Joseph Kitchen's Blog (25)

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

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

 …

An Open Letter to My 19 -Year-Old Rookie Firefighter Self, Written 28 Years Later

Dear Joe,

You are about to experience something very special. You have been chosen to be part of…

True Firefighter Courage

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

“Weekend with Bruno”

Rock ‘n’ roll has Elvis…

“I Shall Not Tell a Lie” – Honesty in the Fire Service

Every year around the annual Presidents' Day holiday we are inundated with images of former presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. These men serve as beacons of early American history and shining examples of our country’s best leaders. However, I always get mixed up on which one of them…

You Can Make a Dent

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

            Have you ever felt as if your department was so broken that its problems could not be fixed? Or, have you ever felt like there were so many issues with the fire service in general, that nothing you…

Can’t We All Just Get Along? Conflict Resolution in the Fire House

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

            Some call it drama. Many…

Pushing the Firefighter “Reset” Button

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

            Do you ever get to the point where you just feel exhausted? Your work schedule has been busier than usual; your home life is hectic. Family, friends, kids,…

“The Ten Percenters; An Exclusive Club but its Doors are Open”

                        The best of the best. The hall of famers. The top performers. The ones you can always count on.…

Think Before You Type

            I love technology. I have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and I post photos to Instagram. I enjoy reading fire service articles, exchanging tweets with firefighters from across the nation, and like many of you, I look at tons of fire scene photos and video clips. Sometimes I see things that make me cringe, sometimes I see things that make…

The Value of Networking

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

            Spending time with our fellow firefighters is one of the best parts of this amazing career that we all are honored to be a part of. The relationships that we have within our own firehouse are paramount to our…

Are You a Coachable Firefighter?

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

            A few years ago I responded to the scene of an MVA on a busy interstate in our jurisdiction. I arrived in my chief’s vehicle and our fire and EMS units were already on scene. As I exited my car…

Career vs. Job

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

            Many firefighters often use the phrase “career in the fire service” when referring to their employment or their volunteer work. Regularly I attend career fairs where high school and college students express…

Promoting Your Fire Department on a Zero Budget

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

            If your fire department is like mine, the budget is most likely tight. For the last decade or so, we are all trying to do far more with less funding.  Money for “extra”…

It’s All About Service

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

            The life of a firefighter/paramedic can certainly be challenging. Long hours, difficult calls, working nights, weekends, and holidays can take a toll. For company officers, managing day to day operations and…

Reflecting on 9/11

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

     I slept right through the September 11^th  terrorist attacks. By the time I awoke, both towers had collapsed, the Pentagon had been attacked, and the last plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. I had worked the night before and only realized what had happened…

Improving Internal Communication 

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

             Every fire chief has a pet peeve. For some its unpolished boots, for others its firefighters staring at their smart phones. Each of us has at least one thing that our personnel do that drives us crazy. For me, it…

Firefighters and Divorce

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

            Something I am very careful about when I teach, speak to groups, or submit articles to Fire Engineering, is that I only talk about subjects and topics which I feel that I…

Firefighters are Never Really on Vacation

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

     We…

What Does “Unlimited Passion” Mean to You?

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

            Often when I speak to new firefighters and fire…