Lou Angeli: The Nation's Bravest

Organized chaos. That's how the fire scene is often described. The adrenaline charged atmosphere feels like a battleground. But in this war zone there's no time to develop a battle plan. For the firefight to be successful action must be immediate. Firefighters have only a few precious minutes to defeat their opponent.

Back in the day, Firefighting was all about racing to the scene, donning a tin helmet and aiming the nozzle at the flames and smoke. And that's pretty much how the gen-eral public still perceives the job. But times have changed, and today there�s an art, not to mention a science, to fighting fires.

In terms of extinguishing blazes, today�s firefighters are trained to go face-to-face with the beast, inside the burning building for an "offensive" attack. Some fire training experts say that the trick is to tame the fire, before extinguishing it, and there are dozens of tactics for doing so. But these strategies often come with extreme risk. Bottom line -- firefighters must make crucial life and death decisions quickly.

This web site is a collection of features, articles and short stories written by Lou Angeli, which deal with family, bravery, dedication, and seduction within the ranks. A first hand account of the astounding � sometimes shocking -- risks that above average firefighters take to ensure their position within the fire-rescue service.

During the past 30 years, annual civilian fire deaths have been reduced by 50%. But firefighters deaths continue to rise, with 112 being lost in the line of duty last year alone. Even more disturbing are OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association�s predictions that fully one-third of the current firefighting force of 1,100,000 will be injured on the job during they year 2005. Of those who will be injured, it is estimated that over half do not have adequate insurance coverage to attend their needs. Is this any way to treat the Bravest?

As a freelance journalist, filmmaker and former firefighter, Lou Angeli, breaks with long-standing tradition as he takes you into the dark, dangerous world that only the chosen few have experienced. Are they true-to-life heroes, or simply foolish adrenaline junkies? Find out first hand why firefighters are known as the World�s Bravest.

Angeli�s work blows the lid off of the world�s largest private club. A secret fraternity, whose strong sense of tradition is being challenged by the realities of 21st Century living.

Last One Standing

Man Down, Man Down!

EuroFire Pumper

TV, Films and Firefighting

Angels of Mercy

The Great Flood of 1993

Firefighters in the USA respond to a blaze every 45 seconds

Welcome to the
April 2007 Edition

All articles by: Lou Angeli

Features, News and
Commentary dealing with
the Nation's Heroes

Online since 1996

Answering The Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers

A 9/11 documentary with no political agenda -- no conspiracy theories -- just candid talk and chilling images offered by volunteers who saw it all.

When everything could have totally fallen apart, these remarkable humanitarians pulled together, revealing to the rest of the world (and sometimes to themselves) the true meaning of the American Spirit. (click here for a complimentary download)

Flashover! Even though firefighters are beginning to understand it, this fatal phenomenon is still shrouded in a veil of mystery. Experts in the fire training arena have differing opinions and descriptions of Flashover, but they all seem to agree on one thing. It's a nasty thing! (read on)

The Volunteer Dilemma: Nearly 5 years after Lou Angeli's report of the slow demise of the volunteer fire service, America's USA Today concedes that there is a problem as indicated in their cover story of November 7, 2005 "Fewer step up to fight fires" by Rick Hampson. Hampson echoes Angeli's commentary which appears on this page under Last One Standing.