Brad Nair's Blog (10)

   Trust is a five letter word that means so much in the Fire Service, that from time to time it is lost in a person’s character. Whether influenced by peers or it became the norm in the environment that surrounded the individual. Whether your career or volunteer the expectations are the same. Do the right thing of integrity all the time, on and off duty.

   When you enter the fire service, an investigation…

How do we get new members into the volunteer fire service? To answer this, we must fully explore the problem that exists in many communities. We must understand three things our people, our department, and our community.…

      If you are in a leadership position in a volunteer fire department, you constantly think about resources (people, equipment, funding) to effectively perform the mission of the organization.  How well does your community support your volunteer fire department? Do they show up for your department’s open houses? Does the community understand that a volunteer fire department exists in their…

Most departments have internal drama most of it is caused by people who do nothing or people increase the drama to take the pressure off them and make other people look bad. If your department doesn't have internal drama then that is great.

In our career field we endure a lot of stress from incidents where people are at their worst. We see things that normal people don’t see thing.…

Normally when Mrs. Smith dials 911 for her emergency or witnesses an emergency, she will receive some sort of emergency apparatus at the place of the emergency incident location. Most times the emergency apparatus will come from a local fire and emergency services department in the community, other times it will not.

In my local area, 90 percent of the time, when the Fire Box is struck, departments from farther away are dispatched rather than the closer one. This boggles my…

The local fire engine that sparkles in parades and is a standout among the community.  People depend on it when they dial 911 to come and fix their emergency.

The community doesn't care what age the apparatus is as long it performs in their emergency. A good fire apparatus preventive maintenance program improves longevity of the apparatus and ensures operational readiness of the equipment before you hit the streets enroute to the incident scene.

Though if you…

Over the course of many years in the volunteer fire service, I noticed election for volunteer fire officers take place in either November or December of every year. Depending on your organization it may be every two years to elect fire officers. Some departments have no election and the fire officers are appointed by the local municipality or the fire chief may be elected and he or she appoints his or her fire…

Company Training no matter if your career or volunteer it is a necessity in your job in saving lives, property and the environment.

Company training must be diversified, and relevant to your mission and needs.

In a career department, each shift should be a training day. Learn one thing or refresh up on one skill will enhance your skills and will improve crew proficiency.  In a career department each member should have a day that is scheduled so can they present…

To some people Fire Prevention means Fire Prevention and only that. Fire Prevention is a chance for your department to market themselves. Even though marketing should be done all the time versus just one week out of a year.

Fire Prevention week it is time to show off their talents and what your department provides to the…