I Saw Lightning Fall hosts a horrifying Christmas story event most years; http://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/2018/12/advent-ghosts-2018-stories.html?m=1   100 words, no more  no less. This is my contribution, I hope you find it terrible.   How quickly it ended; a flash of light, the sound of thunder then deafening silence. First the lights, then heat. Eventually the kindness and […]

By Michael Morse She reached into her purse, dug deep and found what she was looking for. “You’ve been especially nice,” she said, “I want you to have these.” I looked around, made sure nobody was watching and conspiratorially took her offering. “I really shouldn’t, we’re not supposed to take gifts.” “You deserve it,” she […]

My books tell our story. Great gifts too. Order today, be there well before Christmas.  Or better yet, have an e book sent to your favorite firefighter or medic’s device instantly.   Merry Christmas!     Rescue 911, tales from a first responder is a collection of short stories. Rescuing Providence covers a thirty-four hour […]

This is a repost of something I wrote a few years ago, I updated it here and there to make it current.  Somebody from Sandy Hook read it and let me know that Christmas is alive and well in their town. Human resiliency never fails to amaze me. Peace on Earth, and Goodwill to Men, and […]

My column at Fire Engineering is live, thanks for reading!   “We are all part of the human race; some days we seem to be winners, only to find ourselves behind the pack the next. One day I was serving people, the next I was saving them. But the greatest lesson I learned was that […]

She actually apologized for calling us. “I didn’t want to bother you, but I can’t stand the pain any longer.” Her home was meticulous, nestled on a quiet street in the Mount Pleasant section of the city, surrounded by beautiful yet modest homes that showed the pride of their owners. The city has a few […]

See this guy? I see him, don’t recognize him, never met him, sadly never will but I know him. I worked with him for twenty five years. He is us. I know he’s made of different stuff than most, that he shows up, and does the job, and takes care of his family and doesn’t […]

I was asked to speak at The Retired Teachers of Rhode Island’s annual meeting this year. I was worried about what to say, didn’t  think teachers and firefighters had all that much in common. My worries were unfounded, turns out we have the most important thing of all in common; the desire to help others. […]

I am busy developing new curriculum; rather than training and insisting firefighters become kind and sensitive to each other’s needs and emotions, I have devised a system that effectively alleviates bullying. It’s called Bully Back. 99.9% of the the insults bandied about the fiirehouse are simple ways of communicating that male dominated organizations have effectively […]

A beautiful woman struggled to breathe, sitting alone with only her memories in the middle of the night, waiting for help. At one time, she could do anything. Born in 1922, she had survived a lot of tough times: the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, marriage, family and all that goes […]