Friday, August 29, 2008
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....
Undue influence
Philip C. Stittleburg
Chiefs and other deciding authorites should be careful when evaluating union leaders as candidates for promotion....
Will firefighter benefits break the chief's back?
Ronny J. Coleman
A well-informed chief can — and should — rein in labor talks that grant more perks than a fire department can afford....
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....
Labor, training at forefront of U.K./U.S. Symposium
Scott Baltic, Correspondent
What makes a fire officer truly an officer, both professionally and culturally, emerged as a main theme at the eighth U.K./U.S. Fire Service Symposium,...
Party's over
By Chief Michael S. Terwilliger, Truckee (Calif.) Fire Protection District
If social activities are at the core of the retention strategy in your combination department, you may be sending the wrong message to your personnel and your community....
When is a tax not a tax?
Philip C. Stittleburg
When it’s a special assessment, the validity of which may hinge on whether the services it pays for are, in fact, special....
Land of 10,000 faces
By Chief Rocco S. Forté, Minneapolis Fire Department
By defining needs, raising standards and tying all testing to essential job functions, the Minneapolis Fire Department has found success recruiting and retaining one of the most diverse work forces in the fire service....
Courtroom commanders
An Ohio fire chief is forming a new association of attorneys who are also fire service members....
Beat the rumor mill at its own game
Ronny J. Coleman
If you want to be known for walking your talk, there are three detrimental behaviors that you need to avoid....
The archaic NFIRS abacus
Janet Wilmoth
The audit, ordered by FEMA's Office of the Inspector General, was done by KPMG LLP, an independent accounting firm. The audit's objective was to determine...
Go to your room, think about what you've done
Mike Chiaramonte
The two-hatter debate makes the fire service look more like a dysfunctional family than the service of brotherly love....
Bush promises record funds while House passes initiative
The Bush administration is responding to the national wildland fire challenge by proposing record levels of funding for firefighting, hiring additional...
House votes accelerated logging plan approval
The House approved 256-170 to accelerate tree cutting on 20 million acres of overgrown woodlands that are prone to the wildfires. The legislation, sponsored...
Williams-Rhodes named NPS chief of fire and aviation
National Park Service Director Fran Mainella announced the selection of Edy Williams-Rhodes as the chief for the Division of Fire and Aviation in Washington,...
False positives
By Marc D. Greenwood, EMT-P, Akron (Ohio) Fire Department
Touted as the anti-drug solution since the ’80s, random drug testing may be an over-simplified reaction to a complex problem....
Get ready to benefit from economies of scale
Ronny J. Coleman
If consolidation is in the cards for your department, proper planning can make the process go more smoothly....
Duty debate marches on
Vincent Brannigan
Two elements of negligence have relevance to fire departments considering government liability issues....
Bully for you
By Thomas M. Cunningham, Fire Officer IV, U.S. Naval Academy Fire Department
Understanding the motives of problem employees can help defuse their power within your organization, salvaging the morale of other employees....
Far and away
Ronny J. Coleman
Calamities while you’re traveling won’t reflect poorly on you as an administrator if you prepare your staff — and yourself....
Testing central
By Darryl J. Haefner, Fire Science Coordinator, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill.
A collaborative approach to firefighter applicant testing can save your department both time and money, while eliminating the repetition that can deter recruits....
Don't divorce yourself from members' marital woes
Portia Rawles, Psy.D.
Learning to handle the dissolution of a firefighter’s marriage can help decrease poor job performance and other stressors....
Today's fire chiefs must put in more than time
Mike Chiaramonte
Years of service aren’t enough to get to the top anymore. Now chiefs need leadership, public relations and people skills....
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