Rescue Talk

Mission Driven, Safety Focused Content

Fire Fighters

March 21, 2023

Fire Department Scholarship Winners

We were so excited to see all the applicants for our Fire Department Scholarship Program – we decided to pick 10 instead of 1! The following individuals were selected to attend a Roco Urban/Industrial Rescue Essentials™ Course at no charge at the Roco Training Center in Baton Rouge. 

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January 20, 2023

Fire Department Scholarship Program

As part of our efforts to support municipal emergency responders, Roco Rescue will be offering quarterly scholarships to our open-enrollment 50-hour Rescue Essentials Courses conducted at the Roco Training Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. To be considered, applicants will complete an online form and explain why they are interested in attending a course and how it...

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April 21, 2022

Lock-Out/Tag-Out: What Rescuers Need to Know

The concept of Lock-Out/Tag-Out is a great one and it works. As rescuers, however, we have to take the common industrial application and expand it to ensure that the rescue scene is safe and that we are controlling hazards at the point of contact with the victim or in a space where something has gone...

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August 23, 2021

Small-town Department, Big-time Hazards

Many small-town fire departments often have their share of big-time hazards, but perhaps none fits that bill like the Westlake Fire Department in Southwest Louisiana. This department, located on the I-10 industrial corridor, is surrounded by some of the largest petrochemical plants in the nation, and it’s growing daily. And, while maybe small in number,...

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July 15, 2019

Tunnel Rescue in Charleston

By Skip Williams Contributors: Deputy Chief Kenneth Jenkins, Captain Tom Horn and Captain Anthony Morley, Charleston Fire Department, Rescue 115, and Russ Fennema, Jay Dee Contractors Note: The following article recounts a very successful rescue that took advantage of available resources at the scene. Roco Rescue wants to share stories like this one to remind our...

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February 15, 2019

Rescuing the Rescuer: When Things Go Wrong During a Rescue

by Brad Warr, Chief Instructor The day before 40-year-old Phoenix firefighter Brett Tarver got separated from his crew and ran out of air at the Southwest Supermarket fire, the fire service felt confident in its ability to rescue a downed firefighter. That all changed when Tarver was found unresponsive thirty minutes after his mayday was...

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January 9, 2019

Rescuer Physical Fitness: Making It Happen

In Part I of this article, you heard my point of view on a rescuer’s obligation to be physically fit. In this follow-up piece, I outline concrete ideas to help you reach your fitness goals, broken into three components of wellness: exercise, diet, and lifestyle. First Responder Fitness

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January 2, 2019

Your Physical Fitness As A Rescuer: Why It Matters

In January of last year, I wrote a piece called The Fit Rescuer & Why It’s Important, and it was one of my most widely-read articles, so I thought I would tackle the topic again this year. The information in this article applies to all rescuers; whether you’re a member of an emergency response team...

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November 26, 2018

Successful Engulfment Rescue in Iowa

Our congratulations to the Burlington (Iowa) Fire Department on a successful grain bin rescue that happened in their community back in May of this year (2018). The incident was reported on Firehouse.com.

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