Assuming Command with Bob Horton

Apr 23 2024 24 ep. 51 mins 4

Assuming Command with Bob Horton Podcast artwork

Thank you for joining us on Assuming Command, where we interview thought leaders, innovators, and influencers in all areas of public service.

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S3E3: Racing Against Rising Demand with Daniel Haight

Apr 23 2024 46 mins

This month, Bob spoke with Daniel Haight from Darkhorse Emergency, a data visualization and analytics company focused on software to aid fire and ambulance operations. They discuss the importance of the availability of ground-truth, trusted data that can be used to aid in decision making for fire chiefs, especially in the face of competing priorities (if you haven’t listened to S

S3E2: Managing Expectations with Bob Horton

Mar 02 2024 14 mins

Expectations for a Fire Chief come from numerous sources and stakeholders, and the Fire Chief must assess those expectations, determine which are reasonable and feasible, and act on them accordingly. This month’s episode is focused on Bob’s take on the Fire Chief’s challenge of managing competing expectations. Thank you for listening and let us know what you thought of this

S3E1: Psychological Safety with Andrew Holter

Feb 02 2024 35 mins

Assuming Command has been reimagined for 2024 and has joined the Western Fire Chiefs media network. Discussions in season 3 will explore the intersection of leadership and management, specifically in the space of fire administration. To kick off season 3, Andrew Holter is back. Andrew is the principal of FR Strategies and is an industrial organizations psychologist working in emer

Season 3 Intro

Jan 01 2024 36 mins

Welcome to the kickoff of Season 3. We're starting this season by playing the year in review episode of Fire Headlines, a Western Fire Chiefs Association podcast co-hosted by Bob. We hope you enjoy the episode and look forward to getting back into the swing in 2024.

S2E8: Receiving Fire and Smoke with Kate Lighthall

Jul 05 2023 46 mins

With the West entering wildfire season, we’re continuing the discussion this month with Kate Lighthall, the Western Region Coordinator for the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. The Council leads the implementation of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. Kate has extensive experience as a structure and wildland firefighter and fire inspector, as well as worki

S2E7: Scientific Communication with Eden McCall

Jun 01 2023 30 mins

As we enter wildfire season here in the west, we’re continuing our series on wildfire and wildfire preparedness. Eden McCall is a journalism and spatial data science student at the University of Oregon. Bob got connected with Eden as a result of the 2020 Almeda fire in southern Oregon. Eden had been working on the Fire Story podcast with the university and reached out to Bob to d

S2E6: The Analytical Moose

Apr 09 2023 31 mins

Here at Assuming Command we love a good trailblazer and this month’s guest fits that description. Rachael Brady is the founder of The Analytical Moose and developer of the Wildfire Aware app, which will launch in May 2023. Rachael has a background working at CalFire and was awarded the USGIF Government Achievement Award for her GIS work on wildfire mapping and investigations into

Replay - Mental Wellness with Elissa Denton

Mar 05 2023 42 mins

Thank you for joining us for our March episode. This month, we decided to replay an episode from 2020 on mental wellness with Elissa Denton. Recently, two firefighters in southern Nevada were tragically lost to suicide and Bob wanted to take the opportunity to promote the importance of mental wellness and provide some resources for starting a journey towards improved mental wellnes

The Value of Organizational Psychology with Dr. Andrew Holter

Feb 01 2023 43 mins

Happy February and we hope your 2023 is off to a smooth start. This month’s guest on Assuming Command™ is Dr. Andrew Holter. Andrew is an organizational psychologist serving the Wilmington Fire Department in North Carolina as their Administrative Services Manager. He has been in emergency services for nearly 20 years and is the founder of FR Strategies, a public safety co

Not What I Signed Up For

Jan 05 2023 53 mins

Welcome back and thanks for hanging in there with Assuming Command ™ while we had a little hiatus in 2022. We're back with an exciting new schedule of discussions. To kick off the comeback, Bob is talking a little about what he's been up to and we're revisiting his guest interview on Side Alpha in 2021 to discuss his article for FireRescue1, "Not What I Signed Up For"