Yeah, they made a pot of coffee. It meant the world to me. One F$%#in cup of coffee was all I needed. If you remember, I have been kicking myself since our last trip for NOT drinking the cup of coffee I was offered. This time I drank it...and they opened up to us more as time went on.

Last week I posted an article from January on The Fire Service Warrior. Chief Ron Siarnicki commented on the post directly on FSW and apparently the two caught up to discuss it. This week, Chris Brennan talks about why he wrote the article and his discussion with Siarnicki. Read the original post here and the newest post here.

This could be make it or break it to see if Willie and I can share the same stage and talk...and make sense. I am an optimist, so my thoughts were that we would get up there and everything would work itself out.

I have a friend, a brother, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He is a Firefighter & Paramedic in a dual role department. His recent diagnosis was shocking for him to say the least, but he has held his head high. I cannot imagine what he is going through and it shows his strength. He is currently on light duty due to the disease.

Whether it is someone dropping off cookies, looking for directions, a neighboring crew, a retiree, an off duty firefighter, or Chiefs we should welcome them into OUR firehouse. After all, when someone comes to your house do you just let them walk in without greeting them? I didn't think so.

The firehouse with the most votes will receive a truly heroic kitchen renovation valued at $25,000. And since it’s all from IKEA, it will be full of smart and innovative ideas to make their lives a little bit easier so they can better protect our communities.

The report does not state whether or not the "impromptu video" took away from a task the firefighter was completing. When I teach/present on social media, I always remind the guys/gals that they are firefighters, not reporters. They should leave the reporting up to others. I am also a huge proponent of taking pictures of your crew when the job is done.

Before you read on, please understand that I appreciate smart aggressive firefighting, it is what I live. I think there are some small things that some firefighters view as others trying to change the way we fight fire...I view them as tools for making us better and understand they must be understood properly and implemented into our game plan. They don't really make us "safe", they make us "smarter".

The Best of the Rest is back with plenty from across the Fire Service World. Check out some of what the other blogs and web sites have to offer!

Apparently a firefighter needed some assistance with directions for incoming units. He got answers from the guy holding the video camera. Nice teamwork!