A group of probationary firefighters got me to reflect on how much they had left to learn, how much they had to learn from first-hand experience, and how much I had learned from those who took the time to teach me.
Archive of the Management & Administration Category
Uploading Experience
Pay Now or Pay Later
Until a few years ago I was placing my entire retirement stake on my pension and 401K investments. After I began to work with a financial planner, my view and plan drastically changed.
Are There Measurable Benefits to Accreditation?
In late 1999, a Glendale (Ariz.) Fire Department battalion chief named Jim Gibson went to the fire chief and asked him if we wanted to pursue a new process: accreditation. The fire chief had asked Jim to develop a strategic plan; I was a captain at the time and volunteered to help develop the plan.
Are We Using All Our Resources?
When was the last time you tapped the resources of one of the major fire service organizations to help answer a difficult question? Four times this year I have gone to the research sections or the expert personnel of several fire service agencies to help with answers to difficult questions. These have ranged from questions on the lighting package and visibility standard for a new aerial ladder on order, to data on the reliability of home smoke alarms when asked to comment to the media “on the record.”
Your Organization’s Path: Choice or Chance?
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.
A Department in Need
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.
Shame on the DOJ for Indifference!
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?
