If you’re a federal wildland firefighter, you already know what I’m about to say. If you’re not, this may come as a surprise to you. The lowest paid people on a large wildfire… I’m including the kitchen help and those who are cleaning the toilets, the lowest paid personnel on the fire are likely the federal wildland firefighters. There might be some contract personnel down on that list, but for all the “hero firefighter” bs that we hear, isn’t it amazing that our firefighters are so pooly paid.

Municipal firefighters and some state firefighters can make more than twice as much as a federal wildland firefighter. And technically, the federal agencies who hire the fireghters don’t technically have any “firefighters”. The correct job title of the federal firefighters are actually “forestry technician” or “range technician”. If they were in a firefighter job title, they’d have to be paid more.

There is an organization called “Grassroots Wildland Firefighters” who are advocating for the federal wildland firefighters. This past week, their Executive Secretary testified before the Congressional Natural Resources subcomittee. Riva Duncan is a regular on my podcasts and this week we’ll be talking about the issues facing federal wildland firefighters including their pay, the correct job series (job title) and their health. Please listen and then share with all your friends and family who probably don’t understand the issues facing our dedicated and outstanding workforce.

If you go to https://www.grassrootswildlandfirefighters.com/ you can listen to Riva and watch the hearing. Thanks everyone and please leave a comment about what you heard.

Sometimes we think no one is watching us. But in reality, someone is always watching. Whether you’re a firefighter on a crew or engine, or you’re a Captain or Chief, someone is always watching you. That doesn’t mean it’s like big brother looking over your shoulder all the time. It’s just the way it is. Your subordinates, co-workers and supervisors are always watching. And that means you’re having an effect on those folks. It means you’re influencing those around you whether you mean to be or not. People are influenced by the words you use and the actions you take. It’s real life.

Knowing that those around you are being influenced by your behavior is an important lesson to accept. It took me years to understand that. Today’s story demonstrates just how much our actions can impact on those around us. Please take a few minutes to listen and think about the story. As always I appreciate any feedback and thanks for listening.

If you google “Leading Up”, you’ll find a hundred of books on the subject. But for this retired fire chief, it’s a relatively new term compared to when I started reading about leadership and attending leadership courses in the 1970s and 80s. But I susggest you read up on the subject if you haven’t already. I started hearing the term back in the early 2000s. But never understood exactly what it meant other than how to influence your boss.

This week’s story gives you my take on how we “Lead Up”. I’m not the definitive authority of the subject, but I think I can offer some insights from my 4 decades of experience.

We had a small technical glitch towards the end of the recording. So you won’t hear from the other folks present during the recording. We’re approaching over 250,000 story downloads so far. So as usual, I want to say thanks for listening. Please share any comments you have so others have the opportunity to learn from your experiences too.

I used to tell my firefighters that if it weren’t for people’s mistakes, we wouldn’t have jobs. There’s a lot of truth to that statement. People make mistakes and end up having to call 911. Thanks to my friend Ann, today we get to hear a couple stories of mistakes that could have had tragic outcomes. Instead luck intervened. Rather than tragedy we are offered a great learning opportunity. Listen to our laughter as Ann shares her close calls with home safety issues. Please share with your friends and family who might benefit from learning without the near tragedy. Thanks to everyone who’s listening to the stories.

If you’ve listened to many of my stories, you’ve probably heard me refer to my beloved co-workers as knuckleheads. Well, we’re all knuckeheads sometimes. In this weeks story I’ll prove to you a few times that I was certainly one. The easier and quicker we are to admit it, the better it is for us. And not only is it important to admit it, we can improve our status with our employees when we do.

I’ll describe some of the team building and camaraderie that can develop by being honest, admiting your mistakes and moving on. Some good natured teasing can ensue. Take it with a smile and know that you’re a part of the team when the guys are giving you a hard time. Hope you get a laugh and take home an easy leadership lesson too. And as always, thanks for listening.

We all have to deal with our supervisors at work. And while we’re dealing with our boss, our employees are having to deal with us as their supervisor. So we’re both an employee and a supervisor. That makes life interesting. We can bitch about our boss while at the same time our employees are bitching about us. A little self awareness can help us be better employees and better supervisors. Listen to this story and see if you have some ideas to make you a better employee and a better boss.

Often times in life, it’s the little things we do that are remembered. As a leader, we have to be aware that what we say and how we behave can have a big impact on our employees. And how we make our employees feel about us as their leader will effect their job performance and ultimately all our successes and failures. Listen to a story about how a small act engendered goodwill that I hope made a difference in several hundred firefighter’s lives. Please leave a comment if you enjoy this or any of the previous stories. Thanks for listening.

As firefighters we usually try to portray ourselves as tough and capable. And for the most part we are. But even tough firefighters have emotions. This story isn’t about all the bad things we’ve seen and the emotional toll it takes on our mental health. But it is about the emotional let down that we may experience after a long two or three week wildland fire assignment. Everyone is different of course. This week’s story is just about my own reactions to the stresses of a long stressful fire assignment. I’d love to hear your comments about your own experiences. Please leave a comment.

Sometimes life can get a bit anxious. Staying calm can help us maneuver through the rough water we encounter. Life can throw alot of enexpected challenges our way. Research has proven that when we begin to panic we actually reduce our field of vision. In other words we are unable to take in as much information as is available because our brain is shutting down to new inputs. The answer is to stay calm. But that isn’t always easy to do. Preparing is critical if we want to avoid panic during a critical episode. Having a contingency plan is one we can prepare. So is talking with our family about all the “what if’s.” Do you have an home fire escape plan? Have you spoken to your children about what to do if there is a house fire at night? What about a “go bag” if you live in an area prone to earthquakes, floods or fires? Think about it, talk about it with your family and make some plans. I hope this story helps you think more about how to stay calm when the next challenge comes your way.

Firefighters will recognize what might seem like unusual or unique situations to the public becomes common place for emergency responders. The public might not realize just how often weird things happen. But for firefighters, that’s our bread and butter. Poor decisions and whacky behavior is what gives us job security. if everyone behaved maturely and with good intent, we would be responding to fewer calls. Today’s story is about a couple instances that you might be surprised to learn about. I hope you have a great day and enjoy listening to this short story.