Posts Tagged: Firefighternation
@FireRECRUITER: Rise to the challenge
An article recently posted to FirefighterNation.com outlines the challenges faced by volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania in recruiting and retaining their members. Although these types of articles are becoming all too frequent, this one in particu…
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Impact of the Digital Age on Recruitment and Retention
The world is changing rapidly and the fire service is getting caught up in the tornado effect of technology on our society.
More and more fire departments are smartly using web sites, e-mail and social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter to …
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“Expect Fire” Part 2
Afternoon Worker in San Francisco’s ‘Haights’
Captain Keyboard and Firefighter Anonymous are going to have a ball with the second video.
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Going Forward in the Fire Service
I am often reluctant to write about commercial business ventures in my blogs and other platforms as I am sensitive to the trusted relationship between a writer and their readers, and leary about self-promotion. Thus I have delayed writing this post for q…
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Firefighter Health Week: Day Two
Think of it as the 360-degree sizeup of your body.
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“Medical LODD Lessons? Screw it, who cares.”
If firefighting were combat, would we read the lessons on what was killing 60% of our soldiers? What if they weren't promoted?
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FRI 2011
Fire- Rescue International 2011 is just around the corner.
Even through it looks like I will not be able to attend this year. I wanted to give a shout out to some friends of mine that will be there.
The following are classes that I would recommend…
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Void Space
Firefighter, officer, chief—these are the titles of the jobs we sign up for. But just like “bingo chairman,” “corresponding secretary” or “roads and grounds committee member,”
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FireRescue Magazine at Indy
It wasn't just a few bloggers working the floor at Indy. Did you see what they reported on? You should.
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X-Box Live
That's right!
"From the X-Box to the Box Alarm: Motivating and Leading Today's Firefighters" is back by popular demand at FDIC 2011. I hope to see you in Indianapolis March 22-26, 2011. Look me up if you plan on attending and look for my presentatio…
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Not Your Typical “Truckie”
Glenn Usdin was a Run-to-the-Curb kid, growing up in the Long Island New York fire service and rising to the rank of fire chief in Lancaster PA. Like many in the fire service, his career path has taken him in several different directions including a tenu…
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It’s that time of year.
Once our organizations realize that volunteers who are happy at home will be happier, more productive firefighters at the firehouse -- we all win.
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Every Firefighter Has a Story.
It should be no secret by now that I'm big on this whole concept of storytelling in the fire service.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that storytelling has never been more imporant than it is now as a way of sharing our experiences, perpetuating our values…
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My Flag
The next time I look at that flag, it could be a tangled mess – or it could be flowing freely in the breeze. It's different every time I look at it. That’s the beauty of my flag.
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Run-to-the-Curb Radio: Chief Tim Sendelbach
It’s like “Run-to-the-Curb Radio” — but better!
“Firefighter Storytellers” is a natural outgrowth from my popular “Run to the Curb” series — as it offers a radio show designed simply to facilitate kitchen table type discussions bet…
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Get Fit. Get Safe. Make It Personal.
[caption id="attachment_1745" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="My Three-Part Risk Management Plan: Alex, Laurie and Kathleen"][/caption]
Despite the fact that I wrote this piece for Fire-Rescue Magazine last year, I'm pretty sure its content is …
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@Run-to-the-Curb: Planting a Seed.
It should be no secret by now that I have a passion for story telling, and especially telling of the importance of sharing stories in the fire service as a means of passing down our history, traditions and values.
It's almost an obsession.
It's got…
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The FDIC Experience: Returning Home
For the next four long hours I felt like I was in a scene from "The Terminal" --- the movie about an eastern immigrant stuck living in the airport with nowhere to go and unable to leave because he had no country to return to, and therefore no official citzenship anywhere.
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THE PLACE TO BE- Friday night at FDIC.
Friday night at FDIC in Indy- Join with hundreds of thousands (or so) of your brothers and sisters at the famous Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery just blocks away from the Convention Center at 10 West Washington. Buy me a drink. You'll need it.
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Blogger Jeremy Black Canned- John Mitchell Takes the Helm at FireDaily.com
With the holidays approaching, a rash but effective decision was made to avoid a confrontation during a time when interactions with extended families already created a hostile environment. After less than one hundred days, Black was relieved of his post as Executive Editor and Chief Blogmeister at FireDaily.com, an upstart blogging venture experiencing rapid growth.
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Make It Personal
The following article is a reprint from the June-2009 edition of Fire-Rescue magazine. It is also a companion piece to my blog titled: Clean the Litterbox.
I recently attended a seminar on preparation for line-of-duty deaths and firefighter funerals. If you've ever read one of my blogs here or at FirefighterNation.com, you know that I have very strong feelings about firefighter deaths.
But, for the first time, the subject really hit home with me. While it's important to plan that stuff, if we really think about it, doesn't the need for proper funeral planning only further acknowledge our acceptance of failure in protecting our own from the risks we face?
Too often we focus more time, energy and attention on those types of activities instead of the things
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Dig In.
Dig in.
“Early on in my fire service career, we responded to a report of a tractor-trailer rolled over on a nearby state highway. We arrived on scene and found a truck lying on its passenger side. The wheels were facing the roadway and the top of the cab was on the shoulder of the road. The truck driver was being treated as walking wounded. It seemed like a relatively benign accident.
As we approached the curb side we realized that this was no ordinary call. It
Read More »Albion FD Says: You Have to Want It!
"You Have to Want It!" is the message that Albion Volunteer Firefighters and EMTs are sending to their community in a new effort to challenge more citizens to become part of their local volunteer emergency response team.
Thanks to a four-year $134,500 grant from the US Department of Homeland Security specifically for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters, the all-volunteer fire department will have the funding to develop recruitment efforts and marketing materials with the help of Tiger Schmittendorf, who also helped them write and secure the grant.
"The reality is that firefighting isn't for everyone, but volunteering can be. We offer flexible memberships for non-emergency personnel to join our Support Team," says Rocky Sidari, the fire department's deputy chief.
"Volunteering
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Clean the Litterbox
This blog is a companion piece to my article titled "Make it Personal" in the June edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine.
I was reading a not so tongue-in-cheek blog on FirefighterNation.com written by my good friend Art Goodrich titled: “Ordering From the Risk Menu” and it reminded me of a Saturday I spent recently, full of fire service activities.
I started the day by attending a heavy dose of an 8-hour seminar focusing on preparation for a Line of Duty Death. If you’ve ever read one of my blogs, you know I’m very passionate
