Tom Brennan's Random Thoughts

"Random Thoughts" was a column written in Fire Engineering magazine by Tom Brennan, a 40 year veteran of the fire service and an editor for the magazine as well as a captain in the FDNY and chief of the Waterbury Fire Department in Connecticut. This book is a complete collection of his column which spanned 18 years until his death in 2006. A large section is devoted to truck company operations (roof ventilation, forcible entry, ladder placement, and search & rescue) but also covers scene sizeup, incident management, strategies/tactics, building construction, engine ops, as well as tips and lessons he learned along the way. It's mainly geared towards firefighting in cities, but there's a wealth of information in general for any firefighter. His writing style is in a casual, conversational tone, like he was sitting around a table with a group telling stories and answering questions. His insightful and at times pointed comments are also sprinkled with a dry sense of humor. He never acts like he knows it all, mentioning every situation can be different and there's rarely a "one size fits all" approach. Since this is his columns in a book format, one can open it up at any point for a quick read since each column is about a page long. Even though his writings were primarily geared towards urban firefighting, a lot of it can be carried over to firefighting in general. It's also given me a better understanding of truck company operations and what they have to take into account when arriving on scene and their sizeup/entry.

Great reading material from the new guy all the way to the most senior fireman. Lots of good information

I don't have nearly enough time to sit here and type out all of my feelings about this book. This book is a must read for anyone assigned to any apparatus in the fire service. Even the name of the book is perfect. There are just so many random things that most people never even think about. It's obvious that Mr Brennan was a truckie, but I've been an engine lieutenant for a couple of years now and I've learned so much from him. Im only about 1/3 of the way through the book and I already know much more than I did before reading this. I can't wait to finish and then re-read it and continue to share it with my crew.

This book is a must have for any fireman. Reading the different articles you can see how the fire service has progressed through the years. You can see the genius of this man as he began to discuss topics that are still debated to this day. Good for quick reading as each article is only about 2 pages long.

A great read!

I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING TOM IN 1985. HE VISITED PROVIDENCE, RI WHERE I WAS A FAIRLY NEW LIEUTENANT.HE WAS VERY INFLUENTIAL IN MY CARREER.HE WAS A LADDERMAN AT HEART(OR A TRUCKIE) IN FDNY TERMS.BECAUSE OF HIM I GRAVITATED TO A TOWER LADDER TRUCK,AND USED MANY OF THE THINGS THAT I READ IN"RANDOM THOUGHTS" OVER THE YEAR I SERVED THERE.I'AM A DEPUTY ASSISTANT CHIEF TODAY, AND I REVIEW THE BOOK AND STILL LEARN NEW THNIGS FROM TOM EVEN AFTER HIS PASSING.THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE WHO IS TRULY A FIREFIGHTER. MANNY COSTA PROVIDENCE FIRE DEPARTMENT

Great book to break out on the table to review and discuss an article for in-house training. Absolutely horrible book to put on a promotional test. Study material Committees! Don’t do this to your folks! I’d read Truck Company Ops 10 times over before going cover to cover in this thing ever again.

All the back pages of all your old FE magazines together in one place at your finger tips. Makes for a great reference for firehouse kitchen table talk training. A must have for all "good" fireman.