By Mark Ambrogi
Carmel Fire Chief David Haboush is dedicated to expanding his knowledge of his job.
Haboush was accepted into the fourth year of the Fire Service Executive Development Institute. The year-long development program is offered through the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Motorola sponsored the program and provided scholarships to the 20 participants. The program is for aspiring fire chiefs or newly appointed fire chiefs. Haboush, who began his career with Carmel Fire Dept. in 1992, was appointed chief in March 2015.
Haboush completed the first week from March 13 to 18 in Leesburg, Va. He said the group will meet again at the Fire Rescue International conference in San Antonio, Texas, in August.
“A lot of times at conferences you’ll be in class for an hour-and-a-half, and the instructor is trying to get as much information out to the listener as possible,” Haboush said. “The beauty is we have some great presenters come from the fire service. In some cases, we spent four hours or even eight hours talking about a particular subject.”
One of the topics discussed was courageous conversation.
“It was talking about things that aren’t always comfortable to talk about,” Haboush said. “The fire service is a totally different environment because most work 24-hour shifts. The conversation is just a little different in a firehouse than it might be in an office environment. It’s a little different because you are actually living with your co-workers.”
A speaker talked about the top concerns facing the fire service in the next five years.
“We talked about funding sources,” he said. “We talked about longevity in the fire service. We talked about what different community makeups look like. It was a phenomenal program, some of the best training I’ve ever been to.”
Haboush said he can contact the presenters if he has questions during the next year.
“The beauty is I got mentors and coaches all over the country who are willing to help make me a better fire chief and to run a more successful fire department,”
