You can hear the high degree of enthusiasm and anticipation Ric Jorge associates with FDIC International in his voice. He is eager to share his experiences with other members of his department and to invite them to FDIC and join the ever-growing circle of firefighters now enjoying the fruits of FDIC in many personal and career aspects.
When Jorge uses the adjectives awesome, phenomenal, and huge to describe the changes attendance at FDIC has made in his life and the lives of his associates, you know it is not hyperbole. His sincerity is evident in the tone of his voice, his searching for words to convey the true depth of the message, and sometimes the breathlessness that comes with being truly charged up.
Jorge, a 23-year member of a large department in Southern Florida, shares that there was a time when he almost quit the fire service. His morale had become eroded by dysfunction in the department and dissension among members sitting at the same dinner table.
“The FOOLS saved my career,” Jorge explains. “It was through the FOOLS that I was introduced to FDIC in 2001.”
“At FDIC,” he relates,” I met men with work conditions similar to mine. This was their Mecca. Now, it is our Mecca.”
In the first five years at FDIC, Jorge says, he “did almost every hands-on class FDIC had to offer and became great friends with many of the instructors. It was phenomenal.”
FDIC closed the gap “celebrity gap” among firefighters. “Because FDIC was the ‘host,’ Jorge notes, “learning took place in all venues—the hotel lobbies, the bar, hallways, street corners, and so on. I met the men who wrote the books and articles that I read. More importantly, we became friends. To be befriended by my mentors was unexpected and humbling.”
Every year is the same. We listen to every keynote speaker, we take as many classes as we can, and we always meet new brothers. Initially, there was a group of us from the same department, maybe five or six; but over the years, that group has swelled to as many as 50. We even find speakers to bring back to our department. It has been a great experience all around.”
Jorge relates how he has seen the evolution of speakers from year to year, watching them mature through the process. One presenter in particular, Dr. David Griffin, training officer and captain of the Charleston (SC) Fire Department, had been suffering from remorse and PTSD as a result of the line-of-duty deaths of nine of his department members in the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire at which he was the first responding unit. Griffin and his department have turned that tragedy into one of the greatest “Lessons Learned” experiences not only for their department but also for other departments nationwide. (http://bit.ly/1NlpiDT) Jorge and two other firefighters from his department (one retired) recently travelled to Griffin’s lecture when he was in the area. “What we witnessed was a remarkable positive evolution since his first presentation,” notes Jorge. Jorge adds that he has seen this type of progress in others as well. “That is the brotherhood at work,” he explains.
Jorge has been monitoring progress in his department as well. “I have watched the change in my 31-year-old department,” he says. “We prepare the guys who come to FDIC for the first time for sensory overload, explaining it will take a couple of years to get a taste of everything on the menu. We keep pumping them up. FDIC changed my department because of the training we can bring back. FDIC changed my life through the mentors I have met there, men who have taught me as much about life as the fire service. My only regret is I did not start 10 years sooner; I am near the end of my career in the fire service. I wish I were 10 years younger because there is so much more to anticipate. FDIC has been an incredible influence in my life.”
Jorge is with “Tactical Resiliency Training LLC” and has presented for several years at FDIC, the class he is most proud of is “The Courage Within,” which focuses on resiliency training. The content is based on U.S. Fire Administration-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports on firefighter line-of-duty deaths and focuses on the tactical, physical, and mental preparation of firefighters.
