Real-life experience. Matter-of-fact judgment. Fair keep or pass.
Wet gear, long standbys, heat and cold, and the kind of calls where the details matter.
I’m Lt. Nicholas J. Koloski. I started as a junior in Ascutney, serve as Call Lieutenant in New Hampshire and as a firefighter in Vermont, hold Pro Board Firefighter II, and have about 30 years on the job across the Upper Valley, including pit-road firefighter work at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
That work has included structure fires and rescues, helping remove injured fellow firefighters after a Claremont house fire, arriving first while off duty and assisting an occupant out before the on-duty crew got there, race-weekend pit-road shifts, and community work like free medical-equipment loans and toys for Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.
First Due Reviews is how I put that experience on gear: intended use, claim check, fair KEEP or PASS. Real fire work. Fair gear reviews. Sister brand: For Good Deals.
“If it deserves a place in your kit, I’ll tell you why. If I’d pass, I’ll tell you that, too.”
Coverage concerns Nicholas’s service and community work. It does not imply endorsement of First Due Reviews by a news outlet, department, charity, or NASCAR.
The Vermont Journal reported that on February 12, I arrived first at a residential fire while off duty, reported a working fire, and helped an occupant out before the on-duty crew arrived.
Read the reporting →A fire-service release documented assistance removing two injured firefighters at a Claremont fire and the wrist injury sustained during the effort.
Read the release →WCAX covered free loans of donated wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistance equipment, alongside produce assistance.
Read the WCAX feature →WCAX documented CHaD toy and cash donations and a plan to donate a NASCAR race weekend’s pit-road earnings.
Read the donation story →
We don’t beat gear up to make it fail on camera. We put it through real fire work — wet, heat, cold, standby, bay wear — and we check the claims that matter. Keep / pass / almost, with why.
Claims checked. Keep or pass.
Review standard