In this episode, I invited Tom Merrill as my guest to discuss just what a professional volunteer fire department is and what it means to be a professional volunteer firefighter.  Career or volunteer, we are providing public service doing a job that can kill you.  We need to take this work seriously, career or volunteer, because the communities we serve deserve our very best.

Tom is a 39-year fire department veteran and serves with the Snyder Fire Department located in the Amherst, NY, a suburb of Buffalo.  He currently serves as a firefighter, but previously served the department in the officer ranks for 26 years, including 15 years in the chief officer ranks.  He also currently serves as a Fire Commissioner for the Snyder Fire District.

Tom offers professional development programs for the Volunteer Firefighter.  He has instructed at FDIC and performed different presentations across the country.  He writes articles for Fire Engineering, where he also hosts his own podcast.