Tornados, tropical systems and severe thunderstorms with straight-line winds cause hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in property losses annually in the U.S. with an average of 750 tornados annually.

And that’s the real focus of Fire Corps. Getting more people with varied backgrounds involved in the multitude of tasks that are required to run a fire department and provide services to the community they serve. Think of the possibilities ...

Sexual assaults and rape being perpetrated on our sister firefighters by their colleagues--and in many cases their leaders--isn't a women's issue that they can solve. It's a failure of fire department leadership and that means it's up to the men who occupy the majority of leadership positions in the fire service to eradicate this blight from our profession.

Once upon a time, having a dedicated Mobile Command Vehicle might have been viewed as want-to-have resource for many fire and EMS departments. Today, however, many of those same departments are now finding that an MCV is a need-to-have vehicle in their fleet because of events like natural and man-made disasters; large-scale structure fires; urban-interface and wildlands fires; and criminal acts resulting in multiple-casualty incidents.

No amount of forward-driving experience can help a driver with backing a truck or other vehicles. All drivers need to practice in safe surroundings until they become familiar with the way the vehicle backs up compared to the direction the steering wheel is turned.

I find it truly sad and disappointing that in 2014 we still have politicians making such outrageously poor management decisions for their Seattle FD BCcommunity’s Fire and EMS protection. I look at this individual’s investment in herself and in her department, as well as her department’s investment in her, and I’m left shaking my head in dismay.

The military services of the United States are not the only organizations that are plagued by sexual harassment and sexual assaults that include rape toward their female members. We have a similar problem in the fire service in the United States as well.

We’ve not had a significant impact on preventable fires with our current methodologies. To paraphrase a popular management mantra for change these days, “What got you here, won’t get you there.”

NFPA 30: Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code and other standards bodies advise fire and EMS stations to have the proper equipment installed to store flammable liquids used in the operation and maintenance of fire apparatus and small engine-powered equipment, such as chainsaws, electrical generators, ventilation fans and more.

The 2014 winter season has been extremely harsh across the U.S. — with all-time records being set for low temperatures, snowfall and ice on waterways. For example, more than 90 percent of the Great Lakes were frozen, the most since 1963, according to NOAA.