The Firehouse Yak: Rob Policht - Reflecting on the Fire Service from the Next Wave of Leadership
Peter Matthews talks with Rob Policht, a lieutenant with Passaic, NJ, Fire Department and one of the guys between Flow and Vent, about the state of today’s fire service and how a podcast he was on with a former Navy SEAL changed some of his approach to the fire service.
As a young officer, Policht provides his perspective on bridging the gap across multiple generations in the station. From bringing new members to the crew to understand operations and history, to ensuring all members are engaged in training to build a cohesive unit, Policht says crews need to have trust and respect for each other.
Reflecting on his podcast with U.S. Navy SEAL Drago Dzieran, he talks about the differences and similarities between the firefighters and SEALs, plus the paramilitary approach to fire departments and the SEAL’s thoughts on the fire service.
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, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department.
Robert Policht
Robert Policht is lieutenant of Ladder Co. 2 of the Passaic, NJ, Fire Department. He assisted with developing and establishing the department’s response to human vs. machine incidents and is attached to the Fire Investigation Unit. Policht started his career as a volunteer and has served as a chief of department. He teaches at the Bergen County, NJ, Fire Academy and is a member of the NJ Division of Fire Safety's Fire Threat Task Force. Policht has a master’s degree in emergency management and homeland security from Arizona State University and has been published in several trade publications. He is a founder of and contributor to Flow and Vent, which is a website that's dedicated to fire and rescue training.
