Tag Archives: responsibility

And all fire and EMS departments enforce this, and empower their COs, by giving them visible symbols of their new authority that are understood by everyone from the newest probie firefighter to the Fire Chief (e.g., collar insignia, different color uniform shirts, different color helmets, or different helmet shields).

Creating a culture where employees are accountable means that first; the leaders must be accountable to the employees. Information sharing, discussions about challenges, and allowing everyone to engage in the dialogue is the first step in starting the change. Everyone makes mistakes, the difference is what the individuals do after the mistake.

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer Several years ago, at a fire service conference, I attended a session on reducing risk in fire departments. The presenter, whose name escapes me, make a statement that really stuck with me, “You cannot manage or eliminate risk in this business, but you can regulate it.” He went on to explain that regulating meant ...

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer I believe that three of the most important terms in personnel management are responsibility, authority and accountability. I’ve written about theses inter-related terms–they’re not synonyms–previously, and today I’m going to talk about what I believe is the most overlooked of the three: Accountability. (If you missed that previous blog, I encourage you to read ...

People--especially those who enter the fire service--generally want to be successful and feel like they are making a contribution to the organization. Lack of clarity from their organizational leaders, and especially their first-line supervisor, in the form of clear expectations can be a significant "roadblock" to their success.

As frequently happens when I’m teaching or facilitating training, my mind suddenly conjures up a story that makes a difficult concept much more easily understood by both my audience and me. While working with this particular group, the differences between responsibility, authority and accountability suddenly became crystal clear, for me as well as my group.

Reducing firefighter deaths and injuries is, or should be, a top priority for all fire departments in the USA in 2014. The 16 Lifesafety Initiatives from Everyone Goes Home provide the framework for a department to develop strategies for making the job of a firefighter safer, more effective, and more efficient. This article takes a closer look.

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.

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?

Am I “jumping the gun” on this one? We don’t know all the facts of the case, that’s for sure, but I know one thing from my career in the municipal fire service: You don’t conduct an extensive investigation of an incident, and produce a 200-page report that documents that investigation, because you didn’t have anything better to do.