Practicing What I Preach...

 

 

 Shortly I will be headed off to the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore. In addition to a great location in the inner Harbor of Baltimore, there are several thousand firefighters and many national speakers from across the country.

 

This is just one of any number of national conferences as well as a myriad of local level conferences that you should all make an effort to attend.

 

I am a huge proponent of being current in what is going on in the fire service today. You may be a member of the finest fire department in the country, but there is still something to be learned from a speaker or your peers and fellow attendees. Many departments are extremely parochial in their approach.

 

Many senior officers don't feel they need the current exposure that these conferences bring.

"Hey I have my degree, I passed the promotional exam, I don't need to hear about that stuff from that guy anyway..."

If you are in a position of leadership, then you should want to be out there and more importantly you should know what message your personnel are being exposed to.

 

Listen to all the speakers, even the ones you are not fond of, take a look at their message, explore their passion, and maybe just maybe you will find a piece of information you can use and pass on to your troops.

 

I know a number of people who are friends of mine that merely go to these shows for either the equipment shows or to "party hearty". Now while those might appear to be great ideas at face value, the real stuff is taking place in the seminar rooms and interaction of the folks inside.

 

Don't miss that in pursuit of the fun stuff, there will be time for that later.

 

I really don't care if it's the Firehouse show, the FDIC, the ISFSI conference, Chief's show or what, get to something! Go to a local one, an affordable one, anything that will help your career, enhance your safety, or make you aware of what is going on outside the boundaries of your department.

 

It has helped me, and I will continue to do it as long as I can, and I will return and try to pass on the knowledge gained to others.

 

I hope to see many of you there....if not, then maybe next year or one of the other events!

 

Stay safe.