There is a story behind most of the “stuff” in the photo, I call it my “comfort stuff”.  Like the red fire helmet on the wall is my dad’s MFD captain helmet form the old days.

He passed it on to my son who is folowing in grandpa’s career footsteps.  I get to have the helmet until Pete gets a place of his own where he can keep it.

Take Care

The training is hosted by the MN BCA, and conducted by the Center for Applied Leadership. The class has participants who are leaders in their organizations who have supervisory responsibilities or are aspiring to become supervisors. My goal is to create an awareness and provide some insights into the subject of spiritual fitness, and I get an hour and a half to do so. This year I came to the conclusion that I won’t be able to find that perfect “10 pounds”, but that I will always be throwing out a variety of ideas that everyone will receive differently. Again this year I was extremely pleased with the conversations shared after the class as well as some of the thoughts shared by participants during the class. Several people heard different parts of the message and applied the ideas to their personal situations. As always I learned a lot from hearing the experiences of cops on the job.

So once again this ministry brings me insight, success, learning experiences, frustrations, happiness, sadness…well, you get the picture. This ministry is like life, complicated but wonderful. Thanks participants, I always enjoy and appreciate the experience.

Take Care!

Well I got a message the other day from Brad Bloom, publisher of Faith and Fitness Magazine. This issue contains an article called A FIREFIGHTER’S STRENGTH FOR SERVICE. He thought some of my readers may enjoy it, and I agree. I especially enjoyed the introduction story and thought I’d share it here.

By Bob Markowski and Ralph Haynes, Introduction by Phil Black
Southern California, October 2007 – Houses were burning all around us. Split-second decisions dictated whose homes would be saved and whose would be lost. It was the type of triage none of us enjoyed. In a strange way, firefighters are often at their very best during these times of oppressive heat, devastation, and danger. We are trained to remain level-headed and situationally aware even in times of extreme emergency.
As we attempted to suppress the fires burning in any one particular house, there came a time when we knew that the house could not be saved. At that moment, we would give each other the sign. The sign meant that we would make one last run through the burning house to collect whatever we thought would be most important to the family that lived there. We would pull family photos off the wall, pick up jewelry boxes, grab important-looking file cabinets, snatch video cameras, photo albums and computers – anything that we thought would be of sentimental value to the residents. We pulled antique cars out of people’s garages and parked them on the front lawn. This all had to be done in a matter of 30 – 45 seconds – seconds before the house went up in a ball of fire.

Those are some of the most worthwhile minutes we spend as firefighters – helping to save something — anything of value to the residents. We witnessed families return to their homes after the fire to find nothing more than a concrete slab. Yet next to the slab on the burned front lawn, they saw a pile of framed photographs, old home movies, mementos, jewelry boxes, or file cabinets – all untouched by fire and smoke. The families would look around and wonder how such a thing happened? How did their most prized and important possessions end up saved from the wreckage? They would look left, and right? Still, they had no idea how it happened. Then they looked up into the sky – and all their questions were answered – for they knew God had a role in this salvation.

Our fire crew would look at each other and not say a word. We just went about our business of cleaning up with a little more appreciation for a job that allows us to serve others in such unique and unconventional ways.– Phil Black, San Diego Fire Department

Oh yeah, and there’s another reason I’ve got some interest in the fire service. My dad spent 30 years with the Minneapolis Fire Department and my son Pete is a firefighter and going to school in Fairbanks Alaska.

It is a day when EPFD staff cook a breakfast where even old retired police chiefs are welcome. Rituals, routines, fellowship and relationships are important parts of living a spiritually fit life. Thanks EPFD for providing me with this spiritual fitness exercise opportunity!

Firefighters Lee and Kim cooking the feast.

Chief Esbensen supervising (but know that I did catch him doing dishes after the meal)

The retired cop’s contribution ( yeah I know I’m perpetuating the stereotype, but I really do like donuts!)

Friends and “mates” are important to being healthy spiritually. I have been blessed with lots of family and friends that I can talk to. It’s also important to have “safe” people to talk to. Often that’s where professional therapists, bound by ethics and confidentiality, are good alternatives to sharing sensitive issues with a friend. You will often here me refer to “a pastor friend of mine” (from now on referred to as APFOM) who has been a friend since high school. He is my “safe” friend. He is someone I can talk with and share ideas and is honest in his feedback, and he is always confidential. He’s my “mate”.

Who is your “mate”? Who can you have a “safe” conversation with? Think about it, it’s important to your spiritual fitness.

There is a trend in the profession to tap into and develop leadership at every level of the organization. When I was at Eden Prairie we put on a similar leadership development program. Last night I stood before 24 police officers from the Minnetonka Police Department, the Plymouth Police Department and the Maple Grove Police Department. If these people are the current and future leaders of our profession, we are in good hands.

Although I only had an hour with them, I feel I did get some seeds planted. I’ve given this talk half a dozen times now, and with the feedback I’ve received it is starting to shape up. It is tough to condense the concept of “Spiritual Fitness” into an hour when the topic has never really been discussed or presented before. I spend the majority of the time trying to define the concept of “Spiritual Fitness”. The second point I try and stress and explain is how the people drawn to careers in public safety have an extremely “Unique Spirit”. It is a spirit that is a critical characteristic of a high quality and effective police officer. My objective is to then explain the importance of the relationship between “Spiritual Fitness” and that “Unique Spirit”.

The comment I’ve heard most consistently after these presentations is “Okay, I get the idea, now how do I do it?” I’m happy people want more, but impatient with myself by not providing it. But hopefully through this website, people sharing the message and more time to focus now that I’m retired, progress will come quicker.

Thanks for last night folks, it was a great experience!

Hey everybody, about 6 months ago I joined the Steese Volunteer Fire Dept. in Fairbanks, Alaska, and am currently a Live-in firefighter/medic for them. Every year, members of the fire service participate in a program called St. Baldricks. Here’s the little thing on what it is:

“It’s that time of year again! The eighth annual St. Baldrick’s Day events are Shaving the Way to Conquer Kids’ Cancer as thousands of brave volunteers shave their heads in solidarity with children who have cancer and typically lose their hair during cancer treatment.

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. While advances have saved many children, childhood cancer still claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease – more than diabetes, asthma, congenital anomalies, cystic fibrosis and AIDS – combined!

Funds raised by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will be used to fund childhood cancer research – to help speed the day when every child with cancer will be guaranteed a healthy future.

On behalf of all children with cancer, thank you for your support of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.”

So basically what happens is I let my hair grow out until March 16th, and then get it shaved completely, in honor of the brave children who lose their hair as they go through treatment . Forty-six children are diagnosed with cancer every day. Over the last twenty-five years, the incidence of childhood cancer has increased every year. Forty years ago, childhood cancer was almost always fatal. Today, through the advancements in diagnosis and treatment, 77 percent of the children with cancer can now be cured. Despite this remarkable progress in research and treatment, cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children.

In the first year as an independent foundation, St. Baldrick’s Foundation raised more than $5.3 million. Last year, they raised $8,334,840 in 271 locations around the globe! It was all made possible by the generous donations of people all around the world.

We hope to obliterate last year’s total, but we will need lots of help. If you would like to make a donation, I have mentioned that I myself have signed up. You can donate to the foundation by visiting my page here:

http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info.html?ShaveeID=1586#

I am also a member of the Steese Fire Department team. If you would like to make a donation to my team, please click on this link:

http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/team_info.html?TeamID=139#

No donation is too small, and any donation is greatly appreciated. If money is not something that is feasible for anyone, I completely understand and another way you could help me out immensely would be just to get the word out. Forward this to any coworkers, family, friends, ANYBODY that might be interested in helping out a great cause.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line anytime, you can also call me at 612.554.4495 or 907.457.3710

Thank you so much for any help you can give, no matter the amount. Take care and stay safe,

Pete Carlson