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My Friend. My Brother. Denny Allen.

UPDATE: Eulogy for my friend Denny Allen

With both pain and peace in my heart, I was there with my friend, my brother, Chief Dennis Allen when he took his last breath earlier this morning.

Dennis fought a long and tough fight against pulmonary fibrosis, winning the battle through a double-lung transplant three years ago and, although others may see it differently, in the end — winning the war by going home to be with his God, his family and his loved ones.

There isn't much more to say about Dennis that I haven't said already but I will save those thoughts for his service later this week.

For now, I just want to give you a glimpse of the man, the firefighter, the husband, the father and the friend I knew and loved. His life and love for his wife Marlene, his sons Scott and Marcus, and everyone he touched — are an inspiration to us all.

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Posted by tiger on December 17, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood • Tagged: Brotherhood, Dennis Allen, Denny Allen

X-Box Live

That’s right!

“From the X-Box to the Box Alarm: Motivating and Leading Today’s Firefighters” is back by popular demand at FDIC 2011. I hope to see you in Indianapolis March 22-26, 2011. Look me up if you plan on attending and look for my presentation titled: “Understanding & Motivating Today’s Firefighters” modeled after my feature article: “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm.”

Some 300 first responders engaged in the discussion at FDIC last April and this year’s conversation promises to be refreshed with my ongoing observational research; new samples of recruitment, retention and leadership solutions and feedback from last year’s participants.

I’ll also be including fresh insight from some X-Box firefighters from Hyattsville Volunteers and FDLiveIn.com I recently spoke with about generational differences and what we can learn from and about them. Some of the information will be pre-recorded material and some of it will be provided by members of our “live studio audience.” (more…)

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Posted by tiger on March 7, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: Brotherhood, FDIC, firefighternation, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, Public Relations, retention, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteering

Not just a Daddy’s Girl

Her Dad was a fire lieutenant and her two youngest brothers (twins) joined as cadets, then volunteers and eventually became career firefighters.

But when Janet Wilmoth tried to join her local volunteer fire department, the fire chief told her to “Go home and have babies.”

She went on to do that too, but in the meantime, Janet Wilmoth took another approach to the fire service. She’s been with Fire Chief Magazine since 1986 and now leads the charge for improving the fire service as the publication’s editorial director.

I wonder if that chief has since been reminded of that famous quote: “Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel!”

Join Janet and Tiger Schmittendorf, host of the Firefighter Storytellers Internet radio show live at 9pm EST on Wednesday-February 9, 2011, as Janet tells her story of growing up as a firefighter’s daughter to being a fire service leader. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on February 7, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: Brotherhood, Fire Chief Magazine, fire department, fire service, Janet Wilmoth, leadership, marketing, motivation, Public Relations, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer

Bunk-in or just “bunk”?

Photo courtesy of www.RaisingLaddersPhotography.com

I stumbled across a new resource recently that caught my attention: FDLiveIn.com

The concept of fire station live-ins or bunk-ins, depending on what you call them, has been around for quite some time and with quite a bit of success. Different departments run their programs in different ways but the common theme is that the firefighter lives in the fire station “rent-free” in return for volunteer service. Most live-ins are students but not all, and in some departments entire families live in the fire station.

For whatever reasons, the concept has not caught on in my area of Erie County NY and I’ve always wondered why. I’ve written three articles in the past month on the live-in/bunk-in concept and it’s gaining quite a bit of attention as a potential solution to recruitment and retention challenges in the volunteer fire service.

The program has intrigued me so much that later this week I’m traveling to Hyattsville MD — home to one of the longest standing and most successful bunk in programs in the fire service — and home to the X-Box Firefighters who created FDLiveIn.com. And to get a better understanding and appreciation for the program, I’ll be bunking in the station Friday night and they’ve arranged a tour of several live-in fire stations for Saturday.

Stay tuned here, at FireRECRUITER.com, on Twitter and Facebook as I report back on my experiences. My goal is to provide you with enough photos, information and stories to allow your volunteer fire department to consider whether a bunk-in program is right for you — or if the whole concept is just ”bunk.”

PS — Doc Moltrup, Chief Emeritus of Hyattsville VFD and one of the founder’s of their now-famous bunk-in program, will be my guest on my Internet Radio Show: Firefighter Storytellers – live from FDIC in Indianapolis the week of March 22-26, 2011. Watch Storytellers for the formal announcement of time and date of the show.

Related links:

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Posted by tiger on February 7, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics

Not Your Typical “Truckie”

Glenn Usdin was a Run-to-the-Curb kid, growing up in the Long Island New York fire service and rising to the rank of fire chief in Lancaster PA. Like many in the fire service, his career path has taken him in several different directions including a tenure as associate publisher of Fire Engineering Magazine, president of American-LaFrance Used Fire Apparatus, now the owner of a large used fire apparatus company – Command Fire Apparatus and his most recent venture with FireEMS Blogs, founding the FireTruckBlog.com.

Listen in as Chief Usdin shares his story of how he’s made a career out of his fascination with fire trucks with host Tiger Schmittendorf on the Firefighter Storytellers Internet radio show live at 9pm EST on Wednesday-January 12, 2011. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on January 10, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, Technology & Communications, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: Billy Goldfeder, Brotherhood, fire department, fire rescue magazine, fire service, firefighter netcast, firefighternation, FIRETRUCKBLOG.COM, GLENN USDIN, leadership, marketing, motivation, retention, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer

A December to Forget?

Box 191 stands as a memorial to the five Buffalo Firefighters who were killed in a propane explosion on December 27, 1983

A year ago I wrote an article titled “A December to Remember” to remind us of our obligation to be better story tellers, for prosperity’s sake — and for safety’s sake. Earlier today, Chicago and the rest of the fire service buried the first of two firefighters killed in the line of duty on the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Stockyard Fire that killed 21 firefighters.

Given recent events and all the heartache they’ve brought, I’m not sure that December is a month to remember but instead, it’s one we’d like to forget.

Last night I had the privilege of joining some 50 firefighters and civilians as they stood in the cold at the corner of Grosvenor and North Division Streets in the City of Buffalo to remember an event that claimed the lives of five of Buffalo’s bravest. Surrounded by those drawn to the small memorial erected at the site, Division Chief Don McFeeley stood in the center of the intersection and retold the story of that fateful night when a propane tank exploded inside a warehouse — shattering windows, throwing debris and burning buildings across twelve city blocks. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on December 28, 2010 • Filed under: All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Hot Topics, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Training & Development, Videos • Tagged: anniversary, Billy Goldfeder, Brotherhood, buffalo fire historical museum, buffalo propane explosion, chicago fire department, clean the litterbox, fire service, firefighter, firefighter netcast, FirefighterNation.com, line of duty death, lodd, MIKE LOMBARDO, PAT COGHLAN, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf

It’s that time of year.

A thought provoking article in the Fire Engineering Training Community by my good friend and fellow blogger ChiefReason reminded me to re-post this piece I wrote several years ago titled: “Starting the New Year Right!”

Art’s blog titled “The Day the Passion Died” suggests that we’re all due for a fire service check-up to make sure that we’re physically, mentally, emotionally prepared for the challenges that lie ahead, and just as importantly, that our head - our attitude – is in the right place.

His writings remind us all to revisit our fire department and personal goals and direction every once in a while, and there’s no better time to do so than as we’re about to embark upon a brand new year full of new challenges and opportunities. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on December 20, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, clean the litterbox, fire engineering magazine, fire service, FireEMS Blogs, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, leadership, motivation, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer

Christmas Characters

Join me at 9pm on Wednesday-December 8th as I host my Firefighter Storytellers radio show live from the Buffalo Fire Historical Society.

My guest will be retired Lt. Patrick Coghlan from the Buffalo Fire Department. Pat is a 34-year veteran of Rescue One and Vice President of the Buffalo Fire Historical Society. More than that, Patty is a real character with a bit of a crusty exterior — but when you peel that away — you find a big guy with an even bigger heart and a very special fondness for telling stories and preserving the rich history of the fire service.

We’ll be joined around the table by a cast of characters in swapping stories about Christmas in the firehouse, the special Christmas display at the museum, and the pending retirement of another one of Buffalo Fire’s most famous characters: Battalion Chief and former Commissioner Mike Lombardo. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on December 6, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Public Relations, Training & Development • Tagged: BUFFALO FIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, firefighter netcast, Firefighter Storytellers, MIKE LOMBARDO, museum, PAT COGHLAN, PROPANE EXPLOSION, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf

Paying Tribute

Today marks the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corps and tomorrow is Veterans Day. What a great time to celebrate the contributions and sacrifices made by our military service men and women who protect our lives and our freedom around the world every day.

To that end, I thought it appropriate to tie a few events together in an effort to pay appropriate recognition and thanks to our Veterans.

The Story of a True Serviceman:

I’m pleased to announce that tomorrow evening will feature a special Veterans Day Tribute on my Firefighter Storytellers Radio Show on Firefighter Netcast with my good friend Dan Frontera. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on November 10, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Public Relations • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire service, firefighter, flag, line of duty death, military, motivation, National Guard, Specialist Blake D. Whipple, Tiger Schmittendorf, US Marines, Veterans Day

Every Firefighter Has a Story.

It should be no secret by now that I’m big on this whole concept of storytelling in the fire service.

In fact, I’m pretty sure that storytelling has never been more imporant than it is now as a way of sharing our experiences, perpetuating our values and passing down our rich history and traditions.

That’s why I created www.runtothecurb.com as a means of not only sharing my stories which have been writing themselves over the past 30 years, but more importantly, as a platform for others to tell their stories as to what brought them to the fire service and what keeps them going day-to-day and year-after-year. Now a natural extension of that web site, I was offered the tremendous opportunity to develop Firefighter Storytellers — an Internet radio show that gives a voice to those stories that form a common bond amongst us all.

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Posted by tiger on October 11, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged: clean the litterbox, fire department, fire service, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, funeral, run to the curb, story telling, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer

My Flag

The view of my flag --- from my hammock.

Whenever I get the chance, I take full advantage of the opportunity to lie in my hammock on the front porch of our house. The porch is covered and it’s on the east side of the house, protected from the sometimes gusty winds that come off Lake Erie not far from us.

The hammock is made out of soft woven strings stretched to a metal ring on each end. The rings have heavy chains connected to them that are attached to hooks that secure the entire hammock to its metal pedestal. The rope strings are covered by a comfortable bedding pad that even has a built-in pillow tied to it. (more…)

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Posted by tiger on September 12, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News, Public Relations, Public Relations • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire service, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, leadership, line of duty death, lodd, motivation, September 11th, Tiger Schmittendorf

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, training-fire-rescue-topics, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • 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, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, 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

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