Firefighting

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 ...

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 ...

“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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Last weekend was awesome. My better half and I spent it with all of our kids at the Desert Canyon Resort in eastern Washington. The golf course is really nice, with epic views and an ungodly long 650 yard par ...