All Blog Posts (3,119)

Did you feel that this morning?

Don’t by coy.

The tones dropped and you didn’t make the call. Before the first truck could announce “in service”, you were already fabricating your excuse.

But, we know what’s going on, don’t we?

That adrenaline rush that once propelled us to “firefighter of the year” is only a gooey mess of poor descriptions of what is now poor performance.

There was a time not so long ago that you felt like your little village needed…

Hello to all, we just got a Pierce Lyfe Pulley sytem and been looking some ideas on how others are using it. The Pierce book does use it at 500# anchor back to the turn table and 250# anchor away from the truck. My question is why does that have an affect on anything? In the past on other areials we would use the top fly section (without the escape tip) to rig mostly a change of direction. Does the same principle apply to them as well? I do know using the top fly instead of the escape…

Leaders: Why should we expect to retain the quality people we have if we don't give them a reason to stay? Your people are your most valued asset - train them, motivate them, and give them the gift of fulfillment that only the fire service can give! If not, then don't be surprised when…

Is a broken promise nothing more than a lie?

I believe that it is, even when you factor in “intent”.

When you make a promise, it is not your intent to break it, but it has the same end result as a lie when you fail to deliver on a promise.

To the person to whom the promise was made, it feels like a lie. It’s the same feeling of betrayal, isn’t it?

What about the motivation for the promise?

Was there ever the intent of…

Some training partners and I recently had the opportunity and honor to travel to rural Missouri to help with some safety and survival training. It was a one day event on a Saturday and the department and area that we were in is staffed solely with volunteers. We realized very quickly that these men and women were eager and a little anxious at the same time about this series of drills.

My background in the fire service started in a volunteer department and I am still very involved with…

Note: Chief Mark Wessel of Keokuk, IA Fire Department is to the left. I am to the right.

December, 1999 delivered a major blow to our brotherhood of firefighters.…