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Posts Tagged: Leadership

First Due Friday; A Small Fire In A Strip Mall

You are dispatched to a smoke detector and burglar alarm activation in a strip center. You arrive to find this! What do you do? Read More »

Don’t Be That Firefighter

Are you this kind of firefighter? We hope not. Read More »

Class Announcement: Forcible Entry 1 & 2 (THIS MONTH!)

FORCE MORE DOORS IN A DAY THAN YOU HAVE IN YEARS! The Bluffton Twp. Fire District will be hosting a FORCIBLE ENTRY DAY at their fire HQ. We will be putting on a Forcible Entry 1 (Irons & Through-the-Lock) & Forcible Entry 2 (Saw Ops, Advanced Irons & High Security). REGISTRATION PERIOD IS SHORT... DON'T MISS IT! Read More »

“Old School” Captains …

There was a "life lesson" or some sort of Fire Department training in every task. They worked hard and expected the same of you. There was never an option other than "the right thing" and they ALWAYS looked after their members. Read More »

First Due Friday; You Arrive on the Truck… (Video)

First thing you see is a Truck pulling up to the scene. YOU'RE ON THAT TRUCK! Based on what you see with the building, the conditions, the Engine Co. and other crews' operations, WHAT ARE YOUR ASSIGNMENTS FOR YOUR CREW? Compare this FD's ops to your FD and give us your RECEO VS considerations. Enjoy! Read More »

Thought For The Day… It’s a Circle!

Things change, they always have , they always will. Read More »

Class Announcement! Street Smart Forcible Entry

Irmo Fire District, in Columbia, SC, will be hosting 2 open enrollment 4-Hour Street Smart Forcible Entry 1 classes Read More »

The Vicious Cycle

We have to get our act together to break this vicious cycle, or there will not be an American Fire Service to pass on to the next generation of firefighters. Read More »

The Elite Company

Often times fire companies will start to come together but start going in the wrong direction due to poor leadership or lack thereof. Members of the company will start to believe their own self made hype and will began to put distance between them and ot… Read More »

Leadership Got Your Department Boogered Up?

  [caption id="attachment_2235" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Leadership is the Key"][/caption] Across the world I bet if you sat around the table on the tailboard of an apparatus or at any conference you would hear some folks that ar… Read More »

Perfect Alignment

Deep down inside, we might say to ourselves, "That could never happen here." Or we feel it coming up and we suppress it, because we know, if we were ever to actually verbalize that, it WOULD happen. Read More »

First Due Friday; Heavy Fire, Standpipe Ops & Mayday! (Video)

This video is a great training tool for size-up, radio comms & Command presence. This FD sounds very professional despite difficult fire conditions. This week we've got heavy fire & smoke on an upper floor w/ standpipe ops in progress and a Mayday called while transitioning to Defensive Ops. Compare this FD's ops to your FD and give us your RECEO VS considerations. Enjoy! Read More »

First Due Friday- What Can Be Saved?

Here We Go! What would your FD's operations look like for something like this? How many and what type of resources, water supply considerations, exposure considerations, etc? Enjoy! Read More »

First Due Friday; Transitional Attack? Pre-Arrival Video

Here is a great pre-arrival video of a house fire transitioning from serious to worse. This would be a great size-up tool for anyone riding the seat. Give us the report and your RECEO VS considerations. Enjoy! Read More »

This Ain’t The Burn Building

DO WE TRAIN OURSELVES INTO MEDIOCRITY? I see more pack rat houses than "Better Homes and Gardens" houses. Yet we train in nearly empty buildings. Is this the root of complacency? Are you and your crew trained to identify and overcome obstacles in our path to complete the task at hand? Read More »

Jason Hoevelmann presenting “A Firefighter’s Own Worst Enemy” at FDIC 2012

That's right, it is different. That team may lose a game if they don't practice. We may lose a firefighter, a citizen, a building or a block of buildings if we don't practice. It's time to be different. It's time to not cave into negative peer pressure and to create our own positive peer pressure that makes it "wrong" to be on the side of "inaction." It's time we hold what we do and love to a high standard and expect the best of ourselves and of those around us. Do the job and do it better than well. Encourage others with our actions and show the next generation what being a firefighter is about. Don't let them be their own worst enemy. Read More »

First Due Friday; We’ve Got a Hot One in the Desert (Video)

What would your FD do for this attached garage fire? Would your FD make entry through the front door and push the fire out OR knock it down from the outside, then go in? What would you do to address the extension issues? Give us the report and your RECEO VS considerations. Enjoy! Read More »

VES Class Wrap Up

This past weekend, we were fortunate to be able to teach our "Ventilation, Entry & Search Techniques" class at the South Carolina Fire Academy's annual Southeastern Fire School. We had a great weekend both teaching (& learning), spending time with old friends and making new ones. Here are some of the highlights... Read More »

Sound of Clanking Dawgs – Leadership Principles in Action

Recently recieved an email from a former member, "Cap, miss hangin' out with you, these guys don't seem to have any drive to train or get better at the job!"...Not the first time I've gotten a note like that.  I responded with encouragement and the beli… Read More »

Joining Forces

From our sister site: FireRECRUITER.com What started out as a vision for a successful joint recruitment project has morphed into a passion to connect firefighters and soldiers of all stripes. Based on the concept that we're looking for the same peo… Read More »

Thinking Outside The Box May Kill You

Thinking “outside the box” is a perfectly appropriate goal for someone when faced with a unique challenge. Yet firefighters get hurt and killed at what some would consider less-than unique fires. Sometimes we have to keep it simple and put people in areas not only to perform efficiently, but also get us the most accurate information prior to making a dangerous decision. There are six sides to every fire and it is our job to see them all. Read More »

First Due Friday; “Houston” We Have a Problem!

THE SCENARIO: HEAVY FIRE from the attic w/ extension to TWO other houses! If this one doesn't test the strength and discipline of your crews and alarm assignments, congratulations! Give us the report and your RECEO VS considerations. Enjoy! Read More »

First Due Friday; Attached Garage with Heavy Fire & Extension (Video)

What would your FD do for this attached garage fire? What would you do to address the extension issues? Give us the report and your RECEO VS considerations. Enjoy! Read More »

Pushing the Envelope

These basics are so simple, even a caveman could follow them. Read More »

The Lighting Store

An enlightening look at the makeup of our fire service. Read More »

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