Finding the Work/Life Balance

06/03/20 • 129 min

We try to do IT. No matter our vocation or avocation, most of us try to do IT! OK, so what is, “IT?” Well, look at it this way – people have jobs, from first responders to cement works, from pool installers to meat cutters, from first responders to bank presidents, and from teachers to neurosurgeons, we all try to find some way to juggle our professional lives with our persona lives. Sometimes we meet with success and other times, we fail miserably. This is where my guest comes in – Dr. Donnie Hutchinson.
Dr. Hutchinson, a college professor, as well as a national and local speaker for the IAFF and many other vocations, specializes in helping folks find that balance between work and life. This is especially difficult for numerous professions, including all branches of First Responders. Between the varying shift hours, we work and some of the situations we face on a day-by-day basis, finding that balance may look like a “pipe dream.”
In this podcast, Dr. Hutchinson and I discuss the challenges that many of us face (or have faced) in search of this “grail.” Some of these issues can cause us to develop a myopic view of life that can get in the way of your search. Yet, Dr. Hutchinson provides important, yet not necessarily difficult, methods that will help you find the right balance. Yes, even within the framework of the pandemic that we are all currently facing, the goal is still reachable!
Tune in on your favorite podcast platform or on our website, www.dalmatianproductions.tv.

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Crisis Management

If you are older than 18-20, you probably have had to deal with some form of crisis; be it very small one like a broken shoelace when dressing for a special occasion, someone close to you was ill or a major job interview was lost due to a technicality. None of us is immune to the concept of crisis, however, we are often defined by how we manage that crisis!
My guests on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” are Chief (ret) Dan Jones and his business partner, Kelly Walsh. Together, they have spoken at departments across the country on numerous topics of leadership, i.e., management, becoming a leader, finding an excellent leader, traits and much more. They have joined us before, and their podcasts always are enthusiastically received.
In this podcast, “Chief Dan” and Kelly address one of the most important facets of strong leadership and that is Crisis Management. And, unless you have been in your personal safe room, fallout shelter or in a cave for the past few months, THIS is a time of crisis management. We have seen excellent leaders; we have seen poor leaders and everyone in between. And in this podcast, my guests will define for you how a strong leader can quell fear and instill hope and future through his/her methods of Crisis Management.

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2020 Safety Stand Down - Safety at Roadway Emergencies

“DAMN!!! That was fricfkin’ close!” you exclaim, as you are standing next to your Heavy Rescue on a busy, four-lane road. Your engine and ladder helped setup a “blocking” safety to lane to allow you to work on an extrication. But that semi that just passed you ran over half your orange cones!
This week, June 14-20 is the annual, joint, IAFC –- NVFC Safety Stand Down. During this week, fire and EMS departments are encouraged to suspend non-emergency activity to focus on the topic. And this year, that topic is our safety when working emergencies on active roadways. Last year, we lost 40 first responders to accidents on these sites. And many might have been avoided.
My guests on this special episode are Jack Sullivan, CSP, CFPS, Training Director of the Responder Safety Institute and Todd Leiss TIMC, Assistant Director of Training. You will hear them relate some of the tragedies that have occurred when our “safety zone” was invaded by a vehicle, be it an auto, a semi, or anything in between.
If you are a regular listener, you know how important this topic is to us at 5-Alarm Task Force. We have broadcast several episodes dealing specifically with this topic. Why? It is mostly due to the fact that we cannot depend on drivers to actively avoid us! There are far too many distracted drivers that will simply burst through our safety zones, injuring or killing our brothers and sisters. Enough is enough!
Photo Courtesy Fire-Rescue1
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