Pride
By David Polikoff
It seems to me that something has been lacking in the county I work in. PRIDE!! I am sure that my county is not the only jurisdiction that lacks pride. In this article I am only speaking of the career people. I look at the people that work in my county and it seem allot of them are only here for a paycheck. What do I mean? Well sit back and let me show you my view. I will not just point out the problems, but I will also give easy solutions. Yes, I said easy solutions.
Let me list the things I see wrong, please remember this is what I see:
Apparatus looks like crap
Tools look like crap
The ass groves on the couches are way too big
Too many parking lots where buildings once were (aka. fire get out of hand)
Slow response times
Lack of skill on calls, in the station
That's enough for now. Let' s come up with solutions for each point.
1. Take care of the apparatus we ride on. We get mad when the truck or the rescue squad goes out of service, and we get detailed out. Did we ever stop and think, if we took care of the apparatus it would stay in service longer? This means do a good apparatus check in the morning. Check all the fluids, top off the fuel, check the pump, check the attack lines, check the supply line. For trucks check the ladder not just the stick, but all the ladders, check all power equip. I know what your saying we check all our power equip. on Monday. That's great if we only ran calls on Monday! On the rescue squad check all tools that you could use on a call. Run all the engines until you get it to operating temp. Then when that is all done wash the unit. Keep it clean Christ you wash your car if a bug crap's on it, give the same care to the apparatus we ride on.
2. Take care of all the tools we carry on the apparatus. If there is rust on a tool take care of it. If the paint is chipped take care of it. if oil is leaking from the tools, or there is dirt, mud, tar saw dust... take care of it. Bottom line make sure the tools are ready to be used. Fire rescue tools are expensive, so take care of them and they will not fail on you when you need them most.
3. What do I mean by ass grove's? I have seen firefighters and officers do nothing but lay on the couch all day long. I have even seen people sleep most of the day. This is our job! If you are on the couch all day you are saying that you know everything there is to know about our job. You are saying there is nothing more to learn. Let's be real. All you have to do is respond on a call with these people and it is very clear there is so much more for them to learn. There are all kinds of things you can do to keep you off the couch. Read, take classes, pull the fire engine out and pump attack lines, put the stick up, spot buildings, study your first due, go do building walk through, go on the air and look at your response area. The fact is I can go on for pages, but I think you get the idea. We are never too old to learn. What you do know pass on to younger firefighters.
4. This is a touchy subject. I have seen small fires burn a house to the basement. I have seen room and contents fires go to multiple alarms. I have seen people standing in the yard doing nothing while the fire grows. It is easy to blame the chief in charge. Sometimes it is their fault, but most times it is our fault. We pull the wrong size attack line we. We under pump our attack lines. Our drivers can't pump the engine. The truck's don't open the ceiling and walls. We don't ventilate in the right spot. we don't initiate a water supply in the first place. we don't bring the right tools to do the job. Bottom line, do your job! Officers take the 10 sec. to do a size up. Ensure your people are doing their job. A firefighters job is to be safe and aggressive. So be just that!
5. If you are still walking to the apparatus, then it is time for you to get a new job or retire. I am not saying you must run for the apparatus, but move quickly. I have see people stop to go to the bathroom once an alarm comes in. If you were my driver and you did this, can count on not driving me anymore! When the calls comes in get to the apparatus quickly. Drive defensively and safely. There are drivers that drive faster returning from a call then go too the call. There are people out there that argue and say check the stats we get out quick. It is easy to push the enroute button, but when do you really leave the station?
6. The lack of skills on calls and in the station can go back to lack of training. Keep your skills sharp. If you are not sure how to do something, then ask.
Here is the deal, you officers are responsible for your people. If you allow what I have listed above to happen then you are the problem. You must lead by example. What kind of example are you setting. Set the bar let others meet your level. You know the old saying "lead follow or get out of the way!" You are the leader so lead. If you are saying well I can't change people they are who they are. This is true, but you must change their behavior on the job. This is something you can and must do. It sounds like hard work, and it is. you put on the white shirt to be the officer now it is time to act like one.