The Silverbacks Give Advice for a New Fire Chief

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This episode features Nick Brunacini, Terry Garrison, and John Vance.

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This episode was recorded at the AVB CTC in Phoenix, AZ on April 17, 2025.

Creating a positive fire department culture drives better service both inside and outside the organization, ultimately leading to safety and success for everyone involved.

• Culture is more powerful than rules, regulations, and SOPs in guiding behavior
• A "Way" document preserves cultural values and helps transmit them to new members
• Effective customer service requires treating firefighters well so they can treat citizens well
• Organizational boundaries must be established and enforced consistently to maintain culture
• Safety culture requires accountability at all levels and cannot be overlooked by supervisors
• New fire chiefs should build on organizational strengths rather than change things for change's sake
• Leadership should focus on personal power rather than positional power to gain true buy-in
• Training and operations must align under a common vision focused on the work
• After-action reviews help reinforce cultural values through honest assessment without blame
• Good crews will intervene to help each other maintain professional standards with customers

Remember, you will resent and resist any supervision you receive that you don't need. Good leaders understand when to provide guidance and when to get out of the way.