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The volunteer fire service faces unique challenges in just about all aspects of operations, particularly when it comes to safety. We do the same job with less training, often times older equipment, and with fewer people. Normally we do not have a person to devote to the sole task...

When transitioning from firefighter to officer, the first thing we have to realize is we are now the leader first and friend second. If you want to remain buddies with everyone, then don’t take the position of officer. The crews need a leader and a leader leads. Before you make a...

In part 1 we discussed how the leadership compass is built and how you as a leader in the fire service need to develop a leadership philosophy. Putting Together A Plan, Need An Example? Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself, write them into a philosophy that you can...

The United States Navy continually monitors the performance of its warships to ensure that they are always battle-ready. Over time, naval leaders noticed that some ships were performing at a higher level than others. This was puzzling because the ship classes were standardized,...

Do you need to recharge your batteries? From time to time there are great networking opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals who share our passion for brotherhood and hunger for education. PLUG IN! Let’s really examine what it means to recharge our batteries. There...

The Flat Earth As a boy Christopher Columbus was holding an orange on which a butterfly had landed. He noticed that when he turned the orange around he could see the tips of its wings coming up from the backside of the piece of fruit. As he turned the orange toward him the entire...

What Exactly Is Leadership Self-Awareness? There are many challenges of being a leader and successful fire service leaders are those that understand the meaning of self-awareness. Leadership self-awareness is a  self-“a no holds barred-honest to the core”-examination....

https://traffic.libsyn.com/davidsoler/027-Leading_From_the_National_Fire_Academy_01.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFirefighterToolbox Podcast/ Internet Radio Show Episode #027 Interview with Dr Onieal About this Episode: Intro Provided by:  FDNY Battalion Chief Mike...

Have you ever heard of “the dark side” of leadership? This is not a term we hear in leadership conversations or read about, but the reality is that it exists and impacts department growth. Authentic and true leaders are those that want to make a difference in the...

Slow down! We need to look at the clues and cues of what is happening around us. Is the room that we are operating in showing signs of an impending flashover? Is the temperature in the compartment that we are operating within increasing by the second? What information is the...