Fast Attack Fire Service Training & Consulting

NFPA Standards: NFPA 1720: An Update on the Volunteer Deployment Standard Nick Sohyda, who chairs the committee for NFPA 1720: Standard for Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments, explains recent updates.

Was happy to discuss deployment standards at the Erie County Fire & EMS Recruitment and Retention Symposium.

Erie County Fire and EMS Recruitment and Retention Committee holds seminar to discuss decreasing number of volunteers In an effort to increase the number of workers and volunteers for fire and EMS crews, Erie County Fire and EMS Recruitment and Retention Committee held a seminar. This seminar was designed to bring…

Spent an evening with the fine folks of the Greensburg Fire Department, doing their annual RIT Refresher Training.

The same is true of volunteer fire departments. You can't fix your recruitment problem until you address your retention problem. People do not volunteer to hang out in a toxic environment where backstabbing, complaining, and negativity is tolerated.

Toxic environments make people sick, make projects fail, and make best employees quit. "Culture is more important than vision. Some leaders have great vision, but have created a toxic culture where that vision will never happen.

In every job interview I have ever been a part of, interviewer or interviewee, fire service or civilian, there is almost always a question related to a candidate's strenghs and weaknesses. Instead of subjectively grasping at straws, and using common answers such as "I'm a hard worker" or "I'm reliable" this book uses an internet-based survey to help you identify your top 5 predominant strengths, along with an lenghty explanation of those strengths. Conversely, your weakness (don't mention more than one) should be a product of one of those strenghts. It doesn't matter your career field, this is a common question.

As Fewer People Become Volunteer Firefighters, Departments Must Embrace Change In Pennsylvania, unless you live in a big city like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg or Erie, your fire department is almost certainly made up of