I have been interested in the Fire Service since childhood when my father was a Volunteer Firefighter in Uniondale, Long Island, New York. Upon moving to New Hampshire, he joined the Merrimack Fire Department as a call firefighter. Dad is currently a Part-Time dispatcher for Merrimack Police. A general fire buff, my main interest is New Hampshire & Metropolitan City Fire Departments, especially the FDNY (New York City Fire). My main professional interest is the use of Incident Dispatch Teams or Field Communications personel. These are Dispatchers trained to operate at the Command Post of an incident to free up the Incident Command Staff to focus on Tactical considerations while the dispatcher focuses on communications, paperwork and equipment tracking. Much like a dispatch center in the field and what dispatchers are trained to do in their offices.
My interest in radio communications, primarily public safety also started early listening to the local fire departments on the scanner and my parents both being Amateur Radio Operators. I now monitor all types of communications with an exmphasis on fire communications (my first interest) and am a past Contributing Editor for the Official New Hampshire Scanner Guide (9th Edit.) and Radio Shack's Police Call books. I have done small consulting roles for public safety agencies regarding communications systems and licensing. I have also recently obtained my Technician Class Amatuer Radio License with a callsign of KB1FUG. This is sort of a homecoming for me as the original radios I operated were Amateur Radios under my Parents callsigns before I was 10 years old.
I live in Manchester with my wife and two children. During my off time, I enjoy camping, some hiking, and lighthouses. I have taken recent trips photographing lighthouses and hope to establish a site for that in the future. These unique structures are some of the earliest forms of public safety and communications, warning mariners of coastal dangers.
