By Michael Morse In my column, “To Force or Not to Force Entry,” I discussed the decision-making process involved when responding to a well-being check. You never know who will read your articles; Battalion Chief (Ret.) John Healey, my friend and first permanent officer when I was appointed to the Providence (RI) Fire Department in […]

The bad news is; the public has no idea what we do. The good news is; we don’t need the public’s understanding of what we do to do what we do. The worst news is: an uneducated public will not come to the defense of their fire department when an elected official decides that he […]

Under a highway, next to some railroad tracks they made their camp. It was her birthday; she turned thirty-three today. He bought her a cake and a tube of frosting so she could write her name on top. Nobody had ever bought her a cake he told us as the IV went into her arm. […]

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King, Jr. The beauty of EMS lives within Martin Luther King’s famous quote. Our patients are not judged […]

A Firefighter’s Life Well Lived 11/16/2016 Fire Engineering By Michael Morse Before you know it, your career will be over. You may make it 10, 20, 30, or 40-plus years; it matters not, it goes by in a blink. I made it to 25, spent more time than I care to recall complaining about this […]

A Real Emergency 01/10/2017 By Michael Morse “Rescue 1, Respond to 1835 Broad Street for an intoxicated male at the payphone.” Duty calls. Duty waits. I refastened my belt loosely and hit the pole. “Rescue 1, responding.” We rolled out of the station and into the city. Some folks would have taken care of business […]

The City of Providence closed two fire stations and three companies yesterday. There was no public outcry, no candlelight vigils, no “Save our Station” protests, just firefighters leaving their station for the last time and locking the door behind them. Those firefighters start their new assignments today, different station, different truck, different life. http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170107/providence-firehouses-closing-as-part-of-downsizing In […]

It took a while to spot her, she blended in with the litter covering most of the empty lot. I’ve learned to look closely when called to this address. With nowhere else to go a lot of homeless people gather here. A couple of old chairs sat empty around a lonely tree, used condoms, discarded […]

I asked my friend, Greg Friese if he would consider writing the foreword for my book, City Life. I know that he enjoys my writing, so it was a fairly safe bet that he would agree. His words reminded me why I started writing about life responding to other people’s emergencies. Thank you, Greg, I […]

10. If you are like me, by the time you finish you will probably have learned how to write one 9.  It looks cool on your bookshelf 8. They make thoughtful gifts when you forget to buy a gift 7.  People think you’re smart 6.  You can wear a smoking jacket and drink brandy from […]