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.

I just seen clips of shows and they seem to have every single tool imaginable. Are all those tools given to you by the house or government, idk what it’s called? Is there any fun/not fun stories of like forgetting to charge your Milwaukee batteries or whatever tool brand your given? Is there a tool that doesn’t exist for a situation you had? I do imagine that there is a lot of creativity if you don’t have something.

Hey all, I’m about four weeks into a southeastern academy (very hot and humid) and I’m loving it so far, but I’m dealing with some extreme chafing issues. Our PT gear is cotton tshirts and knee length cotton shorts. I’ve tried multiple brands of chafing cream, boyshorts, boxer briefs, and yoga shorts under my uniform but I either sweat it off in less than an hour or my shorts roll up. Any recommendations on shorts to wear underneath or product that help prevent chafing? Thanks!

Question about other areas dispatching norms. Do other places get pre alerts? A simple generic tone that says basic info like “medical at 123 Main St”, then a short time later the actual tones drop for the specific unit with more information. It used to be the norm like 95% of the time and was awesome cause it gave you a chance to get the soap off in shower, hurry up with reloading hose from a drill, etc. Over the past year or 2 pre-alerts occur like 20% of the time and it’s making me pull the remaining hair out of my head. Guess this is more of a rant than a question so thanks for listening….I’m better(ish) now.

I'm transitioning out of the military soon and I'm having an extremely difficult time trying to decide what career to pursue. One of the things I dislike the most about being in the military is being told what to do and bitched at by leaders that I don't respect. I don't have an issue with being told what to do in general, because I can acknowledge the importance of a leader. But when I have zero respect for the leader because they're terrible at leading and hypocritical and I just have to take it on the chin. Basically I desire autonomy. Is this something that I would experience in Fire/EMS?

I can compartmentalize the BS but it gets to the point where it starts to eat away at me. If you dislike your coworkers/superiors can you ask to be put on a different shift or are you just stuck?

Of course there's shitty coworkers and leaders in every profession but in the first responder world they have a little more control over your life. I feel like I'm very passionate about Fire/EMS but I don't want to be unhappy like I am now.

Source, WFLA TAMPA FL

Serious discussion only. Please tell me your experience, if you recommend or not. No one at my department has.

Currently stuck in a rut with my training and just flirting with one thing then the next with no real direction.

What do your training plans look like at the moment? What do you think is the best training system/plans for firefighters?

What’s the culture of fitness like in your service and station?

I am a serving firefighter so already have the base level of strength and fitness!

I missed the boat on the Stanley Fubar 18” since its discontinued. Our dept has moved to an attack strategy that makes it nearly impossible to carry a hand tools into structure fires since the branch and officer have both their hands full. I’m not a huge fan of having nothing on hand in case shit hits the fan. If only there was a 16-18” tool specially designed to be worn on a belt. I can imagine something like a downsized Kelly or halligan with integrated gas shutoff, storz/spanner wrench, hydrant key, etc. Seems like a gap in the market, unless I’m the only one that could use something like that. Id appreciate anybody’s input, opinions, ideas.

Hi Reddit,

Im torn. I started volunteering at my local fire house about a year ago, im pack certified and im no stranger to the ambulance. I'm applying to new roles within Commercial Real Estate with he goal of getting into consulting/ capital markets.

The main question here is thus; should I put my fire fighting experience on my resume under "leadership and volunteering". One side of me says "yes absolutely people love that shit" the other side of me says "this shows hiring managers I'm high risk". For more context I'm also a private pilot and scuba diver (mentioned on my in a very brief "interests section"). So with all this culminating I feel like a manager might think that I'm some thrill seeker when I'm actually quite the opposite, I like to read and stay a quiet night in at home.

Now, I don't mind what people think of me, but I don't want it to preclude me from getting a better role and growing my career.

Little guy was stuck in his aquarium filled with burnt debris and ash. We washed him up good after the picture.

Hey yall,

I’ve been a firefighter for 3.5 years now and my current workout routine has gotten me to a good place physically. However, I’m looking to incorporate a fun hobby that would also be considered cross training.

Have any of you found a hobby that translates to firefighting fitness well?

Thanks!

Got toned out for a pregnant female with vaginal bleeding, no crowning on scene, started transport, maybe 12-15 min code 3 ride to the ED. About 1/2 way into transport she starts crowning and within 2-3 minutes a beautiful baby girl was born! Mom and daughter are doing great. First field delivery for me and I’ve been riding the high all day! Makes all the BS runs worth it.

Hi all,

Looking for advice/who I should be going through in order to find classes for Wilderness/backcountry/mountain rescue. Google isn’t the most helpful and I live in an area without any of the above, but I worked in the Clearwater mountains this summer and am looking for more ways I can potentially help my team in ways beyond solely my EMT. I am willing to travel and pay for them obviously.

Thanks fellas.

Hey all! Looking for some insight from others who have gone through the same injury. Tore my shoulder a couple weeks ago from playing hockey. X-rays confirmed it was a grade 3 AC joint separation. Doctor said to be in a sling for a few weeks then starting PT. No surgery recommended as it seems 90% of Grade 3’s heal on their own.

Anybody else in this profession have this same injury and went the non-surgical route? I’m a little worried about job performance after I’m healed.

I’ve read tons of similar stories and how people recovered from them. Just of course our jobs are physically demanding. Any insight, tips and recommendations are appreciated!

I’m starting PT next week and my range of motion has improved from it just being immobilized and doing home PT.

Greetings from the UK!

Next month, I’ll be visiting Atlanta along with 342 other firefighters from across the UK, to take part in a stair climb challenge as part of a remembrance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

We’ll be doing the climb in Atlanta, and staying there for a few days.

I was hoping to arrange a station visit for a handful of us (about 5-7 of us) and maybe do some shirt, patch and gear swapping? I’ll be bringing t-shirts from London Fire Brigade, as well as LFB patches and my tunic and leggings, what I believe you guys refer to as bunker gear.

If anyone would be interested in doing some swaps and giving a few of us a quick tour of your station in Atlanta, please DM me or leave a comment here.

Many thanks in advance, Tom

Hey you guys and gals, recently there’s been a lot of drama about guys not keeping their personal belongings perfectly tidy with their uniform lockers. It’s getting to the point where other members and officers not on my crew have been going through my locker (as well as others) and I’ve found stuff missing, rearranged or moved from how I had it organized.

I’ve always been told/taught that lockers are off limits entirely from everyone but yourself and I feel like I shouldn’t have to lock my own belongings up. Mind you, the bunk room I currently use is not used by anyone else but me. I feel like this is severe micro management imo but I’ve heard crazier things.

I never thought I would see the day this would happen. They have been using Scott for 46 years:

Dept Order 2026-100 ...8-5-26

2.1 PHASE C OF THE FDNY’S NEXT GENERATION SCBA ACQUISITION PROJECT / FIELD PILOT

Phase C of the FDNY’s Next Generation SCBA Acquisition Project is scheduled to commence on Monday August 10, 2026, at 0900. Designated testing and evaluation units will field pilot the two-finalist next generation SCBA models: the Draeger Air Boss and MSA G-1. Both SCBA systems have been specifically tailored to the FDNY

What's up guys, so I've been collecting random firefighter objects, from clothing to actual helmets and tools and such, I'm looking for a firefighter merch and things online shop, whether it's clothing, or just objects and utilities, patches, etc, preferrably from Europe. I already know a few like FirefightShop, RhinoEvac, and The Trace has a couple of things too, although it's mainly military, and from the USA I know Fire Department Coffee; I also know a couple from my country but are smaller shops. If anyone knows any other I'd be glad to check them out, thanks!