The Firehouse Yak: Jared Vermeulen – Foundations for The Modern Fire Officer
Capt. Jared Vermeulen talks with Peter Matthews about his book, “The Modern Fire Officer,” and his approach to being a fire service leadership in current times. The book was born from Vermeulen’s experiences as an officer and from the promotional process, leading him to share practical, modern leadership skills for fire service leaders.
Vermeulen’s goal is to build strong companies by focusing on the members, from their health and wellness to understanding their strengths and weaknesses as a foundation. They talk about the steps to build a strong unit, how to help others through challenging times and why the mindset of customer service is important throughout the chain of command because a firefighter is the officer’s customer, like the citizen is the firefighter’s customer.
They discuss the role of informal leaders, developing and maintaining positive attitudes, helping each other grow and focusing on an overall healthy, positive attitude in the firehouse.
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About the Author
Peter Matthews
Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director
Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood Landing, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.
Jared Vermeulen
Jared Vermeulen is a captain with Boca Raton, FL, Fire Rescue where he has served for over 18 years. He specializes in hazardous materials, rope rescue, trench rescue, confined space, and heavy extrication. Vermeulen serves as the peer support coordinator for his department. Vermeulen is the author of the book, “The Modern Fire Officer,” which is intended to help fire officers create and motivate hardworking, healthy crews and prepare for the many challenges they will face while providing top notch internal and external customer service.