Get Motivated FD

Well I figured it was time to share how I got to where I am at. So a new series of Story Time. This first episode is about me and how I got into the fire service and what I am doing now. I hope you like and share this!! I will continue diving in to “Story Time” where I talk about fires and experiences that I personally had. I hope you enjoy!

Episode 4!!! It’s tough to keep a positive mindset when faced with negativity. How do you keep your crews priorities on track when faced with a new policy or something even you disagree with? It is hard but you have to look at the bigger picture. Check out Episode 4, it maybe boring but can you figure out a way to stay positive and mold your crew to be the best that they can be!

Let’s review the basics. Going over stretching ones, search, forcible entry is must. A new year gives crews a clean slate so let’s go over to improve the basics. What’s crawl, walk, run? Well, there’s a time and a place but to learn new tactics or understand new buildings we need to figure out how to implement those S&Ts. Starting slow and improve and continue to where the crew is firing on all pi...

What’s your leadership style? What are the core values of leadership. I have a hard time defining what leadership is. I’m only scratching the surface of figuring out what the true meaning is. Listen to my newest episode and find out how I define my own leadership style and implement it to my team. Stay Motivated!!!

How do you motivate experienced personnel? 30 year drivers or even officers. It is tough and can be a challenge. Have clear communication and trust that’s built can help motivate those experienced personnel. Listen to how I think it can be done on this episode!

Check out my latest episode about Special Operations

Find out how I describe firemen as either a Pitbull or a puppy. There is a difference. We all know Alpha dogs in the service we’ll use the term Pitbull, because they are aggressive and ready to do work. Puppies are the young ones that still can bite, but still have a lot to learn. Check out this episode and how I describe a Pitbull and a puppy!

FD traditions and the over saturation of training and how it’s becoming an issue. Just listen and you will find out!

Just listen and find out!!

Do you have someone that you’ve thought was a great mentor? Is there someone out there that you can say kicked you in the ass and made you a great fireman. I give you my 3 that inspired me who I am today. Thank those leaders or mentors that helped you through those first years in the fire service.

Are you all in to your department, fire service, your crew? Do you only care for your own benefit? Well I dive into this topic and I want you to ask your crew and your self are YOU all in?

My thoughts on 9/11 and what the brotherhood did for me. We need to build that brotherhood back. When you think about those 343, remember they did their job and they had each others backs through out. So hope you enjoy my personal experience of 9/11

Welcome to part 2 of being on a somewhat of a hiatus. Life has been busy and I want to voice some of my thoughts of my last podcast and also dove into holding not only yourself accountable but others. Check it out!

Check this episode out!!

Some personal thoughts on some that are no longer here.

Build your team to be the best. Your only strong as your weakest link right? Well utilize what you have to make that link stronger. As a leader in the fire service we have to constantly build our teams to be effective and smart! Delegation is great to develop firefighters into leaders and great workers. Make your crew that crew that is dependable, trustworthy, and effective.

Just talking about search. How much have you trained on search? Search should be one of topics that we should cover often. We have to be ready for the time someone needs extricated from a building. Never accept “we train too much”. Always be prepared for anything!

Do you have someone that is a 6/22? You know 6 months in the job 22 years experience! Well the generational gap is getting bigger and wider. Firefighters are changing how the FD works. We have to train these firefighters to gain that experience. You have to read your people to have an understanding of them and how they operate. Experience will have precedence over years in some perspectives and si...

Acting officers have opportunities to learn from experience while riding the seat. Does it mean that person is ready? By preparing yourself for that time when you’re riding seat, you can be ready to make critical decisions. Only training and experience can make you ready for that time. Mirror your officer and see how they talk, make decisions and see their flow. It’s tough and nerve racking to rid...

The first 5 minutes on calls is crucial for the positive outcome of the incident. Do you have a plan in place for what you are going to do in those first 5 minutes. Technical rescue and extrications have the same type of process but may be different in certain aspects than a structure fire. Make sure that you follow your policy and practice making those sound decisions in the first 5 minutes.

With the recent school shooting does your department have a mass shooting response? Is there policies in place or do they need updated? It’s a crazy world we live in and it’s unfortunate that our children have to be part of the nasty world of shootings in schools. Mental health of responders is real. Having an incident where children are involved can be tough on a responders mental health. Take ca...

I’m motivated today!!! Do you trust your leader? Your leader makes decisions that affect you and your company and department. Are they sound decisions or are they bullying tactics to get their point across? I talk about issues that we see in the fire service with our leadership. How we can possibly change that outlook. I’m on fire so check out my latest “Trust your leader”.

Your name means everything. You start building your reputation when you start the fire service. Do you want to have a good reputation or are you not worried about it?? Your reputation follows you no matter where you go. People may only know your reputation and not know the real you. I talk about building a good reputation and how to get out of a bad one. Remember your name on the back of your coat...

Don’t get me wrong I support EMS, but are we concentrating more on the high frequency low risk calls over the low frequency high risk calls. When it comes to money, training, personnel I believe that the forgotten side of Fire has become worse. I’ve never seen a private ambulance service do tech rescue or high angle rope. Yeah those calls are few and far between, but the neglect is there. I talk a...

What is your roll? Are you a rookie, driver, officer and do you know your roll in your department?? I’m going to dive into this topic and hopefully give some helpful advice to anyone who can help people with understanding their roll. Check it out!!