All Blog Posts (3,147)

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I am conducting a pilot study through the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to better understand organizational factors that influence wellness.

The research conducted in conjunction with this survey explains the need for multifaceted wellness programs that address aerobic fitness, mental health, recovery, nutrition, and sleep. These areas are interconnected and all attribute to cardiovascular disease risk.

Abundant research has examined the effects of total…

The Alameda County judge recently ruled that Oakland officials had a "mandatory duty" to ensure safety at the doomed Ghost Ship warehouse, leaving the city potentially liable for a fire where 36 people died. Attorneys for the dozens of victims and their families, as well as reports by Mercury News (CA) have detailed numerous visits by police, firefighters and building officials in the years before the deadly Dec. 2, 2016, fire. The maze-like Fruitvale district warehouse with…

     I have had these ideas on leadership swimming around in my head for quite some time. I have now decided to try to share some of my thoughts on leadership in the hopes that my thoughts on the subject might, in some small way may help other leaders or aspiring leaders. At the very least, maybe it will generate the desire to slow down and consider different solutions to problems. You may find, after some thought, that the problem you thought you had isn’t really a problem for anyone but…

Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) International is considered by many in the Fire Service as “the Greatest Show on Earth.” This is a place where Chiefs, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders, Firefighters and all walks of life in Emergency Services come to learn, network and more importantly get their batteries recharged.

Batteries Recharged? This got me thinking…

As I walked through the show room and the halls and took in every second of everything I could that was offered…

Life moves at a fast pace these days... So fast you can easily miss an opportunity to improve one self. The pace affects everybody from the firefighter down on the floor, right up to the chief’s office. There are two common management models during these busy times, the first would be the progressive management model. Being progressive involves supporting the needs and requirements of the organization and predicting or forecasting the future. The latter is called crisis or chaos management…

Community Collaboration: How Local Fire Departments, First Responders, and Business/Industry Can Form Partnerships

Joseph Kitchen, Bath Twp. Fire Department (Lima, Ohio)

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It's that time of year again! Time to train, learn, laugh, hug, and bask in the brotherhood that is FDIC International! This is my Christmas, New Year's Day, and Easter all rolled into one... and I personally can't wait. 

Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. Looking forward to working my butt off for our RIT Combat Challenge students.…

Podcast Download and Listen

This episode discusses the transitioning from an engine or other company to the truck company.  Your panel discusses the differences you can expect when operating on a truck company as…

Click here to read more about this book. 

Here is an excerpt from my newly released book, "Common Valor: True Stories from America's Braves, Volume 1" 

     Mike was working…

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” in a response to a schoolyard taunt containing hurtful words many of us have probably used when verbally assaulted by the schoolyard bully. That reasoning is generally untrue as words do hurt and I am sure that you were hurt when the bully made fun of your race, clothing, religion or some other verbal and possibly physical assault against you.

In an era of social media, seemingly insensitive comments…

Standard operating procedures (SOPs), rules and regulations, departmental orders, and other policies and training procedures serve as the basis for operational risk management and the decision-making process that occurs within fire departments. These guidelines are established for events which can be identified in advance, for example, having procedures in place that address when an employee is late for work, identify company response assignments, or to identify the steps to take when…

Continuing this series of reviews of the UL’s Impact of Fire Attack Utilizing Interior and Exterior Streams on Firefighter Safety and Occupant Survival, having previously reviewed the results of Water Mapping (https://ulfirefightersafety.org/docs/DHS2013_Part_I_Water_Mapping.pdf), this installment will cover Air Entrainment (…

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Photo by CDC

Part 2 of basement fires will branch out to cellars and basements in commercial taxpayers, garden apartments, brownstones, rowhomes, and structures on slopes and hills. For part 1, click here.

Obviously, there are some similarities between residential and…

The nozzle is the fire service’s iconic and essential tool, like the rifle to the soldier, the hammer to the carpenter, or the knife to the chef. While we have many other tools, and vital roles that don’t even involve water, when on the fireground most of them support or depend upon use of this appliance. Forcible entry clears its way, and ventilation clears its results. The protection of life and property relies on its expert use, and salvage protects the building and contents from the…

“Bridging the Gap”

Today’s Fire Service is made up of a multitude of leaders. Those leaders are made up of people from different ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and generations. The majority of the Generations span from “Generation-X” to “Millennials”. These brave men and women bring different lifestyles and experience to the table. Some however share different thoughts about the others. If you listen to different podcasts or read different articles some Gen-Xers believe…

What The Fire Service Could Learn From The Grateful Dead’s Business Practices

Successful fire service operational performance is based on sound organizational practices and principles. While the fire service has developed many…

The inventor, thinker, genius, mathematician and smart guy, Albert Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We worked the same way for a long time (282 years or so) and our injuries and LODD’s became part of life. However, it seems we’re on our way to better days. Changing the way 1 million firefighters think and behave is not an easy task. What most of us who have been around for a few minutes talk about,…