Fire Department Instructor's Conference

FDIC 2016 - What's Going On?

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We are heading to FDIC this year and hope to provide all of you who are unable to attend with a resource. We recently started using Periscope which enables us to stream live broadcasts throughout the event. If you download the app follow us "@FFMattHinkle" and you will be able to watch the live streams. You will also be able to comment or ask questions during a broadcast while the event is live. Once the event ends you can watch the video for up to 24 hours later and then the broadcasts are removed. If you are attending FDIC 2016 we hope to see you there. If you see us walking around the exhibits stop us and say hello. We will have free stickers with us and will give them away until we run out. You can check out our short video below to learn how to follow along on Periscope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpbECUkCnHw&feature=youtu.be

FDIC 2014 Recap

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For those of you unable to attend FDIC 2014 I have put together a summary of the events, innovations and must see apparatus that caught my eye. During FDIC it seems as though the entire city of Indianapolis is transformed into a place no cop should have to go... Let's start with a few of my favorite apparatus at this years conference.  Columbus, Ohio had a very functional pumper built by Sutphen and spec'd by some guys that really thought out their tactics.  Low hose beds are a favorite with me along with tool accessibility.  Charlotte, NC also brought unique design specs into the construction of their pumper built by Smeal.  You will notice it carries two ladder racks, double decker rear hose bed storage, and some very specific mounting options for tools and equipment.  Lastly, Dekalb County, GA put together a really well designed pumper built by Pierce Mfg.  It features a very low hose bed, front suction, side ladder storage with step-ups to access.  Take a look at the gallery and comment below to let us know what you think. [flagallery gid=3]

 

The next gallery features several innovations that we saw at the exhibit halls.  You will see an assortment of interesting products and design ideas.

 

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On Friday night we attended the Firefighter Turnout hosted by Paratech Fire & Rescue EquipmentAmkusTECGEN XTREMEBlack Diamond Fire and Fire Cam Police and Fire Cameras.  We had a blast and had the opportunity to meet several fire service social media giants and product designers like Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic), Willie Wines Jr. (Iron Fireman), Andrew Catron (Model City Firefighter), Isaac Frazier (Tactical Advantage Training), Paul Hasenmeier (First Due Tackle) and Rob Shield (Fire Cam).

 

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Thank you to all we met and we hope to meet you again soon.