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!