Billy Goldfeder

Fired Up!

Chief Billy Goldfeder, EFO, a firefighter since 1973, serves as deputy fire chief of the Loveland-Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department. He also serves as Lexipol’s senior fire advisor and is a member of the Fire Chief/FireRescue1 Editorial Advisory Board. Goldfeder is a member of the Board of Directors for several organizations: the IAFC, the September 11th Families Association and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). He also provides expert review assistance to the CDC NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program. Goldfeder is the recipient of numerous operational and administrative awards, appointments and recognitions. He has served on several NFPA and IAFC committees, has authored numerous articles and books, and presented several sessions at industry events. Chief Goldfeder co-hosts the website www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com.

LATET ARTICLES

Leadership

What advice can you offer an ‘outsider chief’?

The key is to remember the “buddy to boss” boundaries and focus on the job, not the friendships

January 31, 2022 02:26 PM

Billy Goldfeder

Legislation and Funding

Sexy ‘fun-ding’ in the North American fire services in 2022

Volunteers are doing whatever it takes to fund their future

January 19, 2022 10:04 AM

Billy Goldfeder

Volunteer Fire Service

What’s the best way to manage volunteers with very different motivation levels?

If some people are all in and others can only give the bare minimum, then it’s time to review your organization’s structure and consider a new system

January 17, 2022 11:49 AM

Billy Goldfeder

Education & Training

How do we get new members off their phones and engaged in training?

It’s time for some tough love: They signed up to be a firefighter, and now they have to follow a ‘Behavioral Rental Agreement’

December 18, 2021 03:29 PM

Billy Goldfeder

Safety

‘Someone’s going to get hurt': Let’s talk safe scene management

Chief Goldfeder explains how to set the expectations among the crew to enhance scene safety

December 18, 2021 03:02 PM

Billy Goldfeder

Fire Careers

Who screws up ‘the greatest job in the world’ better than us?

The more we do things wrong and get away with it, the more they seem right

December 09, 2021 11:49 AM

Billy Goldfeder

Fireground Operations

Take your assignment: When the hell did the fireground become a democracy?

9/11 is the ultimate example of firefighters who took their assignment, without question, trusting their command officers, despite the risks

November 15, 2021 01:24 PM

Billy Goldfeder

Legal Issues

How do I get members to see that my lawsuit is for the greater good of the department?

Goldfeder offers advice to a reader who sued the FD over an issue with overtime and is now facing the cold shoulder from fellow firefighters

September 17, 2021 12:40 PM

Billy Goldfeder

What’s YOUR Problem?

How do we get the “e-generation” to understand the physical aspect of the fire service?

It’s important to get newer members who are so connected to their smartphones to engage in some of the more physically demanding aspects of the job

September 16, 2021 07:42 PM

Billy Goldfeder

What’s YOUR Problem?

How can we call ourselves a professional fire service when members won’t even wear PPE?

A reader states: “We can’t even get our members to wear their PPE, SCBA or even seatbelts? I see pictures online of guys in jeans with coats wide open.”

September 13, 2021 02:35 PM

Billy Goldfeder