So, this is not going to be an article about officers drinking on the job. It is however, going to be about officers that are so involved in themselves and the title that is bestowed upon them to be an officer, that they become “Drunk” with power.

We have all seen this type of person. They are the one who gets the position and becomes a complete and total idiot. Now, they may have been an idiot before but, now they are an idiot with a title and power. This is the person who sits behind a desk shouts orders and doesn’t even attempt to interact with the crew. The one who doesn’t, at least, stand there with a towel and try to look like he’s helping dry the truck. He is the one who thinks it is important for the crew to train but will leave it up to the Engineer or Senior Firefighter to conduct while they sit at the desk because they have “administrative stuff” to take care of. This type of officer while putting on a seemingly good show on the exterior is just another pencil pusher that wanted the position for the title on the inside.

The “Drunken” Officers are the ones who tell themselves that they are the greatest officers while their crew suffers due to their lack of leadership traits. They walk around and tell everyone how great they are and how they were “hand picked” for the position they are in. They see the position as a feather in their cap. They fail to see the fact that they are responsible for the lives of their crew and not just their own. Decisions are made on what they think is the “right” decision and not what is actually the right one.

We have all worked with, or know someone who has worked with, a “Drunken” officer. I would like to get feedback from our followers of some ways you have or would deal with an officer like this. We unfortunately will have to deal with one someday. We can’t exactly just blow them off because they are an officer. However there are ways of dealing with them and still not getting written up. Stay safe and go home at the end of every tour.

Share on Facebook

Firefighter Basics crew arrived for FDIC on Sunday evening and got registered for the week of training. Fortunately for us, there was already a few brothers from the Charleston, S.C Fire Dept who were on the ground and invited us to dinner. We would like to thank Ed Henry Owner of Truck Company Concepts and Matt Thomson for inviting us to dinner. While heading to dinner and talking to AnchorPoint, whom we are going to get to FDIC 2011, Chief Ed Hadfield of Firetown Training Specialist dropped a note to say he was at the Webber Grill and to stop by and have a beer. We had a fantastic meal and a great talk. What a very smart man. We hope to get together in the future and do some training. We wrapped up the night to get ready for the start of H.O.T. classes.  Monday came around, the start of H.O.T classes, and we are standing in line for the Large Area Search Lead by Robert Athanas of Safe-IR, what a fantastic class, and I met up with Jason Hoevelman of A Firefighters Own Worst Enemy . There we teamed up with a brother from Indiana and a Chief Officer from Japan. I must say if you have never conducted Large Area Search and you have any buildings that have aisles which are greater than ten feet wide or big box structures and you believe you are just going to be able to search it with no training; you are fooling yourself! You are setting yourself up to hurt or even worse kill firefighters.  The instructors were great and very knowledgeable and need to be allotted more than four hours. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone going to FDIC. Sign up and find out what you have been missing.  As stated, this was a four hour class and ran up until the afternoon and then we headed off to the ABC’s of Airbags Lead instructor Paul Debartolomeo. Paulie, if you read this post I hope I got it right. Guys the class was great and the Instructors again, top shelf.  I will definitely be signing up again to see what they have in store for next year. Scott Feather ( Training 38) took the Truck Company Search Procedures and Firefighter safety and survival offered by the IAFF. He gave it Five stars. Scott also took Thermal Imaging Techniques and the ABC’s of Air Bag’s.  Later on that night we met our friends from the Charleston Fire and some new friends whom were firefighters on Camp Lejune Marine Corp Base for some dinner at Bucca Di Beppa and later over to the Cladduagh. At the Cladduagh the place was packed. We again talked with Jason Hoevelman, Jeff Shupe, Jim Crawford, Ray McCormack and the list goes on. I’m sure you get the picture. Tuesday was a leadership workshop by Chief Bob Burns and Captain Al Hagan of the FDNY on First Line Leadership. Again, another common sense class with tons to offer and not enough time.  During the rest of the week I got to take classes for Company Officers, Truck Company Operations, and an Awesome class by Chris Naum of Buildingsonfire.com coming to you soon. We learned a lot and got to play some as well, Thursday was the Kicker as we shared a few pints with the Brotherhood Instructros, PL Vulcan Fire Training, On Scene Training Associates, and Urban Firefighter Magazine. All and all it was a great time with some amazing and gifted firefighters.  Saturday I did some shopping where I was able to pick up the new Fire Notes on Fire Ground Search from FDTN. We will be back out at FDIC 2011 March 21-26 and hope to see you there.

Share on Facebook

“Tradition is an explanation for acting without thinking”  Grace McGarvie

The fire service is heavy on tradition, rightfully so.  The problem is when the tradition interferes with your ability to take care of yourself and your family.  “Traditionally” it was unheard of for a public servant to be sued.  Everyone can get sued.  Being sued for actions taken in performance of your duties is becoming increasingly popular. These lawsuits can be personal in nature and the organization can decide if they will pay for your representation or not.  In my state, my organization can decide if  a firefighter  was “acting within the scope of their office or employment”.  If the answer is yes the organization has to handle the lawsuit.  How hard would it be for them to find something you did to be “outside” of  your employment if they wanted to?

It used to be acceptable to die young and leave a grieving family behind.   If you think your life insurance will pay up the day after notification of  your death, think again.  Check the list of exclusions and see if your line of work falls under their definition of  “dangerous activity”.   Insurance companies are in the business of making money, not paying money.  Tradition is not going to pay your mortgage when you are out injured or deceased.

Fire has  not changed since the beginning of firefighting.  What burns definitely has.  Fires used to be only all natural materials burning, now plastic is everywhere.  The heat of combustion of plastics items are double that of the same things made out of wood.  I won’t get started on gases that are released.  Why would you risk inhaling that crap?  Want to look salty?  Maybe you want to be the guy on the news with “smoke inhalation”  that’s a traditional thing, just like falling off the rear step of fire apparatus, right?

I guess the thesis of this post would be this “Know what you are doing and why you are doing it”.  “But it’s Tradition”  does not make a strong argument against NFPA, Cancer,state/federal laws, and loss of income/work.

Tradition is what keeps the fire service a close knit community and I promise to get to the great traditions later.

But for now…Think, Think, Think

Share on Facebook

Baseball season started me thinking about how we build our own teams.  In Baseball it begins in the farm system, but they also have Winter Meetings, where they can trade and get players to make their team ready to meet the challenge of the 162 game season.   Certainly there are times when it would be nice for us to go out and grab some free agents, or possibly even trade for a player to be named later.

The reality of things is that most times we must work with the cards we are dealt.  While transferring a “less than desirable” firefighter off your group may seem like a good idea, all it does is shift the burden of your problems to someone else.  And if ”A” shift has an “all star” then they are not likely to hand him over willingly.

So what are we supposed to do?

I remember reading about people that don’t meet your expectations.  The line of reasoning was that rather than writing them off, you should consider that maybe they just have not had the opportunity to prove themselves to you.

The gist is the everyone has the potential, you just have to work it out of them.

To further the comparison to professional sports, how many teams have acquired a mediocre player only to have him shine with the right combination of teammates and management?  By being put in the right place, anyone can reach their true potential. 

Does this mean that behind every badge is a Tom Brennan or Ray Downey?  Or a (insert name here) from your Department?  No.  It means that as a company officer you have the obligation to try and bring the best out each employee.  Certainly personalities and other factors limit your ability to do this.  However at the end of the day, that is what your job is.

Share on Facebook