M2 Resource Group, Inc

As an active duty Deputy Fire Chief, I was responsible for the lives and safety of all of my firefighters as well. Creating an environment free from harassment, intimidation, discrimination and other such harmful behavior was as much important as creating a safe emergency scene.

Fire department mergers, consolidation and annexations can be described in one word: complicated. But it's not impossible.

There are many things fire leadership does right but there are times the department simply goes sideways due to some glaring leadership errors either incidental or intentional on the part of the Fire Chief and the remainder of the departments leadership team responsible for the direction, management and leadership of the fire service organization.

What do you think of when you hear the word disability? Most likely the word disability creates an image of any number of conditions that are visible but disabilities are also those not visible

Being a firefighter is dangerous and challenging. Being a woman firefighter is more challenging within the fire house environment that includes harassment, discrimination, assault and at times termination or constructive discharge.

Public Safety is in crisis with fire stations closed, firefighters and police officers laid off and the demand for emergency services at an all time high. What does this mean to our citizens?

Firefighters die from preventable diseases. Fire Departments must implement a comprehensive testing process to ensure your employees stay healthy and a program designed to return the firefighter back to work if there is the discovery of a possible disabling medical condition.

Firefighters and EMS personnel are dying on the job, shot by their patients or others specifically targeting public safety officers. Will arming the firefighters or EMT's provide a greater level of protection for them, their fellow firefighters or the patients?

Discrimination and inequity in the administration of light duty policies related to female firefighters leads to significant problems for fire departments that chose to ignore the law and discriminate against their female employees and firefighters. A recent case in Davie, Florida brings this issue to the forefront and the need for a light duty policy equitably administered to all employees.

Diversity in the Fire Service is a challenge to all leadership. It appears that we have not moved very far in removing the discriminatory practices in our entry testing and promotions related to women and minorities. Litigation is forcing the fire service to adopt hiring practices that levels the playing field. If we are not careful, lawyers and judges will be hiring your next generation of firefighters.

The Fire Service provides training to their staff and firefighters. Are we providing all of the right training and can we be held responsible and liable for training not offered?

It is important that the Fire Service adjusts to the ever changing political and financial pressures that affect its survivability.

As firefighters, we thrive on action. We are problem solvers, priding ourselves on working through problems and issues, particularly when called to assist complete strangers, regardless of the hour. We jump on our rigs and arrive at incidents to provide the highest level of service and professionalism to our community. Our question is: Do we provide this high level of service and professionalism to each other?

Personnel Policy Manuals are an important tool in guiding on duty and off duty behavior of your employees. Most Personnel Policy Manuals have not been revised for many years and may contain material not appropriate for today's workforce and out of compliance with current laws.

The recent lack of an effective fire fighting response to a house fire in the rural area surrounding the city of South Fulton (Obion, Tennessee) has created a national fire storm of discussion related to rural fire protection, the moral obligation of the firefighters and how to pay for these services.

There has been a lot of controversy and discussion about diversity in the fire service. Some fire service authors have indicated that we have too much diversity; others that we don’t have enough diversity; and still other that there is room for all at the table.

This article looks at the trends of Cities and Town's looking to reduce the cost of providing services to the community targeting public safety.

This article explores the reasons or motivations behind firefighters setting fires, and what is missing in the recruitment, hiring, testing and training process that allows these individuals to become members of our profession.

The NFPA 1001 (Firefighter I and II) standard identifies the minimum job performance requirements for career and volunteer fire fighters whose duties are primarily structural in nature and the purpose of this standard shall be to ensure that persons meeting the requirements of this standard who are engaged in firefighting are qualified. It shall not be the intent of the standard to restrict any jurisdiction from exceeding these requirements. How does that affect you and your department?

Training is a vital part of fire department operations. Its importance is even greater when you consider the mission of the fire department and the inherent dangers of a firefighter’s job. Firefighting and first-response fatalities average 100 each year with more than 83,000 injuries occurring annually. Training is designed to prevent these deaths and injuries but unfortunately, improper and unsafe training also results in firefighter deaths and injuries.