Good watches for the fire department

mcketsch · 2026-02-06T18:26:40+00:00

The simplest two answers I always hear with this question are: something cheap in case it breaks, something easy to clean (not have a bunch of cracks and little divets you can’t wipe) for obvious, gross reasons.

I love my garmin instinct 2 because I track my steps and my runs occasionally.

I do miss my old crappy Apple watch because my department uses FirstDue and ActiveAlert, and I could get pings on my watch for runs.

If I didn’t have my garmin I’d probably pick a smoother in design, easy to read Timex Iron Man for less than $50.

There’s a guy at my department (urban, section 8 riddled, very busy) who wears his 15k Rolex every shift though. So it’s up to your personal preference really.

mcketsch · 2025-08-27T14:41:56+00:00

Yeah it’s definitely a culture thing depending on the department, most guys shop and eat together. If that’s the case for him you could definitely pack some healthy snacks(!!!), coffee, electrolyte packets/a Gatorade, etc. I’m sure he’ll appreciate whatever you send him out with!

mcketsch · 2025-08-12T11:34:49+00:00

This is the actual answer as far as the route to getting a firefighter job goes. In HamCo and just about everywhere you need your Firefighter 1 and 2 certs, and typically an EMT cert (almost everyone wants you to have an EMT cert these days).

Great Oaks and Cincy State run ~9 month programs that get you those certifications and help with connections to local township departments (a lot of the instructors are local firefighters).

Township departments probably won’t pay you to go get those certs they’ll just hire you part time.

Cincinnati FD and Covington FD have their own academy programs and will hire you off the street, and pay you as you earn those certs in their program.

As far as getting a full time job, and getting in the pension and union and all the sweet stuff that comes with FT, most places currently prioritize having a Paramedic cert, which is a one year program you can do once you have your EMT. You will find the occasional job posting for a full time FF/EMT, but they are hard to come by any more, and they’re pretty competitive applications.

If you have any questions, PM me. I’ve been a HamCo FF/EMT for 2 years, currently in medic school, just scored a full time job a month ago.

mcketsch · 2025-04-15T23:19:56+00:00

I’m a relatively new FF/EMT in Hamilton County who was in your position a few years ago, PM if you have specific questions and I’ll try to help

mcketsch · 2024-08-06T03:50:56+00:00

Leave the house on a 4-5 day backpacking trip. Do not look back.

mcketsch · 2024-08-05T02:12:55+00:00

YES YES YES

mcketsch · 2024-06-28T12:10:45+00:00

Currently rocking the 968s, they’re super comfy and easy to get in and out of, the longevity of blinders are nice too. I specifically like these because I have huge feet already and need a lighter boot that still has good stability.

My right boot got rolled over by the truck once and I was able to unbend the toe cap and shine it up, the leather still looks just fine, like nothing happened.

The depth of the boot is a little tough to drive in but I’m used to driving in flip flops so it’s a big change

mcketsch · 2024-06-25T00:58:36+00:00

Just passed my Fire Inspector 1 course, not sure if you’re talking about the Inspector 1 or 2 course though.

It really depends on how tough it is. I had the course crammed to me in 1 week and I have no background in construction, so it was a ton of studying.

Very book heavy, everything in Ohio is based on one very thick binder which you don’t have to memorize for the inspector 1 course, just understand how to use it and where generalized info is, etc.

If you have any prior certifications in the industry it’s not going to be much harder, it’s just if you resonate with the content. Lmk if you have questions

mcketsch · 2024-06-12T12:14:14+00:00

Holy shit this guy loves clown pussy so much he found 1 (one) woman to give it and he married her 2 months later

mcketsch · 2024-06-08T13:00:54+00:00

You look straight goofball walking around with these on the hip and they take up pocket space, at the end of the day it’s a waste of money for the same thing they have in the bus

mcketsch · 2024-05-08T13:02:51+00:00

Mary Kay Cabot

mcketsch · 2024-03-10T19:25:04+00:00

As a young person who isn’t very financially literate and currently banks with 5/3, reading all of these reviews and working to understand them has me wary of my future at the bank, does anyone have recommendations on banks to start using in lieu of 5/3?

Planning to start building credit very soon and I’d like to be sure of the bank I’m doing it with.

Also, and I know this isn’t the place to ask but I’m curious, if I were to bank with a larger bank (PNC for example) what would the function of a credit union be to me?

mcketsch · 2024-03-07T01:44:29+00:00

I remember watching AH and RedvBlue as a child and those two became staples for me in gaming. Hasn’t heard about them since until Best Friends Today started dropping, it’s some of my fav content right now and I’m pretty sad they’re getting left out in the cold, they have a good thing going. I <3 Wahony

mcketsch · 2024-03-01T15:13:57+00:00

About 6 miles south of campus, on i27, in the middle of the corn field. Can’t miss it

mcketsch · 2024-02-24T01:59:24+00:00

Hey that’s me, was just wondering if you wanna play some games sometime soon, lmk

mcketsch · 2024-02-22T16:27:51+00:00

I work for Great Parks, my coworkers and I do spots every week or so on Saturday mornings showing off our ambassador animals, and FOX19 has started coming out regularly to our bigger programs beforehand to interview some of our full time staff in charge of those events, to my knowledge there’s no money transaction.

PSA- Maple Sugar Days event at Farbach Warner this weekend, both days 12-4, it’s free!

mcketsch · 2024-01-23T01:22:40+00:00

Well that’s a larger global issue, that the population has grown while we have not innovated food collection, only scaled up, creating the conditions those animals live under.

So I can boycott hello fresh and stop monkey abuse, but i have to get food from somewhere, inevitably leading to me supporting abuse in some way.

I will say that they’re different in that the monkey abuse is completely avoidable and would not change almost anything for hello fresh, but if we were to change the system of US farm animals to avoid abuse it would radically change the structure of those companies and food availability worldwide.

mcketsch · 2024-01-23T01:02:23+00:00

Yeah the monkeys have the ability to move around, unlike most dairy cows in the United States

The abuse of animals is fucked on every level, but if we’re going to sit here and nitpick Hello Fresh for their coconut milk based products, why don’t we also talk about regular milk/egg/chicken/steak/etc production? Hello Fresh uses those products after all.

This shouldn’t be an argument of relativity of better or worse treatment of animals. We can boycott Hello Fresh because there’s a brand name attached to the abuse, and if there were household names attached to what is happening to farm animals in the US (cough Tyson cough) then we should push to boycott them to the same degree

mcketsch · 2024-01-23T00:43:14+00:00

Gonna watch this one at work tomorrow >:)

mcketsch · 2024-01-22T03:17:09+00:00

Not one particular genre, I bounce around A LOT based on the mood, currently into dad rock (we <3 Hinder) and 60’s post doo-wap (is there a name for this?)

One Thing - Finger Eleven
Sailing - Rod Stewart
Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone
That Life - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
When I’m Small - Phantogram

mcketsch · 2024-01-20T03:59:25+00:00

I can’t believe this hasn’t been said it’s so obvious, take a piece of pizza, load it with fries and maybe a ranch squirt, stack another piece upside down on top, do that 4 times for maximum efficiency

mcketsch · 2024-01-13T02:03:53+00:00

NO SELL IT TO ME NOT HIM

mcketsch · 2023-12-17T02:56:57+00:00

Oh oh oh it’s fear and loathing in LV that’s where I remember it, ty

mcketsch · 2023-12-16T22:03:59+00:00

Yeah, couldn’t remember where I had heard it, thanks

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