For some of the new readers here, not only is Firehouse Zen about enlightened leadership, it is about management issues and creative solutions to ongoing problems in the emergency service industry. If you are a long-time reader, you may recall our discussions in the past regarding disaster response and credentialing, and in an effort to […]
While taking Honora to school a few days ago, Bob Edwards was speaking on NPR Radio with Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum, the authors of the book, “Unscientific America”. While the book apparently discusses “scientific illiteracy”, some of the commentary seemed applicable to what we currently endure in the fire service; clinging to tradition for […]
I woke up this morning with an idea for emergency services that is already a reality. It’s funny about technology in our business; innovation driven by the private sector and the military is implemented and has probably run through four or five revisions, then we look at it and say, “Wow, this is amazing technology!” while the others have likely moved on.
And then, there are the profiteers. My intent with Firehouse Zen is not to use it as a place to vent, but as a place to enlighten. Venting may be entertaining for some, but for the most part, productive it isn't. So let's talk about why opportunists would be against credentialing, which should probably be […]
As discussed in the last post, there are those who are against credentialing, for their own reasons. Because I have had plenty of discussions about the subject, I think I have the discussions channeled into four groups (and if you have a different argument, let me know, because I don't want to miss anything […]
I'm supposed to be working on my final Executive Fire Officer paper but in doing some literature review, I came across a voice from the past. I happened upon a copy of "The Fire Chief's Handbook" from 1978. Now to someone like me, 1978 doesn't sound like too long ago. But putting it into perspective, […]
How many more times does disaster have to strike before responders finally learn the lesson of the need for unified command? How many times do agencies need to experience a tug-of-war over resources, slow response to needs due to poor inter-agency communication, and lousy coordination all because the "powers that be" refuse to put their […]
For some reason today I was reflecting on two of the worst teachers I had when I was in school (back around the Ice Age) and just why they were such terrible teachers. I suppose that other than their lousy personalities, it would have had to be their passive-aggressive nature when it came to the […]