Featured Blog Posts – April 2011 Archive (44)

The Way of The Chief

Just posted some new content over at Firehouse Zen, titled The Way of The Chief. It is partially in response to a question posed by my colleague and friend Rhett Fleitz at The Fire Critic about the future leadership of the fire service.

As always, I invite you to come visit and hopefully, you'll come back…

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Added by Mick Mayers on April 15, 2011 at 1:16pm — No Comments

Have Something to Say? Make Sure the Right Person is Talking

REALITY CHECK

By Scott Cook

On March 6, 2011, six adults perished in a mobile home fire in my hometown. You may have read about it here on FirefighterNation.com.

This article is not about the fire, though, or the operations of the fire departments working the fireground. It’s about how the news was communicated to… Continue

Added by FFN WebTeam on April 15, 2011 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

10 Year 9-11 Anniversary Manhattan to Manhattan Bus Tour:

At noon on January 25^th, 2011, the creators of the 9/11 Rose Float, recently featured in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, passed the “WE WILL NEVER FORGET” torch to the

FireCareers.com-9/11 Patch Project bus.…

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Added by Brett Hill on April 14, 2011 at 3:30am — No Comments

Building Support for the Cause: Lessons learned from the “Ready, Set, Go!” pilot program

By Chief Bob Roper and Lucian Deaton

Firefighters remember the fires that impact our departments and serve as guideposts in the development of our own careers in the fire service. Yet, as we all know, the public will soon forget the threats that they’re experiencing today. Development in the wildland/urban interface (WUI) introduces new and existing residents in our communities—many of whom have pre-existing notions of what it means to live in close proximity to forest,…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 13, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

Handling the “Leadership Absenteeism” Crisis Ahead—a Career Perspective

By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, EFO, CFO, MIFireE

The following article focuses on a growing issue in the career fire service: the “leadership absenteeism” created by a generation of leaders retiring. Read a complementary article by Tiger Schmittendorf about this issue’s impact on the volunteer fire service… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 13, 2011 at 7:00am — 2 Comments

Handling the “Leadership Absenteeism” Crisis Ahead—a Volunteer Perspective

By Tiger Schmittendorf

The following article focuses on a growing issue in the volunteer fire service: the “leadership absenteeism” created by a generation of leaders retiring. Read a complementary article by Jeff Johnson about this issue’s impact on the career fire service here.…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 13, 2011 at 6:30am — 3 Comments

Introducing your new RECRUIT

After much anticipation on getting a final phone call from the Fire Department, I was told on Friday that I had been accepted into Recruit Volunteer school, Sunday was orientation and paperwork and last night was first night of Wildland school! Talk about fast paced! I found myself wanting to soak up everything I can training wise like I was 18 again! But this was not possible without the support of friends, family and FFN....so thank you!

Added by Kate on April 12, 2011 at 12:32pm — 1 Comment

Mentoring Advances the Quality of Future Fire Service Leaders

Mentoring Advances the Quality of Future Fire Service Leaders

Seasoned fire officials can help prepare next generation’s leaders for excellence

By Kenneth Morgan

With varying missions, a constantly changing environment and decreasing revenue sources that hamper an increasing service demand, anyone in the fire service today knows our occupation is in constant… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 12, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

THE DICHOTOMY OF RISK on BACKSTEP FIREFIGHTER

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Added by Dave LeBlanc on April 11, 2011 at 10:40pm — No Comments

Thank You Volunteers

Volunteer Appreciation Week April 11 - 17

In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week I would like to make the following statement:

As Chief, I can never express enough how much pride and respect I have for “YOU” the members that make the Clarendon Fire Association a success. Without your volunteering, outstanding help, support, and devotion I couldn't do my job and we couldn't provide the professional service we offer.

"Thank You…

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Added by Norman E. Flanders on April 11, 2011 at 6:09pm — 1 Comment

Are You At Work Or At The Firehouse?

Many of us have either seen firsthand or heard about the Pride and

Ownership series by Chief Rick Lasky of the Lewisville (TX) Fire

Department so I won't give you a synopsis but rather use it as a

building block to talk about some related issues.

Like I have posted before, do you check the rigs first thing in the

morning? Do you get your chores done and then ask the officer what more

needs to be done? And if he doesn't have anything else for you, do… Continue

Added by backsteprescue on April 11, 2011 at 5:51pm — No Comments

Is Anyone (Else) Out There? First Arriving & Trapped

As reported in our nations news, five DC Fire Department members were injured yesterday in an early morning house fire. They became trapped by a ceiling collapse shortly after making entry. The speed with which the RIC deployed and made rescues, coupled with the the IC immediately requesting a 2nd Alarm resulted in not only rapid rescue of multiple trapped firefighters, but also quick knock down of a serious fire.

Unlike urban/metro FD's, the suburban FD may not have quite…

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Added by SAFE Firefighter on April 11, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

Peter Van Dorpe Interview

A new post on Hooks & Irons: Peter Van Dorpe Interview

Added by Eddie Crombie on April 9, 2011 at 2:10pm — 1 Comment

LOOKING BACK AT “THE FRONT SEAT” FOR APRIL 6, 2011 on BACKSTEP FIREFIGHTER

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Added by Dave LeBlanc on April 9, 2011 at 9:47am — No Comments

Firefighters step up for CFSI/NFFF 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb

Last…

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Added by Dave Statter on April 7, 2011 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Tool Purchasing 101: Important Questions to Ask Yourself before You Spend the Cash

Story & Photo by Todd D. Meyer

When the salespeople come to visit, make sure you have cars available to cut—and the newer the better. Run the tools through multiple evolutions, attempting different objectives: roof removal, dash roll,…

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Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 6, 2011 at 7:30am — No Comments

A Culture of Acceptable Mediocracy

A Culture of Acceptable Mediocracy…

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Added by Eddie Crombie on April 5, 2011 at 5:42pm — 1 Comment

The Prevention Evolution: Mentoring transfers knowledge to the next generation

The Prevention Evolution

Mentoring transfers knowledge to the next generation while expanding our perspective

By Jim Crawford

There’s been a lot of talk recently about mentoring in the fire service, and about how those of us who’ve been around for awhile need to bring younger people up to speed so that they can take over.… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 5, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

Firefighter workouts: a $3-8 billion dollar fitness problem

The NIST re ported that…

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Added by Jeremy Orozco on April 4, 2011 at 10:22pm — No Comments

Dr. Denis Onieal on Higher Education in the Fire Service

A Higher Grade

Dr. Denis Onieal shares his thoughts on higher education in the fire service

Across most industries in the United States, the last 50 years have seen a gradual emphasis on the need for education beyond a high school diploma or even an associate’s degree or a technical certification. More and more jobs require four-year degrees. The fire service is not immune to this trend, and as a… Continue

Added by Fire Rescue Magazine on April 4, 2011 at 8:00am — 2 Comments