One of the critical skills a firefighter needs is the ability to communicate concisely and completely over the radio. Some firefighters, especially new officers, get excited on the radio and are loud, but don’t have much to say. Then the IC has to ask for clarification, which wastes time and ties up the radio. It definitely pays to take a second and be sure of what you’re going to say. The key is a balance between too much info—oh, yeah, that happens more than you’d like to admit—and too little. Here to explain how to find that balance is Mark Szczepanik. He’s a past Chief at the Lake View, New York Fire District and a dispatcher for the town of Hamburg, New York with over 30 years of experience.