All Blog Posts (3,200)

I suppose this post could be considered a part-2 to my cartoon published last week regarding apathetic leaders pushing loyal people out the door. This week I want to discuss firefighters who are in a leadership role who constantly belittle, berate, and abuse newer firefighters - you know, the lifeblood and future of the fire service. Perhaps…

     Many excellent articles are written and classes presented that include valuable size up information from the perspective of the chief or company officer.  However, while much of this material is directly transferable to the firefighter, few would argue that the firefighter maintains a different physical and mental perspective during incident response and operations.  The size up process holds just as much significance for members literally "on the line" as it does for supervisors and…

An extremely dangerous drug is on the street is affecting first responders including EMS, police and firefighters making a dangerous job all that more dangerous. This is not related to the prescription strength medication if taken in the wrong dose or administered erroneously creates its own danger.

A recent event in New Jersey involved a police detective searching a home and found a bag of white powder. The officer removed a scoop of powder for testing. When he was…

June Fire Engineering magazine editorial illustration.



STAY FIRED UP, and train!



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by Brian Benedict

Karla has a way about her that instantly connects with people.  Her knowledge of the fire service, a previous career with State Farm Insurance and add her son a Lincoln Firefighter, She has many commonalities to connecting with others.

Her approach is simple. She’s genuinely interested in protecting and caring…

When considering the command process, there are numerous interferences that do not allow the Incident Commander to fully execute his or her battle plan. Let’s look at the ordinary every day citizen. When bad things happen, “people” usually band together and want to help. (The first major human behavior study for a large fire was performed by John L. Bryan after the MGM Grand hotel fire in Las Vegas in 1980) His theories have proven themselves time and time again, e.g. the WTC bombing in…

            As a firefighter, most of us focus on pushing our operating limits. Some of these times, we find ourselves in uncharted territory. This uncharted territory creates situations where we have a decision to make – take the risk or not. The safest and least critical decision is to do nothing. It is a promise that you will never be criticized if you meet status quo. However, meeting status quo is not how a leader thinks.…

Moving past fear

Many fire organizations have Human Resources (HR) departments that deal with many of the issues related to the needs of firefighters and staff. HR deals with recruiting and hiring new firefighters, providing information about medical benefits and compensation, ensuring compliance with laws and ordinances, providing a pathway to local EAP Programs and responsible for employee development and firefighter training supporting your training division. HR is…

You are the officer on the 2^nd due ladder truck on a commercial structure fire, and your assignment is to report to the rear and give a report. You cannot get your ladder truck physically to the rear, but you must get to the rear and give a report to command. What tools will you take and what jobs are you going to do? A good truck crew will deploy ladders to the roof, coordinate ventilation with the inside crews, and force doors.

When focusing on…

The Sunday Preach: Evening Edition



"Shape up!"



"The onus for fitness is not nor should it be placed on the fire department. It falls directly on you. While it is beneficial for both the department and the firefighter to keep yourself in shape, it has to start with the individual. Department sponsored and encouraged fitness programs are great to help those persons who need that little extra boost or…

The Enemies of Trust

Trust is a value that occurs in both ourselves, our teams, and our organizations. Creating and maintaining trust is paramount for leaders, yet unfortunately many do not see the need for giving attention to it. Leaders can make the mistake of assuming that their rank and the ability to say because I said so binds people to their decision. But how does one define trust and what does it look…

As we grow as leaders we should realize that there are different types of leadership.   Among these is lassiez faire.   It may very well be the most difficult to master.   Aside from authoritative leadership or democratic leadership, it is more hands off.   When you have an efficient crew who performs well on most occasions, this can be the ideal form of leadership because it allows others to develop their leadership presence.  However, the fine line is drawn between lassiez faire and…

Training – “The Collapse Pile”



Within the fire service, it is essential for every member to be “jacks of all trades and masters of all”. Fire suppression, technical rescue, EMS, Hazmat, etc; the list of our roles and responsibilities continues to grow each year. It is mandatory we stay in a constant state of readiness. At the start of our tour, we must ensure we are prepared to perform any task that may present itself. With that said, the various tasks we perform have different…

Some firehouse traditions should not be messed with, right? But this whimsical take on our traditional carnivores-only-kitchen-club poses an interesting question about what tradition really means in the fire service, and when it's appropriate and advantageous to change it. Change never comes easy, even when it's in our best interest to blaze a new direction. I'm a…

As leaders, we must understand how to give power away and to reign it in, within boundaries.  Leaders who mentor those under them must relate this to the way that a race horse is trained.  We hire employees and recruit volunteers who are essentially thoroughbreds.  Strong, energetic, and have an enthusiasm for “running.” If were to buy a race horse, then you certainly wouldn’t be afraid to let it run.  Yet, as leaders we sometimes don’t recognize the fact that our thoroughbreds need to…