Episode 163: Episode 5-20 – Batt. Chief Jacob Johnson – Mentoring in the Fire Service

Very few people have ever joined the fire service and knew everything they needed to know on his/her first day! Sure, many came from a lineage of firefighters in the family and had a general idea of what goes on. However, on your first day that you show up to start, whether at an academy or at a station, you’re as fresh and innocent as a newborn! And even if you attend an academy, there is no way that you can be taught everything today’s firefighter needs to know! So, how do we fill in that space?

Sadly, in some cases, it is expected to take place by, what I refer to as self-osmosis; you simply absorb what you see. Yet, as most of us realize, that doesn’t even occur in a school classroom, so why do we expect it to work in a job where our responsibility is to protect lives and property!

Our guest is Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson of the Pearland TX Fire Dept. Chief Johnson shares with us how he learned coming up through the ranks and how he realized that a failure in his leadership with a firefighter, taught him the importance of mentoring and how crucial it is for every department to strongly encourage those with experience to take on the ever-important task of being a mentor.

Watch the video on our YouTube® Channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp., or tune in on your favorite podcast platform or our website at https://www.5-alarmtaskforcecorp.org.