fire showing. Command ordered companies in the front of the building to reposition; they were clear when the corner collapsed into the street. (Photo by Kevin Brautlacht.) See more photos at http://bit.ly/PODT1029. Send Photo of the Day submissions to Peter Prochilo (peterp@pennwell.com).

FEATURED ARTICLES

❚ Jim Burneka Jr., “Creating a Cancer-Resistant Fire Department”: Here are policies, habits, and procedures for departments to decrease their chances of receiving a cancer diagnosis. (http://bit.ly/1qtuo0J)

❚ P.J. Norwood, “Drones: Change is in the Air”: Drones have endless uses on the emergency scene and in preplanning and training. (http://bit.ly/FEdrones)

❚ Alex Langbell, “Commercial Search Training Drill: Finding Lost Firefighters”: This drill is loosely based on a fire fatality in Phoenix, Arizona, in which a firefighter became disoriented and died in heavy smoke conditions in a commercial fire. (http://bit.ly/FELangSearch)

❚ Demetrius A. Kastros, “Code 3 101”: Code 3 operation lets you keep moving through traffic but not in an unsafe manner. (http://bit.ly/1rxdyNR)

❚ George Potter, “Ebola Crisis in Spain Demonstrates the Need for Professional Crisis Management”: Several positive aspects have emerged from the Ebola crisis in Spain, among them adequately prepared, trained, and equipped emergency response personnel outside of the hospital environment. (http://bit.ly/1yf6ISu)