expectations
A New Stop Fires Paradigm
Why do we keep building homes and installing appliances and furnishings that don't keep fires from starting and spreading? A new stop fires paradigm is needed to eliminate preventable fires in the USA. We've made safer cars for years, why not safer homes?
Why did you want to become a Firefighter?
That question has been around for generations, no? As leaders in Fire and EMS organizations, do we truly know the answer for ourselves and others in our organizations? If we are to continue to recruit and training and retain the individuals necessary to adequately staff our organizations in the coming years, perhaps we would be better served to ponder the question.
USA Fire Service Safety Culture: Another Perspective
In the USA you certainly have a very militaristic and I would say macho culture in your fire service. This is compounded by the public perception of fire fighters and the pedestal they put them on. (Don't get me wrong as a former fire fighter I hold all fire fighters in high esteem, but they need to realise [sic] they are not super human).
Taking Care of the Rescued Firefighter
We have to be able to seamlessly move from firefighter rescue to firefighter patient care. And that will entail additional training and practice on the part of both firefighters and the EMS providers — who may not be firefighters. Why? Because in addition to a firefighter who may be in need of life-saving medical intervention, such an event is also a workplace injury site if the firefighter survives, or the site of a line-of-duty death if resuscitation efforts are unsuccessful or the firefighter later succumbs to his injuries.
Fire Department in Danger After Levy Fails
As Dr. Phil says, “It’s time to get real!” Fire departments must stop trying to provide a model of fire protection—one that’s predicated on saving lives and property through the reactive deployment of firefighters who implement an interior fire attack the majority of time—when the department does not possess the resources to do so safely, effectively, and efficiently according to accepted standards and practices, e.g., NFPA 1710 or NFPA 17.
Delivering Customer Service with Lights and Sirens
A Fire Medic Perspective: Delivering Customer Service with Lights and Sirens. Rom Duckworth discusses how a culture of customer service can work in the real-world with retired Battalion Chief (and prolific author) Rob Avsec.
Leading, Guiding and Directing the Next Generation of Firefighters
For young people who've not previously had this degree of structure in their lives, becoming a member of a Fire and EMS organization can be a daunting challenge. We owe it to this next generation of firefighters--and to our organizations--to become better managers who effectively develop and maintain the three sides of the triangle.
Changes and Trends in the Fire Service
Regardless if the changes arise from our people (generational differences) or new technologies or new information that changes the way we view strategy and tactics, it all comes back to how we lead and manage, doesn’t it?
The Year in Review: Top 10 Most Viewed Posts
Over the course of the last year, I’ve attempted to provide you—the readers of this blog—with a wide variety of subjects for you consideration and thought. So here are the ten most viewed posts for 2013.
What’s Your Plan for an Inclusive and Diverse Department to Increase Service and Safety?
The solution for an inclusive and diverse fire department is NOT just recruiting more women and people of color. The SOLUTION is recruiting the RIGHT people—qualified, inclusive, diverse and safety-conscious. And yes, that includes the RIGHT white males who understand why an inclusive and diverse department increases service and safety. Recruitment is not just getting more people to apply and show up for the test. Successful recruitment is the first level of the screening process.
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.
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.