Yes indeed, we do have predictions for 2006, but it turns out that they are too long to fit in this column and are going to be in the January issue of Fire Chief.

A year ago I wrote about One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer, Ph.D. It’s really common sense in small steps, but it also shows how one step can lead to a major change. (Read that earlier editorial here.)

Following last week’s distribution of gold stars, I heard about one more that is noteworthy.

Fire Inspector Rick Barnes of the Battle Creek (Mich.) Fire Department, wrote about his fire chief, Larry Hausman. It seems the chief believed that every one of the 19,000 residences in Battle Creek should have smoke detectors installed. Hausman went after and succeeded in obtaining a federal grant of $420,000 along with the matching funds of $220,000.

According to Barnes, “To date our department has gone out and installed over 55,000 of the 88,000 detectors that we have purchased. We know of three lives that the program has saved, and it has made an impact of 14 house fires that we have been informed of.”

Barnes described the chief’s idea as a “vision.” How often have you had an idea or vision and then followed through on it? One person plus one idea equals -- in Hausman’s case -- three lives saved.

“I just think that his passion for the program has made it successful and made a great difference in the safety of the citizens as well as our firefighters,” wrote Barnes.

It’s still early in the New Year. What’s one idea or vision for your department or community you could follow through on this year?

Janet Wilmoth, Editorial Director
janet@firechief.com