All Blog Posts Tagged 'and' (41)

“Only one quarter (27 percent) of fire departments have a basic firefighter fitness and health program, slightly down from 30 percent in 2010.” 

-NFPA Needs Assessment, 2015

27 percent

“…slightly down from 30 percent in 2010”

Really?

While it is doubtful that every single department in the country participated in this assessment…

My inspirations for starting this series investigating the feasibility of increasing firefighters' danger tolerance included the suggestion that the modern fire attack (MFA) technique of exterior streams was evidence of cowardice, as well as recent rants regarding firefighters “not doing their jobs”, at least as defined by the person posting the rant, which generally involve the perceived hesitation of other firefighters to perform interior operations. To me, the idea that we all merely need…

Having cited the limitations and contradictions of the concept of heroism in my last post (i.e., unmeasurable, and essentially bestowed upon all of us simply for joining the fire service), is there another attribute that might allow us to be more effective in our attempts to protect life and property by inspiring bolder searches and fire attacks? Might it be feasible to at least increase our collective acceptance of risk? And, if so, what would be the best method for accomplishing this…

Part 1 - What are we talking about?

Courage is considered by most to be a vital firefighter trait, and its lack has been cited by some as the cause of a decline in fire service effectiveness. Whether it's a perceived pre-occupation with safety, or a choice of fire control tactics that are considered less valiant, the willingness of our members to display sufficient bravery in the pursuit of protecting life and property has been called into question. Unfortunately, an…

Lessons from the Fireground; December 27,1983 Buffalo, New York Five Firefighter Line-of-Duty Deaths

As Buffalo (NY) firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported propane leak in a four-story radiator warehouse (Type III Ordinary and Type IV Heavy Timber construction), a massive explosion occurred, killing five firefighters and injuring nine others, three of them critically. The force of the blast blew BFD Ladder 5′s tiller aerial 35 feet across the street into the…

Sticks and Stones/Axes and Halligans. Firefighters have the means to put a serious hurt on somebody, but we use our tools instead for good. Our words, on the other hand, are wielded, at least by some, with much less regard for the human damage they can inflict. The internet has proven itself fertile ground for zingers and put-downs, allowing a well-timed and -phrased comment to create a virtual worldwide chain-reaction of effects, which can be amusing and/or hurtful, depending upon the…

A lot of discussion was generated by my last post (Worth Dying For?! at http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?xg_source=activity&id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A641725]), both pro and con, and much of it quite strongly-worded.  (To me, the most amusing comments are from those who claimed to stop reading my post when they reached a point with which they…

One of the more powerful sentiments I have been hearing and reading in response to suggested firefighting tactical improvements is that it is understood and expected that firefighters risk their lives in the course of their work, and that they need to put their self interests behind in order to save lives and property.  Essentially, the “suggestion”, typically provided in an admonishing tone, is that anything that gets in the way of interior operations constitutes…

     Every adversity you and the team you are leading will ever encounter is either a problem or an opportunity. Although one might think there are many different variables that would distinguish one from the other, there is really only one difference between the two – YOUR ATTITUDE. That’s right. Often times the difference between a problem and an opportunity has everything to do with how you look at the challenge at hand.

     Opportunities…

Today’s example of a revision to a prior firefighting “rule”, inspired by the new perspectives provided by fire dynamics research, regards the direction of our fire attack.  It is a phrase I first saw used by Lieutenant Sean Gray of Cobb County (GA) Fire and Emergency Services in a November, 2011 article in Fire Engineering,…

“You can do everything right on this job and still get killed.”

~Captain Paddy Brown, FDNY

He’s right.

But would you ever stop learning, studying, training…being a student of our craft, because you can still get killed no matter what you do?  I certainly hope not.

So if asked you: Is it ok to avoid maintaining your health and wellness because you may suffer a tragic health event anyway?…

One of the questions that I am often asked is, “I’m am a newly promoted officer and I want to make some changes but I am encountering a lot of resistance, what should I do?”

Resistance can come in many forms – a micromanaging boss, a lazy or complacent culture, a core group of over inflated egos with “inner circle” mentality, and the all too common “because that’s the way we have always done it” mentality. Each…

Note: This is the second in a planned series of blogs using the "tools in the toolbox” model to explore the many facets of the profound changes inspired by ongoing fire dynamics research.  As discussed in my first post in this format, I am a big fan of viewing MFA tactics as additional “options” to use for controlling fires in structures.  Besides being non-threatening and accurate, it allows me to break down the various components into more manageable, blog-sized,…

It was an honor to have recently participated in the latest round of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Heart to Heart: Strategizing an Evidence-Based Approach to Reduce Cardiac Disease and Death in the Fire Service initiative.  The meeting brought together fire service research scientists, fire service professionals, and marketing experts from…

“We can’t be operationally effective without our health.”

~Rommie Duckworth

I am paraphrasing Chief Bobby Halton when I say that we will never be able to mitigate all of the risks we face as firefighters (and we should know and accept these risks before we take the oath).  As a firefighter, putting yourself in harm’s way to save another is not only something you…

As we close 2015 and move into a new chapter in our journey by welcoming in 2016, let's look back at how things went.

For me 2015 was a challenge but through every challenge comes reward. I found out I am going to be a Father again, I started my own company, I was booked to present my Leadership Development class and open for Frank Viscuso, I was able to meet in person three of my mentors, men who…

          When leading a team through change, people often encounter adversity. I firmly believe that if you ever lose your will to fight someone with fight still inside of them will control your life. The “will to fight” can sometimes be described as stubbornness, and for that reason stubbornness can sometimes be a good thing.

           Leaders need to stand their ground when…

               This may be the most important blog I have ever posted. In order to make the greatest impact possible I have decided to also keep it short.

               When I was younger my parents never let me quit a sport once the season began. Their philosophy was "Finish what you started. If you quit when things get hard you'll quit anytime you encounter adversity in life." I will forever be grateful for that…

          Let me begin by saying there are two sure fire ways to fail as a leader in the fire service. One is to DO without ever thinking and the other is to THINK without ever doing.

          You and I both know people who habitually take action before developing a sound game plan. They are what I call “Ready/Fire” people. They don’t take the time to aim at the target they just shoot like a chimpanzee holding a…