Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. – Benjamin Franklin LODD’s: Nov 20, 2015 Fire boat captain suffers sudden cardiac death after winterizing fire boat – Michigan. Nov 20, 2013 Assistant fire chief suffers fatal heart attack while operating an engine at a residential structure fire – […]

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin LODD’s: Nov 19, 2001 Volunteer fire fighter killed and an assistant chief injured in tanker truck crash – West Virginia. History: November 19, 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address during ceremonies dedicating 17 acres of the Gettysburg Battlefield as […]

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. – Thomas Jefferson LODD’s: Nov. 18, 2020: 40-year-old firefighter dies while driving a water tender to a fire – Michigan. Nov 18, 2015 Sergeant suffers sudden cardiac death while […]

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. – Thomas Jefferson LODD’s: Nov 17, 2003 Fire fighter-paramedic suffers sudden cardiac death while performing physical fitness training – Washington. Nov 17, 2003 Career captain/safety officer dies in a single motor vehicle crash while responding to a call – Kansas. History: November 17, 1800 – The […]

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers. – Thomas Jefferson LODD’s: Everyone please be careful out there! 5 NIOSH reports today and Firefighterclosecalls.com has many more historical LODD’s! Nov 16, 2014 Pump operator/paramedic suffers sudden cardiac death after physical fitness training – Texas. Nov […]

Another rough day, historically, for Line of Duty Deaths. In addition to the 4 below pulled from NIOSH reports, Firefighterclosecalls.com lists several other, older LODD’s. One of my first training memories is of an officer examining a Line of Duty Death (1984 below) included showing this video so we could all learn something from the […]

“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack.” – Winston Churchill LODD’s: Nov 14, 1999 Tanker rollover results in the death of one volunteer fire […]

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill LODD’s: Nov 13, 2019 Career lieutenant dies and four firefighters injured at a 3-story multi-family residential occupancy – Massachusetts. Nov 13, 2010 One career fire fighter killed, another seriously injured when struck by a vehicle while working […]

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, it’s also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill LODD’s: Nov 12, 2014 Shift safety officer falls through hole in floor into basement of vacant row house and dies from smoke inhalation – Maryland. Nov 12, 2002 Sudden cardiac death due […]

To all of our Veterans: Thank You! On this day, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car […]