All Blog Posts (3,173)

A “Flexible” Effort Results in Organizational Health and Fitness Success

 

In the world of firefighter functional fitness, flexibility is a primary yet often overlooked component.  Increased flexibility translates to improved performance on the fire ground and reduces the chance of injury.  There are many ways to improve flexibility; most of them have traditionally consisted of various…

August 27th 2015 was a big day for me as I was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief and in my department, this meant taking on the role as a shift commander in a department of three stations and roughly 20 people under me on shift, now I had been a Captain for almost 20 years prior and also served as the fire chief for a short time so I felt I knew the job of command but as of 1100 hours on August 27th I was the chief now and I took a good honest look at what it is I had to do to be…

“Risk a lot to save a lot”

Upon rounding the corner in my neighborhood, I couldn’t help but hear it. The chant of “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!!” echoed through the double pane windows of our first floor, and even though I had only stepped out to walk the dog, you would have thought I was scoring the game winning touchdown (or at a minimum bringing home some pizza).  I could hear my two little girls from a complete house over screaming for me, and an…

*This will be a multipart topic covered over several posts, all focusing on the use and maintenance of the fire service portable radio*

Part 2: Cleaning The Fire Service Portable Radio

Several months ago, one of my tech ops friends approached me about a portable radio assigned to my station that had been sent in for repair due to transmitting and receiving problems. The photographs of this portable were shared with me, and the exterior of the radio had seen…

Attached is an outline we used for a quick winter operations class at work. I ran across this the other day and thought it would be appropriate to post now.  The podcast is here for this topic as well.  Feel free to add and use this as you see fit. If you have some great tips on operating in the winter, please share with…

If you were to walk into any firehouse on any given Sunday, most dayroom TV's will probably have the big game on.  Firefighters have their share of die hard football fans who rep the team hats, sweatshirts and jackets of their favorite team.  It seems the recent turmoil over NFL officiating has soiled the game most of us love. Sports networks and talk radio shows are a buzz over the…

       Previously in TRUST Makes Leadership Possible, Part 1 we briefly discussed the concept of leaders trusting their people (trust down the chain of command). But there is another side to the two-way street that is trust, and it is just as important if not more so.…

“We bring water”

 “What is consistent is that it does not matter what the specific situation is, hose will be laid in the street and we will be shortly filling it. There is a no valid excuse in hydranted areas why an engine company on a reported residential structure fire would

not lay out. The following are some excuses that may

be used:

• Complacency: “We have been to this place two

times today,” or “We never run…

During an interview, Gen. Colin Powell was asked what the one thing that makes leadership possible is. Without hesitation, and displaying absolute conviction he replied, “Trust”.

Do you feel that you can trust all of the people in your…

There has been a great push for both firefighters and civilians to understand the concept of “closing the door”.  To them (civilians) it means that they are safer in the event of a fire in the home.  To us, it means tenable space and a greater potential for a save, even in a well -involved building.

What if we find a victim in the bedroom?  How are do you plan to take them out?  We are creatures of habit, which means we are likely to go out the same way we came in.  If we…

With the Thanksgiving season here I had an opportunity to reflect on things. A lot of us don’t realize that Thanksgiving isn’t just a time to eat great food and a whole lot of it, (well part of it is). But it also represents a time to reflect, a time to look back and look at yourself now and be thankful of where you were to where you are now.

As Fireman we…

Around mid-day, a structural response was transmitted for "a light smoking" inside of a gym facility.  One of those dispatches where so many are tempted to judge the outcome of the call before they even get on the fire truck, and their conduct on the scene then reflects that attitude. Nationally, this complacency too often results in a predictable surprise that we call a tragedy.  As I was in the area, I responded on the call and noted the following actions being carried out by responding…

Some critics of the SLICE-RS approach point to what they see as its lack of emphasis on rescue, as well as its perceived over-emphasis on firefighter safety to the detriment of civilian victims.  Initial drafts of my enthusiastic arguments to the contrary consisted of a comprehensive review of the entire process of search and rescue, including rationales, priorities, methods, and a myriad of other considerations.  My treatise on this topic was beginning to approach the size of a decent…

I was listening to a recording of firefighters explaining how they feel like there is sometime not enough recognition being spread among the ranks. They were explaining how things like a simple hand shake and a job well done can go a long way. I agree with them 100%. This is something we all need to keep in mind. I feel like I don’t thank my guys enough for the work that they do. Award ceremonies and public recognition are all great ways to recognize people. I have noticed during my…

In my years as a younger firefighter, both as a volunteer and during my career training, it was driven home that we enter building fires with a low profile.  More specifically on our hands and knees.  I was never going to question my instructors, the books or the more veteran firefighters that mentored me.  However, the more fires I got to fight, the more I started to…

Firefighters: they’re the iconic men and women that make a difference in our community through simple things such as educating children and community leaders on fire safety to rescuing someone from a burning building. Despite all the heroism, they’re people just like you and me. They shop in the same grocery stores and walk the same streets. They have families to take care of and kids they have to spend lots of money on. . . Between saving lives and keeping up with a family, firefighters…

Question – My department is disciplining me for a charge that an alleged comment on the training ground offended a probationary firefighter. The charge was that I was “too tough” on the candidate requiring him to repeat certain basic firefighter skills that he had a hard time completing. The alleged comment was related to his performance and not directed as him as a firefighter. The penalty assessed by the department was 15 days off without pay, a letter of reprimand and I…