This whole FirefighterNation thing is pretty intriguing. The network forming already is phenomenal. I was early to the party but late for the initial opening of the whole Firehouse Forums and couldn't believe the unbelievable response to that. I think Dave may have hit another homer here with the numbers of people coming in already. The whole social side was really what seemed to drive the forums, even though there were quite a number of us that were really in it from the beginning to get some fresh perspectives on things. Talk about your huddled masses (how much bandwidth are we using here, anyway?).

The social side is pretty cool. I even threw pictures of my family on my page today. But a from a networking perspective, a similar phenomenon we have experienced with the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance (SUSAR) was that there were so many people that not only wanted to get some new ideas or answers to their questions, but just wanted to be HEARD. With the numbers rising here every minute, someone out there will inadvertently spark the next suppression theory or the next revolution in management or something, and may not even know it. Since joining, I have been going through the "members" section and just clicking on pictures of people who look like they have a story or something in their profile reminds me of someone or something.

Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point" talks about social epidemics; ideas spreading because people who found an idea early on were able to influence people who had a certain number of contacts, and then the masses followed suit. Remember the commercial, "she told her friend, who told her friends, and so on". You get the picture?

The fire service's overall problems are much too deeply rooted in parochialism and territorialism to simplify them by saying, "if we could all just get along". But every time those "other" public safety providers (you know which donut eaters I'm referring to) ask for money, they get it. The reason? They have embraced professionalism, they were early innovators on the side of accreditation and conduct, and they stick together. How many media battles have you seen between the cops? It's probably not entirely by design, but you don't see the battles being aired in the media like those of the firefighters. They have all bought into the thought that they are the "thin blue line" and that helps them stick and stay together to achieve a greater mission.

This (FirefighterNation) is revolutionary stuff here. Tell your friends. Feel free to join a group that suits your preferences. But above all, meet some people. You never know what remarkable story they may have to share with you that will change the way your organization does business tomorrow.