Tiger Schmittendorf's Blog (98)

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“Early on in my fire service career, we responded to a report of a tractor-trailer rolled over on a nearby state highway. We arrived on scene and found a truck lying on its passenger side. The wheels were facing the roadway and the top of the cab was on the shoulder of the road. The truck driver was being treated as walking wounded. It seemed like a relatively benign accident.

As we approached the curb side we realized that this was no ordinary call. It turned out… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on September 2, 2009 at 6:00pm — 9 Comments

There’s at least Four Cs in NBFC

Earlier today I had the pleasure of joining lots of other folks who participating in the dedication of a new fire station for the North Boston Volunteer Fire Company in the Town of Boston, NY.

As I was sitting here remembering the ground breaking ceremony they held last fall, I was reminded of how proud I am to be associated with their fire company.

Many times when we discuss incident management, training and collaboration in… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on July 22, 2009 at 9:31am — 1 Comment

Clean the Litterbox

My family is inspiration and motivation for much of what I do in the fire service. Alex, Laurie and Kathleen (l-r).

This blog is a companion piece to my article titled “Make it Personal” featured in the June 2009 edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine.

From: www.tigerschmittendorf.com

I was reading a not so… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on June 15, 2009 at 12:11am — No Comments

Now It's Your Turn.

From: www.tigerschmittendorf.com

Last fall I wrote about doing the right thing by getting involved in an organization of firefighters known as Hancock Hope, formed for the sole purpose of helping other firefighters and fire departments in need.

I talked about the struggles of a very rural volunteer fire department in Oneida, Kentucky and of the goodwill of the… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on April 21, 2009 at 7:54am — 27 Comments

3407

From www.tigerschmittendorf.com:

Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence Center, NY around 10:20pm on Thursday-February 12, 2009 - killing 50 people and changing the lives of thousands more, including mine.

I responded in the first wave of emergency services personnel sent to help restore order to the chaos that the crash created.

Frankly, I’m not ready to write about this experience… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on February 25, 2009 at 2:30pm — 4 Comments

Night at the Museum

Christina, Kyle, Tiger and Dennis on

their most excellent adventure at the

Buffalo Fire Historical Museum

PHOTO BY: MARGARET COGHLAN

OK. I admit it.

It was a day at the museum but hey, nobody ever made a movie with the catchy title: "Day at the Museum."

Regardless, we had a great day recently when we visited the Buffalo Fire Historical Museum on William St. near Ogden St. on the city's… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on January 30, 2009 at 11:31am — 6 Comments

That's Why.

FRIENDSHIP NY FIREFIGHTER TOM TORPEY FLANKED BY HIS MOTHER SISSY AND HIS WIFE JESSICA.

From: www.tigerschmittendorf.com

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I recently responded to a post on FirefighterNation.com from my friend… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on January 15, 2009 at 8:51am — 19 Comments

Conveying Tragedy

FROM: www.tigerschmittendorf.com

I consider myself a student of effective public and media relations. One of the most difficult messages a fire chief or public information officer must convey is that of a tragedy where, despite our best efforts, the results are fatal.

I often coach fire officers and public officials at incident scenes as how to best deliver difficult news. While I encourage them to focus on the role of the… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on January 3, 2009 at 6:00pm — 3 Comments

Christmas Comes Early for Kentucky FD

I’m sure we’ve all heard, and maybe even experienced, how the world is “getting smaller every day.” There’s probably no other place that this phrase is truer than in the fire service.

The more we dare to explore outside of our engine room doors, the more we find that there’s a brave new world out there full of firefighters who, despite their differences, are very similar to every one of us. A friend once told me that, in the end, it’s only… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on December 18, 2008 at 10:25pm — 18 Comments

Recruitment & Retention Toolkit: Brotherhood

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership. It appeared in the August edition of FASNY's The Volunteer Firefighter magazine.

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Evans Center Chief Dennis Allen Demonstrates Brotherhood. Now He Needs Our Help.

Last month I said we’d take the summer… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on August 22, 2008 at 1:28am — 4 Comments

Evans Center Chief Dennis Allen Gets Double Lung Transplant

I am happy to report that my best friend and brother firefighter, Denny Allen received a life-saving double-lung transplant on Wednesday-July 2nd at the Cleveland Clinic.

He was admitted to the clinic on Thursday-June 26th due to complications from the pulmonary fibrosis he suffered from. I paid him a surprise visit early in the day on Tuesday-July 1st and got to spend about 5 hours with him. We shared lunch and had a great time… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on July 6, 2008 at 11:27pm — 4 Comments

“Hair We Are” Family Salon to Donate to Firefighter Benefit

PLEASE DOWNLOAD, PRINT AND DISTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY:

Hair We Are Poster.pdf

TOWN OF EVANS --- Stylists at a new local hair salon are pitching in to help save the life of a local life saver.

Six stylists at the “Hair We Are” Family Salon will donate all of their proceeds on Saturday-June 21, 2008 to benefit Chief Dennis… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on June 17, 2008 at 11:00pm — 2 Comments

It's CPR/AED Awareness Week!

Did you know that it is CPR/AED Awareness Week? I didn't.

I don't care if your title is PIO, EMT, CFR or PEON - take advantage of this opportunity to bring the importance of CPR training and public access AEDs to the forefront of your community. It's not too late.

Right on the heels of EMS Week, ride the coat tails and write something up that starts with: "This culminates CPR/AED Week..."

Here's a quick article from EMSresponder.com that will help you fill in… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on June 3, 2008 at 11:15pm — 2 Comments

Great PR Article

I found some past issues of National Fire-Rescue magazine at the firehouse over the weekend and started reading them in my "library" at home. You know the one I'm talking about, the one adorned in porcelain and shower curtains.

I found a great article on generating public awareness that hits home in so many ways. We do a ton of PR at Evans Center, sometimes to the extent that I think we're becoming "over-exposed," but I still think we can do better.

This article touches on the…

Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 27, 2008 at 9:41pm — 1 Comment

Nothing Breeds Success Like Success Itself...

As I mentioned in a previous blog, you'll notice that all of our press releases end with a common theme: Recruitment.

We pounce at every opportunity to get our recruitment message out to our target audience.

As an effective means of both recruitment and retention, we write a press release to announce new additions to our team every time someone joins our fire company.

Written properly, these types of advertorials can breed real success.

Hopefully, it… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 26, 2008 at 12:46am — 8 Comments

Making Something out of Nothing?

Even the best of PIOs-Public Information Officers go through a dry spell and struggle for something newsworthy to promote once in a while. Some call it writer's block. Others call it a brain cramp.

It only takes a little imagination (or inspiration) to get put of this slump, even when you don't think you have anything that's of relevance to your target audience: the public.

I half-jokingly say that if someone goes to the bathroom in our firehouse - we write a press release… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 21, 2008 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments

Recruitment Clearinghouse - ERIE COUNTY NY

Recruitment & Retention Toolkit: The Recruitment Clearinghouse - Samples of Success: Erie County NY

By: TIGER SCHMITTENDORF

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership. It first appearing in the May-2008 edition of FASNY's The Volunteer Firefighter magazine.

In Part 1 of… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on May 7, 2008 at 11:19pm — 10 Comments

Recruitment & Retention Toolkit: What's a Clearinghouse?

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention and fire service marketing and appears in the April edition of FASNY's The Volunteer Firefighter magazine.

Part 1 – What’s a clearinghouse?

In previous articles, I’ve attempted to present the fire service with real tools to use in improving their membership process and documentation… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on April 20, 2008 at 3:42pm — 5 Comments

BROTHERHOOD IN ACTION: A Guy Named Denny Allen

Some people have character, and others are a character.

My friend Denny Allen… he’s both.

There are certain people in your life who are always in need of something – while others are always there when you need them.

My friend Dennis Allen is always there when you need him.

Certain people work behind the scenes but manage to find their way into the spotlight. Others do their work on the scene but manage… Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on April 19, 2008 at 1:00am — 1 Comment

Fire Service Funeral Practices

Here's a hot topic that might set off some fireworks. It might even incite a reader to leave a comment.

This is something very near and dear to me and something I feel very strongly about. I've wanted to write about this for a long time and a recent conversation with a…

Continue

Added by Tiger Schmittendorf on March 31, 2008 at 12:23pm — 26 Comments