Ron Hiraki discusses some more benefits of role-playing for firefighters and describes how to design and administer role-plays for training your department.

Initiative is a quality we look for in firefighters, especially in leadership roles, Ron Hiraki writes, but initiative is only helpful when it is taken in the right circumstances.

Does your fire department allow an engine company to initiate attack without securing a water supply? Discuss this month's Roundtable question with other firefighters from around the country and world.

In their series on turning the fire service into a higher reliability organization (HRO), Dane Carley and Craig Nelson discuss why HROs are actually reluctant to simplify their processes.

In this free fire training scenario from the United States Fire Administration (USFA), the student identifies basic fire risk analysis.

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has formed an Incident Management Team (IMT) to help with large catastrophic events in the wake of 9/11. I am fortunate to be involved with the team. As a part of our training, we sometimes shadow National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) in the wildland fire service.

The fire service is a global brand, Mike Hennigan argues, and firefighters need to show the value of that brand through face-to-face selling to our customers--the public.

Kevin Parker writes that fire departments can better serve their citizens and increase their value to the community by focusing on fire victims and witnesses to traumatic events, an approach he terms post-incident radical compassion.

Even in these troubled financial times, there are always opportunities to make our departments better, Mike Hennigan writes.

Being a company officer means more than gaining the authority that comes with the promotion, Stephen E. Morris writes. You must be able to inspire your personnel to work toward the organization’s goals and visions.

The fire service is evolving at an electrifying pace. Things that were unheard of a few years ago are now taking place. When my father came on the job in 1952, the police did EMS work. To be sure, the fire department was called when a building collapsed or a train hit a car, but the police responded to an ill-person call. I don’t have to tell you where the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue is today as it relates to EMS—up to its eyeballs.

Ron Hiraki has some advice for firefighters and fire officers who may be taking on a new assignment or tackling a new project in the new year.

It's important for fire officers to stay positive, especially in these dark economic times when fire departments are under attack across the United States. Officers have the opportunity to create a positive or negative work environment, Mike Hennigan writes, and whatever course our leaders take the crew will follow.

How does a good leader become an outstanding leader? According to Mike Hennigan, an outstanding leader shares his vision of excellence with his firefighters and inspires them to drop their individual agendas and strive together to achieve that vision.

I can certainly say that during my 32-plus years on the job there, the Toledo (OH) Fire Department evolved from a “fire” department into a department that provides several services.

Giving new firefighting recruits an orientation that helps them understand your fire station and your crew can help open lines of communication and avoid possible obstacles down the line. Ron Hiraki discusses the benefits of creating an orientation program for new firefighters.

Firefighting is a team effort. Dave Murphy applies insights from Yankee great Yogi Berra's recent book on teamwork to the fire service and discusses how firefighters can best work together on the fireground.

Kwame Cooper discussed the history of the LAFD and its many social issues at FDIC 2010.

Forest Reeder enlightened students on the subject of officer's responsibilities and Life Safety Initiatives at FDIC 2010.

In his "Captain's Corner" class at FDIC 2010, Battalion Chief (Ret.) Michael Hennigan of the San Francisco (CA) Fire Department offered ideas on how to motivate and inspire a fire company.