Ian Schulte's Blog (8)

As I am sitting here at my desk after finishing up daily round of paperwork, daily tour log and browsing the interwebs to kill some time, I sit here and ponder the job. How much I love it, how much I want other brother and sister…

Return on Investment. A relatively simple business principle that says "by giving us your money, we will make you MORE money." One may question, "how does this apply to the fire service? We don't make money for the tax payers." In short, yes you are correct but we are a totally different type of monetary investment. In truth, many people pay for us simply…

Do you remember your first day? Fresh out of drill school, your first shift? Walking in the bay, the smell of the tinge of diesel exhaust, the smell of the turnout gear in the lockers. The sudden realization that the controlled scenarios have now ended, the decisions you make may have very permanent results and that the danger is now even more real than ever…

Handlines. The essential tool in our arsenal, literally the object we use to fight fire. Big lines, little lines, booster lines, trash lines we all have them, but do we TRULY utilize them to their full potential? When I was just a rookie, going through my initial pump…

Have you ever seen a high ranking officer that tends to build their "inner-circle" with officers who are like-minded and often times "yes-men". You know what I mean, the guys who would follow their officer to the most ridiculous lengths just so it keeps them in the good graces of command? The guys who sacrifice their personal convictions just to…

For any firefighter out there who has ever made the jump to the right front seat, there's always a bit of a learning curve. You know what I mean, going from buddy to boss, going from being responsible for your own job to being responsible for a number of others who may or may not fall within the acceptable span-of-control. Recently, I was off work for about two weeks…

The fire service today is under more scrutiny than it has ever been in memorable past, firefighters arrested for stealing and selling scheduled drugs or other illicit substances, firefighters being terminated for engaging in sexual acts while on the clock, and even members in high ranking positions stealing money from the fire department coffers…

Fear. That feeling of uncertainty, doubt and despair that people get when situations are out of control; there is danger in their lives either physically, emotionally or economically. Part of our job (as we all know) involves putting our lives in inherently dangerous situations for the well-being of those who are at most in need. I have come up in this service within the…