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Dave Donohue
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Is training really the solution for performance problems?

How Good is Good? Improving Emergency Operations Through Performance AnalysisDave Donohue The Fire Chief has approached you following a recent fire. She states that the crews took too long to deploy…Continue

Started Jan 16, 2019

 

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Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Local Emergency Planning Committees – The Forgotten Ally

Whether active or not, every community in the United States has a Local of Tribal Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).  Created as part of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), these committees provide valuable planning resources to emergency responders and can offer gateways to identifying community gaps and remedies.  At the very least,…See More
Oct 4
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

A New Professional Model for the 21st Century

In the fire service, our leadership is drawn from the rank and file.  Firefighters train and become drivers, then company officers.  Later they may move to managing officer, managing organization divisions, then chief level officers, and, perhaps, chief of department.  This development model has served us well in the past; however, it has several weaknesses, which disadvantage the fire service.  This blog is putting forth a new model for professional development which develops future managers…See More
Sep 28
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

The ABCD’s of Writing Learning Objectives

The ABCD’s of Writing Learning ObjectivesAll training begins with the end in mind.  In the fire and emergency service, training frequently revolves around the performance of tasks and even our knowledge-type training frequently manifests in performance metrics.  To define the end state of training, trainers and content developers assemble learning objectives.  Terminal Learning Objectives identify…See More
Sep 21
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Enhancing Hazardous Materials Team Value

Traditionally, hazardous materials teams are focused on emergency response and training. While these are critical functions, are teams missing the boat by not expanding into other service areas where their expertise can be of benefit to the organization? I believe by performing additional, values-added services, hazardous materials teams may improve the level of support from their organizations, develop additional funding sources, increase staffing, improve responder health and safety, and…See More
Sep 14
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

PACE Planning

PACE PlanningAs we all know, planning is why we got into emergency services in the first place.   While we tend to shoot from the hip, planning is essential to successfully completing our mission safely and effectively.  PACE Planning is a model to provide for alternatives and external influences on our actions.  Drawn from military…See More
Aug 28
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Are We Really All-Hazards Responders?

 While the fire and emergency services community often claims that it possesses “all-hazards” response capabilities, the ability to actually respond to all hazards is questionable. While fire and emergency services will deploy to all hazards, the ability to maintain proficiency across disciplines, including training, staffing, and equipping, is a herculean task. If the response community is truly honest, we do not possess the capability or capacity to provide levels of service that the…See More
Aug 25
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Should the NFA do more to make communities safer?

Created from the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, the National Fire Academy (originally envisioned as the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control) was charged with training fire, and now EMS, personnel, developing model curricula, develop entrance and promotional examination materials, and encourage fire prevention and detection for builders, contractors, and architects.  Since that time, the NFA has created and distributed a wide variety of training programs and made a…See More
Aug 22
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

A Call to Fund Fire and Emergency Services

The recent proposal to update the fire brigade standard has brought heartburn to many departments and communities.  One of the loudest arguments coming from the volunteer fire service has been that communities will no longer be able to afford to support a fire department.  This may be a valid argument in many communities.  Rather than seeking to block the passage of regulation designed to improve the health and safety of…See More
Aug 18
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Garbage, Money, and Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials emergency services, like many special operations in many departments, is funded by a variety of alternative funding mechanisms including fee for service (cost recovery) and grants (public and private).  One funding mechanism that may be overlooked is an idea that comes out of South Florida – garbage fees.In this case, every garbage can and commercial dumpster is assessed at a nominal fee.  Individually, these fees come to a few dollars per year, but when taken together,…See More
Aug 16
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Should the federal government be supporting fire safe homes?

The federal government, through a variety of mechanisms, funds home purchases and rentals throughout the nation.  At the same time, it funds programs to reduce the risk and impact of fire.  Yet, the federal government does not economically incentivize residential fire sprinkler systems in the homes, in rental units, nor in off-base funding for military personnel.  Is it time for the federal government to really address this issue?  If so, I am putting forth the following for discussion by the…See More
Aug 14
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Hazardous Materials Hot Line© August 8, 2024

FEMA Update ICS PTBsFEMAs NIMS Integration Center has released updated Position Task Books and Guidance to assist jurisdictions with aligning with the National Qualification System. Discussion:  For agencies that seek to work during emergencies and disasters, having a benchmark for determining capabilities and capacities is necessary for planning and response operations.  The National Qualification System establishes a…See More
Aug 11
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Is it time to rethink how we administer the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)Program?

With the current debate over the proposed changes in the OSHA Fire Brigade Standard, which will be discussed in the future, is it time for the fire service in the United States to rethink the AFG and how we have used the funds.  Since 2001, the AFG has provided much needed funds to departments, however, the impact has been limited.  Intended to balance local needs…See More
Aug 10
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Lost Knowledge – The General Hazardous Materials Behavior Model (

In the early 1970’s, Ludwig Benner, a chemical engineer working for the National Transportation Safety Board identified a model of container behavior in hazardous materials incidents that provides impact points for risk reduction actions and provides a model for container and product behavior to help guide emergency response.  The General Hazardous Materials Behavior Model  is a chain of events from the start of an incident through…See More
Jul 25
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Expanding the Role of Your Hazardous Materials Team. Haz Mat as a value-added service.

Emergency response is the cornerstone of hazardous materials teams. While response is important, there are other activities that hazardous materials teams can be involved in that further integrate hazardous materials into the organization, provided added benefits, and open routes to potential new funding streams.Support at Fire ScenesThe hazardous materials team is capable of providing support at fire scenes with actions that will improve the health and safety of responders. First, hazardous…See More
Jul 13
Dave Donohue posted a blog post

Who Wants a Job? The demographic challenge of recruiting qualified people to emergency services.

 Whether your organization is career, volunteer, or combination, it is likely having difficulty finding qualified individuals to fill its ranks.  While recruiting new members has been an issue for some time, the changing demographics of the nation are being skipped as an underlying cause.  Consequently, we are missing some opportunities for identifying and guiding folks into our…See More
Jul 10
Dave Donohue posted blog posts
Jul 7

Profile Information

Lives in:
Maryland
Department:
Community Volunteer Fire Company of District 12
Title/rank:
fire fighter
Years of public service:
43
Agency structure:
Volunteer fire department
Professional Qualifications:
Fire Officer, EMT, paramedic, hazardous materials technician, fire instructor, public life safety educator
Topics you provide training for:
management, ICS, hazardous materials, instructor trainer, CPR, first aid, firefighting, tactics
Areas of expertise:
management, ICS, hazardous materials, instructor trainer, CPR, first aid, firefighting, tactics

Dave Donohue's Blog

Local Emergency Planning Committees – The Forgotten Ally

Whether active or not, every community in the United States has a Local of Tribal Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).  Created as part of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), these committees provide valuable planning resources to emergency responders and can offer gateways to identifying community gaps and remedies.  At the very least,…

Continue

Posted on October 4, 2024 at 8:30am

A New Professional Model for the 21st Century

In the fire service, our leadership is drawn from the rank and file.  Firefighters train and become drivers, then company officers.  Later they may move to managing officer, managing organization divisions, then chief level officers, and, perhaps, chief of department.  This development model has served us well in the past; however, it has several weaknesses, which disadvantage the fire service.  This blog is putting forth a new model for professional development which develops future…

Continue

Posted on September 28, 2024 at 12:47pm

The ABCD’s of Writing Learning Objectives

The ABCD’s of Writing Learning Objectives

All training begins with the end in mind.  In the fire and emergency service, training frequently revolves around the performance of tasks and even our knowledge-type training frequently manifests in performance metrics.  To define the end state of training, trainers and content developers assemble learning objectives.  Terminal Learning…

Continue

Posted on September 21, 2024 at 2:00pm

Enhancing Hazardous Materials Team Value

Traditionally, hazardous materials teams are focused on emergency response and training. While these are critical functions, are teams missing the boat by not expanding into other service areas where their expertise can be of benefit to the organization? I believe by performing additional, values-added services, hazardous materials teams may improve the level of support from their organizations, develop additional funding sources, increase staffing, improve responder health and safety, and…

Continue

Posted on September 14, 2024 at 1:12pm

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