All Blog Posts (3,147)

Firеfighting iѕ оnе оf thе wоrld’ѕ greatest occupations, yet, аbоut one of thе mоѕt dаngеrоuѕ and ѕtrеѕѕful job in thе wоrld. Eасh day аnd night, we рlасе ourѕеlvеѕ in harm’s way to come to the rеѕсuе of those whо are mostly in lifе-thrеаtеning diѕаѕtеrѕ. First rеѕроndеrѕ ѕuсh аѕ firеfightеrѕ are еxроѕеd tо trаumа as a nаturаl and unаvоidаblе раrt оf our dаilу routine.

Sреаking оf…

One of the issues facing fire service leadership is when to call an experienced attorney to assist the department in mitigating a problematic legal issue in their department. Every fire department chief has interacted with an attorney on a routine rather than emergent legal issues facing the department. Those range from labor contracts, policy creation, purchasing fire apparatus or firefighter safety gear, acquiring property and building new station to working on complex legal issues of…

My apologies to any of my readers who are not comic book geeks like me, and may not understand this cartoon's Avengers Infinity War/Endgame reference. But to those who are, you understand the magnitude of the "snap." In this case, using the bad leadership traits (stones) for ill-will or for your own twisted sense of reality.



It only takes one…

I recently viewed a video of a warehouse fire that reminded me of how frequently I see fire departments applying residential structure fire tactics to warehouse size fires. I often wonder what the root cause of operating this way is. Is it due to a lack of knowledge, improper training, lack of preplanning and underestimating the resources required, department culture, complacency, habitual operations of doing the same thing for every fire call, or simply a…

Chief Halton stated in his FDIC 2019 keynote what many of us have said before- ”Firefighting is the best damn job we’ve ever had.” He is 100% correct. This is the best job there is, and I can think of nothing that I’d rather be doing. Although, being a cowboy on a ranch in Colorado or Wyoming with a view of the Rockies wouldn’t be bad either!

But let’s be honest. Sometimes the best job gets you down because of the toxic environment that you find yourself in. People, politics,…

Dealing with cowardice from the cheap seats

I was standing in the parking lot of our training center shooting the breeze with a few guys when one of them said, "Hey man, you've got to see this!" He whips out his cell phone, dials up Youtube, and proceeds to show me a video of two firefighters over zealously practicing a push of a 1.75" line in a parking lot. I quickly recognize the tone of the video is more satire than instructional, basically knocking the Nozzle Forward program. In…

Journal Entry #52

Dear brothers and sisters,

I missed you all at FDIC this year (home with a temporary medical issue) while Fire Engineering rolled out my new book. I’ve heard from many of you regarding same, seeking information. I’m very proud of this project and wish you a healthy career and safe operations always!

Ronnie K…

I start off my week with a reflection and random thoughts. We work, we learn, we train, we talk, and we pass on the knowledge, whether it’s in the form of accountability, life lessons, or mastering competences. We make it our goal, mission, duty to pass on the skills, lessons, and knowledge learned to other members. By doing this we can only hope that someday, they too can pass on what they have learned to other new members. Hopefully if we have done our job correctly the cycle continues to…

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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...because sometimes the only point is to be silly.



STAY FIRED UP, and from time to time, lighten up.

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Duty to the citizens we serve is frequently held up as our most basic and sacred responsibility as firefighters, and I couldn't agree more. It motivates us to perfect our skills for the benefit of others, face dangers known and unknown, and even to leave a warm bed to assist a stranger. In short, it inspires selflessness. Still, though that obligation is powerful, it is unfocused; it serves as a compass, not a map. My point in making this distinction is to counter the frequent citation of…