So there has been a lot of different opinions coming out about saunas and the fire service. Many of these opinions can be very compelling on both sides of the argument. Now, I am no expert by any means, but my travels for our organization and interacts with fellow firefighters, experts, and others brings me […]
Continue reading
Firefighter Crisis in America – The Volunteer
In the rare occasion that you didn’t know, among the many things Benjamin Franklin accomplished in his life, he established the first Volunteer Fire Company in Philadelphia. Franklin and four friends founded the Union Fire Company on December 7, 1736. There were 26 members of this first brigade. Each member agreed to bring six leather […]
Continue reading
Vision – Take the blinders off
~When you are in a leadership position, having a vision for your organization is more important than the words that you say. As leaders, sometimes we don’t realize how closely we are being watched by our administrative staff, our line officers and firefighters, and by our superiors. Many organizations publish information on their mission, vision, […]
Continue reading
Thoughts on Volunteer Recruitment and Retention
Hardly a week goes by when a story doesn’t pop up on my Facebook news feed or show up on some news agency page talking about the shortages of volunteer firefighter, EMS or rescue personnel. All these news agencies report the one thing we all know, volunteer firefighters are a dying breed, but very few […]
Continue reading
Being a medic in the Heroin capital of the US.
The title may be a bit ambitious but at this point in history, it is pretty widely accepted that Ohio has at least three cities with the highest rates of Heroin related overdoses and deaths. I happen to work in one of them. Dayton, Ohio has been labeled by some to be the city with […]
Continue reading
FDNY firefighters disciplined for hazing incident
NEW YORK — Seven FDNY firefighters were disciplined for violating the FDNY’s “zero tolerance” hazing policy following a hazing incident of an African-American firefighter. Although the department withheld the identities of those involved, the New York Post (see this article for full story) reported that the incident involved a prank in which “they put the […]
Continue reading
Transitional Fire Attack – Are you and inny or an outy?
I recall a house fire I responded to many years ago. A gas leak in the garage got to the gas water heater pilot light and before long the garage was well involved. The owner opened the garage door to try to get his car out but couldn’t. Going from the back of the house […]
Continue reading
Don’t Fail To Plan, Or You Will Surely Plan To Fail
In January of 2006, I was deployed with one other officer from pour department to Hancock County Mississippi to manage the planning section of the emergency operations center (EOC) for ten days. Although Hurricane Katrina had made landfall four months earlier on August 29, 2014, Hancock County was so severely damaged that the EOC was […]
Continue reading
The Fire Asylum Movie
The Fire Asylum Movie Many of you may have recalled an article I wrote earlier last year about the Fire Asylum training. Well some great news has occurred this week, The Fire Asylum Movie was released on Amazon. If you really want to understand more about this unique training, you really should watch the movie! […]
Continue reading
Employee and Organizational Morale
As leaders, we should constantly monitor our organizations morale and make adjustments as necessary. What are some of the steps, policies, mannerisms, or lead by example tips we as leaders can do to help build and maintain morale? Professionalism It is always important to look professional. Personnel should not be showing up at emergency scenes with shirts that […]
Continue reading