This document discusses principles of exemplary leadership in the fire service. It outlines five principles: 1) leaders must model desired values and behaviors, 2) provide a shared organizational vision, 3) seek opportunities for improvement and change, 4) foster collaboration, and 5) encourage excellence through recognition. Effective leaders live the department's values, communicate priorities through actions over words, envision exciting possibilities to inspire others, encourage experimentation and learning, develop members, and celebrate victories.

1. to cause members to
think and conclude them-
selves that change is in-
deed needed to succeed.
Fourth, great leaders
foster collaboration, co-
operation, build trust and
strengthen others by
sharing power. Develop-
ment of members is es-
sential toward building
the leadership bench
strength of a department.
Developing those around
you indicates to the fire-
fighters that they are val-
ued by you.
Finally great leaders
encourage the hearts of
the members of the
department by showing
appreciation for perform-
ance excellence and
celebrating the values
and victories of its fire-
fighters, fire and chief
officers.
ideal assignments tells
firefighters what is
important to their
organization versus
what may be presented
on a departmental web
page or listed inside a
strategic plan.
Second, leaders imag-
ine exciting possibili-
ties and place them in
an organizational vision
that enlists the fire-
fighters, company offi-
cers and chief officers
to share and seek the
vision.
Third, leaders seek
opportunities for im-
provement, innovation,
growth and positive
change. He or she en-
courages experimenta-
tion and learning from
mistakes. He or she
does not assimilate into
the status quo but
rather raises ques-
Command
(Kouzes &
Posner, 2003)
Exemplary leader-
ship requires individu-
als to practice certain
principles of leader-
ship.
First, leaders must
model the way by liv-
ing, both on and off
duty, in accordance
with the department’s
values. Firefighters pay
attention to what their
leadership does and
not what they say.
They follow the “man”,
not the
“plan”.
Who is
hired,
fired,
pro-
moted,
demoted
or at-
tains
Purpose of FirePurpose of FirePurpose of FirePurpose of Fire----ZineZineZineZine
To provide members of
the fire service with
quips of valuable infor-
mation from a plethora
of resources available.
Fire-Zine ‘s format is
structured in catego-
ries similar to the
general staff positions
in the incident com-
mand system. It is
designed as a fast read
for a fast paced fire
service.
s of the fire service with
November 4, 2010
Fast Reading for the Fire Service
Produced by John J. McNeil,
Rhodes Consultants, Inc.
Great leaders model the way, provide a shared vision, manage
change, foster collaboration and encourage the hearts of firefighters.

2. objective criteria that is acceptable
universally by the fire service,
government financial officers and
elected officials.
The existence of such a standard
would make replacement purchases
significantly easier. In the absence
of such a standard there exists a
fight to convince the powers to be
exactly when an apparatus needs
replacing. A typical engine is
replaced on an average of 10-12
years and aerials on an average of
12 years with an additional 3 years
as a reserve for both.
An important point to make to
finance and your elected officials is
the reality that deferring purchases
simply transfers the cost from
capital expenses to operating
expenses with steadily increased
maintenance costs. For further
information on the topic of fire
apparatus replacement planning and
options go to the fleet management
website:
http://www.fleet-central.com/ re-
sources/14_replace_vs_refurbish_fire
_apparatus.pdf
Administration &
Fiscal
Procurement
Opportunities
In the new reality, which we are fac-
ing as a result of the economic re-
cession, we have to adjust the man-
ner in which we approach purchas-
ing. Here is a great option for con-
sideration by fire departments. The
Fire Rescue GPO is a national group
purchasing program that has the
power of volume in group purchas-
ing, which saves money, time, and
resources and costs nothing to par-
ticipate. Fire Rescue GPO offers na-
tional contract pricing for items
such as turnout gear, EMS supplies,
and fire station furnishings. For
more information, go to
http;//www.firerescue-gpo.com/
Planning
(Google)
Sketch Up
Fire companies must have a
thorough understanding of their
response territories; know the
type of construction in their area
and preplan and respond
accordingly.
The lack of compartmentaliza-
tion in open floor plans of light-
weight construction components
with the increased heat release
from modern materials results in
faster failure of structural
components and less time for
firefighters to perform interior
functions.
An excellent and free tool avail-
able for drawing professional 3
dimensional models for preplans
is the program google sketch.
Google’s Sketch Up program is
accessible at the following link:
http://sketchup.google.com/intl/
en/
Fire officers should make a con-
certed effort to learn google’s
sketch up program for use in
training scenarios, post incident
analysis and pre-planning of
target hazards .
Logistics
Fire Apparatus
Replacement
Unfortunately the fire service
standard for fire apparatus re-
placement does not contain an
Operations
(Fire Engineering)
Webcast
It is essential that company
officers and Battalion Chiefs
conduct regular training on
departmental operational
guidelines. The guidelines
training conducted in con-
junction with the practice of
risk management will impact
whether the outcome at
emergency incidents will be
positive or negative...
Whether or not there will be a
near miss, firefighter injury or
line of death.
A training opportunity is avail-
able for free on November 8th
via a Webcast entitled
"Tactical Building Blocks,"
The webcast will discuss
practical fireground tactics,
some common fire service
failures, and strategies on
preventing firefighter line-of-
duty injuries and deaths. Reg-
ister now by visiting the
following link :
www.fireengineering.com/
index/webcasts.html.
Fire-Zine Know ledge i s S urviv al
Volume 1 Issue 2 Page 2
Free
Offer
Leadership Quote
“ In the long run, it is what we
do not say that will destroy us.”
—-General George S. Patton, Jr.
“No one is thinking if everyone
is thinking alike.”