Oct 27, 2020

Rick Mehaffey serves as an engineer for the Waynesville Fire Department, is combination department that runs 2500 calls a year out of two stations. (He has since been promoted to Captain.)

At the time of the near miss event the staffing levels was 1 person on-duty at each of two stations, supplemented by roughly...

Oct 20, 2020

On August 11, 2007, Captain Martin and his partner were over run by a fast-moving wildland fire. On retreat, his partner became entangled on a barbed wire fence. Captain Martin used a utility knife to cut away his partner’s ensnarled clothing and they both narrowly escaped death.

Dave Martin’s crew was assigned to...

Oct 13, 2020

A confabulated reality is one that we believe to be real but, in actuality, it is made up in our brain.  The problem with this is we rarely are able to distinguish between a confabulated reality and true reality until something bad happens.  It will be at that point that we realize we were experiencing a flawed...

Oct 6, 2020

On July 28, 2011, the Asheville Fire Department was forever changed by the tragic LODD of Captain Jeff Bowen. During this interview, Fire Chief Scott Burnette talks about that fateful day and the significant changes that have occurred in the Asheville Fire Department – changes that every fire department can...