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Run-to-the-Curb Radio: Chief Tim Sendelbach

It’s like “Run-to-the-Curb Radio” — but better!

“Firefighter Storytellers” is a natural outgrowth from my popular “Run to the Curb” series — as it offers a radio show designed simply to facilitate kitchen table type discussions between firefighters.

“Storytellers” is an open-format radio show in which listeners are encouraged to call in with their own stories of what brought them to the fire service, what’s made the experience memorable for them, and to share their insight as to what keeps them going day-in and day-out, serving in our business of delivering emergency services to our communities.

Tonight’s installment (Wednesday-July 14, 2010) features Chief Tim Sendelbach, fire service leader and Editor-in-Chief of FireRescue Magazine. Like many others, Tim’s roots in the fire service started with his Dad, a firefighter in his hometown of Wilder, Kentucky.

Produced by John Mitchell and Rhett Fleitz of FirefighterNetcast, visit their site now, sign up for a new user account for BlogTalkRadio, and be prepared to join in the conversation with each new show.

Listen in. Log in. Call in.

What’s your story?

Link to the show for Wednesday-July 14, 2010 – 9pm EDT on Firefighter Netcast

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Posted by tiger on July 14, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire rescue magazine, fire service, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, leadership, motivation, Public Relations, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Run-to-the-Curb Kid: Dr. Jason Borton

Dr. Jason Borton: Emergency Room Doctor, Author, Volunteer Firefighter, Run-to-the-Curb kid.

Jason Borton is not your typical Run-to-the-Curb kid. Not only was he a volunteer firefighter, but he wrote a book about it too.

In fact he tells a story of how he once ran to — and through — a window to see where the fire trucks were going in his neighborhood.

Growing up, he didn’t just visit the fire station by himself, his grandmother took him there, frequently.

Read here how he was my first guest on the debut of my new FirefighterNetcast radio show: Firefighter Storytellers.

Tiger Schmittendorf continues his ”Firefighter Storytellers” series on the FirefighterNetcast Internet radio show network on Wednesday-July 14,2010 at 9pm EDT with special guest Tim Sendelbach.

Chief Sendelbach is a 24-year fire service veteran and Editor-in-Chief of FireRescue Magazine. Like many others, Tim’s roots in the fire service started with his Dad, a fire chief in his hometown of Wilder, Kentucky.

Tim will share stories of his upbringing in the American Fire Service along with photos and reflections on the influence his father and the tragically historic Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire had on the start and success of his career.

Listen in, call in and follow Tim on his journey from Run-to-the-Curb kid to Fire Service Leader.

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Posted by tiger on July 7, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations

Get Fit. Get Safe. Make It Personal.

My Three-Part Risk Management Plan: Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

Despite the fact that I wrote this piece for Fire-Rescue Magazine last year, I’m pretty sure its content is still relevant as we ponder recent and not so recent events during Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/usfa-reminds-you-that….

As I stated in comments to another blog by John Mitchell (www.firedaily.com) titled: “The Charleston 43″ (http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/the-charleston-43) — if we don’t make these incidents personal to us, incidents like these have the unique ability to quickly become personal for us.

Thus, I present for your review, a re-post of “Make It Personal” http://tigerschmittendorf.com/2009/09/07/make-it-personal/

Let me know what you think of the piece and what you’re doing to make Safety Week 2010 personal for you.

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Posted by tiger on June 24, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Training & Development, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: 16 life safety initiatives, Billy Goldfeder, Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, courage to be safe, everyone goes home, fire department, fire rescue magazine, fire service, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, leadership, line of duty death, lodd, motivation, practices, Safety, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

Raising a flag about lowering THE FLAG!

It’s after Memorial Day-2010 and I’ve been working on this blog for about a week, in hopes of having it finished prior to the start of the holiday weekend but life got in the way and that didn’t happen.

In retrospect, I’m glad I procrastinated. I’m glad I waited, because now, I think this blog has even more meaning.

The hot dogs are all gone, the parties and picnics are over. Now it’s time to think about what Memorial Day is really about. My goal is not to go into some patriotic tirade that offers the opportunity for readers to tune out before they even tune in, but more importantly to share with you some personal experiences that have put this annual remembrance in perspective for me. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Public Relations • Tagged: Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, fire department, fire service, firefighter, funeral, Generation Y, leadership, line of duty death, motivation, practices, public information officer, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Run-to-the-Curb is Top Story

That's me with Past Chief John Latimore, one of my best friends in the fire service and the neighborhood I grew up in.

It’s been more than a month since my presentation at FDIC and my live Internet radio talk show on FirefighterNetcast from the show floor, but a lot of exciting things have happened since then.

Feedback from my show about the importance of storytelling in the fire service with special guest Chief Tom Merrill was tremendous and it’s amazing to see the influence that the Run-to-the-Curb (RttC) concept has had on people. Several firefighters have since shared their own personal stories of growing up in and around the fire service. In fact, so many have responded that it’s tough to keep up with and more of their stories are pending publication here.

Read more at: http://runtothecurb.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/run-to-the-curb-is-top-story/

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Posted by tiger on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, Technology & Communications, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, fire department, fire rescue magazine, firefighter, Generation Y, kids, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruit, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

Tis’ the Season

THIS IS A DRILL! This is not an actual event. Evans Center Firefighters "responded" to a Pre-Prom Season DWI Drill that demonstrated the devastating effects of drinking and driving to juniors and seniors at the Lake Shore High School. Photo by Tiger Schmittendorf

THIS IS A DRILL! This is not an actual event. Evans Center Firefighters "responded" to a Pre-Prom Season Stop-DWI Drill that demonstrated the devastating effects of drinking and driving to juniors and seniors at the Lake Shore High School. Photo by Tiger Schmittendorf

Despite the fact that as I’m writing this it feels far more like winter than spring in Buffalo, it’s not those seasons I’m talking about in this story.

Evans Center, my volunteer fire company, planned and supported a Pre-Prom Season Stop-DWI drill for our Juniors and Seniors at the Lake Shore Central Senior High School Friday morning. Coordinated by our Asst. Chief Tom Szczepaniak, Principal Chris Walsh and the Town of Evans Police Department’s Chief Ernie Masullo, Capt. Chuck Danzi and Patrolman Ralph Maslach — the assembly and demonstration stressed the devastating effects of making poor decisions relating to drinking and driving.

Not much unlike what is done at schools across the country at this time of the year, the Lake Shore team put together a comprehensive program that really hit home with these at-risk young adults. And, when I say “at-risk” I mean that, statisticly, they are at great risk of being involved in an alcohol-related accident before they graduate from high school or make it to their freshman semester in college. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on May 9, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Public Relations, Training & Development • Tagged: accident, Angola NY, Buffalo NY, campaign, clean the litterbox, coroner, DOA, drill, Erie County Stop-DWI, Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company, evans police department, extrication, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, John Latimore, Lake Shore Central School District, Lake Shore Senior High School, Latimore-Schiavone Funeral Home, mercy flight of wny, mothers day, motivation, pre-prom, prom season, public information officer, Public Relations, stop dwi, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering, YNN

@Run-to-the-Curb: Planting a Seed.

It should be no secret by now that I have a passion for story telling, and especially telling of the importance of sharing stories in the fire service as a means of passing down our history, traditions and values.

It’s almost an obsession.

It’s gotten so bad that I’ve started drawing my Blackberry from its holster and pressing the voice note “Record” button at the drop of a hint that a story is about to unfold in conversation. While I took a lot of friendly fire for that from friends while sharing in some “networking opportunities” at FDIC recently, the gems I’ve captured are absolutely priceless. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to read and listen to some of them soon.

It was also at FDIC that I was reminded of what got me on this story-telling kick and who inspired me to tell my stories by creating the Run-to-the-Curb concept.

Click here to read the rest of the story of how I got my story-telling start. (Try to say that 10-times, fast)

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Posted by tiger on May 3, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire department, fire rescue magazine, fire service, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, recruitment, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

The FDIC Experience: Returning Home

Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

My goal is to chronicle, as best I can, some of the many great experiences I had last week at FDIC-2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. There’s so many of them flowing through my brain, some of them are short snippets while others I remember as full-length features, and I plan to present them accordingly.

My FDIC-2010 experience ranks up there with some of the greatest memories of my career and life. Full of laughs (my stomach still hurts), meeting good people (and John and Rhett too!), going on “adventures” together and most importantly, sharing the brotherhood that few other professions enjoy.

So, with the intent of eventually sharing all of these experiences, I thought I would start with the end of the trip instead of the beginning; for in the end, in a very unexpected way, the value of my trip to FDIC and the importance of my returning home became very apparent to me.

You’ll see why in just a little bit. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on April 25, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, fire, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: 16 life safety initiatives, Brotherhood, facebook, FDIC, fire critic, fire daily, fire department, fire department instructors conference, fire rescue magazine, fire service, fire-ems blogs, fire-rescue, firecritic, firedaily, firefighter, firefighter netcast, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, kids, leadership, make-a-wish foundation, motivation, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, tweets, twitter, volunteer, volunteering

Live, from Indianapolis, it’s Saturday Morning!

ChiefReasonArt, Chris Naum and some other guy

ChiefReasonArt, Chris Naum and some other guy at FDIC 2009

Join Snyder NY Chief Tom Merrill and I for a live broadcast from the show floor of FDIC on Saturday-April 24 from 9:30-10:30am CST. We’ll be special guests of FireCritic Rhett Fleitz and FireDaily John Mitchell — hosts of the new hit Internet talk show series: FirefighterNetcast.

We’ll be discussing my FDIC presentation, my www.runtothecurb.com project and the importance of storytelling in the fire service. Chief Merrill will be sharing some of his own stories and who knows, we just might drag some unsuspecting passerby into the conversation.

A full schedule of Netcasts are being hosted at the Fire-Rescue Magazine / FirefighterNation.com / Fire-EMS Blogs.com Booth #3755 throughout the week.

I hope you can join me for my conversation titled: “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm” on Thursday-April 22, 2010 at 10:30am in Room 127-128; and most certainly at the MeetUp at Indy. You do not want to miss this gathering:

When: Friday April 23rd – 8pm
Where: Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery just blocks away from the Convention Center at 10 West Washington.
What: Blogger/FireEMSBlogs.com/Firefighter Nation/Fire Rescue Magazine meetup.

The event is being sponsored by the great folks at: Fire-Rescue Magazine / FirefighterNation.com / Fire-EMS Blogs.com booth #3755. Hit me up at the show for some free drink tickets. However, I can’t be responsible for your resulting actions!

Even if you can’t physically be there, I’ll be Tweeting, updating my status on Facebook and maybe even blogging throughout the show as I meet and greet some of the biggest names and greatest faces in the fire service. It’s gonna be cool. Very cool.

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Posted by tiger on April 19, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, Technology & Communications, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: blog network, Brotherhood, campaign, clean the litterbox, Clearinghouse, facebook, fire department, fire rescue magazine, fire service, fire-ems blogs, firecritic, firedaily, firefighter, firefighter netcast, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, kids, leadership, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, tweets, twitter, volunteer, volunteering

Run-to-the-Curb Kids: Collect the whole set!

Rhett Fleitz at FireCritic.com has compiled one of the greatest collections of firefighter stories in hosting his first edition of the First Due Blog Carnival which asked our brothers and sisters to answer the question: “I am a firefighter because…”

It fits right in line with my theory on the importance of story telling in the fire service and even includes my own personal story of how it was others who forecasted that I was going to be a firefighter one day.

Take a peak at Run-to-the-Curb.com and be sure to stop back there to tell your story.

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Posted by tiger on March 24, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Funding & Staffing • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

It was in the cards.

Blogger’s Note: The following is my submission to the Fire Critic’s First Due Fire Blog Carnival focusing on the topic: “I’m a firefighter because…”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My mother died from lung cancer when I was thirteen years old.

Now, that’s something I don’t wish on anyone, but I can certainly point to positive points of my character that can be attributed to that single tragic event in my life. My responsibility, resiliency, work ethic, and my servant attitude are all credits to my mother and the fact that I lost her so early in my childhood – all characteristics that would prove to be pivotal throughout my career, especially in the fire service.

Unbeknownst to me, my mother kept a keepsake box for several of the eight kids in my family. My father gave me mine shortly after she died. I still have it and have continued that family tradition with our kids.

Amongst many other treasures in that box were two cards and a hand-made book that may have forecasted where I would be today.

The first card was to my parents congratulating them when I was born. The card was from the Evans Center Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary. Today, I celebrate my twenty-ninth year with that very same fire department. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on March 14, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations • Tagged: Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, fire department, fire service, firefighter, motivation, recruitment, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Re-Enlist.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m posting this blog literally minutes after completing my first NetCast on the topic of volunteer recruitment and retention, compliments of FireCritic and FireDaily at www.firefighternetcast.com. What a tremendous opportunity that was to connect with so many people via the live chat and simultaneous telephone call-ins.

My helmet is off to those two gentlemen for harnessing that technology to accomplish something that they may not even realize they’re doing: Telling Stories.

Storytelling is important to the survival and success of the fire service. Very important. As I wrote in my article: “Saving Stories,” in this month’s edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine, storytelling “passes on our traditions, conveys our values and protects the rich heritage of the fire service.” Thanks to Rhett and John for doing just that through the tales shared on FirefighterNetcast.com.

At the end of the Netcast, I let the cat out of the bag about a new partnership I created between our volunteer fire service and the National Guard. Look for more info on that coming soon. In the meantime, the following is a story that is a little bit about my love for my father, my passion for the fire service and my appreciation for the military men and women who protect our freedom every day. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on March 11, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

LIVE: Casting a Net over Recruitment and Retention Challenges

I was in Texas for Advanced Unified Incident Command training last week (which I’ll tell you about soon), so I’m late getting this out.

I’ve been asked by FireCritic and FireDaily to join them as their special guest on this week’s edition of Firefighter NetCast.

Naturally, we’ll be discussing volunteer recruitment and retention along with an overview of my presentation “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm” at FDIC (Thursday-April 22nd at 10:30am) and my cover story in the March edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine featuring my storytelling project: Run-to-the-Curb.com.

I hope you can join us at 9pm ET this Wednesday-March 10, 2010 at Firefighter Netcast for a lively discussion of challenges and solutions to the volunteer fire service’s survival and success.

Stay safe. Train often.

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Posted by tiger on March 8, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, campaign, Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

@RuntotheCurb: I remember my first time…

I opened up Internet Explorer where my home page is literally my home page: www.tigerschmittendorf.com and I clicked on the FireEMS Blogs icon in the upper left hand corner to see what my fellow bloggers were up to tonight.

I was drawn to a blog from the “Raising Ladders” site that caught my eye, titled: “Finally, a first due job… and a pretty good one, at that.” I didn’t think much of the title when I first read it until I got into the rest of the story. It was the author’s first real working fire in his career.

His story, along with my story telling experiences earlier in the evening, got me to thinking: “I remember my first time…”

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Posted by tiger on January 27, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires • Tagged: adventure, Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, motivation, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

Fire Chief Blogs His Way Through Fire Academy Experience

St. Paul MN Fire Chief Tim Butler is blogging about his fire academy experiences

St. Paul MN Fire Chief Tim Butler is blogging about his fire academy experiences

I don’t remember how and when I stumbled across this particular blog, but it’s a good one.

St. Paul, Minnesota Fire Chief Tim Butler has written a blog about his experiences with the fire department since being appointed to the position two years ago. What’s so unique about this chief’s blog is that it details his adventures in participating in the latest recruit academy executed by the fire department.

The chief indicated early on after his appointment that he fully intended to experience everything his firefighters have experienced. In that vain, he prepared himself for and is actively engaged in the academy.

I was very impressed with his attitude as he wrote “We (sic) must share a common bond – a common culture – and a shared base of experience and perspective. We all must be confident in each member’s ability to operate safely and effectively on an incident scene or when representing our department to the public.” (more…)

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Posted by tiger on January 2, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: adventure, blog, blogging, Brotherhood, fire academy, fire chief, fire department, fire service, firefighter, leadership, marketing, motivation, recruit, recruitment, St. Paul Minnesota, Training, training academy

Flight 3407 Responders Recognized for Recovery Efforts

Buffalo radio station WBEN-930AM listeners have overwhelming chosen the first responders to the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Clarence Center, NY on February 12, 2009 as their “Persons-of-the-Year.”

READ THE FULL STORY:

http://www.wben.com/The-2009-WBEN-Persons-Of-The-Year—/5984262

Personal Note:

It’s been almost a year since the crash and I haven’t shared this personal story yet, but this is probably a good time to do so:

The night of the crash I was watching a movie with my 16-year old son Alex when my alpha-pager went off, as it does pretty frequently in our business. Thinking it was possibly another administrative message or perhaps a more routine event, I almost couldn’t believe what I was reading when I looked at my pager that told me: “Alert 3: Plane crash into a house.” (more…)

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Posted by tiger on December 30, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, HazMat, Major Incidents, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Public Relations • Tagged: Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, Continental Flight 3407, fire department, fire service, firefighter, leadership, Plane Crash, public information officer, Public Relations

If you’re worried about getting cancer — you probably shouldn’t be a firefighter!

That’s what I overheard a certain young fire officer tell a probie recently.

“If you’re worried about getting cancer — you probably shouldn’t be a firefighter!”

I didn’t miss-hear or mis-understand him, nor did I take his comment out of context. That’s exactly what he said.

I nearly blew my cork. What an immature, ignorant, reckless thing to say.

Here’s all I have to say to him: “This one’s for you.”

THE FOLLOWING IS A MUST READ ARTICLE – DON’T SKIP IT.
IF YOU’VE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT TAKING YOUR MASK OFF, EVEN JUST FOR A SECOND, WHILE THERE IS STILL SMOKE OR FUMES PRESENT — THINK AGAIN! READ, PRINT, POST AND DISTRIBUTE THIS ARTICLE
TO EVERY FIREFIGHTER YOU KNOW.

“We Danced With The Devil: One Firefighter’s Cancer Chronicles”

Editor’s Note: If you can stomach reading this gut-wrenching story, you might like to read:

Stay safe. Train often.

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Posted by tiger on December 14, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News, Safety, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: 16 life safety initiatives, Brotherhood, carbon monoxide, clean the litterbox, courage to be safe, fire department, fire service, firefighter, funeral, Generation Y, leadership, line of duty death, lodd, motivation, Safety, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training

This Week’s Run-to-the-Curb Kids

What kid doesn't want to be a firefighter?

What kid doesn't want to be a firefighter?

I was a Run-to-the-Curb type kid. What’s your story?

I’ve created a page at RuntotheCurb.com that will feature future firefighters — what I call ”Run to the Curb” Kids.

This week’s RttC Kids include 2-1/2 year old Collin Manning, son of Williamsville Firefighter Chris Manning as well as a photo of my daughter Kathleen and her friend taken about 15 years ago (don’t tell her I posted this.)

Visit RuntotheCurb.com to meet this week’s future firefighters and tell us your story.

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Posted by tiger on December 14, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations • Tagged: adventure, Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, future firefighter, Generation Y, kids, motivation, Public Relations, retention, RttC, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Fountain of Youth or Flood of Problems?

The FFN WebTeam recently posted a news article about some Pennsylvania fire departments going into the high schools to recruit future firefighters. (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/pennsylvania-volunteer?xg_source=activity&id=889755%3ATopic%3A4414468&)

A day later, one participant on the FirefighterNation.com noted that there has been an inordinate number of blogs and discussions related to Junior Firefighters and Fire Explorers. (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/what-is-up-with-all-these-jr)

In my opinion, both discussions have pretty much turned into Junior/Explorer bashing.

I have very strong feelings on the subject but before I share my thoughts, I’d like you to go to FireRecruiter.com and weigh in on the subject: http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/survey-says-fd-youth-programs/

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Posted by tiger on December 10, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, explorers, fire department, fire explorers, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, junior firefighters, leadership, marketing, motivation, Public Relations, recruitment, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering, youth programs

Fifteen years ago; in a land far, far away…

I stumbled across this post from FireCritic (Fire-EMS Blog Network) and was dumbstruck. I haven’t thought of John Jordan in a long, long time.

In May of 1994, as Managing Editor of The Fire Fighter Newspaper and as a guest of VFIS, I and three other local firefighters (Dave Sherman, Jim Guy and Ric Dimpfl) traveled to Washington DC to attend the National Fire & Emergency Services Congressional Caucus Dinner coordinated by the Congressional Fire Services Institute.

Several hours before the dinner started and before I ever met him, John Jordan taught me a very valuable lesson: Don’t judge a book by its cover. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on December 6, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, News, Training & Development, Videos • Tagged: adventure, bosnia, Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, erie county, fire department, fire service, firefighter, john jordan, leadership, line of duty death, motivation, Public Relations, Safety, sarajevo, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training

A December to Remember

North Division Explosion Victims Remembered I’m not big on forwarding for the sake of forwarding; or just regurgitating information in an effort to build traffic to a web site.

However, my good friend Billy Goldfeder sent out a broadcast yesterday that deserves sharing. His efforts were followed up by a newsletter distribution from the USFA Coffee Break that highlighted similar events.

These stories and Billy’s comments remind us of our obligation to be better story tellers, for prosperity’s sake — and for safety’s sake. It also reminds us that we have an obligation to those we love, those who are making the real sacrifices every time we leave home to go do what we love. Those we are obligated to do everything in our mind and power to go home to after every call.

May we never forget all those lost in these Decembers to Remember. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on December 3, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, Mass Casualty Incident, News • Tagged: 16 life safety initiatives, Billy Goldfeder, Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, courage to be safe, everyone goes home, FDNY, fire department, fire service, firefighter, funeral, leadership, line of duty death, lodd, Safety, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training

“Run to the Curb” Kids

Getzville Firefighter Ryan Russell with two appreciative fans

Getzville Firefighter Ryan Russell with two very appreciative fans

You’ve read my previous references to “Run to the Curb” type kids in “Fortune Tellers” and in my other writings. Now I’ve created a whole new web site just for telling my stories and to give you a place to share your stories too.

Run to the Curb.com is a work-in-progress blog I just created and a possible online book project too. There I’ll share my experiences, my stories and my thoughts on our need to be better story tellers.

And, I want to hear your stories too. You can share your childhood experiences and your connections to the fire service and in doing so, share the brotherhood, history and traditions of the fire service with fellow firefighters — and those who wish they were.

Check back often as more stories are added and we build this legacy document together.

Run to the curb. Tell your story. Tell your fortune. We can’t wait to hear it.

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Posted by tiger on November 30, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: adventure, Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, practices, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Cross-Continental Divide or Deja Vu?

Now I’m not the biggest EMS geek but two fellow Fire-EMS Bloggers have embarked on their own home-grown exchange student program that has proven to be pretty darn entertaining so far.

Justin “The Happy Medic” Schorr is hosting Mark “Medic 999“ Glencorse for eight days in San Francisco — the San Francisco Fire Department being Justin’s place of employment.

Following those eight days, Mark will swim home and Justin will head to England a couple of days later to have tea and crumpets and a ride along with Mark. The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust being the place of Mark’s employment.

Their real-time information exchange is being chronicled across a variety of social media platforms so quickly that I think these two “world-apart paramedics” are feeling a little jet-lag.

Follow their adventures as they discover together that the more things are different – the more they are the same – at least when it comes to comparing cross-continental EMS delivery systems.

Check out the full summary including links at: http://firecritic.com/2009/11/your-unofficial-guide-to-the-project/

And of course, visit the blogs of this “pair-a-medics” at http://www.happymedic.com and http://www.999medic.com for the latest posts, videos, photos and more.

PS – Their work is also being filmed for a pilot episode of a web series called Chronicles of EMS….stay tuned for more on that!

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Posted by tiger on November 12, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Brotherhood, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Patient Management, Public Relations • Tagged: Brotherhood, cross-continent, emergency medical services, ems, England, fire, information exchange, justin schorr, mark glencorse, medic 999, San Francisco Fire Department, the happy medic

A Veteran of Many Things

It’s Veterans Day and I have a day off from my county job. (I thank Veterans for both of those freedoms: to work in a job I love and to have time off to spend with my family). The kids are still sleeping and I have some free time to sit at the computer.

I’ve been thinking of my Dad a lot lately. Maybe because a friend recently lost hers; maybe because I spent the last week with a few thousand National Guardsmen; or maybe because recent events in our lives have reinforced the importance of family.

Regardless, I’ve been thinking about my Dad a lot lately. I’m reminded of him whenever I look at a flag and I think of him every time I pick up a tool.

I’m blessed to be the keeper of a three-ring binder that details my father’s entire military service history from his enlistment in World War II through his survival from the Korean War. Military campaigns, the boats he traveled overseas on, the camps he received his training at, the medals he received, and more — it’s all detailed in this book researched and compiled by my first cousin Jim Schmittendorf, my father’s godson and a retired Lt. Colonel in the US Army. I thank Jim for devoting the countless hours it took to chronicle my father’s service to our country and especially for interviewing him and relating his memories in writing to the rest of us. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on November 11, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood

Listen Up: Recruitment Radio

I recently had the opportunity to tape a radio show titled: “Sound Magazine” with Carl Russo of 97Rock.

The segment focused on the recruitment of volunteer firefighters and will air on several Citadel Broadcasting affiliates in the Buffalo area.

Carl is a long-standing afternoon jock on 97Rock and is also a volunteer firefighter with the East Seneca Volunteer Fire Company in West Seneca NY. Carl isn’t just a firefighter, he’s also president of the fire company and a commissioner in the fire district.

It offered me the opportunity to talk about being a kid who “ran to the curb” whenever I heard a fire siren and all of the great things that come with being a volunteer firefighter.

This was the second installment of “Sound Magazine” that focused on volunteer recruitment and more are planned for the future.

Click here to listen to “Sound Magazine” VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER RECRUITMENTSept 09

Let me know what you think.

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Posted by tiger on September 15, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Featured, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, Videos

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