A Reminder: The Media Doesn't Just Report News - They Determine What Is News (and When)

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while!  Life has been crazy.  I started this blog to give my friends and colleagues a little glimpse into my experience as IAFC President. So I guess I've got some catching up to do.

After a break over the Christmas/New Year holidays, my activity and travel picked up again in January.  While I live in the San Diego area and normally don't have to put up with much in the way of winter, this winter has been a tough one to travel through.  In late January, I needed to go to Orlando for a meeting - through Atlanta of course - on the day that they had the complete meltdown due to winter weather.

I was supposed to leave San Diego at 6:45 AM, but that flight got cancelled, so I was rebooked on a later flight.  Finally arrived in Atlanta at about 6:30 PM in the midst of the storm.  The airport was a ghost town....most flights cancelled, except for my Orlando flight.  The departure time kept slipping until we finally got on the plane about midnight.  Then the tug couldn't push the plane off the gate.....tires kept spinning in the snow.  Finally, they resorted to brute strength and lined up two tugs nose to tail and pushed hard and that got the plane moving.  I'll confess I had visions of the nose gear snapping off!  We then got in line for deice.  Because the roads were gridlocked, airport employees couldn't get to work, so they had only 2 deice trucks working.  We finally got deiced at 2:30 AM and arrived in Orlando about 5 AM.  I got to the hotel at about 6 AM and my meeting was scheduled to start at 8 AM.  And people think that all of the travel I do is fun!

While in Orlando, the news broke about the situation in Washington, DC about the man who collapsed across the street from a fire station and no one from the fire department would come out to help.  The media was clamoring for the IAFC to make some sort of statement.  We normally try to stay out of this stuff, because we know that there is always another side of the story, but DC hasn't exactly been giving the fire service a good name lately, so we agreed to have me to do an interview for the Today show.  So at 7 PM on a Thursday night, I'm off to a local independent studio to tape an interview for Today the next morning.  Everything is a rush!  The interview went pretty well.  I resisted the urge to bash DC Fire and EMS because we didn't have the whole story, but my message was that this isn't typical of the fire service anywhere in the world....that you CAN go to fire stations and get help.....that's what we're there for.  I could sense the producer who was doing the interview was getting a bit frustrated that I wasn't following their angle, but we finished up anyway.  The next morning, everyone tuned in to Today and.....no story!  Turns out it got bumped by the new Amanda Knox verdict.  It finally ran over the weekend with my segment reduced to about a 15 second sound bite.  I was reminded that when I get asked to do these things, they have often already written the story and they're not necessarily looking for another opinion!

Sometimes Persistence (and having friends in the right places) Pays Off!

As I've advanced in my career, one of the things I've learned is that the distance or time between taking action and seeing results seems to get longer and longer.  When I was a young firefighter, you saw fire, you put water on the fire, it goes out.  Instant gratification!  When I was a young paramedic, you would see a sick patient, pull out your paramedic bag of tricks, and the patient would get better (or worse).  Again, instant gratification.  But now the results often come a long, long time after the effort is expended and I've learned to be patient.

Readers of this blog know that one of the issues we've been facing this year is a wrinkle in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) that would result in many volunteer fire departments across the country suddenly being responsible for providing healthcare insurance to their volunteer members.  This would cause a significant negative impact on emergency services in many communities.  The IRS could have fixed the issue with a simple clarification, but for more than a year they have failed to take action or even respond to requests for information on the issue.  The IAFC and other national fire service organizations have been working on this for nearly a year without apparent effect.

As we entered the Christmas holidays, Congressman Barletta (PA) - I met him and discussed this issue informally with him at the IBHS ember storm demonstration last Fall that I wrote about in an earlier blog - introduced a bill that would take the matter out of the IRS' hands and impose a legislative mandate that volunteers be exempt.  His bill rapidly gained widespread bipartisan support and Senator Warner (VA) introduced a companion bill in the Senate - again with widespread bipartisan support.  Dozens of members of Congress have signed on as co-sponsors and the noise level on the issue on Capitol Hill has been escalating rapidly.  As you know, we have been getting increasing media attention, too (see my last blog about my appearance on Fox and Friends on the issue).

I couldn't be happier to find out today that our efforts have paid off.  Today, in an IRS blog on tax policy issues, the IRS has announced that they will exempt volunteer fire and EMS personnel from the requirements of the law.  You can read their full blog here:  http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Treasury-Ensures-Fair-Treatment-for-Volunteer-Firefighters-and-Emergency-Responders-under-the-Affordable-Care-Act-Under-ACA.aspx.  Yes, I see that there still room for trouble in some of the language they have used, but in general, it looks like the IRS has actually given in and agreed with our requested interpretation and action on this issue.

I'm glad that everyone's efforts on this important issue have finally paid off.  It does wonders for morale when we see that someone really IS listening and that eventually, common sense does win out!

From Dear Abby to Fox News

One of the roles of the President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs is to serve as the principal spokesperson for the association of matters of interest to its members.  My own preference is to let our members who are the true subject matter experts on the issues do the talking, but there are times when it just has to be the President.  I don’t mind doing media events, but I would prefer to give others the opportunity when it happens.

I thought I would share some of my media experiences so far in my term as President.  First, as I have already written, we have an extraordinarily talented staff at the IAFC and have a great number of partners in the corporate world.  It’s a fact of our business (it’s a secret – don’t tell anyone!) that some correspondence is prepared by staff, signed using my electronic signature, and sent on my behalf without me ever even seeing it or knowing about it.   A good example of this is that the IAFC has had a partner with Energizer (the battery folks) for more than 20 years around the topic of changing smoke detector batteries.  Every year, Energizer and IAFC staffs prepare a letter from the IAFC President to Dear Abby and Ann Landers (the advice columnists) asking their help in getting people to change their smoke detector batteries.  The letter is from whoever is the current IAFC President and just happens as a regular course of business.  I didn’t even know that it had gone out.  Sometimes they run the story, sometimes they don’t.  This year, out of the blue, I woke up one morning to a flurry of e-mail and Facebook posts congratulating me for my letter to Dear Abby . I think my wife got even more than I did – from folks asking if it was really me!  I have to confess to being a bit surprised that the Dear Abby column is still out there (it runs in more than 400 newspapers every day) and even more surprised at the number of my friends who read it!

A second example of media work occurred when I visited Minnesota for the Minnesota Fallen Firefighters Memorial event in late September.  As I wrote in a previous blog, the Minnesota fire serve has gone to great lengths to identify all Minnesota firefighters who have ever died in the line of duty.  To generate press coverage and public interest in the event in the Minneapolis area, I had the opportunity to appear on a morning TV talk show in Minneapolis.  I got to speak about the issue of firefighter line of duty deaths and I also had the opportunity to meet a very special Minnesota firefighter.  She works for the Hibbing (MN) Fire Department and her grandfather was a firefighter who died in the line of duty a long time ago.  She is the only member of her family in the firefighting profession and it was neat to meet her.  I think her grandfather would be VERY proud.  Appearing on a talk show like this is a whirl.  I was given a heads up that it was going to happen…..we showed up at the studio 15 minutes before we are scheduled to go on.  The show was already underway, so we didn’t meet the host in advance.  When the commercial break started before our segment, we entered the studio, got miked up, took our seats, met the host for the first time, and….we were on.  3 minutes later and it was over and we were ushered out the door. I was told that it turned out well, but the whole thing is pretty quick and anticlimactic.

As a final example, yesterday I appeared on a network Sunday morning news show – Fox and Friends – talking about the impact that Obamacare may have on volunteer firefighters and fire departments.  Click here to see the video.  This has been on again and off again for a couple of weeks.  We were all set to go a couple of weeks ago….then the authorities found a family that had been missing in the snow in Nevada and that ‘breaking news’ pushed us off.  Then a week ago, they literally called on Saturday and wanted to do it on Sunday morning.  I wasn’t available, nor was anyone else from the IAFC at that short notice.  This week, we got a bit more notice.  We knew that I would be appearing alone on the issue.  I studied pages and pages of briefing material to be prepared for any question….I reviewed websites, blogs, and got the latest status report from the IAFC’s excellent government relations staff.  I was all set!  For those of you who don’t know, Fox and Friends is a live morning new show from 6 – 9 AM Eastern time.  That meant that I would have to be at a San Diego studio VERY early!  I got up at 3:30 AM, drove to San Diego to arrive at the studio by 5 AM.  Talked to the camera guy for the next 30 minutes.  At 5:30 (Pacific), I got miked up, took a seat in the chair in front of a beautiful video shot of San Diego harbor (good thing it wasn’t live…..it was still VERY dark outside).  At about 5:40 the producer in New York spoke into my ear to let me know that it would be Tucker Carlson who would be doing the interview and at 5:45, we were on.  For those of you who haven’t done this, it is difficult.  Tucker asked about 3 questions and it was all over in about 3 minutes.  It was supposed to be longer, but they had a live interview with the mailman who caught the babies dropped by their father from a burning building – much more important ;-).  For those of you who haven’t done this, it is a challenge. You’re in a studio….just you, the cameraman, and the wire in your ear.  You are talking to the camera.  You can’t see the TV that you’re appearing on (I guess they don’t want you to be distracted) or the person you’re talking to.  All of those visual cues that we depend on to tell whether we are getting our point across aren’t there.  You just have to hope that it is working.  Oh….and I learned that next time I don’t need to wear my full uniform.  Since they only showed me from the shoulders up, I could have worn shorts and tennis shoes on the bottom and no one would have known!  After the 3 minutes segment, I was back in the car and home before 7 AM.

Dealing with the media is always a challenge, but they are an important method for getting issues out to the public.  If any of us are going to be successful as fire service leaders, we need to develop the skills to be effective.  I hope I was, but I’ll let you be the judge.

It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

What a blur!  This past 8 days has been a whirlwind of activity and it illustrates one of the fascinating aspects of this job as President of the IAFC.  Forget the travel and hotel rooms – I promise that’s not fun.  But the variety of activities and issues and people and organizations that I’ve had the opportunity to work with is incredible.

Let’s see…..today is Wednesday…..I started last Tuesday by flying from San Diego to Washington’s Dulles Airport to that I would be in position for meetings at the IAFC offices on Wednesday and Thursday.  A calm day of flying with everything on time.

First on the agenda last Wednesday morning was filming a video.  The IAFC operates the FirefighterNear Miss Reporting System.  We developed it from scratch with federal grant funding.  It includes a website where firefighters from across the profession can anonymously post ‘near miss’ stories….accounts of things that went badly and what was learned from them.  The reports are reviewed and vetted by a group of firefighting experts and then are turned into training resources so that we can all learn from the near misses experienced by others.  The system is modeled after one used in the aviation industry and our system has been applauded as a model system.  Near Miss had it’s own near miss this past year when the federal grant funding ran out.  We pulled together an interim survival plan and we’re getting ready to roll out a new and reinvigorated system in January.  I got to film a piece of video that will be used to announce and promote the rollout.

The rest of Wednesday and Thursday morning were spent in a meeting of the IAFC Executive Committee.  The EC is comprised of the President, Past President, 1^st Vice President, 2^nd Vice President, Treasurer, and Director at Large.  We act as the Finance Committee for the IAFC and also serve as a filter/sounding board for staff.  The association business continues to be challenging, from an economic perspective and much of our discussion was about the adjustments/changes we need to make to keep the IAFC healthy and productive.  On Thursday afternoon, we met with the full IAFC Board by web/teleconference.  Following the Thursday meeting, several of us made a dash to the airport to fly to Tampa for the next step in the trip.

Friday through Monday morning found me in Clearwater Beach, FL at the Symposium in the Sun – an annual educational conference put on by the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS).  VCOS is a special interest group within the IAFC focused on the unique needs of fire service leaders who lead volunteer departments and departments that are a combination of paid and volunteer.  The conference has turned into the premier educational event for volunteer and combination chiefs – this year more than 500 attended the meeting.  Educational sessions were packed from morning until late at night.  It was enjoyable to participate in the conference.  I also spent quite a bit of time in IAFC-related business meetings.  While it was in a beautiful spot and the weather was terrific, I really didn’t get outside much!  This part of the trip ended with breakfast with my wife, Dotty’s, brother and then it was off to the airport for the next stage of the trip. The rest of Monday was spent traveling to Charlotte, NC.

On Tuesday morning, I got to visit the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Research Center in Richburg, SC – about an hour south of Charlotte. 

The center was created by the insurance industry to provide a laboratory to do science that will help reduce losses in our communities.  The lab tests roofing material, simulates hailstorms, and has a huge chamber where an almost full-size house can be placed in front of a giant wind tunnel to simulate hurricane/tornado force winds.  The chamber can also create an ember storm that simulates what happens in a wildland fire.  It is an amazing place doing outstanding science about how buildings can be made safer.  We traveled to IBHS because there is a bill in Congress to provide incentives for states to adopt safer building and fire codes.  4 members of Congress and the SC Governor came to the center for a tour and a demonstration, followed by a roundtable discussion by industry experts (that was my role) about how important building and fire codes are to public safety (and to reducing loss in catastrophic events).    We got to watch a simulated wildland fire ember storm that nearly burned the test house down and then got to have a great discussion with the members of Congress.  We will have to see how it goes when the bill comes up.  There is a lot of resistance to the government telling people what to do!  Following the tour, demonstration, and roundtable, another mad dash back to the airport to fly back to Washington, DC for one more meeting.

Wildland Fire Ember Storm Simulation in IBHS Test Chamber

Today, I spent the morning that the American PetroleumInstitute (API) headquarters in Washington, DC at the first meeting of the API/Association of Pipeline Operators Emergency Response Advisory Board.  The liquid pipeline industry is creating the advisory board to help them improve safety in communities where pipelines move petroleum products through the country.  It was a fascinating first meeting with lots of brainstorming and discussion about how we can help the fire service – especially in rural America – be better prepared to respond when bad things happen with petroleum pipelines.

So……eight days……4 cities…..9 flights….4 hotels….and meetings that covered everything from video filming to budgets to leading volunteer departments to research on safer building construction to encouraging adoption of model fire codes to preparing the fire service for pipeline emergencies.  A fascinating trip that will provide food for discussion and thought for many days to come.

Of course the best news is that I’m now on the way home after being gone far too long!  I am truly blessed to have a loving and supportive wife…and a great team back at the North County Fire Protection District.  I couldn’t do any of this without their help and support.

Once In a While, You Run Into the Nicest People!

For the most part, travel today is a frustrating experience with lots of delays, crowds, and rude people.  Once in a while, however, you run across some very nice people on airplanes!  This couple was sitting across the aisle from me on a recent flight:

President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn.

Before we pushed back from the gate, he walked up and down the aisle and shook everyone's hand.  I understand this is his usual practice, but it was obvious that he enjoyed doing it.  As you can see, they were even understanding of those of us who wanted a picture!

So now that I've had a nice experience with some good people, I guess a can tolerate a few more flights with the frustrating and rude flyers!

Big World....Small Fire Service Family

Global Fire Service Leadership Alliance Meeting in Brussels, Belgium

Three years ago, the idea emerged at the IAFC that it might be valuable to try to bring together the leaders of fire leadership associations from around the world to share issues and lessons learned.  Meeting arrangements were made, invitations were sent, and the very first Global Fire Service Leadership Summit was convened in Zurich, Switzerland, hosted by the IAFC.  I didn't get to go to that one, but I attended last year's edition in Sydney, Australia hosted by the Australian Association of Fire Chiefs (AFAC).  It was fascinating to visit Sydney and learn more about how fire protection is provided in Australia.  This year, the Chief Fire Officers Associaton (CFOA) of the United Kingdom hosted the 3rd Annual Global Fire Service Leadership Summit in Brussels, Belgium.  As I write this edition of the blog, I'm flying home and, on reflection, it was another extraordinary week.

In attendence this year, in addition to the IAFC, were representatives of the NFPA, the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI), the Federation of European Fire Officer Associations (FEU), the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC), and the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF).  We also had speakers from the Belgian Fire Service that joined us periodically throughout the meeting.  The Russians were supposed to join us, but we learned that their delegate was hospitalized at the last minute and was unable to respond.

The format of the meeting is a very informal roundtable discussion.  A month or so out, the host sends out a request to all of the associations asking what issues we want to discuss.  This year, as with the last two, it was fascinating that the issues brought up by us as individuals crossed almost every border.  Among other things, we discussed:

-  The impact of the economic downturn on the fire service.  The UK is still facing major reductions.  There are 46 fire agencies for all of the UK, but they are funded mostly with national government dollars with a small piece of local funding.  The national government is drastically reducing funding for emergency services and local governments are having to put up more local money or drastically reduce service.  Every nation has struggled through the downturn and we had a great discussion sharing approaches that work and those that don't.

-  Hazardous materials and pipeline safety were a hot topic for CTIF and the FEU.  We were able to share out experiences in West, Texas and the CAFC was able to share their experience with the railroad derailment, fire and explosions in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.  The Belgians shared a disaster that occurred with a high pressure natural gas pipeline.  As it happens, I'm attending the first meeting of an Emergency Service Advisory Board being created by the American Petroleum Institute next week and the discussions have given me much food for thought.

Oil Train Derailment in Lac Megantic, Quebec

-  We had a great presentation from a young fire officer from Antwerp, Belgium about the use of social media by emergency services.  For me, this was one of the most interesting because I normally think of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) as a way to get information OUT to the public.  He talked a lot about using social media as a tool to gain intel about what's going on out there in the world - even before we get emergency services personnel on scene.  As fascinating concept that I want to explore more.

Anyway....it was two full days of very interesting discussions with fire officers from around the world.  Although our uniforms and out apparatus may look different, many if not most of our issues are very, very similar.  It was also great to make new friends and expand our networks of chief fire officers that we can reach out to when we need help.

I should mention that the meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium.  It is an old European City......I believe it was founded in the 10th century by Charlemagne.  Beautiful old architecture....they don't build them like that any more!

Old City Hall in the Gran Plaz (Grand Plaza).  Built in 1627

The Gran Plaz is surrounded by these ornate "Guild Houses" which are decorated with gold leaf.  The picture doesn't do them justice!

Today it is known as "The Capitol of Europe" because it is home to the European Union.  There is also a big UN and NATO presence in the area.  During our down time, we were able to wander the old town, visit the huge Cathedral of St. Michael, and sample some of the local food.  Of course, Belgium is known for beer, chocolate, and waffles, so we managed to sample those also.

If you're going to be in Belgium, you should probably sample the Belgian Waffles!

 A couple of us also squeezed in a visit to the local Harley-Davidson dealership.  Gotta expand that T-Shirt collection!

I was also reminded how close together everything is in Europe.  The folks from the UK traveled by Eurostar train and got there in 2 hours from London through the Chunnel.  The folks from France and Switzerland were able to get there in an hour or so.  I guess that's what makes the whole area such a great tourist destination....you can cover a lot of ground very quickly.

Language wasn't a problem at all.  In Belgium Flemish, French, and Dutch are spoken, depending on the region you are in.  But 99% of the folks all speak English as a universal language.  Everything from street signs to menus to the meeting room signs at the hotel are all in multiple languages and they always include English.  And all of the folks at the hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers, etc were all fluent in English.  They also drive on the same side of the road as we do in the US.

The only downside is that it is a long plane ride - especially from San Diego!

It's Good To See Old Friends

A very quick trip this week.  Off to Reno to speak at the Nevada Fire Chiefs/Fire Shows Reno conference.  Arrived on Wednesday afternoon and caught up with friends at the conference networking reception.  Had the opportunity to go to dinner with several members of the NFCA Board of Directors.  On Thursday morning, I did the keynote presentation on Wicked Problems in the Fire Service.  After lunch I did a workshop on the state of the economy and implications for the fire service. Now on a plane headed home.  A very quick turnaround.

The best part of the trip, from my perspective, was having the chance to see several old friends from the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District in Incline Village, NV, where I worked before heading for Southern California.  My time at NLTFPD was a very special season in my life and I have a lot of great memories of my time there.  I don't often get a lot of chances to get back and it was a real treat to see Mike, Mike, Ian, Jeff, Ryan and a bunch of other friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  I'm glad I got to see them, if only for a little while.  Glad to see that everyone is doing well!

Now home to my bride for two whole days before I'm off to Brussels, Belgium on Sunday.  Another post on that trip next week!