April 2019 Blog Posts (8)

I recently reviewed the “25 Things Probationary Firefighters Should Know and Do” in order to build a great firefighter reputation, created by fire service leaders Frank Viscuso (retired Deputy Chief, Town of Kearny Fire Department) and Michael Terpak (retired Deputy Chief, Jersey City Fire Department). I’ve seen similar lists that frequently address the probationary firefighter, but what about the rest of us? Shouldn’t there be a similar list for…

One of the current big controversies in the fire service is substance abuse testing and possibly terminating firefighters within the confines of Zero-Tolerance department policies. Departments with substance abuse policies designed to ensure the safety of the firefighters and the community they serve. Contained within these policies(1) is the testing for reasonable suspicion, the protection of employee’s rights, rehabilitation opportunities, last chance agreements and the ramifications of…

As the old saying goes, "If you have to tell everybody you're the leader, you're most likely not one!"



STAY FIRED UP, and lead by actions, attitude, humility, and integrity.

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     Having been blessed to attend FDIC 2019 last week in Indianapolis, I’d like to humbly offer some takeaways that can be applied to most any situation in life.

1. It’s important to get out of your comfort zone

     I think it’s safe to say that humans are creatures of habit. We are generally content to stick with what is familiar to us, especially the more introverted we are. As firefighters, we like being in control of things and have an intense belief that…

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor to deliver a short invocation at the inaugural Deep South Fire Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.  What follows is an updated format.

If you are reading this, you have probably heard of Andy Fredericks?  You’ve probably also heard of “Andy’s Ambassadors”. You…

A basic system consists of a central control panel to which smoke alarms and heat detectors are connected, together with bells or horns & sprinklers that are activated when the system triggers an alarm. The control panel operates from the electrical system in the building and should contain an emergency battery which can operate the fire alarm part-system for about 24 hours during a power shortage.

The basic requirements for the number and locations of alarms depend mainly on the…

April Fire Engineering magazine cartoon.



Way too much of this going on these days!



STAY FIRED UP, and be you, be original... or at the very least, give credit where credit is due!

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