Fire Service Management
Running a fire and EMS organization: management science, legal issues, risk and customer service.
I was a “college boy” Fire Officer and Damn Proud of it!
I'm not saying that a more educated officer corps will prevent those kinds of things from happening in a department, but I am saying that I believe that it will reduce the organizational risk to a large degree.
How are Your Organizational Competencies?
I certainly support the idea of pursuing accreditation by those organizations that have the resources, e.g., people, time, and money, but what about those who don't? Well, for those departments I'd like to suggest that they use my "homegrown" template for identifying what's important in their service delivery so that they can then collect the data to determine, How are we doing?
Networking for the Common Good of Fire and EMS
If I were you, I’d spend my limited money on equipment to put CAFS into my firefighting arsenal instead of buying LDH; the 6” water mains in your town really don’t justify the use of LDH. I think that maintaining your 3” supply line cache and combining it with CAFS will give your department plenty of tactical firefighting capability.
What the Executive Fire Officer Program Experience Meant to Me and My Department
Why EFOP? Don’t get me wrong, my course work in both of my degree programs provided me with the opportunity to acquire a vast amount of knowledge in a wide variety of subjects pertinent to Fire and EMS...It was during my four-year pursuit of that EFOP certification, however, that I acquired the skills and abilities that had a phenomenal impact on my growth as a fire officer.
A Canary in a Coal Mine
One thing that I do believe is that cases like this are to Fire and EMS leadership and management what the "a canary dying in a coal mine" meant to coal miners underground.
Bonehead Decision of the Year: Close the Nominations, Please!
By: Robert Avsec I opened my e-mail yesterday to view the latest FireRescue1.com newsletter and this is one of the leads: Pregnant firefighter placed on unpaid…
My Body Survived My Career Because of Health and Wellness “Culture”
It seems to me that many fire and EMS organizations are a bit "Johnny-come-lately" when it comes to the health and well-being of their people, and some still have not come to the party. I was very fortunate to have spent my career with one of the organizations that‘s frequently been on the forefront of efforts to constantly make improvements for the safety, health and welfare of its people.
You, LinkedIn, and Building Your Network
Your ability to develop professional networks has increased exponentially with advent of social media, and particularly LinkedIn, the most used professional networking platform on the planet. Check this article out to see how you can start making it work for you.
The Bi-Lingual Battalion Chief
I once heard this at a leadership and management seminar I attended and it’s stuck with me all these years: Middle management is like the white frosting in an Oreo cookie. It’s the “glue” that holds everything together and it’s the “buffer” that keeps the two hard cookie layers apart.
What is the Cost of Failure?
By conducting an ICOF analysis, a department’s leader would provide an objective process that can help break down those informational “silos” so that all managers...
How Good are Your Organizational Risk Reduction Tools?
Think there’s not a need for organizational risk management in Fire and EMS organizations? Take a look at some of the recent “ripped from the headlines” stories about firefighters and officers that have not done much to enhance the reputation and standing of our profession.
How to be a “Conference Commando” at FRI 2013
I first came across the term in a piece by Scott Kirsner in Fast Company magazine entitled The Conference Commando Field Manual. Kisner describes a “conference commando” as: