Flip Griffin, a retired U.S. Navy Command Master Chief, talks with Peter Matthews about his new mission, Firehouse Freedom. Griffin has been teaching fire departments about the impact of leadership in recruitment, retention and burnout at all levels of the departments. 

Griffin relates to his time in the military when recruitment was at an all-time high following the Sept. 11 terror attacks to the fire service’s current dilemma of hiring and keeping good firefighters and leaders in the ranks. Burnout comes at all levels, Griffin says, and some of it can be prevented with a new approach to operations. 

Griffin ties his time in the military, which involved fire, EMS and search and rescue, to help fire departments examine where they are to tighten up the gaps the fire service has seen with so many leaving the ranks over the last decade.  

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