by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 29, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
Let me start with a confession that may surprise some of you. I grew up on a party-line telephone, where you picked up the receiver and might hear the neighbors already talking. No cell phone. No computer. I watched every one of these technologies arrive, one at a...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 22, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
By Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief & Paramedic | Behind The AlarmThe last one in the series. A note on the series. When I started this, seven parts looked like enough. It was not. Readers kept raising things that deserved their own treatment, and a subject this...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 22, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
By Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief & Paramedic | Behind The AlarmShare this one — especially the first item.There is one action on this list that does almost nothing for your own house and a great deal for everyone else on your road. It costs nothing, it takes thirty...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 22, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
Before the Order Comes | Part 6Home Hardening on a BudgetMost of what saves a house is free, takes a Saturday, and nobody ever tells you about it.By Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief & Paramedic | Behind The AlarmShare this one.Part 5 was about getting your family out....
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 21, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
BEHIND THE ALARMBy Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief & Paramedic | Behind The AlarmShare this one.This is the part of the series most families skip, and it is the part that decides whether everyone ends up in the same place. It costs nothing but an hour at the kitchen...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 20, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
The full series is collected in one folder you can download, print, or pass along: [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13b6nts3fL4YzD_iZ7pStepU1lPzea9fH?usp=drive_link]. Send it to somebody who lives alone. Send it to somebody with kids. Send it to the person...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 20, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
BEFORE THE ORDER COMES — PART 3 OF 8Your Paper LifeSHARE THIS. IT COSTS NOTHING, AND IT MIGHT COST SOMEONE EVERYTHING NOT TO.The full series is collected in one folder you can download, print, or pass along:...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 19, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
Fred R. LaPoint | Fire Chief Paramedic, Stronach Township Fire DepartmentBEFORE THE ORDER COMES — PART 2 OF 8SHARE THIS. IT COSTS NOTHING, AND IT MIGHT COST SOMEONE EVERYTHING NOT TO.The full series is collected in one folder you can download, print, or pass...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 19, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
Fred R. LaPoint | Fire Chief Paramedic, Stronach Township Fire DepartmentBEFORE THE ORDER COMES — PART 1 OF 8SHARE THIS. IT COSTS NOTHING, AND IT MIGHT COST SOMEONE EVERYTHING NOT TO.Every part of this series will be collected in one folder you can download, print, or...
by Fred R. LaPoint, Fire Chief Paramedic | Jul 18, 2026 | Behind The Alarm
July 18, 2026The smoke came into the Upper Peninsula Wednesday night and was over West Michigan by Thursday morning. Air quality index over 500 in spots. Grand Rapids skyline gone.Anybody who’s been in this business more than a few years has fielded the same question...
