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

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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?

Get Fit. Get Safe. Make It Personal.

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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.

Raising a flag about lowering THE FLAG!

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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…)

Run-to-the-Curb is Top Story

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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/

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-06-05

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Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-05-30

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@FireRECRUITER: Make the Right Investments

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PD_0048The following article tells of a small city that is threatening to stop collecting a voluntary public donation that has brought thousands and thousands of dollars in mission-critical equipment to their combination (paid/volunteer) fire department. 

Apparently, the threat is in response to a dwindling number of volunteer firefighters in their department, between 5 and 10, as the article points out. Without a lot of volunteers, they apparently don’t feel it’s appropriate to collect a donation on behalf of the volunteer side of their fire department. This situation seems to be causing quite a riff in the department. 

Is it just me, or does any one else smell opportunity?

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-05-23

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@FireRECRUITER: It’s EMS Week – Roll With It!

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AmbulanceFrom www.FireRECRUITER.com:

In honor of EMS Week-2010, I thought I’d promote the (dare I say) sexiest video I’ve ever seen come to volunteer recruitment and retention.

“Roll With It!” is a part music video, part movie trailer — full-on high energy – high impact web site for the recruitment of fire and EMS personnel.

Celebrate EMS Week in style: “Roll With It!”

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-05-16

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Tis’ the Season

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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…)

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-05-09

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

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On the Nozzle-SMALLIt 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)

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-05-02

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The FDIC Experience: Returning Home

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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…)

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-04-25

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Live, from Indianapolis, it’s Saturday Morning!

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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.

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-04-11

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Going to the Show! See You in Indy.

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FDIC logo

I hope to see all of my loyal followers (both of them) at FDIC in a few short weeks. I’ll be presenting “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm” on Thursday-April 22, 2010 at 10:30am in Room 127-128. There’s room for 308 of my closest, most personal friends so there’s really no excuse for not joining me! LOL (more…)

@FireRECRUITER: Recruiting in a Gray Area

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SyossetMy helmet is off to the folks in the Syosset NY Fire Department for recognizing 40+ aged recruits as a viable part of the solutions to our recruitment and retention challenges.

Joining later in life is becoming more the norm
 
The approach and image of the volunteer fire service portrayed in this article is in sharp contrast to the news articles I highlighted in “Is This Our Best Approach?”
 
In fact, I came across a similar article today that raises the exact same question:
 
I think we can do better.  Let me know what you think.
 
Read the whole story at FireRECRUITER.com.

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-04-04

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  • Tell me your story at http://www.runtothecurb.com #
  • @fastcompany is a dangerous magazine. It gives me ideas… #
  • Recruiting Volunteer Firefighters at ECC-North Campus Career Fair today. Fight Fires. Save Lives. Volunteer Today! #
  • RE: @mack505 Now that's funny.

    It's similar to the story of my high school graduation (I joined the fire department… http://disq.us/dkt26 #

  • RE: Chris -

    Please allow me to bring my knife to your gun fight. LOL

    I wholeheartedly agree with your take that … http://disq.us/dkt2s #

  • Check out "Trigger Happy" on Firefighter Nation: http://ning.it/drVXFB #
  • Recruiting Volunteer Firefighters at ECC-South Campus Career Fair today. Fight Fires. Save Lives. Volunteer Today! #
  • Recruiting Volunteer Firefighters at ECC-City Campus today. Fight Fires. Save Lives. Volunteer Today! #

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

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first due blog carnival1aRhett 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.

Tiger’s Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-03-21

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  • At Crossing Borders Conference learning about use of social media in government: http://www.erie.gov/depts/lepc/preparedness_conference.asp #
  • Spent the day with DCFD Chief Rubin and my good friend Billy D. Hayes/DCFD PIO amongst many other emergency services professionals. #
  • Just added a new discussion on Firefighter Nation http://ning.it/bah0Qk #
  • Checking out "Free Public Education Program: PIO-Public Information Officers" on Firefighter Nation: http://ning.it/8Z3bmK #
  • Nothing like the fresh smell of diesel fuel spilling in the morning… #

FireRECRUITER: The Art of Speed-Recruiting

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IMG_5396-smallIf you had just 30 seconds to convince someone why they should join your volunteer fire department, what would you say? 

What would your message be? Do you have a standard sales pitch that you use for just such occasions? Can you even say hello in 30 seconds? 

I recently had the opportunity to coach and practice some speed-recruiting exercises with the Doyle Hose Co. 1 in Cheektowaga NY. They had been invited to be a part of career day at the local high school in their response area and they invited me to join them.

It was in the cards.

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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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