Hey man are you okay? These are the words  heard on the other end of the phone as a brother firefighter calls to check on another after a very late night  fire in which a mistake was made.  The is response I hate making mistakes, but I have learned from it and will not make it again, but that is not the purpose of this writing.  As the discussion went on the brother went on to tell that the firefighter was being ridiculed for giving a good size up and wanting to be precise. My question to you is when did striving for excellence become bad? I have noticed for quite some time that firefighters whom strive to do their best take on a lot of ridicule.  Firefighters who go that extra step to be on committee’s or purchase equipment often face ridicule by  firefighters who either want to collect a paycheck or lack the know how to get the same job done. It lead me to ponder was this criticism because the firefighter was bad at their job or as I heard it stated they just wanted to be that guy, or is it fear that if in their same position they would have made the same mistake, but dismiss it by belittling firefighters  efforts.  So how did we let this become a standard practice of taunting firefighters wanting to be the  best and striving for that goal?  Ambition can be a great tool if harnessed early and guided in the right direction. Unguided and misdirected ambition can be trouble also, but how did it get that way? Was the ambition there to seek excellence but was not given any attention so now it is headed down the path of selflessness and Glorification? I used this story to point out the condemnation that is going on in the fire service today of one another. Often times firefighters are cutting each throats thinking that they are elevating themselves only, the real truth is they are showing everyone that they can not be trusted. We ( The Fire Service ) have enough people trying to tear us down and apart why are we doing it to one another? I encourage all the next time you encounter a firefighter striving for excellence help them along because it is the right thing to do;  Even though they may have made a mistake be honest and tell them the truth, but also highlight what has been done right and encourage the continued success in that area.  So again, I asked when did striving for excellence become a bad thing?

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In our world, we are all Firefighters, regardless of race creed or color. We have sworn to protect and serve the citizens of our community. We all get on the big truck, regardless of color or gender, when the bell hits to do our job.  Are you a veteran or a Dinosaur? This statement applies to every Firefighter, from probationary to retirement.

In my opinion, the major difference in defining a veteran or a dinosaur is quite simple. One word defines this difference and that is Initiative.

We can and do as firefighters add many tags to a veteran Brother, for example, years of service, fires fought, leadership ability, etc. When we shift through all of the tags placed on a veteran, what we truly see at the bottom is initiative. The initiative this member has shown shows whether the firefighter is or is not a veteran.

A veteran will show initiative from the day they start Probie School, to the day they retire and hang up their boots. While as a young firefighter, you need to work on your skills and rely on the veterans in the house with the same work ethic, values, and integrity and initiative, to be trained and ready to do the job. While the journey through the Fire Service will be filled with small bumps and huge difficulties, maintaining the initiative, will continue to make all of us stronger and able to make a difference in the training and molding members that follow us in the future, to be veterans also. Every veteran of the service, understand that last sentence, as our Fire Service future.

I suppose this brings us to the dinosaur. A dinosaur, in the Fire Service, is not the member who has tenure or the firefighter who comes on duty everyday and does his or her job, but the member, who uses the Fire Department as a part-time job. This may offend some, but read on. The member may be on the department, insert years here. This member may be on the job thirty years, one year thirty times. A dinosaur is the firefighter who complains about the calls, being up at night, training more than what is scheduled, etc, the list could continue, but every member can add their own.

Dinosaurs are not rank specific, as some believe. This belief is common among dinosaurs that roam our Fire Service today. Make no mistake dinosaurs are not extinct; they walk in every firehouse across our great nation, each and everyday. As a veteran, our task is to mitigate this behavior to the best of our ability, as we would with any other incident we come to face. A dinosaur, in and of themselves, are not bad individuals, by any stretch of the imagination. As most things in our lives, it an individual choice we make.

Veterans and dinosaurs are our friends and fellow firefighters, that we are responsible for each day.  We have to ask daily in the Fire Service, dinosaur are veteran, what are we? Will we continue to work to keep our service professional, or let it slip away because of a secondary job, its hot outside, or its nap time, etc? So I ask every member, veteran or dinosaur, where do you fit in? Put another way; is this a job or a profession?

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When I first came out of the academy I was ready.   I wanted to kick ASS and take names.  I was a brand new EMT and firefighter.   Then, when I driving to work that first day I was a bit scared… What if I wasn’t good enough?  What if I got scared and forgot what I was supposed to do.   What if my actions got somebody hurt?

Yup,  not so ready.

I sat in my car for awhile thinking about it before going in.  Met the guys.  Met the boss who said “Just jump on and stay close if we get anything”.  That’s it?  Really?  What the heck?

Within the hour we were on our way to our first call.  “Unknown medical”  The senior man told me it was probably a drunk guy.  He was wrong, it was a toddler in respiratory arrest, and looking more than a little blue.  I was horrified, the child was the same age as my own child.  The firefighter who thought it was a drunk call says “I hope the ambulance gets here quick”  and then walks away and does nothing. The boss did the right thing; pulled out the hot dog and told me vent the little guy.

When we got back to the firehouse I told the boss I wanted to go home.  I wasn’t meant for this, I didn’t know what I was doing etc… He told me “You see the guy at the table bragging about what we did?  If you ever start acting like that it’ll be time for you to leave.   As long as you think about what you’re doing, and do SOMETHING you’ll be just fine”

I didn’t understand what he was talking about then, but over the course of the next few years I realized what he meant.  Many people talk a good game.  Some guys tell stories all day and nothing else.  Some guys question every move they make.  But the bottom line is this:  Firefighters are people of action, when it’s time to act,  ACT.

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Respect, what does it mean to you? Do you feel it is owed to you or do you have to earn it? Do you want to earn it? Do you do what is needed to earn the respect you want, or do you just sit there, behind your desk, and shout orders? Do you really want to be in the position you are in or is it something that you feel was owed to you for your “years of service?”

Respect isn’t just about respecting each other. It is about respecting our profession. People have many different reasons for joining the fire service. No matter what your reason for joining may be, you must show respect to the profession.

To all who are reading this, let’s hear some feedback on what respect means to you. What was your reason for joining the fire service? Do you feel the same today as you did then? Some have gotten into the service and had a change of heart, maybe due to a bad call or the department in general. Either way we all have had something that sparked our interest in the fire service. Seeing a fire engine going down the road as a kid, being a second or third generation. All of us have something that sparked that little fire inside of us. Let’s hear what you guys have to say. Take care and stay safe.

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While responding to a fire just the other night, we turned on the street and started looking for addresses. Immediately, I grabbed the spotlight and began to shine the houses. I found the even numbers to be on the left and the odd numbers to be on the right.  As we make our way down the street I began to notice some houses had numbers and some didn’t, but I was not worried because using logic the numbers will correspond with each other and I should have no problem. Well, that could not have been further from the truth. As we arrived at the dwelling I believed to be the structure on fire I gave my size up and got out of the truck to confirm it was the actual address( As I have many times before ). As I stepped off of the truck a man was running down the street saying ” down here down here”.  As this was taking place the second and third due units started to arrive. As the third due arrived onto the street they happened to be pulling right in front of the correct location.  They arrived on scene and passed command. As I made my way down the street ( frustrated of course ) but trying to stay in the game, I started to notice that the numbers where out of order. We made it to the scene and there was a patient in the front yard needing attention. My driver took care of the water supply and my firefighter and I conducted patient care. While giving patient care, I was able to ask the family member of the sick party what the physical address was. He gave me the address and then went on to explain that the house in question was one of the first houses in the neighborhood and was numbered from the very beginning and as other houses where built and new streets added houses became numbered out of sequence. That did not make me feel any better, but it did put several things on my mind.

• Never get complacent thinking you know your first due area. It changes more than you think
• Get out in your first due and update your map book address, hydrant locations, and anything else that does not make sense to you.  i.e. things you may deem special hazards
• Hold off on giving a size up until you have confirmed  that you are at the right location

These are some lessons that I wanted to share that I learned the hard way. I have run a few calls being on several different departments and never imagined this happening to me.  We must strive everyday to make sure the little things that we become complacent at doing do not cost the people we serve or even worse, ourselves, any harm.

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In the fire service today it appears to be more firefighters adding to the problems of the fire service versus being apart of the solution. In this article I want to throw out a few things for you all to ponder.

Training- When you do your training do you approach it with enthusiasm or do you gripe about it? When it’s a hand’s on drill do you put energy into it or do you just go through the motions? Are you being honest with yourself and training on the subjects you know that you struggle with? Do you bring drill ideas? Set your objectives and once met your training is complete.

Education- When I say education most you probably think I mean achieving a college degree but that’s not what I mean. I do want to encourage those of you who don’t have a college education to get it. It can only enhance your knowledge. What I’m talking about is more Continuing education. Signing up for fire academy courses at least two a year even if it’s just refreshing on classes you haven’t taken in a while to update yourself. Remember this is a profession but yet a craft and it’s our responsibility to know and to exercise the best practices possible.

Team work- Together, Everyone, Achieves, More. If we see one of our brothers doing positive things lets encourage them and check and see if you can lend a hand. Who knows you might even learn something along the way.

It is most troubling when I hear firefighters sitting around bashing another firefighter for wanting to better her or his self. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you should try to follow suit? What do you do for your organization to make it better? Are you really there for the greater good or just yourself ? Yes butt kissing exists but jealousy is more prevalent. I encourage each and every one of you who read this article to ask yourself are you apart of the problem or the solution.

“On the mission of ignorance is the path to wisdom. LAO TZU

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     In the Fire service of today, we all are faced with ties that hold us and keep us, as a whole profession, from moving forward. While some of these ties can be broken, with a little effort, some can and have proven themselves difficult or even completely unbreakable.  Many of us in the Fire Service are doing the best we have to move ahead, Cultural Changes in many specific areas of the Fire Service are in the process of taking place or are they.

     In the years, I have been on the job several of these “ties” stand out, as immovable objects in our way. For instance, complacency, standing as a whole, instead of individual departments or states etc, Respect for our Brothers and Sisters, rather than “lip service” just to name a few. I would like to look at these ”ties”  that cause the biggest issues, in my opinion, and while I very well could upset some members of our service, maybe just maybe, I can get these same members to take a closer look at themselves.

     First of all,  Complacency, we as the Fire Service, are attempting to reduce our LODD’S, yet, when we take a hard look the reason for these fatalities, the bottom line is complacency. Whether we refuse to pay attention to our health, drive in a manner that would tax a NASCAR driver’s abilities, or fail to understand the basics of building construction and fire behavior, for buildings of yesterday and today. We all say we are working on the cultural changes, but how hard are we working? Is for today, while we are training, a week, until, “all this silly new stuff, dies down,” are we really seeing and understanding what complacency does and that given time, complacency’s cousin Murphy, will come and pay us a visit. Complacency takes many forms within today’s Fire Service; I hope one paragraph will make people think.

Secondly, let us talk about the Fire Service standing as a whole. While many of us on the job, understand that sentence, many, if not the majority does not. Make no mistake; the Fire Service is under attack! Budgets, politicians looking to make a name for themselves, citizens that love us one minute, but want to cut us the next, feel free to add to the list. The biggest threat to the Fire Service is from within. This problem is not isolated to a specific part of the country, or Fire Service, it is a nationwide epidemic. When we are critical of firefighters, instead of offering constructive critiques and using the events to learn, train and teach others, we fail in our mission. It is easy to be anonymous. It is easy to point fingers at others, when possibly truth be known, we were at fault or have done something similar to what we are condemning. As firefighters, we live in glass houses and we all know Firemen like to break glass. Try lifting the glass, before you break it see what happens. We must stop acting as individual firefighters, departments, cities, states and towns and act as a whole. By doing this, we may continue to do the job we love. Failure is writing off our chosen profession. As one profession, we are much stronger than individual units are.

     Lastly, Brothers and Sisters let us examine RESPECT. When we call each other brother or sister, do we mean it, or for that matter, even know what that stands for? For many of us, yes, we do know, however, the majority is paying lip service to each other and truly, by no fault of their own has not been taught to understand the true meaning.  Respect was taught to us as children, so why have we abandoned our childhood beliefs? I will let my Brothers and Sisters draw their own conclusions, on this topic. We must respect each other, like that person or not. Treat each other the way you wish others to treat you.

     I hope that by reading this, you can see that all of these topics “tie” together. This in my humble opinion are tops at the list of issues that effect us all today. Understand Brothers and Sisters, that we all have pasts that we may not be proud of, if we have been on the job for awhile, but we must live for our future as a profession. Let us all work to break the “ties that bind,” so we may continue to pass on to those who will take our place, a profession that continues to have children, look at us and tell their parents, “Mommy, I want to be a Firefighter!”

I love my, God, my Family, my Country, and above all my Fire Service, that has made me the individual and the Company Officer, that I am today. The line is forming for the Fire Service to be a whole; my sincere hope is we all join.

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Recently, I have been doing a lot of thinking, since returning from the FDIC.  We all know that can be a dangerous thing, but seriously Brothers and Sisters, in the Fire Service of today, “How safe are we really?”

We all know we can count on our Brothers and Sisters on the job, to cover our backs, but what about some of the people in this world, who are closest to us, who claim to be in our corner, come hell or high water.

The purpose of this article is to make all of us think about the many who swear by firefighters, but truth be known, the almighty dollar may be the driving force behind the shaking of our hands and the smiles we receive. Just to name a few  examples to examine, let me throw a couple out for your consideration, politicians, equipment salesman and the companies these folks represent in our industry, from Personal Protective Clothing, Breathing Apparatus, to Apparatus Manufacturers, and everything in between.

Politicians are our first stop, on this short little reading journey. We all have stories of politicians, both good and bad, some just horrible! Politicians are similar to firefighters, some get it, and some do not understand and never will. Politicians that get it are friends to the Fire Service to the end, just like true brothers. Those that are misinformed will be our best friends at elections and when an event occurs that they view as tragic, but we see as our jobs, no different from the misinformed firefighter, that is not a true brother!

Our next stop is the sales representatives that represent a variety of companies, selling products every Fire Department needs to do an effective job and do that job safely for our members and the civilians we to protect, everyday. In my humble Captain,’s opinion, a salesperson, can make or break the company or companies’ reputation in an instant.  At the FDIC, I met the good, the bad, and the truly ugly.  Many lines I had the “pleasure” of listening to were like listening to the politician at election time. If your department finds someone in sales that is trustworthy, you are among the lucky few. Pride, Honor, and Integrity are foundation of the American Fire Service. The majority of Firefighters understand this but, many salespersons and the companies they represent are lacking or missing the Integrity part. The products these companies sell are outstanding quality items, for the most part. The corporate decision makers truly worry me, as a Fire Officer.

This brings me to the title of this piece, “How safe are we really?” People wearing the nice suits, who assure us regularly that all is well, who have never crawled down a blackened hallway scare me! Brothers and Sisters, do your research on any item your department purchases. We must not accept freely what anyone is trying to sell, politician, sales representative, or company. We have to protect ourselves and assure ourselves of our own protection.

Be safe, we all have families to come home to. Take care of the member riding across from you, or in front of you. We are truly our Brothers Keeper!

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