Have You Seen These

Firefighting

Un-Fatherly Advice

My blood is boiling… I just read this article , and it pissed me off.  This “dad” advises, via public proclamation, his son to quit being a firefighter, and go do something else.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!!! It has been ...

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It’s Groundhog Day All Over Again

Another media attack on career firefighters had a few fire service tongues a wagging this past week. A college professor’s superficial view of professional career firefighters (and their international union) in a Washington Post opinion piece made my friend Dave ...

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The Conundrum Of Frequent Flyers

“Everett firefighters in trouble for leaving homeless man under bridge” was a recent TV station story up in my neck of the woods. You can watch the story here, and read more of the details here. Of course, the Monday ...

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Tin Cans and String

WTH? I can’t believe what I just read. The Washington DC Fire Department, located in the heart of federal grant land, cant’ even communicate with other agencies during emergencies. Last month’s deadly Metro subway fire exposed big time problems with ...

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FSACK-A New Epidemic of Arrogance

Is there something in the water?  Recent stories of leadership faux pas  by fire chiefs, including allegations of criminal and racial activities are damaging the reputation of their departments and the fire service in general.  Dave Statter’s blog, Statter911 features ...

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Response Times-Time To Get Real!

On October 23rd, the Los Angeles Times published an article about LAFD’s response time performance to emergency calls. “No progress on LAFD 911 response times, new data show” blared the headline, summarizing data about how long it takes to; 1. ...

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1.5 Hours Is Now 1.5 Days

A videotaped interview of four government employees responsible for handling public information functions after the August 24, 2014 Napa, California earthquake reveals real challenges and inherent conflicts between quickly informing the public, fulfilling incident command responsibilities and ensuring the safety ...

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Thoughts on Crisis Comms Leadership

Preaching about the use of social media tools during crisis is much easier than actually doing it. Especially for smaller agencies with limited staff. But, does that mean it can’t be done? Absolutely not. Because of the recent Ferguson, Missouri ...

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My Trip Across The Pond

My wife and I recently celebrated our 30 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Ireland. To say it was an unbelievably fun trip would be an understatement. I won’t bore you with the details, but instead will summarize with ...

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