Articles

The smiling firefighter might cause some to question why they are smiling while firefighting the fire. It comes from a having a series of tasks that need to be completed in a quick and decisive manner to bring order to mayhem and destruction.

I would like to share why I find this side hobby so much darn FUN! The history of the American Fire Service dates back to the early days of the country. As the country grew so did the fire companies and their social impact on the community. Firemen’s Parades, Musters and Firemen’s Balls were common affairs starting in the mid-1800’s. These events were held to show off the fire company’s engines, prove the company’s worth in competitions or have an elegant event to raise funds to support the company and related causes. Firefighting is a battle and one of huge highs and equal lows. Local departments can go long periods of time without a call only to having 2 CPR calls and a structure fire in the same day. These stresses are often written about, and a common theme is to have an outlet and means to let off some steam. Exercise, mediation, and other social activities are often at the top of the list.

The Fire Service Photography Handbook A guide to the visual documentation of the history, traditions, action, and heroism of the fire service. A book about photography ought to have one thing which is lots of photos. So it would be logical a book about fire photography should have lots of photos of fire related subjects. Which this publication certainly will have! However in order to make it a book instead of a photo album there needs to be supporting text.

The term “brotherhood” is used to describe the bond between firefighters this bond comes from being an ordinary person that is willing to do the scary, physically demanding, emotionally draining work that is required to resolve an emergency safely and efficiently. This bond comes from “being there” after the 3rd false alarm of the day has interrupted dinner or battling the 3 alarm blaze. This bond was tested this past year in New Marlborough when our brother Tom Dillon lost his battle with cancer. The outpouring of support by brothers near and far to Tom’s family was beyond words and I am personally grateful to all. Humans are social creatures and firefighters are no different. The fire department in many parts of the country including the Berkshires is often a major player in the social network of a community. Each department, like a family, differs in how social and how often the “soft” side of the firehouse comes out.