Fire Officer Leadership Academy Blog
The Fire Officer Leadership Academy blog is a resource for fire officers committed to continuous growth. Here you’ll find practical insights on leadership, communication, career development, and character-based decision-making—drawn from real-world fire service experience and written to support officers at every stage of their leadership journey.
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The Williams Street Fire and Communication
When I was a firefighter in the Air Force, one of the bases I was stationed at was Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the last name of a good friend of mine from the fire department was Williams. Hiss family often invited me to their house for supper, and oddly…
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The Power of Clear Communication: Why It Matters and How to Improve It
Effective communication is the foundation of any successful interaction, whether in your fire department, during a public education event, or at home. Clear communication allows people to share ideas, understand one another, and collaborate efficiently. Even though this sounds simple, effective communication is frequently complicated. Why is Clear Communication Important? Clear communication is vital because…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 6
This is the final article in a series devoted to addressing the problem of captains who do not want to promote to the level of battalion chief in their fire department. The top three reasons that I have heard for not pursuing a promotion are current battalion chiefs: This should come as no surprise, but…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 5
This article is the fifth in a series regarding the top three complaints about battalion chiefs that I hear when I teach at different fire departments around the country. Previous blogs covered failing to listen to subordinates and an authoritarian approach using open and veiled threats against subordinates. This week I am addressing battalion chiefs…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 4
My blog posts this month revolve around a conversation with two out-of-state fire department captains who told me they have no interest in pursuing a promotion to battalion chief (BC). Their reasons involved three issues related to current BC’s. Not surprisingly, I have heard these reasons more than one time as I have traveled across…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 3
My January blog series is based on a conversation that I had with two captains from the same fire department. They don’t know each other and the conversations are separated by two years. Both explained why they aren’t interested in pursuing the position of battalion chief and both gave three issues related to battalion chiefs…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 2
In last week’s blog, I discussed a conversation that I had with two captains from the same fire department, but the conversations were two years apart. I asked both if they were interested in becoming a battalion chief and both emphatically said no. What is the underlying reason for this? For starters, a January 2022…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 1
In December of 2024, I was in another state teaching incident command, rapid decision making, and haz mat response tactics to a large group of firefighters and environmental health workers. Within the class there were four captains from three different fire departments. During one of my conversations with a captain from a large, regional department,…
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Flying Into 2025
This week we celebrate the New Year of 2025. Are you reflecting on 2024 before flying into 2025? Why should you even bother to take the time to mull over the year? To grow we need to reflect on where we have been, what we have experienced, and what we have learned from those experiences.…
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The Rising New Year
I took the above photo during a half-day fishing trip that departed from Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. The sun was rising, the fishing poles were ready, and the lines were not tangled up. In less than a month, 2025 will be the rising new year. What will the next twelve months look like for each…
