training dilemmas

Training is a frequent theme of my columns. I drew this one after writing a bit of a whiny article on the lack of funding for volunteer firefighters compared to ambulance and police. You can read the article here. In case you can't read the small print, the firefighters in this cartoon mixed up a helium cylinder with an oxygen cylinder. I got the idea while taking a course on O2 administration . . . I guess I must have been daydreaming . . .

The most deadly phrase an instructor can hear is "you're boring." Especially in the volunteer fire service. Your students have given up the ball game or an evening walk or their favourite TV show to hear you blather about firefighting, and you'd better not waste their time. I wrote an article about this dilemma, then drew this cartoon to to make fun of it.

a few more cartoons

Recruiting is a perennial problem (I think I said that already). Volunteer fire departments have to capitalize on the strengths of our very diverse membership, and sometimes it pays to think outside the box. I drew this cartoon to go along with an article in Firefighting in Canada's Web Exclusives section.

Firefighting has it's own unique terminology. This cartoon originated from my initial bewilderment about the term "overhaul." (no, I never actually pulled an engine when overhauling a fire). You can read my views on communication here.