Thursday, August 21, 2008
Discrimination More Than a Legal Concern
Portia Rawles, Psy.D.
Research has shown that men who work in organizations in which female co-workers are being harassed report lower job satisfaction and greater psychological distress....
Leading Fire Departments in a Post 9-11 World
Pat West, Senior Editor
How has Sept. 11 changed our fire departments? Two years since suicide bombers attacked New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Flight 93, are firefighters...
Who do you call when you need help?
Mike Chiaramonte
Citizen Corps helps coordinate volunteer activities to make communities better prepared to respond to any emergency....
Interior Department signs agreement with IAFC
The International Association of Fire Chiefs signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior on Sept. 25, providing a framework for...
The whys behind dividing the funding pie
Ronny J. Coleman
Per capita, assessed valuations and more — all departments are not created equally, and neither are their communities....
Body-piercing and other Title VII troubles
John Rukavina
A knee-jerk reaction isn’t your best option when confronted by firefighters seeking accommodations for religious reasons....
New York volunteers to benefit from new law
National Volunteer Fire Council
Gov. George E. Pataki has signed the "Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighters Assistance Act" into law, which will provide liability protections to fire...
Comment commitment
Capt. Bill Lowe, Asst. Chief Wayne Nojiri and Bttn. Chief Laurie Mooney
Soliciting and evaluating firefighters’ suggestions can be overwhelming, but the Honolulu Fire Department has organized and simplified the process for both personnel and management....
Who you know
By Chief Fred Windisch, Volunteer and Combination Officers Section, IAFC
A survey by the Society of Human Resource Management reveals that networking is the most popular way to find jobs or employees. But this social loop can be much more if it’s used properly....
Volunteer Chief of the Year nominees
Fire Chief magazine will present the 2003 Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year Award at Fire-Rescue International on August 23 in Dallas. The nominees include:...
Could it happen to you? An American look at the strikes
Chief Bill Peterson, Plano (Texas) Fire Department, IFE International President-Elect
The recent firefighter strikes in the United Kingdom provide an interesting case study for the American fire service. While the labor structure in this...
Smoke screen
By Rebekah Doley, Criminal Behavior Analyst and Consulting Psychologist
Two new employee selection methods could help stop firefighter arson before it starts....
Union jinx
By President Jeff Ord, Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association, Tammworth, U.K.
After a year of rising tensions over appropriate pay levels that ultimately resulted in 15 strike days, British fire brigades still face an uphill battle against the government and public opinion....
The sum of all traits
By Robert Pessemier, President, Performance Metrics, Issaquah, Wash.
Is there that one member whom you just can’t figure out? Character qualities will help you understand what makes that individual tick — and improve the department in the long run....
Satisfaction, guaranteed?
By Deputy Chief Gerry Bates, Ph.D., Health and Safety Officer, Tucson (Ariz.) Fire Department
How ready are you for life after the job? A Tucson study shows that adequate finances aren’t the only key to a fulfilling retirement....
Disciplinary action
By Capt. Jennifer Cornell, Minneapolis Fire Department
Progressive discipline can help problem employees become effective members of the organization or identify employees who are ineffective and unwilling to improve....
FLSA proposals may affect public safety employees
John Rukavina
Will overtime be at risk? Meanwhile, the Second Circuit broadens the meaning of “supervisor” in sexual harassment suits....
FEMA, American Red Cross partner in preparedness through Citizen Corps
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, has announced an official affiliation between the American...
N.C. line-of-duty death benefit expanded to cover heart attacks
National Volunteer Fire Council
In late June, North Carolina Governor Mike Easley signed legislation that would provide the state's line-of-duty death benefit to a firefighter when he...
Undue influence
Philip C. Stittleburg
Chiefs and other deciding authorites should be careful when evaluating union leaders as candidates for promotion....
New leadership council chair predicts wildfire gains
Asst. Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett, recently selected as chairman of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council, reported that the National Fire...
Should we be jacks-of-all-trades?
Mike Chiaramonte
When determining service levels, get stakeholders involved to avoid firefighter resentment and community disappointment....
Politics, wildfires make strange bedfellows
Tom Fry
Like it or not, wildland fire is a political issue. At presstime, no fewer than four bills are being considered by the U.S. Senate that address wildfire and forest “health.” Each of these legislative efforts has enormous ramifications for how on-the-ground professionals do their jobs....
Ship-Shape
Can the lessons a naval officer learned when trying to improve his ship’s morale apply to your fire department? FIRE CHIEF Editor Janet Wilmoth talks with U.S. Navy Capt. Mike Abrashoff (Ret.), the IAFC’s keynote speaker for Fire-Rescue International, to find out....
Bars to speech could be costly
Vincent Brannigan
Without proof of harm, courts are frowning on restraints to media contact and whistle-blowing in matters of public interest....
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