Fire & EMS Leader Pro The job of old firefighters is to teach young firefighters how to become old firefighters!

I wrote several pieces for FireRescue1.com in 2015 on this topic of roadway safety that, unfortunately, are still relevant in 2020. I encourage you and your firefighters to review these articles—and others like them—in preparation for this week’s Safety Stand Down.

How many of our leaders are taking the information from NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Reports and using that information to take a good, hard and objective look at their organization and asking the tough question, "What are we doing to prevent this from happening here?

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to deepen across the U.S., one thing I’m hearing and reading much about is how fire departments are “scrambling” to get online solutions to their community outreach efforts. Perhaps scrambling is a bit hyperbolic, but the fact remains that fire safety educators and firefighters are not ...

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer And there was life before COVID-19 and for many fire departments that life was a struggle that life that already included: All fire departments, especially those that provide EMS in their community, are on the front-lines in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Lack of adequate funding and stress-free lending for personnel and equipment; Finding and ...

The Public Safety Telecommunicators who answer the 911 calls (911, do you have a police, fire or medical emergency?) in our communities are like the smoke detectors in our homes: we don’t think about them, but when they’re needed…they’re needed. The PST is the critical communications link between those who need help (the person who calls 911) and those who can render help (law enforcement, fire, or EMS).

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer So, the other night my fire service colleague, Sue Jones, a Fire Prevention Officer with the Ottawa Fire Services, posted the following message on Facebook: “Last night, at the Fire Chief’s Commendations and Awards Ceremony, I was honoured [sic] to receive the Fire Chief’s Ambassador Award for my efforts with Camp FFIT. I think ...

By: Mrs. Avsec Shhh! Don’t anyone let him know that I’ve commandeered his PC to post this blog. But it’s really important that I do this. Why? Because he does a lot of good things for many people, most of all me! (Hey, he knows where his bread is buttered!) And it’s not often that I get the chance to ...

And West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and most West Virginians were not thrilled either. Three weeks after Gov. Justice ordered an investigation by the director of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety (DMAPS), he announced that all 34 correctional officer cadets from the class and three academy staff members would be fired, and four instructors suspended without pay.