Management Sciences
9 More Strategies for Success in a Fire Department Staff Position
A staff assignment is a wonderful opportunity for you to broaden your professional horizons beyond your “fire station centric” point of view. You might have volunteered for this assignment, or you may have been “volunteered” for it, but regardless of the scenario, take advantage of it.
15 Strategies for Success in a Fire Department Staff Position
You’ve no doubt become very comfortable with your company officer and your fellow firefighters in your fire station world. Your success thus far has been based upon your ability to work and socialize with people just like you—firefighters. Taking a staff position, e.g., an assignment in one of your department’s non-suppression work units, means you’re going to find yourself working with a more diverse group of people.
The “Management Trap”: How Fire Service Leaders Can Avoid Getting Snagged
I believe that three of the most important terms in personnel management are responsibility, authority and accountability. I’ve written about…
Scouting for Fire Officer Talent
So, if you’re “scouting” the potential officer talent in your fire and EMS organization to see where your future officers might be coming from, what should be your scouting criteria?
Why are We Cell Phone Hypocrites?
If it’s good enough for the employees of Exxon-Mobil—pay attention to driving and don’t talk on your cell phone—it’s certainly good enough for those of us in public safety—the people who have to deal with the aftermath of poor decisions that people make on a daily basis. Let’s all “get on the stick”: Hang up and drive!
What does a future fire officer look like?
What traits do you believe make a firefighter a good candidate to promote to Company Officer? I asked several fire service colleagues the question: What traits to you look for in firefighters as potential company officers? Two of those colleagues, Fire Chief Bud Backer and Division Chief Susan Tamme, provided some really good insights back to me via e-mail. I could only use a few of their comments in the finished article, but the rest were so good I just couldn’t leave them on the “cutting room floor.”
Customer Care Program Still Going Strong for Virginia Fire and EMS Department
Progressive fire and EMS departments have long recognized that a good customer care program has many benefits for the citizens they serve and for their departments. Chesterfield County's Fire and EMS Department is one such department.
NFIRS: What’s causing your heartburn?
Having trouble finding the validation errors? That’s your software. If your report says it’s valid, yet you receive critical errors upon uploading to the state, that’s your software. If you can’t see the full wording of a code, that’s your software. None of these are caused by NFIRS.
Looking Back on Leadership Beliefs
Now that I'm a grandmother looking back on my fire service career, I feel as if I have something to share that I believe will help other public safety leaders to never lose faith in people and their organization. This is the best job in the world and my enthusiasm 36 years later is stronger than ever! I'm going to speak from the heart because I've always been a compassionate person who loves people.
The Dawning of the Age of Enlightenment for the Fire Service
Why do I characterize our current day as the Age of Enlightenment for the fire service? Because after decades of firefighting strategy and tactics that are based upon the “I think, feel or believe” method of decision-making we’ve entered into an era where technologies and applied research are yielding the information we need to truly move toward becoming a data driven decision-making profession.
Tales of Customer Service in Fire and EMS
Delivering outstanding customer service is not a “nicety” for your department; it’s the key to its survival. The successes I just described did not occur overnight or in a “vacuum”; they were earned one customer interaction at a time.
Musings of a 1st Year EFOP Student
I am a geek, nerd, academically gifted, call it what you will, and my EFOP experiences have re-confirmed that for me. (As if I really needed this program to do that for me.) I have always gravitated towards learning experiences, especially experiences that challenge me. EFOP was no exception. What was the exception this time in my geekiness that has blatantly come to light the past year – I inserted myself in too many of these challenging experiences at one time causing added stress.