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Archive for March, 2013

Fire Service Needs Leaders Who Are Willing to Do the Right Thing

Blog by Richard Blackmon

Captain, Fulton County Fire Rescue Department (Ga.)

Have you ever noticed that doing the right thing takes more work than not doing the right thing? Sometimes, it would just be much easier to just turn a blind eye, right? But in our profession, it’s essential we never turn that blind eye. Reason being, someone might get hurt or killed.

Doing the right thing starts with rookie firefighters and goes all the way to the top. When the new firefighter is doing their regular daily routine, such as house work, do they always do the right thing?

Sometimes it might be easier to look past the item that needs cleaning, but why not just take that extra step and clean it? When the driver is checking off the equipment and sees that something needs attention, it’s on them to do the right thing and get it done. If someone’s life ever depends on that equipment, it will be too late to go back and do the right thing.

As a fire officer, doing the right thing is critical to the department. Holding personnel accountable and to a high standard is essential. If you make a practice of turning a blind eye, you might as well wear blinders to work.

Once you let something just go by failing to take action you have set a low benchmark for yourself. Trust me when I say it takes work to always do the right thing. You have to set your standards early in your career and stay focused and dedicated.

Sometimes it will take courage. But be strong. Don’t ever be afraid to do the right thing. You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and be proud of the person you’re looking at. Not your boss or subordinates or peers, but you!

You can never get in trouble for following your departments SOPs. Set your bar high, stand tall and do the right thing. You’ll be better for it and so will your department and the community you serve.

About the Author

Richard Blackmon is a captain with the Fulton County Fire Rescue Department in Georgia. He has worked in the fire service for more than 15 years and is a training officer for his department. Before joining the fire service, he served as a master sergeant in the US Air Force and saw combat in Grenada, Panama and the first Gulf War.

New Webinar Series Gives Clients Opportunity to Learn More about TargetSolutions’ Platform

TargetSolutions kicked off its new Monthly Webinar Series on Feb. 26 with an overview of the course library. The special presentation was conducted through Go-To Meeting and more than 100 clients of TargetSolutions registered for the opening webinar.

“It was a tremendous success,” said Client Services Manager Jennifer Antinone. “We are always looking for more ways to educate our users on certain applications inside the platform and this webinar series will be a great way to explain features on an ongoing basis.”

Each webinar will cover a certain operation in TargetSolutions’ online training and records management system. For instance, the next webinar, which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on March 21, is going to cover creating and managing assignments. If you would like to attend, please register today!

“I think people who attend this next webinar will be impressed with how easy creating and managing assignments is with our platform,” Antinone said. “We’re focused on creating applications that are really user friendly. This will be a great chance for platform managers to learn a few tips for operating the system more efficiently.”

All of the webinars will be made available to TargetSolutions’ clients as videos through the online Help system. Those who attend, however, will have a golden opportunity to ask questions related to the featured topic, as well as other issues with the TargetSolutions system. During the first webinar in February, TargetSolutions answered numerous questions during the event, and answered more offline that were submitted via e-mail.

If you’d like more information about TargetSolutions’ upcoming webinars, please e-mail your account manager or give us a call toll-free at (800) 840-8048.

About TargetSolutions
TargetSolutions is the leading provider of web-based technology solutions for fire and EMS departments. These solutions enable departments to maintain compliance, reduce losses, deliver curriculum, and track all station-level tasks, certifications and training activities.

TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker Works Wonders Year After Year

 

ISO Training Tracker Solution Eliminates Surprises So You Always Know Where Your Personnel Stand

Did you know you don’t need to rebuild your fire department’s ISO training trackers every single year? This powerful tool was built to make the entire fire department ISO tracking and training process as easy as possible. To this end, TargetSolutions has created the ability to duplicate previous years’ requirements for reuse in future years.

Some organizations may like to build out new ISO training tracker solutions in an effort to keep previous years tracked for quick reference in the Manage Credentials application. But this is not required since the information is always at your fingertips.

Reusing the ISO training tracker for ensuing years can be done with just a few simple steps. Inside your fire department’s ISO credential, under the Users table on upper right of the screen, you are just a few clicks away from selecting a new date range for the upcoming year. If you would like more information on operating this application, please contact your account manager.

If you ever need to go back and view a prior years’ fire department ISO training tracker solution, for either an individual or a group, you can easily enter the date range you are seeking. The only maintenance and upkeep you must perform to TargetSolutions’ fire department ISO training tracker, involves adding new online fire training courses or activities that have been created. Just remember, those courses must be added to each of the three ISO trackers.

“By setting up the ISO tracker, departments are able to maintain their ISO records, allowing them to meet ISO standards for reporting,” said TargetSolutions Client Services Manager Jennifer Antinone. “The ISO tracker ties custom activities, credentials and courses together in a critical way. This solution was built to make ISO audits run as smoothly as possible.”

If you have any questions about TargetSolutions’ fire department ISO training tracker solution, please contact us at (800) 840-8048.

More Information About TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker Solution:

>> How does TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker Solution work?

>> How was TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker created?