Hello everybody. I bought this pressure washer last year, and the hose that came with it gave out. It leaks and does not provide enough pressure. I've been looking everywhere for the exact same one or anything compatible with it, but I have not had any luck. I've had to return two hoses on Amazon. It is extremely frustrating. I'm about to just buy another one. I even emailed LWQ customer support last night.
Thanks in advance!
What's your opinion on Merced Street News? I think he's a funny guy and pretty chill. He's always out there putting breaking news first, but he kind of gets in the way with first responders and unprofessional with how he distributes his news. l was just curious on what the community has to say.
Any advice on this hose deployment? We had a small training yesterday (my first with my volunteer department) and I messed it up. Captain told me to distribute the weight of the hose on my back, we don't grab the dump load like in the video above. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi everybody!! I finished Fire Academy in May. Currently a paid call Firefighter and have been going on calls when I have time off, mostly medical but I'm very new to the EMS side of everything. Any advice with learning and retaining information. A lot of firefighters tell me that you learned in the field which is kind of true so far, but I feel kind of dumb using the equipment, taking blood pressure, etc. Anything is appreciated!
Just paid for my FCTC written exam scheduled this month. I know there are some study guides on Quizlet, but what are the best ways to study for it? Thanks in advance!
Anyone remember that snow cone place by Save Mart, it was in a shed. I don't remember the name but it closed down before 2015. Great place, my girlfriend says I'm delusional but I remember it being there.
Hello everybody, I got hired as a paid call firefighter last month here in CA, technically it's a "volunteer program" but I get paid for each call I run, not the best but I'm grateful. I graduated from the academy in May of this year and I'm just looking for experience until I get my EMT and hired on with a department. I work 20 minutes away at a homeless shelter from my station but they are lenient about me leaving if I need too. I live 7 minutes from my station but I can respond to calls anytime I'm nearby with the tablet command app. Any advice for responding to calls? Thanks in advance.
Hello all, cutting back on smoking due to becoming a firefighter. I mostly smoke before bed (sometimes I miss a night), lately I've been smoking pens, but those give me a different high, which I'm not a fan of. How do you guys feel about cutting back due to a career change and how does it feel after?
Hello all, looking for hiking and camping options in CA for me and my girlfriend. I would say I'm an okay hiker, we plan to go the 30th. Thanks in advance!
I wanted to share my fire academy experience and hear how it went for you all, just out of curiosity.
My experience:
Getting enrolled at my local college was honestly a hassle. I wasn’t even sure I was going to get in. I did my CPAT last minute, turned in my application, and somehow they squeezed me in.
I’m from CA, so when our academy started in January it was still cold. On top of that, I was dealing with a cough that kept coming and going until about March. That made the physical side pretty rough, but I pushed through it.
Structural was a good time, long, sweaty days in turnouts, but I enjoyed it. HAZMAT I’ll get into later, but wildland was where I was really shitting bricks. During skills testing, progressive hose lay got me. I had to retest twice and honestly thought I might not pass the wildland section. Ended up pulling through though.
Socially, I kept to myself. I didn’t really make close friends, more like "good acquaintances". I know the fire service is big on brotherhood, and maybe being a loner isn’t the best mindset, but that’s just how I start out. I usually build friendships over time. A lot of the academy was younger students who didn’t always take drills seriously, which was frustrating at times, but I guess that comes with the school environment.
The academic side was tough for me. I hadn’t been in school full-time in years, so getting back into weekly quizzes and retaining information was a challenge. I’ve never been a strong student to begin with (usually a B/C student). HAZMAT was especially rough, super dense material, but also interesting. It was basically two weeks of lectures, then straight into FRO/FRA and skills testing. Still passed somehow.
In the end, I made it through and got all my certs for FF1. It was kind of a bittersweet feeling finishing everything. Most of my support came from my girlfriend at home and classmates during class.
Right now I’m applying for a paid-call firefighter position in my county. I just need to complete a week of PSFA so I can start taking calls. After that, I’m planning to take an EMT course this summer.
Let me know how your Academy experience was and any advice for EMT would be greatly appreciated also!
TYA!!!
I graduate from the fire academy tomorrow and I have an interview in a couple weeks for the Reserve Firefighter in a small town an hour from where I live. Any advice for the interview? TYA.