Chief Resident Blogger
Chief Jolley has 37 years of experience in the fire service, 20 of which where in a management position. He spent 35 years with the Saint Petersburg, Florida Fire Department raising to the rank of Assistant Fire Chief. As Assistant Chief, William oversaw the Operations Division of the Fire Department. After retiring, Chief Jolley was hired by the Haines City, Florida Fire Department as the Fire Chief. Chief Jolley is currently retired and volunteers as our chief resident blogger.
The Fire Chief and the Union, why can’t we just get along!
I’m sure we have all seen the headlines at some time. The city names have been left out but you ...
New Leadership – The First 100 Days
“However the economy is doing, a challenge for leaders in the twenty-first century is attracting and retaining not just employees, ...
Changes – Time may change me, But I can’t change time (David Bowie)
There are those who say that people never change. And if you are talking strictly about personalities, that might be ...
The Driver Engineer – What Drives Them
From the minute I completed my probation I wanted to be a driver engineer. I began shadowing the driver at ...
Forcible Entry
Without gaining entry into a structure where a suspected or confirmed fire is, the fire cannot be located and extinguished, ...
Can you be a fire employee and the leader and or member of a motorcycle gang?
There is a recent story out of Florida that’s has generated a lot of discussion. According to WFTS-TV’s I-Team, two fire ...
A revisit to Women in the Fire Service
In April of 2015, I wrote an article on my perspective of women in the fire service. In the article ...
First on Scene
Have you ever sat at a red light and in your side view mirror you see someone coming up too ...
I wish my mind would forget what my eyes have seen (Dave Parnell, Detroit Fire Department)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD PTSD develops differently from person to person. While the symptoms of PTSD most commonly develop ...
Brotherhood – Are you united, or just lined up?
When presented with the question of what does Brotherhood (specifically in the fire service) mean to me, the more I ...
Staffing…How many firefighters does it take to……
Just mention staffing or manpower in a room of firefighters of any rank and heads will turn. It is something ...
Vertical Ventilation – Getting Rid of the Bad Stuff
Ventilation could be defined as the removal of smoke and hot fire gases from a burning structure. There are several ...
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday
There are probably no more terrifying words at an emergency scene than these three. Firefighters immediately look around, or feel ...
Perspective – How do you see it?
Someone once said that a person’s perspective is their reality. That is true to a point because that perspective, or ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
Residential Fire Sprinklers
In January of this year, a family of six died in a fire in a relatively new home (built in ...
A Perspective On Women In The Fire Service
Recently there was an article in the local newspaper regarding harassment charges brought forward by several women that work for a local ...
Fire Prevention/Public Education – Where Do You Stand Or Sit
35 years ago, my department had very little to do with Public Education. There was a Prevention Division, but no ...
Motivation
Motivation can be defined as a term used to explain behavior. Motivation drives people's actions, desires, and needs. A motive ...
Leadership, Another View
“Leadership is the privilege to have the responsibility to direct the actions of others in carrying out the purposes of ...
What Firefighters Should Expect From Their Leadership
Much has been written about what leadership is, how management is different than leadership, and what you can do as ...
Important Qualities for Fire Service Leadership – Part 5
To summarize so far - As part of the National Fire Academy (NFA) Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP), the student ...
Important Qualities for Fire Service Leadership – Part 4
To summarize so far - As part of the National Fire Academy (NFA) Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP), the student ...
Important Qualities for Fire Service Leadership – Part 3
To summarize so far - As part of the National Fire Academy (NFA) Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP), the student ...
Important Qualities for Fire Service Leadership – Part 2
To summarize so far - As part of the National Fire Academy (NFA) Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP), the student ...
Important Qualities for Fire Service Leadership – Part 1
As part of the National Fire Academy (NFA) Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP), the student is required to author an ...
Active Shooters And The Fire Department
On a sunny spring day in April of 1999, at approximately 1119, a suburban high school in Jefferson County, Colorado, ...
Leadership In A Crisis – Line Of Duty Death (LODD)
There have been many articles, papers, policies and procedures written regarding a LODD. The last thing a parent wants to ...
Key points for scene size ups
Emergency scene size up can be defined as “A rapid mental evaluation of various factors related to an emergency incident”, ...
You are the Boss. Now…about those friendships
I remember, a long time ago obviously, when I was in Boy Scouts at the old age of 11, I ...