This past October The Lone Oak Volunteer Fire Department (my department) was invited to participate in Smoke on the Mountain, a fundraising event that included a BBQ competition, music, beverages, food, and more to benefit a neighboring civic league and our fire department.
Through the generosity of our community we were able to provide nearly 100 food boxes and over 50 boxes of toys to members of our community – touching the lives of over 150 people.
Attention County personnel,
We are grateful for your support of volunteer fire departments. As you know, volunteer departments make up 73-76% of all fire departments who operate primarily on donations. We are thankful for your support.
If, however, you are in the position to help fund departments in your county or region with equipment, I highly recommend consulting with your fire chiefs to help select appropriate equipment.
Recently with my department the County personnel took it upon themselves to write a specification for SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus – i.e., air packs and masks) and to put it out for bid. Issue one is that they specified the bare minimum equipment (NFPA 2019) not taking into the account of firefighter safety or ease of use. They received only one bid and went with it. I thought it was customary to gather three competitive quotes but maybe they work differently here in Tennessee. The word “kickbacks” seems to come to mind.
We recently had a training on the new equipment and unfortunately, in my opinion, they were a waste of county and taxpayer dollars. As an interior firefighter I will never touch one of these units on scene and more than likely even in training. They are sub-standard. They weigh approximately 10-15 lbs. more than what our department standardized on. This may not seem like much but when you’re wearing something on your back while working – crawling, climbing, etc. No quick connect for changing air tanks, the old-fashioned thread and screw design.
They also purchased turnout gear (pants, jacket, helmet, Nomex hood, boots, gloves) that again, in my opinion, is substandard and not the quality our department has standardized on for keeping us safe under terrible conditions. I have not received this gear yet, but I already know I will never wear this while fighting a fire. I may use the gloves as a backup pair and perhaps the boots for wildland fires where structure gear isn’t necessary, but in terms of the rest, it’ll go up in the supply closet and can be used for support personnel. That word “kickback” comes to mind again.
While I support the gesture from the County, it’s unfortunate that they didn’t as fire chiefs or professionals who really know equipment and needs for assistance.
I ran across this great article by Mike Marinella comparing firefighting with PR crisis management.
His opening:
Every organization will have to put out a fire, whether it’s managing a leadership scandal or a global pandemic. Either way, when extinguishing a fire, you must train your crisis response team to think like those who do it daily—firefighters. They are crisis experts, and their best practices are tried and tested over a long period.
Firefighters experience crises of all kinds, and, as in PR, not every one is a full-blown crisis. From house fires to car accidents, firefighters control situations promptly, but not recklessly, and formulate effective responses.
Similarly, communicators can prepare for crisis and less-threatening issues. The firefighting tactics below can help your team quell even the most formidable media firestorm.
Definitely read his full article and let me know if you have any questions or I can help in any way.
Personal note, I’m a volunteer (and certified) firefighter and a marketing professional for 20+ years.
Fall and football are upon us…. it’s time for chili!!!
Note: May also marinade the meat in Worcestershire sauce overnight for more flavor and if a smokier taste is preferred some liquid smoke.
NOTE that this is prior to my vegan days! Here’s a veg recipe that’s not mine (credit: The Southern Vegan cookbook) but rocks!
It’s definitely a new world with a global pandemic. First off a huge salute to the first responders, healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and other folks that keep things moving: delivery, grocery, utility, etc.
Like all first responders we have been charged with performing our duties in the midst of this pandemic. To help others we need to be safe ourselves. Over the past month or so I’m sure there has been a scramble for updating or writing policies and procedures on how to respond, a reminder of hazmat decontamination practices and a scramble to simply attain appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Coming from a rural volunteer fire department here is what we have done in terms of policy.
This is a bit abbreviated and we also included a Call Response Log. Both can be viewed here. Also, feel free to use these or any portion of them for your department.
Here are just a few of my favorite illustrations that I’ve come across online. Stop, and thank these essential personnel when you have the chance. A simple “thank you, we appreciate you” will do over social media too.
An excellent article from FireRescue1 and worth a post of it here. Enjoy.
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”“Do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.””You may delay, but time will not.”
From perhaps America’s most beloved of the founding fathers, Ben Franklin’s timeless wisdom is as relevant to emergency responders today as when he started publishing “Poor Richard’s Almanack” more than 280 years ago. While many are aware that Franklin founded the Union Fire Company, America’s first organized fire department, fewer people know that Franklin also cofounded America’s first hospital, the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. In his many books and publications, Franklin shared great American common sense that many firefighters and EMS providers will find useful as they work in the professions Franklin himself helped shape. Ben Franklin was known for being calm and thoughtful at a time in America when fiery debate was the norm. While it is unlikely that Franklin ever taught bloodborne pathogen lessons, he often gave advice that you might hear in any modern training classroom, “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation.” He also noted that, “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.”
Franklin was referring to the everyday industry and professionalism of Americans when he advised that, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” He also said, “Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked and never well mended.” He also reminds us of one of the first rules of EMS, to, “Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”A clear proponent of common sense, Franklin also knew the value of a formal education. “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” He noted, and, “The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” Franklin often weighed in on the controversy of book learning versus experience to say it is necessary to balance both:
Franklin was known for being calm and thoughtful at a time in America when fiery debate was the norm, “Wise men talk because they have something to say; Fools talk because they have to say something.”
His advice to us on being satisfied at work and at home is to:
Franklin said of aspiring leaders, “He that cannot obey cannot command.” and that the road to leadership can be long and difficult, but worth the effort, “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”
He advised leaders to, “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
A proponent of what now may be known as servant leadership, Franklin recommended that leaders understand, “To be humble to superiors his duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.” Franklin summed up his philosophy on leadership by action:
While he was speaking to all people, many of Franklin’s words especially resonate for the fire/EMS service, professions that rely heavily on self-motivation and lifelong learning:
Perhaps Franklin’s best guidance for emergency service providers is to not simply read his advice, but to put it into action:
Rom Duckworth is a dedicated emergency responder and award-winning educator with more than twenty-five years of experience working in career and volunteer fire departments, hospital health care systems, and public and private emergency services. Currently a career fire captain and paramedic EMS coordinator, Rom is an emergency services advocate, and contributor to research, magazines and textbooks on topics of leadership, emergency operations, and educational methodology. Rom is a frequent speaker at conferences and symposia around the world and can be reached via RescueDigest.com.
Hayden Hofland, a technician at Linde Material Handling in Sydney, has been fighting the bushfires in New South Wales with his team of volunteer firefighters.
Check it out here.
A while ago the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) reached out to me to write an article for them on applying marketing methodologies to help fire departments.
Here’s a summary:
Marketing is an overarching umbrella that encompasses many things that are critical to a fire department from a communications standpoint. This article by John Kowalksi explains how marketing can help address and mitigate a department’s challenges. You have a story to tell, and in telling it correctly, your department can and will move forward.
To see the article, click here.
Enjoy and be safe!
As fire and emergency service organizations get through the holiday season and maybe breathe a sigh of relief, it’s a time to reflect on all the past year accomplishments. Call volumes, public education programs, fundraising and recruitment. It’s also a time to review what worked and what could use some adjustments in terms of training, on-scene operations, etc.
Use that information as you plan and move into 2020 and think about your top three goals for the year. Look at where you are as a department, where you want to go and then map out a plan to get there.
For my own department it’s to improve upon the two topics that haunt us all – recruitment and fund raising. But to also improve on our weekly training exercises and to be more in-line with NFPA standards. It’s also to increase our medical trainings as that is over 80% of our call volume. This is all to improve the invaluable services we bring to our communities.
Happy New Year and be safe!
