Uncle Wayne

03/14/2026

While doing some reading today I was hit with a message from the very first editors opinion that Chief Halton wrote. He titled it “mind if I sit here” he explained what the purpose of the magazine meant to him and all of the tradition that was behind it. One of the biggest things that I took from it was his stressing the importance for us to pass wisdom from firefighter to firefighter through training and shared experiences. Sometimes we need to slow down ourselves from moving to the future and take a few minutes to reflect and learn from the wisdom of great people that paved the path we are walking on. I hope that I do you proud by my work Chief.

03/12/2026

This is something myself and so many other people in our line of work face each day. A huge thank you to Stephanie White and Chief David Rhodes for believing in the message of this article and publishing it. It is always a surreal moment to be a contributor to a platform like Firefighter Nation

Many veteran fire instructors with decades of experience still must deal with that nagging thought: Am I really good enough to teach this? Wayne Jones on confronting impostor syndrome.

03/05/2026

I am happy to announce that I have been selected to teach at this years Smoky Mountain Weekend in Gatlinburg TN. I hope to see everyone there

03/04/2026

This is a really great article that deserves to be read by every person in the fire service.

We talk a lot about nozzle work, search, and command decisions.

But when was the last time you heard a full critique of the engineer?

If no one says a word to the driver operator after a fire, we call it a win. The truth is the engineer can make or break the entire incident.

Positioning. Water supply. Pump pressures. Equipment readiness. District knowledge. Troubleshooting when things fail.

That role is not secondary. It is foundational.

The Engineer’s Role in Fireground Tactical and Strategic Success: https://ow.ly/CPHB50Yp5Gt

03/03/2026

Take a second to read this one

In the twisted world of leadership, it’s easy to forget the basics.

Ownership isn’t the only component - but it’s one of the most important. It must stay front and center every single day.

Ownership means:

Owning the hard conversations - not avoiding them.
Owning the standard - not lowering it.
Owning the slip in morale - not blaming “this generation.”
Owning your people’s failures - and looking at yourself first.
Owning the outcome - no matter how it turns out.

In successful organizations, ownership is a two-way street. The bottom owns its flaws. The top owns it when those “great ideas” didn’t work out like they imagined.

That’s how culture is built.
That’s how trust is earned.
That’s how leadership becomes real.

Ownership is what makes leadership real.

02/28/2026

My first trip to the mountain state for the 43rd annual The ESCAPe Conference at Pipestem Resort State Park was one I will remember for sure. An absolute beautiful area and venue, students that were super engaged, built some new friendships and I got adopted by three great mentors. I can’t wait to go back for #44.

02/27/2026

Enjoying The ESCAPe Conference and getting to teach on topics that i am passionate about and meet some great people.