Dr. Lindsay Judah currently serves as the Rescue Chief for a Florida metro fire rescue agency, but her commitment to the industry surpasses the fireground.
Alongside her role as Rescue Chief, she also works as a Fire and Emergency Services consultant working with national and international organizations.
With a doctorate in Public Administration, Lindsay serves as a graduate adjunct Professor for Valdosta State University in Georgia. She is a member of a plethora of associations such as the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Fire Department Safety Officers Association.
In this interview with Assistant Editor, Isabelle Crow, Lindsay discusses the importance of organizations in building your network and why she believes training and education are key to success.
I am currently a member of the Congressional Fire Service Institute’s Associate’s Club, the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association and the International Association of Fire Chiefs Safety, Health and Survival section to name a few. I’ve also had the opportunity to serve as an “Everyone Goes Home” advocate and fellow for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
I encourage individuals to acquire various industry memberships as there are learning and sometimes scholarship opportunities associated with them. Memberships provide an opportunity to grow your network and communicate with other industry partners, to exchange ideas.
I think we have a lot of opportunities to learn from the military and law enforcement regarding some of their models.
Building your network with Dr. Lindsay Judah
The International Association of Chiefs of Police are participating in an initiative which aims to increase the representation of women known as the 30×30 Initiative. Historically, in Fire Rescue we’ve increased women participation by 1% per decade; at nearly 5% in career organizations in 2025.
One fascinating fact I came across several years ago had to do with the gender-neutral terms used in the U.S. Marine Corps warfighting document. Stereotypically, the most hardy and masculine military force we have in the United States has created a gender-neutral document.
We still have a lot of policies in our industry that reference “he” and “his”, which I think can be exclusionary. I do believe there are a lot of opportunities to be able to learn from others participating in different organizations, and oftentimes, the membership dues can help support those causes too.
For example, being a member of Women in Fire may help to promote progress, as well as participating in their conferences and offering time to educate individuals in attendance.
I currently serve as a graduate adjunct professor for Valdosta State University in Georgia with focuses of organizational leadership and political science. I previously served as a professor for Columbia Southern University where I taught individuals who were involved with the fire and emergency services industry.
Teaching for CSU was a great experience, as a requirement of the professors was to teach live lectures, so I had the opportunity to connect with the students and provide different presentations, covering a broad swath of industry information.
Several of the students emailed me later saying they hadn’t heard of 70% of what I covered in the lecture, such as the availability of NIOSH reports, conference scholarships, and podcasts like Perspectives on Leadership with Chief Steve Shaw.
One related topic I would love to ensure people in our industry are aware of is the Science to the Station initiative and the Scholars Alliance. This is a community of academically trained fire and EMS professionals committed to bridging scholarly research and frontline experience to create actionable solutions for our industry.
I’m glad that is has reopened, as the closure was a concern for many people around the country. There are over 28,000 fire departments in the United States and 70% of them are volunteer.
Volunteer agencies often do not have the resources to send their personnel to train and- quite frankly, many of the career, paid organizations do not have the funding either. For many, the NFA is the only option for high-quality education and training.
Building your network with Dr. Lindsay Judah
The NFA have over 50 classes available, ranging from two to 10 days. The NFA is hosting their annual Executive Fire Officer and Leadership Symposium in October 2025. Some individuals have attended every year it has been offered, over three decades!
Training plays a significant role in implementing innovation in our industry; and we should supplement this with research to make effective progress.
Intentionality is essential when it comes to innovation; there can be some unintended consequences associated with implementing change in our industry.
Building your network with Dr. Lindsay Judah
Many factors must be considered when creating guidelines, determining budgetary needs, and selecting equipment. Generating buy-in from city/county management, department directors, chief officers, and the community can be critical for long-term success of any program implementation strategy.
Electric vehicle blankets have recently been launched throughout many agencies and now UL FSRI has shared concerns regarding explosion risks with deployment of the blankets. It can be difficult to remain agile and keep up with industry evolution and not assume potential risk.
I think that training is incredibly important when it comes to informing our personnel on current trends and new innovations. There are many free resources available to fire rescue personnel such as the Fire Hero Learning Network, NFFFTV, Responder Safety, and UL Fire Safety Research Institute.
Public education and outreach are essential in communities.
I think from a fire rescue perspective, we need to remain curious, inquisitive and frequently ask questions. Such as, “Does your agency participate in community outreach events such as drowning prevention, fall prevention, fire extinguisher training, heatstroke prevention or helmet safety?” The Social Vulnerability Index Interactive Map is also an intuitive resource available online.
There are so many creative ways to connect with our respective communities and help prevent injury and death. There are even opportunities for active agencies to be highlighted for the impactful work they accomplish in their communities, such as the CFSI Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education.
