Tag Archives: Fire Department Instructors Conference

Getting it on video...That is the difference between making a great speech to 10 people and making it to thousands. Brian Brush recently talked to a recruit class about what the fire service should mean to them, what it means to him, and why we should take pride in serving.

I got to meet with several companies both during FDIC and since. Several of which I hope to be doing product reviews for very soon! If you are looking for having a product review for your product, check out more information here. I spoke with Major Mack of The Bowring today on the phone. They are sending me their product to review shortly. There's was one of the busier boothes at FDIC. I think the product looks like a potential tool that years from now will be a staple in "What's in Your Pockets" discussions!

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has uploaded a video for the NFFF 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb held at FDIC. It is available below. I look forward to participating in an event like this one some time soon! Dave Statter shot the video for the NFFF...and I was their to assist. To be clear, I was being held against my will by Dave Statter. I only kept the smile on my face because the NFFF is such a great cause!

Dugan mentions how the fire service is moving towards a business plan because "the people who make the decisions about the fire service" are "not the ones fighting fires", "they have never crawled down a hallway", and "they don't know what hot is". Ironically, we have Fire Chiefs who fit this description.

Part I of several upcoming articles on FDIC 2011. Plenty of news and photos about FDIC, the 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb, The FOOLS Bash and hanging out with great people!

I went into the class with the thought that if I can learn what the attendees want/need to know I will be better suited for teaching the class in the future. I found that while I spoke about the basics of the utilization of social media, some of the questions were for the more advanced. That is ok....however, in reviewing the evaluations on the class I found that some thought it was too basic and others thought it was not basic enough. Hopefully the majority found it useful!

I consider FDIC 2010 the beginning for me. The realization of the bigger picture. I had worked too long and too hard locally only to find out that wasn't the focus I should have been spending my time on. In short, I got a rude awakening...a very rude one. However, I am gracious for it. I am actually a better person because of it in too many ways not to realize that it was for the greater good.

I will be teaching a class on Social Media for the Fire Service at FDIC this year. The class is titled "Social Media: The Fire Service's Next Big Innovation" Who should attend? Anyone interested in social media, blogging, and branding their department online. Administrators who want to learn about social media, get examples of social media policies, as well as firefighters who want to brand their companies and departments. There will be information for all levels!