I’ve spent a lot of time studying successful fire-rescue and EMS organizations. One of the things I look for is how they establish their organizational structures and how those structures contribute to the organization’s overall success. One organizational structure element is present so consistently that I developed a simple model to explain it. The model is “Looking out the window”. In this model, the Chief and the Deputy Chief stand back-to-back at a picture window. The window represents the… Continue

Earlier in my career, I made the mistake of thinking that being a firefighter was about me. I sometimes sat around the firehouse and wished for bad things to happen to other people because I was bored. I was completely overwhelmed with testosterone and adrenalin poisoning. I did stupid things, partially because back then stupidity was an entrenched part of firefighting culture, partially because I had the mistaken belief that I was going to live forever, and partially because I was selfish and… Continue