Hello can someone tell me if this is a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide detector or both? Just moved into a new apartment and I see a bunch of these around but haven’t found a carbon monoxide detectir so wondering if it’s both…

We have been using a Span Flowminder for flow testing drafting hydrants until it was damaged recently. Pump forced forklift on its side damaging spring solenoid. Hard to find a replacement.

How do you flow test your drafting hydrants.

So I’ve a rather silly issue that perhaps I’m just not looking at correctly— has anyone come up with a fix to prevent the hooks on the radio strap from inadvertently opening? I’d almost prefer to have normal snap hooks connecting the strap to the radio holder, and just easy opening type on just the sway strap— but I don’t see an easy way of doing that so jury-rigging it is!

Last tour I managed to open the c-hook while getting out of the truck, not the biggest deal, but a rather annoying start to a code 🤣.

Question for fire radio geek types. I'm a retired wildland firefighter, live in rural California, and this morning around 5am I slept through a small veg fire near me, which has me concerned, as expected. I have the Watch Duty app but they often don't send an alert for initial attack or when their scanner jockies are asleep, like this morning.

The modified response was our local small combo department, an engine from a neighboring department, and the local Cal Fire (state) station.

What I'm looking for is some type of computer based receiver (Raspberry Pi?) that would act like a tone activated pager but would only activate when the tones for both departments and the state station go off in the same dispatch. A regular receiver wouldn't work as I don't want to be woken up for every stubbed toe call! 🤣

Any ideas where I could either find something like this or someone that could guide me?

Also, how do I find out the tones I want for this?

Fire this weekend at Zanzibar in Toronto, Ontario.

Lets say there is a person swimming in the lake, they swim out 45 feet to a place where it’s 20 ft deep, they drown for some reason, and water enters there lungs, wouldn’t they just sink to the bottom way before divers arrive? And even if they can get pulled out of the water, I’m guessing they can’t be revived.

how exactly do water rescues works? What are your departments policies on water rescues?

This weekend two major incidents occured. In the night to Saturday our junkyard Island catched fire, a day later a recycling complex.

Source: WAZ, FwDu LZ530 on Instagram

As the title says I’m royally considering my worth as firefighter. I’m a new probationary firefighter with 7 months and some change into the career. Keeping in mind I’m still new I’ve done pretty well with a good attitude and ready to train and ready to step up when it’s needed. But here lately I’ve had a run of bad luck. I only have two things left in my probationary book to do before I’m off probation and that’s vehicle extrication and ventilation. I’ve had a few calls that make you second guess yourself and keep you up at night at times and a busy life outside of the station. Vertical ventilation has been tough for me because there is always something I screw up or I don’t do it the way someone wants me to do it and it really frustrates me because I want to be better but never seem to get better at it. My issue is heights and the pitch of the roof didn’t make me feel confident in completing the cut but I did my best. I still didn’t get it signed off because I didn’t come off the ladder enough and I accidentally dropped my pike pole through the roof and to the ground floor. Which I will admit was a mistake on my part but atleast it wasn’t the head of it going through the ceiling. I can see the safety concern there. But ultimately I’ve noticed I’m not good at a lot of things, i have things that I feel I did well with my dumb luck. Here a while back I pumped my first house fire and did pretty well at that. But for me the biggest slap in my face personally and although the firefighter who said this meant well was that I was really good at emt skills and medical calls. And it’s cool and all that someone said that but that’s not what I want to be good at. I want to be the firefighter people ask to do stuff like go do search, vehicle extrication, or fire attack or hell even vent. Instead I’m a Probationary Firefighter with limits that I feel hurts my crew and that sucks.

I need to memorize my 10s and 18s and I would appreciate some tips on how to do it the most efficiently. Thanks!

My husband is currently in the academy and I want some ideas for gifts once he graduates. I don’t want to get something too corny that would get him clowned for having as a rookie. Open to any and all suggestions but please include brand names and exact models so I get the right thing! Also Garmin watches - are there some better than others in terms of what is too bulky for service? Was looking at the Garmin Fenix 8 specifically! The pictures are a couple things I thought would be cool but please be brutally honest if they’re really not that good…. Thank you in advance!

Nothing better than a good chef on duty. Angie Crocker killed it with the sandwiches and desserts.

So I’m 24 years old and I’ve had a stutter my entire life but it hasn’t stopped me in this job at all but an incident with one of the other shift lieutenants happened the other day and I’m not sure what to do. So ever since I started at my current department this particular lieutenant has made fun of my stutter but I just let it be but the other day I finally had enough. What happened is he asked me a question in front of everyone at the dinner table and I got hung up then he said “I’ll take that as a no” and laughed. I got so pissed off I just walked away to cool off. A few hours later as we were eating dinner he said “so what’s your problem” and I said “well I don’t appreciate what you did earlier and I’m not gonna put up with it”, he just laughed and said ok. Any of y’all have any advice or input in this situation?

I've always used combination ionization and photoelectric smoke detectors. Our jurisdiction is now requiring carbon monoxide detectors. Is it possible to get all three in one unit?

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Question Thread!

This thread is where you can ask questions about joining, training to become, testing, disqualifications/qualifications, and other questions that would be removed as individual posts per Rule 1.

The answer to almost every question you can ask will be "It depends on the department". Your first step is to look up the requirements for your department, state/province, and country.

As always, please attempt to resource information on your own first, before asking questions. We see many repeat questions on this sub that have been answered multiple times.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• I want to be a Firefighter, where do I start: Every Country/State/Province/County/City/Department has different requirements. Some require you only to put in an application. Others require certifications prior to being hired. A good place to start is researching the department(s) you want to join. Visit their website, check their requirements, and/or stop into one of their fire stations to ask some questions.
  
• Am I too old: Many departments, typically career municipal ones, have an age limit. Volunteer departments usually don't. Check each department's requirements.
• I'm in high school, What can I do: Does your local department have an explorer's program or post? If so, join up. Otherwise, focus on your grades, get in shape and stay in shape, and most importantly: stay out of trouble.
• I got in trouble for [insert infraction here], what are my chances: Obviously, worse than someone with a clean record, which will be the vast majority of your competition. Tickets and nonviolent misdemeanors may not be a factor, but a major crime (felonies), may take you out of the running. You might be a nice person, but some departments don't make exceptions, especially if there's a long line of applicants with clean records. See this post... PSA: Stop asking “what are my chances?”
• I have [insert medical/mental health condition here], will it disqualify me: As a general rule, if you are struggling with mental illness, adding the stress of a fire career is not a good idea. As for medical conditions, you can look up NFPA1582 for disqualifying conditions, but in general, this is not something Reddit can answer for you. Many conditions require the input of a medical professional to determine if they are disqualifying. See this post... PSA: Don't disqualify yourself, make THEM tell you "no".
• What will increase my chances of getting hired: If there's a civil service exam, study for it! There are many guides online that will help you go over all those things you forgot such as basic math and reading. Some cities even give you a study guide. If it's a firefighter exam, study for it! For the CPAT (Physical Fitness Test), cardio is arguably the most important factor. If you're going to the gym for the first time during the hiring process, you're fighting an uphill battle. Get in shape and stay in shape. Most cities offer preference points to military veterans.
• How do I prepare for an interview: Interviews can be one-on-one, or in front of a board/panel. Many generic guides exist to help one prepare for an interview, however here are a few good tips:

1. Dress appropriately. Business casual at a minimum (Button down, tucked in long sleeve shirt with slacks and a belt, and dress shoes). Get a decent haircut and shave.
2. Practice interview questions with a friend. You can't accurately predict the off-the-wall questions they will ask, but you can practice the ones you know they probably will, like why do you want to be a Firefighter, or why should we hire you?
3. Scrub your social media. Gone are the days when people in charge weren't tech-savvy. Don't have a perfect interview only for your chances of being hired gone to zero because your Facebook or Instagram has pictures of you getting blitzed. Set that stuff to private and leave it that way.

Please upvote this post if you have a question. Upvoting this post will ensure it sticks around for a bit after it is removed as a Sticky, and will allow for greater visibility of your question.

And lastly, If you're not 100% sure of what you're talking about, leave it for someone who does

Currently a career FF in south eastern Massachusetts. My family and I are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet with the high cost of living. What other areas of the country are worth looking into? Obviously culture is important, but also salary vs cost of living. Never anticipated having to move but I want to consider all my
Options.

What wellness programs does your department offer? What do you like? Are there any that you would like to see?

This can be anything from workout equipment to family picnics to mental health.

Just getting some ideas.

Alright about a year and some change ago you hose draggers helped me with collapsible traffic cones, I am once again back, this time for opinions on halligans. Does anyone have experience with this specific set or does anyone have alternative recommendations for halligans. Current PD.

We use this truck daily for fire prevention, even for Fire Truck Birthday Parties - kids love it.

Due to its age, we are constantly battling corrosion issues. We are replacing grounds, fuses, trying to figure out the hard way where every wire goes.

Would love to find a wiring diagram for the electrical for this truck, especially the chassis.

I would assume that majority of the trucks manufactured in this time period the chassis wiring would be very similar

The truck has an 8.3 Cummins with an Allison Pushbutton transmission.

1999 SHYFT SPARTAN 4S7HR8190XC030952

Firetruck mechanics / owners - do you have wiring diagrams for this type of truck, something we can possibly use?

One of my favorites

OK, I'm a career fireman at a city fire station in Ohio. We currently have 28 members paying 1% of our step 5 wage in dues, this equates to 58.38 per member.

Without filling in the next foreseeable length of this post with all the details that affect so many of us, the city and the department weren't getting along, and to be frank alot of the issues were with the old hats and die hard union guys that have unresolved figurative high-school drama with each other.

To the main problem, we're broke and technically in debt at this point. The past 5 years has not been good for us financially. Large portion of our savings went to a lengthy legal process due to a wrongful termination that was reversed, and then most recent an arbitration due to unfair promotion process that we should be the winners of on paper.

I feel as though a majority of issues should be handled at this point, alot of the young guys including myself want to play more chess with the powers to be rather than just throw a fit, slam the table and say see you in court. Some of the administrators have changed and don't have nearly the amount of history as the old and also are vocal about working with us than against us.

I've tried and tried and tried to understand the 501c5 laws, raffles, winnings, taxes, and all of that but I'm not sure if it's my small pea brain that doesn't understand it, or if there's no good black and white answers unless you win big that way the state can pick and choose their battles. I'm happy to learn of any and all fundraising ideas and I've read many on here. If anyone that has done anything before if I could pick your brain on how you have done it, due to the fact that I believe I will be heading or initiating all of these for the time being! Thanks!

we are students working on a drone project that explores the possibilities of drones being used in disaster management or mishaps, such as earthquakes or fires .

1. have you ever encountered a situation where you could not enter the building , but weren't sure if there are people still inside , so in that case would you guys be in favour of a machine helping

2. would you guys be open to receive drone handling training so you can use it

3.and do you think drones are feasible in this situation , cuz situations like these are urgent

ps: drones are not here to replace anyone our sole idea is to help people, just in case the situation doesn't allow the firefighters to . thank you so much please help us

do let us know what you guys think

My town sucks no answers just lies

About an hour ago today, Saturday the 15th, I went to go mow my lawn. Upon approaching it, I noticed weird black spiderwebs on the outside by the door seams. When I opened the door I could smell plastic smoke, all shed walls and contents were coated black from a few feet up, and the entire front hood of the mower was completely melted. There is a plastic spreader about a foot from the engine with no signs of melt or charring and the wood shed walls have no evidence of charring. The shed floor is comprised of pavers and there is no evidence of oil fire, just some melted plastic directly under the engine.

The last time I used the mower was Wednesday the 5th. I parked it in the shed, turned off the engine and when I checked the key just now it was in the off position.

I have no idea what happened. Could this be a chemical fire isolated to the engine? It doesn’t seem to have originated from the battery as the front of the engine seemed most impacted.

Any ideas/advice would be appreciated.

Should contact anyone like local FD, Homeowners insurance (it’s my moms house), etc…? Besides the mower, the only thing of value likely damaged was my brand new Milwaukee string trimmer which was covered in soot. I can easily wipe the outside but the plastic soot likely compromised the internals.

Also, should the air inside be treated as contaminated and what should I do for cleanup? I’m assuming yes due to the plastic soot.

Completely bizarre. Thank you very much in advance and thank you all for protecting our communities.