Barry Furey Consulting and Training

09/01/2025

Happy end of summer to everyone protecting the public today. You rock!

07/25/2025

07/24/2025

Not been a good week for apparatus. What's up with all the fires?

06/11/2025

https://theinsiderweekly.com/emergency-services-veteran-brings-five-decades-of-experience-to-public-safety-consulting/

In an industry where experience can mean the difference between life and death, few consultants can match the depth and breadth of knowledge that Barry Furey brings to emergency services. With more than 55 years in the field, Furey has established himself as a leading voice in public safety communic...

03/23/2025

https://tinyurl.com/letsmakelemonade

It’s been almost a decade since I retired full time from 9-1-1. Since then, and for two decades and more before, our industry has been saddled with a severe employee shortage.

02/21/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hey-kids-its-almost-tc-week-again-barry-furey-mpfxe/

Ah! As February reluctantly leaves us and March stealthily approaches it’s time to turn attention to the bearer of gifts awaiting around the corner. No not Santa.

02/04/2025

Do Disasters Really Come in Threes?

Well, if you are watching the news you’ll know that aviation disasters have become the leading stories. Crashes in DC and Philadelphia collectively claimed dozens of lives and injured and even killed people on the ground. These tragedies remind us that despite the exemplary record of air travel, when things go wrong, they go wrong. Our condolences go out to the friends and families of the departed, and a special form of condolences goes out to all the public safety professionals who spent countless hours at these events. Dealing with mass casualty events is truly taxing. Believe me. I have experienced them from both sides of the radio.
Now if you are old and superstitious like me, you are sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop. Someone told me that a military jet recently crashed, but I think the pilots successfully ejected and I can’t find any stories about damage on the ground. So, if things do come in threes, who, what, where and when are pretty good questions to be asking. But even better is the question “Are we ready?.”
While communities surrounding airports, especially those in the takeoff and landing patterns of the field face increased challenges, anybody within a flight path of a plane needs a plan. Thankfully, these disasters don’t happen every day. Unfortunately, this lack of frequency can also mean that the telecommunicator taking the initial call has never seen the documented procedure. Whereas muscle memory may take over for the folks in the field, the poor sucker answering phones, if lucky, may remember having seen this SOP during orientation. Should you think that the odds of a newbie being thrown to the wolves are small, I will point out that I was being sworn in as fire chief when some kids torched one of our elementary schools.
Sh*t happens, And it happens to the prepared and unprepared alike. That’s why before CNN knocks on your door, it’s good to dust off your action plan, making sure that all the people you are supposed to call are still alive and employed by their respective agencies, and that all the telephone numbers affected by the area code overlay have been updated.
So, lacking any upcoming disaster drills, now is as good a time as any to review your disaster plans, and to make sure that everyone in your agency is onboard with their duties and responsibilities during the real thing. Disasters are difficult enough to deal with on their own, without our actions adding to the chaos.

02/02/2025

A shout out today to TC's in DC and Philadelphia for managing not only emergencies that drew worldwide attention, but for keeping their respective cities rolling right along through all of it! Unlike the show logo, this is the REAL 9-1-1 and you rock!

01/26/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/another-auld-lang-syne-barry-furey-iyxge/

It’s that time of year again where the leftover food is gone but the leftover emotions remain. The last crumbs of donated goodies are but a memory, and the daily goodies coming courtesy of the field folks have long been consumed.

01/15/2025

You've heard of Saving Private Ryan? Now familiarize yourself and your fire dispatch personnel with Saving Firefighter Ryan. A one day class aimed at making your fire dispatchers more aware and increasingly capable of dealing with everyone's nightmare: Mayday Calls! Did you know that more than 1/3 of original Mayday calls go answered because they were never heard? This session combines an overview of actual calls with a deep dive into local resources and procedures that increase a telecommunicators awareness of how they can improve safety and survival on the fireground.