Here’s To 2021 & Lets Go 2022!

From all of us here at The Firehouse Tribune, we would like to wish you all a very healthy and happy new year.

Thank you for all of your support and we will continue to keep the love and passion of fire service going! 

As we look back on 2021 and venture into 2022, we had many great memories of the year. We started off by welcoming our newest contributor Assistant Chief Tom Marchiano to the team and followed up with guest opportunities with a few podcasts - FIRExTalk & The 5-Alarm Task Force.


Earlier this year, we took part in a fundraising webinar hosted by The 5-Alarm Task Force and Insight Training discussing the many roles on the fire ground and how they play a role in a MAYDAY incident. This brought us connections throughout the fire service and opened us up to where we are today. 

We’ve reached the continent of Africa and worked with the Africa Fire Mission in training firefighters all across the continent of Africa from various countries on many aspects of the job. We hope to continue our work with them in the future and hopefully branch out to other parts of the world as well. 

Late this year, we released our live webinar series “The Firehouse Tribune Kitchen Table Web Series” and launched our first episode with Lt. Nick Baskerville discussing mentorship in the fire service. 

Our second episode will be Tuesday January 25, 2022 at 7p with Asst. Chief Tom Marchiano who will be discussing “Six Tips to Guide New Fire Officers”. To register click the link below. This is 100% FREE to register and participate! Registration is limited to 100 participants. 

Our founder Nick Higgins ended this year by releasing his first book “The 5-Tool Firefighter”. Available both on Amazon and the Firehouse Tribune

Looking forward to a blessed and healthy 2022 and let us not forget those that did not make it to 2022. May we always remember and honor these individuals through our commitment to the job and continuing to stay on the path of success, humility and leaving this gift we have each day better than we found it. 

Here’s to all of you and your families and here’s a toast saying goodbye to 2021 and let’s get it on 2022! Cheers! 🥃

Until next time; work hard, stay safe & live inspired.

20 Years Remembered

Twenty years ago our lives changed forever. In minutes, millions of American’s and others around the world witnessed the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center Towers in Lower Manhattan, the attack on the Pentagon in Virginia and the crash of United Flight 93 in PA.

At 08:46AM to 10:28AM, the world witnessed tragedy, sadness, fear and angry. The one thing we never lost was hope. As families of thousands would never be the same again from those losing mothers, fathers, son & daughters to wives, husbands, brothers & sisters, we never lost hope. Hope gave us a sense of comfort that we can get through this better and stronger than before. Hope that would unite us and bring us together like never before. Hard to think this all happened 2 decades ago. On a day as similar as today. Blue skies with cool temperature in the NY/NJ area indicating fall is right around the corner.

A lot has happened over these last 20 years, good and bad but one thing remained…hope. Our hope for today is different. Our hope today is to pray we never lose sight of those who perished on that fateful morning and those affected in the days, months and years after. Our hope is we keep honoring and remembering these men and women from all walks of life, race, religion and creed by continuing to keep their memories alive for generations years to come.

As first responders, it is our duty to honor and remember the firefighters, police, EMTs, paramedics and all those men & women who sacrificed their lives that day and those that lost their lives thereafter. Honor these men and women through actions not solely our words. Words come and go but action adds meaning. Honor them through dedication to our job. Continue to train hard, treat each other with respect and never lose sight of why we do what we do each and every time the bell goes off and each and every time we put on the uniform and walk out that door.

When we answer the alarm, we do it for those who came before us and for those who will be following in our footsteps.

On this 20th anniversary of September 11th, remember why you do what you do and dedicate ways to make yourself better than yesterday. If not for anything else but do it for those who gave their lives for it.

Until next time; work hard, stay safe & live inspired.

International Firefighters Day & the Feast of St. Florian

Today, May 4 is known as International Firefighters’ Day. It is a day to show support for all firefighters worldwide and take the time to remember those who lost their lives or injured while in the line of duty. 

According to the website firefightersday.org you can show support by wearing and displaying red and blue ribbons pinned together; red symbolizing fire and blue for water. These colors are know to represent emergency services internationally. Today we also honor EMTs. 

Today is also the feast day of the patron saint for firefighters, St. Florian. Here is a brief history on St. Florian:

Florian was born in the ancient Roman city of Aelium Cetiumin around 250 AD, which is now present-day Sankt Polten, Austria. He joined the Roman Army and advanced the ranks to commander of the Imperial Army in the Roman province of Noricum. One of his many duties was being responsible for organizing fire brigades. Florian organized and trained this elite group of soldiers in their sole duty of fighting fires.

During the time of the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians, Rome received reports that Florian was not enforcing the persecutionof Christians in his territory and thus was sentenced to death by fire.. While standing on the funeral pyre, Florian is said to have challenged the Roman soldiers to light the fire by saying “if you do, I will climb to heaven on the flames”. Apprehensive to his words, instead of burning Florian, they drowned him. His body was later retrieved by Christians and buried at an Augustinian monastery near Lorch.

Saint Florian was adopted as patron saint of Poland after Pope Lucius III consented to the request of King Casimir to send relics of Florian to that country. Soon after, a person was saved from a fire by invoking Saint Florian’s name. Since then, Florian has been invoked against fire and has generally been regarded in most countries as the patron saint of the fire service.

About the Author

 NICHOLAS J. HIGGINS is a firefighter with 15 years in the fire service all within departments in Piscataway, NJ. Nick has held the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain as well as being a township elected District Fire Commissioner for 1 term (3 years) in Piscataway, NJ. He is also a NJ State certified level 2 fire instructor. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Kean University working in Corporate Taxation and is the founder/contributor of the Firehouse Tribune website

 

Remembering the Sandy Hook Tragedy and Thoughts on where we are at Four Years Later

Four years ago, on December 14, 2012 tragedy struck our country, we lost 20 children and 8 adults.Twenty innocent children and seven adults who were going about their day at their elementary school in the small town of Newtown Connecticut. They werekilled by of a psychotic and ruthless murderer.

I remember where I was, what I was doing that day and will always remember hearing the news and live radio audio as to what happened a short 40-minute drive from my college campus. I was a junior in college and assigned to work for the ambulance service of a neighboring town. I had been offered to work that day but had turned it down due to finals being that week and I desperately needed to study. Unfortunately, that day, my colleagues who worked the same BLS service that I did, had to respond to the shooting and help. I couldn’t feel anything but guilt that a new guy had to take that shift on one of his first days working for our company.

The valiant response that day by the school staff and first responders, some of whom I have worked with was honorable and courageous. They saved as many lives as they could. However, the lives of 27 people were lost. Those 27 people will always be remembered for good people that they were, we continue to pray for their families and friends. We also continue to keep our colleagues that were there that tragicday in our thoughts and prayers.

About the Author

 NICHOLAS WITCZAK is the 2nd Assistant Chief of Brookside Engine Co. 1 and volunteer EMT for the Mendham Township First Aid Squad. Additionally he serves as the Mendham Borough OEM Coordinator. Nick has served in a multitude of departments and positions over the last 8 years including Past Captain of Morristown Ambulance Squad, volunteer firefighter/EMT in combination fire departments including the Wallingford and Allingtown Connecticut fire departments. He has wealth of experience working and volunteering in emergency medical services including municipal, commercial, fire based EMS and 911 fire dispatching. He currently holds a B.S. in Fire Administration from the University of New Haven. Nick works full time in the fire protection industry specializing in safety, sales and project management. He works part time as the NJ Client Development Coordinator for Emergency Resource Management.

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A Moment In Time: Remembering Hinal Patel

To quote one of my all-time favorite musicals, RENT, "525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?" It is absolutely mind blowing that it has been a year since we lost Hinal. 12 months of laughs, 52 weeks of friendship, 365 days of moments, 525,600 minutes of love.

It is still all very surreal to me and I think this is how life is for most of us now. Over the last year we have all experienced highs and lows, good and bad, failures and triumphs, and countless moments that we have shared and countless moments we have kept to ourselves. One thing that is absolutely evident is that we have all missed sharing this crazy ride we call life with Hinal. Even as I sit here and write this I can think of 1,000 different things that I wish I could have shared with her or wish she was a part of this past year. 

As life goes on, we often let little things drift out of our minds. We often take things for granted and that is when we start to miss the little moments in each day. Little moments like just seeing Hinal smile, seeing how passionate she was about the work she did, how a room would light up when she walked in, or her beautiful personality. 

Not a single day has gone by where I haven’t thought of Hinal. Through every single moment, memory, experience and adventure I knew that Hinal was still with us. Her spirit lives on in every single person who was fortunate enough to cross paths with her. The world and our lives are definitely dimmer with her gone; however, the passion she had for life should fuel us all to grow and be the absolute best we can be. 

For every moment we experience I know that she is here watching over us and sharing in our triumphs, standing by us in our failures, and laughing with us (or at us sometimes) every step of the way. 

To answer the question of how do you measure a year, it’s not where you have been, not what has happened, not holidays, birthdays, parties or even in time. The answer is simple: LOVE. Do not let one single moment go by without acknowledging its importance. Do not let one single person who means anything to you go without telling them how you feel because anything can happen. The only time guaranteed is right now so make it count.

To Hinal: I am still in complete disbelief. I look at your pictures and get emotional and then I think of the good times and how I never could resist your beautiful smile. I love you, I miss you, please continue to watch over me as I know you have done for the past year.

Love you forever and always,

Sean

 Photo collage showing some memories of Hinal. Notice her beautiful smile in every one of her pictures.

The vehicle stickers that were designed and printed for members of the North Stelton Volunteer Fire Company, where Hinal was a dedicated member, and family.

The vehicle stickers that were designed and printed for members of the North Stelton Volunteer Fire Company, where Hinal was a dedicated member, and family.

A Thin White Line ribbon that I have pinned to my backpack, my lunch box, my work ID, and hanging in my car to always keep Hinal with me and to always keep her spirit and memory alive.

A Thin White Line ribbon that I have pinned to my backpack, my lunch box, my work ID, and hanging in my car to always keep Hinal with me and to always keep her spirit and memory alive.

Friendship, From the Radio to the Street

For many of us in the emergency services fields, we get an opportunity to know our dispatchers. Our dispatchers or 911 operators are the lifeline on the other side of the radio. This lifeline, watches our “6” when we are alone, keeps the callers calm and directs us with precision to where help is needed.

I was fortunate to have worked on the other side of the mic from fellow contributor and dispatcher Sean Walsh. It was Sean who helped me get my start at The Firehouse Tribune. Over the past few years I developed a strong bond with Sean and the members of the night shift at Morris County Communications Center. It was truly helpful to know that Sean would always be on the same wavelength as me. 

Many a time Sean could figure out what I was about to say before I said it over the air to him.  He was able to do this just by picking up our tendencies in field communications over the years.  Sean was there to help me run the largest attended county parade in the course of 10+ years. It was his help during the night shift when things got busy that ensured the quick responses of ambulances. That day, in the course of 14 hours, we had 44+ emergency medical services calls.

Sean, operator 180, was there when I became a new company officer in the fire department. Even at 2am, he was able to go above and beyond for us. He was able to get call back numbers, do phone patches, cover the radio, and manage to calm residents down who were thousands of miles away and inform them that the fire department was at their house and needed access.

As Captain of a very busy local ambulance squad, I regularly volunteered on our Saturday night shift. It was considered to be one of the busiest days of the week for the squad due to the many bars and restaurants in town. Sean was on the dispatch desk for many of those Saturday nights. Sean was always ready to help us at 2am when the bars would close and the call volume would spike within a 20 to 30 minute period. He was truly always on his “A” game helping us manage the influx of calls.

It’s a great feeling when you know you’re on the same wave length as your dispatcher and you can relate to one another. I have been fortunate over the past few years to have worked the radio with fellow contributor Sean Walsh. We will certainly miss him as he chases new endeavors, guiding the world’s air travel. We thank him for his service.  To operator 180, thank you for your service, best of luck my friend, we will miss you.

About the Author

NICHOLAS WITCZAK is the lieutenant of Brookside Engine Co. 1 and volunteer EMT for the Mendham Township First Aid Squad. Additionally he serves as the Mendham Borough OEM Coordinator. Nick has served in a multitude of departments and positions over the last 8 years including Past Captain of Morristown Ambulance Squad, volunteer firefighter/EMT in combination fire departments including the Wallingford and Allingtown Connecticut fire departments. He has wealth of experience working and volunteering in emergency medical services including municipal, commercial, fire based EMS and 911 fire dispatching. He currently holds a B.S. in Fire Administration from the University of New Haven. Nick works full time in the fire protection industry specializing in safety, sales and project management. He works part time as the NJ Client Development Coordinator for Emergency Resource Management.

The Final Shift

After many thousands of emergency and non-emergency calls for service answered and 4 and a half years on the desk (8 years total with non-public safety dispatching) I am hanging up my headset tonight. I cannot even begin to describe what I am feeling right now. I knew this would be an interesting job and experience; I could never have imagined how absolutely correct I would be. It has been a whirlwind from crazy October Snow Storms that cancel Halloween, to a tragic Plane Crash, to dealing with Super-Storm Sandy, to all the other everyday craziness; I could not have asked to spend the time with a better group of people who are the epitome of professionals.

 From birthdays to Christmas and funerals to weddings I have experienced it all from behind the desk. There have been amazing times and bad times and through it all we have grown together as a family. It is fitting that this week is National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week. Not only do I get to express my deepest gratitude to everyone for the work that we do every day but everyone in the country also gets a glimpse into our world. This job is certainly not for everyone, but those who can do it have a passion like I have never seen before. I wish that everyone was able to experience this job just to have a better understanding of what we as Dispatchers go through on a daily basis, our normal day is usually the public’s worst day. We live with that even on our days off. I will never forget what I have learned doing this job, and never forget the people that I have interacted with.

Tonight, on my last night, I am so touched by all of the outpouring of support and well wishes. From my coworkers throwing me a party with some of the most delicious food I have ever had (Thanks Guys!!) to the endless e-mails, text messages, Facebook posts/messages, phone calls, and over the radio messages. I am simply blown away and this just solidifies what I have known all along, I have the best second family anywhere.

I have met some the most dedicated, professional and wonderful people from both sides of the radio while working. I am so eternally grateful to each and every one of them for making my time so amazing. I want to thank them all for everything and I look forward to the next chapter of my life as well as all of theirs.

This is not the end for me by a long shot. I am moving over from public safety dispatching to hopefully a just as prosperous career as an Air Traffic Controller. For the next 17 weeks I will be in training classes at the FAA academy in Oklahoma City. I look forward to this amazing opportunity and know that my experiences with this career will carry over into my new career.

 With that being said, I say thank you again. I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone.

Sean Walsh

Operator 180, Signing Off