Posted on Mon, Jan 23, 2012
Brotherhood.
A term used over and over again in the fire industry. There have been many blog posts and discussions about brotherhood. There are probably as many definitions of what brotherhood means as there are firefighters. The term is brotherhood, not friend or acquaintance. I remember my dad once telling me that, "you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family." You don’t have to like your brother, you don’t choose your brother, they are family. Each of us has our own meanings of the word but one thing that needs no interpretation is that when a brother is in need, you help. Firefighting has a long tradition of helping out our brothers when something bad happens.
MN8-Foxfire's mission is “by firefighters for firefighters” and we will never forget our brothers.
Many of you know that I have had the honor and privilege to travel the world meeting firefighters from all over as I represent MN8-Foxfire.
Almost a year ago to the day, I had the privilege to meet Capt. Liam Flaherty of FDNY’s Rescue 2 in Brooklyn. I met Capt. Flaherty as he was representing FDNY’s Emerald Society Pipes and Drums at the Firehouse World trade-show in San Diego, CA. We had the opportunity to spend a bit of time at the trade-show and later at a great Irish bar in downtown San Diego. Over a few pints of Guiness and shots of Jameson, I told him about my vision for MN8-Foxfire and how our advanced photoluminescent products can help our brothers by increasing accountability of tools and each other while also reducing disorientation. He offered to evaluate some of our products and give me his and his crew’s feedback.
For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis you will know that I made a trip out to New York City a few months ago with Rhett Fleitz, aka The Fire Critic and Willie Wines, The Iron Fireman. One of our stops was to visit Rescue 2 and Capt. Flaherty.
They greeted us with open arms and shared with us how much they liked Foxfire products and how it has helped them locate their tools in the dark. Hanging out with these heroes and leaders in the fire service while hearing about how our advanced photoluminescent technology has helped them has been one of the proudest moments I have had since starting MN8-Foxfire.
A few weeks ago many of you heard and saw video of the dramatic bailout in Brooklyn.
It was non-other than two members of Rescue 2 that were critically injured. They survived for several reasons. As you you watch that dramatic video, you can see the events unfold. The firefighter opens the window to find his egress ladder and the ladder operator assists him by extinguishing his flames and assisting him down the stick, and then you can see the engine company make a knockdown. As horrifying as this video is to watch, it is an incredible testament to the importance of training, situational awareness, modern PPE, and brotherhood.
Wille, Rhett and myself will be going back to New York at the end of the month to visit again with the FDNY and specifically Rescue 2. Willie had a great idea that we should try and do something special for these two brave firefighters of Rescue 2 who were injured. After all, thats what brothers do, we help each other. Starting on 1/23/12 at 7:00AM, we are going to donate 50% of everything sold on our web-store to the Rescue 2 May Day fund. You can find our web-store by going www.mn8products.com. If you don’t want to buy anything we will also give you the option to make a donation via credit card or PayPal. This offer will expire on at midnight on Monday 1/30/12 so the three of us can personally present a check when we visit Rescue 2 in person on Feb. 1st.
After all we are all one big family, and when your family needs help, you help.
Brotherhood.