OBrian

Any One Up for a Fight?

by mobrian on May 20, 2009

Budget Shortfalls, Residential Sprinklers, and Lots of Other Stuff

The fire service in Michigan is taking it hard. Out of all the states we have been hit the highest with unemployment, layoff of firefighters, reduction in staffing levels due to decrease in taxes and state shared revenue. Many communities are experience or forecasting a 30% reduction in under 3 years in incoming taxes and milages.

Life for senior management in the fire service is not what it used to be. Now we are in a fight to make our communities fire protection at the front of the battle. This is happening by [click to continue…]

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Chief(less) on Main Street?

by mobrian on January 20, 2009

Do We Really Need a Fire Chief?

As our elected officials debate the merits of ‘Wall Street vs. Main Street’ and try their best to fix this national economic mess, local municipal budgets are certainly being impacted. Then the local fire chief leaves, so now what does your community do?

The obvious first answer should be: ‘Hire a new chief!’ There will often be an interim period, because finding a qualified candidate to lead the department is desired. An unfortunate trend is emerging, however, which if left unchecked, has the potential to cause [click to continue…]

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Know Your Breathing Apparatus, Part I

November 29, 2008

Okay so you know your SCBA inside and out right? You wear your seat belt on the way to every call, so, can you don your SCBA and step off the truck?

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