Friday, April 24, 2009
High Expectations
I had high expectations to keep this blog up. Things have been very busy and this fell to the side. I will pick it up and start keeping up on it again. Look forward to my next update.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Looking forward to a new week
Monday starts a fresh new week. There is a lot to get accomplished this week in a short period of time. We start the 3 day training program on Anhydrous Ammonia this week. This will involve us wearing level A suits and doing a live chemical release.
This week we need to make sure the staff is up to speed on the changes that will be occurring in the department. We were advised of a 7 million dollar short fall for next year. We will be working on a plan to make sure we have the best training and equipment available for our firefighters.
Saturday we had a class on high lift air cushions and high pressure air bags. This was great training. These tools are rarely used but when they are needed they can not be beat. I am looking forward to doing a lot more training on shift with them.
I finally have the new audio visual equipment set up in the training center class room. We now have a flat screen TV mounted to the wall. This allows us to run computer programs and educational films in a format that is reliable and easy to see. This also opened up some floor space. We no longer need to have a rolling cart in the floor and a projector connected to it. It is looking very sharp! Thank you Chief Mohrmann for allowing this project to move forward.
Anyway this will be a busy week we have lots to do. Lets all be ready for Monday.
This week we need to make sure the staff is up to speed on the changes that will be occurring in the department. We were advised of a 7 million dollar short fall for next year. We will be working on a plan to make sure we have the best training and equipment available for our firefighters.
Saturday we had a class on high lift air cushions and high pressure air bags. This was great training. These tools are rarely used but when they are needed they can not be beat. I am looking forward to doing a lot more training on shift with them.
I finally have the new audio visual equipment set up in the training center class room. We now have a flat screen TV mounted to the wall. This allows us to run computer programs and educational films in a format that is reliable and easy to see. This also opened up some floor space. We no longer need to have a rolling cart in the floor and a projector connected to it. It is looking very sharp! Thank you Chief Mohrmann for allowing this project to move forward.
Anyway this will be a busy week we have lots to do. Lets all be ready for Monday.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Impressive Brothers
This was one more busy day at CCFR. We had a short appearance at the school district job fair this afternoon. I realized I must be getting old because they all looked so young.
One of the tasks of a Division Chief is to review all of the time sheets for payroll. It is not one of the more glamorous tasks but a needed one. During payroll errors are found that go both ways. Some times there are hours that are not recorded and other times it goes in the CBJ's favor.
I am exploring how to stream line the process using our computer system to help eliminate errors and make things easier in general.
It is nice to be pleasantly surprised from time to time. Today I was able to witness two people work through a very difficult situation. This showed me why I look up to these guys. I work with some of the finest people in the country. It is nice to see people care about each other and show how much they love their jobs.
I am going to work with my Captains and develop a good "play book" on how we should be running our bread and butter calls. This will improve speed and quality by getting some consistency.
We have the Paratech rep in Juneau in the morning. He will be putting on a 3 hour class 3 separate times on high lift low pressure rescue bags. This is a new tool for our department. This will work along with the rescue struts we added the last year.
Thursday is also a live fire day for the FF II class. We will also be hosting a debriefing on our last fire on Sunday. There were some things that went well and some things that did not go so well. As long as people are honest and straight forward about what they saw this should be a great learning opportunity.
We as a fire service need to look at how we are doing business. With these hard economic times creeping up on us we need to start planning for the very near future. We will have to start looking at our basic services and make sure we are doing them the best we can. We also need to evaluate the extra services we provide and see how they balance out.
I leave you with this thought of the day. If you rescue a cat from a tree, don't put him inside your bunker coat. The reason could become suddenly apparent when you least expect it.
Take care of each other and stay safe!
One of the tasks of a Division Chief is to review all of the time sheets for payroll. It is not one of the more glamorous tasks but a needed one. During payroll errors are found that go both ways. Some times there are hours that are not recorded and other times it goes in the CBJ's favor.
I am exploring how to stream line the process using our computer system to help eliminate errors and make things easier in general.
It is nice to be pleasantly surprised from time to time. Today I was able to witness two people work through a very difficult situation. This showed me why I look up to these guys. I work with some of the finest people in the country. It is nice to see people care about each other and show how much they love their jobs.
I am going to work with my Captains and develop a good "play book" on how we should be running our bread and butter calls. This will improve speed and quality by getting some consistency.
We have the Paratech rep in Juneau in the morning. He will be putting on a 3 hour class 3 separate times on high lift low pressure rescue bags. This is a new tool for our department. This will work along with the rescue struts we added the last year.
Thursday is also a live fire day for the FF II class. We will also be hosting a debriefing on our last fire on Sunday. There were some things that went well and some things that did not go so well. As long as people are honest and straight forward about what they saw this should be a great learning opportunity.
We as a fire service need to look at how we are doing business. With these hard economic times creeping up on us we need to start planning for the very near future. We will have to start looking at our basic services and make sure we are doing them the best we can. We also need to evaluate the extra services we provide and see how they balance out.
I leave you with this thought of the day. If you rescue a cat from a tree, don't put him inside your bunker coat. The reason could become suddenly apparent when you least expect it.
Take care of each other and stay safe!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Win Win / Loose Loose
Some times there just is not enough time in the day. I had a great time at the Firefighter II class. I got to teach one of my favorite topics. We spent some time in the classroom and then had a fire scene set up for people to investigate.
I discovered today that as a chief you may not always find a win win situation. There are small decisions every day that impact people on different levels. Some times the impact is minor and other times it can be life changing. You can not always make everyone happy. You will be failing yourself and your position if you try to. The only advice I can give any officer or leader is to do the right thing for the right reasons. Be fair and consistent. Even if your decisions are not popular people will respect them. Win win is nice when it works out. You always have to be ready for a loose loose or a win loose. With rank come responsibility. You should never take that lightly.
One item of interest for all of you EMS folks. There is a chance Dr. Copass may be coming to our runreview in April. For those of you that don't know he is the father of the Medic 1 program in Washington and the Medical Director for Airlift Northwest. This is a rare event, don't miss it if it comes through.
Have a great week, stay safe and look out for each other.
I discovered today that as a chief you may not always find a win win situation. There are small decisions every day that impact people on different levels. Some times the impact is minor and other times it can be life changing. You can not always make everyone happy. You will be failing yourself and your position if you try to. The only advice I can give any officer or leader is to do the right thing for the right reasons. Be fair and consistent. Even if your decisions are not popular people will respect them. Win win is nice when it works out. You always have to be ready for a loose loose or a win loose. With rank come responsibility. You should never take that lightly.
One item of interest for all of you EMS folks. There is a chance Dr. Copass may be coming to our runreview in April. For those of you that don't know he is the father of the Medic 1 program in Washington and the Medical Director for Airlift Northwest. This is a rare event, don't miss it if it comes through.
Have a great week, stay safe and look out for each other.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The weeks events and things coming up
Today was the first day of the second Firefighter II Class. There are about 10 people in the class today. This morning we covered the Incident Command System. The ANFIRS/NFIRS reporting system and some pre fire planning. Gaylen Brevick is the lead instructor in this program.
We will be offering this class two to three more times this year. There will be a class set up around the Volunteer Firefighter schedule of evenings and weekends. This is a highly recommended class and is a pre-requisite for several certifications.
The CCFR Leadership Team met this weekend with the City Manager and representatives from the Human Resources Department. This was an excellent meeting. We identified several areas that are needing improvement within the organization. A task list was developed and tasks were assigned to people to follow through on. I think we will start seeing some immediate results as we get some of these issued knocked out.
We are setting up the testing program for the Deputy Fire Marshal Position. There was a good number of qualified applicants for the position. We hope to be setting the testing date very soon.
There was a structure fire last night. It appears that there were some things operationally that could have gone better. I don’t think any of them would have changed the outcome of the incident. We will be setting up a debriefing very soon to review the call and see what we can do better next time.
8 more of the Company Officer Text books arrived today. For those of you looking to promote soon are encouraged to check out a book and study for the testing process. If you have questions for Volunteer Promotions contact Chief Weldon.
This was a very fast paced day. We have run review coming up on Wednesday night. There is a Hazardous Materials Team Drill on Tuesday. The EMS drill is on Thursday night. We will also be hosting a short training session on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the rep from Paratech on the High-lift rescue airbags. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
The Captains Promotional application period was extended by Chief Mohrmann for a short period of time. The Promotional Testing Dates will remain the same.
I am exploring how to bring a short ARFF strategy and tactics type of class to Juneau on short notice. There are a lot of issues to work out before we can set this in stone. Watch for announcements.
This is about it for a Monday. Tuesday Morning will start off with some training at the training center on Fire Scene Evidence Preservation.
Everyone stay safe and watch out for each other.
Chief Etheridge
We will be offering this class two to three more times this year. There will be a class set up around the Volunteer Firefighter schedule of evenings and weekends. This is a highly recommended class and is a pre-requisite for several certifications.
The CCFR Leadership Team met this weekend with the City Manager and representatives from the Human Resources Department. This was an excellent meeting. We identified several areas that are needing improvement within the organization. A task list was developed and tasks were assigned to people to follow through on. I think we will start seeing some immediate results as we get some of these issued knocked out.
We are setting up the testing program for the Deputy Fire Marshal Position. There was a good number of qualified applicants for the position. We hope to be setting the testing date very soon.
There was a structure fire last night. It appears that there were some things operationally that could have gone better. I don’t think any of them would have changed the outcome of the incident. We will be setting up a debriefing very soon to review the call and see what we can do better next time.
8 more of the Company Officer Text books arrived today. For those of you looking to promote soon are encouraged to check out a book and study for the testing process. If you have questions for Volunteer Promotions contact Chief Weldon.
This was a very fast paced day. We have run review coming up on Wednesday night. There is a Hazardous Materials Team Drill on Tuesday. The EMS drill is on Thursday night. We will also be hosting a short training session on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the rep from Paratech on the High-lift rescue airbags. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
The Captains Promotional application period was extended by Chief Mohrmann for a short period of time. The Promotional Testing Dates will remain the same.
I am exploring how to bring a short ARFF strategy and tactics type of class to Juneau on short notice. There are a lot of issues to work out before we can set this in stone. Watch for announcements.
This is about it for a Monday. Tuesday Morning will start off with some training at the training center on Fire Scene Evidence Preservation.
Everyone stay safe and watch out for each other.
Chief Etheridge
Very First Blog
This is my very first attempt at writing a blog. This blog is an attempt to get more consistant information out there for every in the department or anyone that has a strong interest in the department.
It is my goal to keep this updated daily or as close to daily as possible. Some days it may be a listing of the projects of the day. Other days it may planning for the future or just some deep thoughts.
As I am learning how blogs work I am sure it will morphs as we go on. I think this will be an interesting as well as entertaining project.
It is my goal to keep this updated daily or as close to daily as possible. Some days it may be a listing of the projects of the day. Other days it may planning for the future or just some deep thoughts.
As I am learning how blogs work I am sure it will morphs as we go on. I think this will be an interesting as well as entertaining project.
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