2011 International Conference
for Fire & Rescue Executives

Leadership on the Edge of Reason

After a successful year in 2010, the second annual International Conference for Fire & Rescue Executives was held in Toronto, ON, Canada, in May 2011. CPMS collaborated with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, Toronto Fire Services, Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services, Fire Chiefs Association of B.C., Calgary Fire Department, Alberta Fire Chiefs Association, Service de Sécurité Incendie de Montréal, and the Association des Chefs en Sécurité Incendie du Québec. This was a great opportunity to not only listen to the experts from various fields speak, but to also come together as experts yourselves to talk about the issues that you face in your respective communities, also to look for solutions for the many challenges and potential that you have in your profession. The theme "Leadership on the Edge of Reason" highlighted the fundamentals needed for applying your effective leadership abilities through communication, building strategic relationships, and implementing newly found approaches for your businesses.

Selected keynote speakers collectively shared their personal experiences, leading us to build a greater understanding and appreciation for how to really be a strong effective leader. Ian Davidson, Deputy Minister of Community Safety for the Government of Ontario, accentuated the theme by saying “More then ever we will be asked not only to evolve as organizations, but to put on a transformational lens and consider how we can deliver our business differently than we have in the past. This will test us as leaders but it will also provide an opportunity for us to be creative and try to determine how the future will look. Every single leader faces similar challenges at different times and this is our opportunity to lead our profession and government out of a very difficult circumstance and if it’s not us then who; if we don’t come up with solutions for the future someone else will come up with them for us.”