Fire Chief

What is your organizational definition of strategy? Is it based on emergency response or administrative concepts? Until recently, my organization, like many others, was focused on a definition of strategy that was used only in conjunction with fireground tactics.

Among the stories about the World Trade Center was a statement that firefighting had emerged as our nation’s “cultural icon.” As I contemplated that thought, it struck me that most of us shy away from being called “heroes.”

If your department is interested in donating to the Greensburg (Kan.) Fire Department, contact Chief Jay Koehn, P.O. Box 8623, Pratt, KS 67124.

The pictures continue to come in of the tornado that hit Greensburg, Kan., a week ago Friday night. One satellite photo shows neat rows of houses and the next shows the houses reduced to matchsticks after an F-5 tornado touched ground, covering a path 22 miles long and 1.7 miles wide.

Why is the Department of Justice being a Scrooge by withholding the benefits rightfully earned by survivors of fallen firefighters? How can we expect to recruit the best and brightest to a profession where at least 100 colleagues die each year?

What an honor it is to begin a regular electronic stream of thought about the fire service, fire and life safety, planning, performance management, leadership, and — well, you get the message. There is not much in the fire service that doesn’t interest me, so I have high expectations that we here at Mutual Aid will be able to tweak people’s interest.

There has been a growing tendency in the fire service to use the terms ICS and NIMS interchangeably. There may be valid reasons for this to occur. Part of this may have been our rush to be sure our department and our jurisdiction remain DHS-compliant to be eligible to receive additional federal grants.

This past week, FIRE CHIEF held its second annual Station Style Conference in Denver. With more than 320 attendees and exhibitors, from fire chiefs to commissioners who hailed from Connecticut and California and every state in between, the conference was very well-received by all.

I never thought that one day I’d consider myself old, but having passed my 49th birthday last November, I realize that I probably have more years behind me than I do in front of me. But to quote someone — I don’t remember who since that’s one of the first signs of aging! — “It’s not the age, it’s the attitude.” And after 49 years on this planet, I think I’ve developed one heck of a positive attitude.

After receiving an invitation from FIRE CHIEF Editorial Director Janet Wilmoth to contribute to the magazine’s new blog, I began to ponder my first topic. A corollary between my article Task Master in the March issue of FIRE CHIEF and the overarching challenge of managing technology for chief officers immediately surfaced as a central focus.