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"The New Guy" part 1

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I would like to ask everyone to do me a favor. Take a few minutes to yourself, and ask a few questions. “Why am I a firefighter?” “Do I really like what I do?” “Am I trying to do something about the problems or causing more?”

Too often we see the people who have the attitude that they know everything and don’t want to listen to what a senior member of their crew has to say. You know who I’m talking about. The 18-year-old kid that just got out of the academy and thinks they know everything. You know the one who has “seen it all.”  Give me a break! I understand that the academy gives you a lot of information and trains you the book way of doing things. The books teach some good things to get you started, but my personal opinion is that time on the job can teach you more than any book will ever hope to. The “Probes,” “Rookies,” New Guy’s,” or whatever else they may be called in your department, should come in from day one, and only give an opinion when one is asked of them. Now I am not saying turn them into the whipping boy but they should show respect to the members that have been there. The ones who have been there have earned the right to have input.

When you, as a senior member, receive a “rookie,” take a few seconds and pull them off to the side and give them a little, let’s call it a “pep talk.” Just let them know that as one of the more senior guys on the shift, you will help them in any way possible as long as they ask. From going over the truck or trucks, to helping them out with chores. Also, don’t be too closed minded. Just because they are new to your department, they may have previous time at another department. Now that doesn’t mean they should just come in and start trying to change things but listen to them every now and then. Who knows, you may be able to learn something new from them. Now I know what you may be saying, but the rookie is “supposed” to do all the chores for a while and not have input. While I agree with having the rookie give some of the more senior members a break for a little while, we also want to make them feel like we are giving them a chance and not just writing them off from the beginning. We are a family.

Consider this. You have a little sister or daughter and you are meeting her new boyfriend for the first time. Sure we want to protect her but we also have to give him a chance to screw up. Sure put the fear of God into him so he knows that if he does happen to screw up there are going to be consequences.

Can't we all just get along?

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In just about every firehouse in America, there is some form of animosity among the members. Whether it’s a firefighter you have a personality conflict with or an officer you disagree with for whatever reason. Unfortunately it happens and it has a tendency to split crews up.

We have all seen or been a part of it in some way shape or form. You can’t honestly sit there and say you haven’t. Every now and again we are going to have disagreements. I mean come on, we ARE human! We are also adults and professionals. No matter how heated battles may get, we are always supposed to be there for each other and be a “family.” Now you may be saying, “Sure we don’t get along in the firehouse but when we get to a fire scene, we work well together.”  That is true and yes, we all know that when the bells ring, the lights flash and the sirens scream, it is time to go to work and perform as a team. That’s all fine and dandy but wouldn’t it make more sense to be like that all the time? Let’s see, work well together on the small and the big stuff to get things done, or argue and bicker over whose turn it is to take out the trash. Still others may say, “I am here to do a job and I am not here to make friends.” This has to be one of the most absurd comments I have heard. “Only here for a job not to make friends?” WOW!! Wake up people! This “JOB” is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Now, I know I am not telling anybody anything they don’t already know, but think about it for a second. The crew we get assigned to is supposed to be our extended family. We are with each other, in most departments, for 24 hours at a time or more. That is a long time to stay pissed off at someone and for what reason, because you don’t agree on something or they act differently than you? Oh wait, maybe it’s because they came from a state, town, city or department that you don’t like and think that only morons come from that area. Why should that matter? They are with YOUR department now.

One of the things I have discovered in my short 9 years in the fire service is that we as a profession are one of the most diverse mixes of people.  You have personnel with many years of service working right along others that are brand new and have never been on a fire truck. We are all supposed to work as one cohesive unit to get the tasks done, whether it’s on a scene or around the station doing the daily routine.  It’s all good and well to know that when the bells go off we will work together. Maybe it’s just me, but I know I would rather be able to trust my crew members all the time not just when the bells go.

Disorientation Drill

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100_43261

Learning to read couplings is essential if you get lost and disoriented in a fire.

To Setup the Drill you will need an area where you can run multiple sections of hose and charge it.

Materials Needed

  1. 300 feet of 1.5 or 1.75 fire hose
  2. Two nozzles
  3. Two instructors

When locating a coupling to gain orientation and get out of the structure. One saying that is used is ” Smooth Bump Bump and to the Pump” Referring to running your hand from the smooth shank portion of the male coupling to the lugs and then the lugs on the female coupling.

Firefighters should be in full PPE including SCBA and vision blocked.

Flashover Training Needs To Be Apart Of Basic Recruit Training

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Great teaching tool

As firefighters enter the service they should be given as much education as possible to survive. Flashovers are not just something that should be taught out of a book or viewed on a video. Until you have truly been able to witness a flashover and the signs leading up to a flashover, you are truly not prepared. Firefighters are in desperate need of this training as a part of the basic firefighting classes due to the amount of btu’s given off by the materials that are produced now. With the increase in using plastics and foams in building materials and furniture, the list could go on, these events can happen a lot sooner than anticipated. A few signs of Impending flashover are:

  1. Thick black turbulent smoke
  2. Banking down of the smoke
  3. High heat build up
  4. Little fingers of fire are showing ( Rollover or Flameover )

 

Simulators like in the above training can be brought in by professionals to let you experience a flashover and teach you techniques to recognize and prevent a flashover from occuring. Learning about flashover is apart of basic fire behavior so why not the hands on training.

 

Cooking Mexican

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Ok, so this doesn’t have anything to do with cooking Mexican food, but it does deal with paying attention the next time you are at a Mexican restaurant. When you sit down and look at the menu, take a few minutes and look around. Notice how they are all laughing and carrying on having a good time. They don’t fight over who’s table is who’s or who is going to do what. They all work together and get the job done. One waiter brings you your chips and salsa, another takes your order, another brings you your drinks and yet another brings you your dinner. The point I am trying to make is that you could learn a few things from watching these guys work. Proficient and fluent work, with little talking among them. They know what each other is going to do and know that if one person misses something, there is going to be another right behind them grabbing it.  One guy can carry four plates on one arm from his wrist to his shoulder, and still carry one to two more plates on the other.

If these guys can do these things with small plates, why is it that we have firefighters that can’t even carry one tool? Why is it that some firefighters on the fire ground, have to be told what to do? There should be very little talking about what to do on the fire ground. The officer should be able to tell the crew what he wants done before they even get off the truck and not worry about checking behind their guys to make sure they do the job right.

16 Life Safety Initiatives

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  1. Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety; incorporating leadership, management, supervision, accountability and personal responsibility.
  2. Enhance the personal and organizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service.
  3. Focus greater attention on the integration of risk management with incident management at all levels, including strategic, tactical, and planning responsibilities.
  4. All firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.
  5. Develop and implement national standards for training, qualifications, and certification (including regular re-certification) that are equally applicable to all firefighters based on the duties they are expected to perform.
  6. Develop and implement national medical and physical fitness standards that are equally applicable to all firefighters, based on the duties they are expected to perform.
  7. Create a national research agenda and data collection system that relates to the initiatives.
  8. Utilize available technology wherever it can produce higher levels of health and safety.
  9. Thoroughly investigate all firefighter fatalities, injuries, and near misses.
  10. Grant programs should support the implementation of safe practices and/or mandate safe practices as an eligibility requirement.
  11. National standards for emergency response policies and procedures should be developed and championed.
  12. National protocols for response to violent incidents should be developed and championed.
  13. Firefighters and their families must have access to counseling and psychological support.
  14. Public education must receive more resources and be championed as a critical fire and life safety program.
  15. Advocacy must be strengthened for the enforcement of codes and the installation of home fire sprinklers.
  16. Safety must be a primary consideration in the design of apparatus and equipment.