Up in Flame’s
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Resignation Effective Immediately – Female Firefighter Speaks Up & Walks Out With Pride
Some may not agree with my style of sharing hard truths to cause a shift. There is no doubt that true friends, mentors and leaders rise to the top of our lives at times like these. I have been warned that I might burn bridges. However, I know this, any bridge I burn because of my efforts to seek improvement or inspire change, leads to a path I would never want to venture down.
Rio Bravo Hotshots Cut In Kern County As Wildfire Season 2020 Jumps Up Across The Nation
The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate funding for the only County funded Type One Hotshot Wildland Firefighting Crew in not only Kern County California, but the United States entirely. Rio Bravo Hotshots are a unique fire fighting crew that serves as a county, state and national resource based in the small community of Kern River Valley. The remaining Hotshot crews across the US are hosted by federal and state agencies.
The Sum of Zero Tolerance
Zero tolerance, yea that’s what they keep telling us at all of those trainings, on all of the pretty fliers posted up in the break room. Zero tolerance for harassment, for violence, for bullying, for hostility, the list goes on. Zero tolerance. There is also zero...
It Takes a Big Broom – Up in Flames Episode 2
You can almost hear the swishing noises in the back of muckety-muck offices at work places that would rather sweep their filthy dirt under the rug than toss it in the trash.News Flash – this is happening in more places than you think. Of course, this isn’t happening...
Up in Flames Episode 1
Inspiring morale courage in the workplace and beyond.This is a project that I started doing because I realized that there were a lot of people out there whose voices weren't being heard and stories weren't being told. I'm not just talking about sexual harassment, I'm...
Safety Concerns on USDA Sequoia National Forest Reported – Reprisal in Return
"Whether it was a lapse of judgement or just being in this pressure cooker called the Kern River Ranger District..." District Ranger Al Watson Not long ago I was asked by an investigator to describe a few of my concerns surrounding the USDA Forest Service, Sequoia...
The USFS Sequoia Morale Rib Kick of the 2013 Government Shutdown
During the Government Shutdown in 2013 I was a Fire Battalion Chief who supervised 9 Fire Prevention Technicians on the Kern River Ranger District of the Sequoia National Forest in California. I wont go into the details that surround a Federal Furlough, because that...
“You’re Ridiculous!” The Little Ways Bullies Attempt to Knock Down Leaders in the Workplace
I was working as an Incident Commander on a remote wildland fire and was asked to ascertain photos from firefighters on the line because the lack of connectivity prevented Public Information Officers from getting fire photos to the public. In my closing comments...
Federal Employees No Longer Silenced
This post is to give the silenced federal land management employees of our nation a chance to bring attention and awareness to the jaw dropping things that go on in their workplace environments, with a special emphasis on harassment and bullying. It may be the actions...