BY EDDIE BUCHANAN
I’ve spent a great deal of time over the Past few years talking to training officers about the various facets of the job and common challenges we face. A common theme that seems consistent across the country is the change we see in our new recruits, career and volunteer. Most training officers find it hard to put their finger on exactly what the changes are; we simply notice a difference. Some offer theories of Generation X and Generation Y, variations in social and skill sets, morals, ethics—the list goes on. Almost everyone has encountered at least some moderate change in their recruits. How will this change in our recruits affect our fire service? Where is the theme of brotherhood or the sense of duty and obligation? If someone doesn’t do something about this soon, will our beloved fire service in the future be left asking the question, “O brother, where art thou?”
Before we tackle this question, let’s take a moment to applaud our successes. Training officers from coast to coast continue to provide excellent training on increasingly complicated technical proficiencies with fewer resources than ever before. We’ve gotten good at delivering the bottom-line training that gets us past the minimum standards for firefighter. For this achievement, we should stand proud! We’ve been able to home in on the minimum standard and meet these requirements with resources that make such achievements borderline miracles. But have we been pushing so hard for so long to go so fast that we’re missing something we used to enjoy back in the good old days?
Let’s slow down for a moment to take another look at our approach to training. What does it really mean to be a firefighter? Who was your model or mentor when you first joined the service? What was it about that individual that inspired you fall in love with the job as so many of us have? Isn’t there more to being a firefighter than just the minimum competencies?
Hopefully, when you think back on your model/mentor, qualities such as honor, integrity, commitment, and discipline come to mind. These virtues are the very things that bind us together as brothers and sisters. Yet, when you examine NFPA 1001, Standard on Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, and many of our modern basic training programs, references to such characteristics are notably absent. Could that be the missing link?
Some will say society has failed to prepare our new recruits to work in fields such as the fire service. We’ll gather around the tailboard or by the water cooler and complain about what society is bringing us for recruits and blame it on everyone from the public school system to modern parenting practices. “They lack the moral fiber necessary to do the job,” we’ll say! I don’t mean to come off like Dr. Phil, but the last time I looked, preparing recruits for the fire service is our job! Sure, it’s easy to blame this change in our recruits on everyone but us, but what can we really do about that? It is difficult for us to effect change in our school system or society in general. But, one thing we can do is meet this challenge head on and find ways to make it right in our own backyards. If our new recruits don’t understand our organizational values, we should explain the values. If recruits lack the moral fiber, let’s give them moral fiber. They should know what it means to be a brother or sister in the fire service. It is up to us to make a difference in our young recruits and educate them on our traditions, heritage, and values. Let’s look at some baseline fire service values and see what can be done.
HONOR
The first time a recruit puts on that uniform, that person takes on a responsibility to his community and coworkers; it is important that he understand this responsibility. Honor can be defined as a sense of ethical responsibility or simply as just doing the right thing. The fire service has a sacred trust with the citizens it protects. We must cherish the honor of the service and ensure that our new recruits embrace that same value. The only way to ensure they understand is to tell them of this duty as they enter the organization. Tell them of the honor in wearing the uniform and the expectations that go with it.
Every level of the organization is responsible for making recruits aware of this obligation, from the chief to the instructor. Everyone must reinforce the honor associated with wearing the uniform and being a part of the fire service. How do you communicate this value? Simply share with the recruits the history of our fire service. Tell them where we’ve come from and how we’ve evolved. Share with them the specific history of your department. Tell them what their vision of the service they will provide should be. Talk about the obligations they will make with each other. Get them to look in each other’s eyes and recognize the commitment firefighters must make to each other. Are they prepared to crawl down a burning hallway to get the job done? If things go bad, what are they prepared to do for one another? When they are on the battlefield and their life is in immediate danger, the only things they will have going for them will be their honor, their training, and their commitment to each other.
Beyond the fireground, firefighters must possess the discipline and motivation to honor their country and its flag and a fallen brother or sister. We owe them that much! Nothing captures this dedication better than the photo of the three Fire Department of New York firefighters’ raising the American flag above the rubble after that dreadful day in September 2001. When we first saw that image, it ignited our spirit, which had been so terribly shaken. Why must it take such an event for us to remember what that symbol means? Bring that feeling to our new recruits at every chance. Make raising and honoring our flag part of the daily routine. Take the time to tell them of the many sacrifices made for that flag. Teach them to salute the flag properly and with the etiquette it so truly deserves.
DISCIPLINE
Some may think discipline is a figment of the past, an old ideal that has grown stagnant among the latest, greatest management strategies. The point is, discipline is not about management—it’s about leadership! Company officers and instructors must prepare our new recruits to lead on the fireground. They must be conditioned to work as a team in the most unimaginable situations. Such maneuvers will require incredible discipline and accountability. Remember, our young people have been taught from a young age to quickly escape burning structures. Now, as recruits, they must be reprogrammed or disciplined to go back in and fight as a team.
From another perspective, how will your department respond in a line-of-duty death? Will your firefighters have mastered the ceremonial aspects of a funeral for a fallen firefighter? Again, you will not find this in the minimum standard, yet it is a vital part of fire service culture. Many departments have Honor Guards that compete to show their discipline and teamwork. Our firefighters deserve this honor, and each instructor and company officer should stand ready to ensure our recruits and firefighters are prepared to deliver.
Some officers may feel uncomfortable in trying to teach drill and ceremony to our recruits because they have no formal military experience. That’s okay, because someone nearby surely does. If by chance no one in the department can help out with this type of training, go to law enforcement to see if they can help. If you find no luck there, go to your local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization. Someone will be honored to share this knowledge and these abilities for such a cause.
BROTHERHOOD
The fire service is much more than just a job, a social club, or a hobby. It is a family—a family with values, expectations, and occasionally that crazy cousin. This theory must be communicated to our recruits for them to even begin to understand. Instructors should withhold the terms “firefighter” and “brother” until recruits have earned the titles. Just joining a fire department or just showing up for work in no way makes you a firefighter. Remember the earlier question of what is a firefighter? Not until recruits actually reflect that description should they gain the honor of the title. When they have to work to earn the title, it will mean far more.
Given the idea that the fire service is a family, we can compare a new recruit joining our ranks to a kind of marriage. That said, shouldn’t we meet the in-laws? Incorporating the family into the training process has been long overlooked by career and volunteer departments. The entire family unit joins the service as the recruit embarks on the training process. The more we can expose their family to our family, the better for all involved. To do this, invite the family to training on selected days. Let family members witness what it takes to be a firefighter. Scheduling a visit early in the process will help build an understanding of what the spouse or loved one is going through—the academic pressures, the physical demands … and that smell! Then toward the end of the training process, invite them back for a show. Let them see their hero in action, saving lives and protecting property. Have an instructor call the action like a sports broadcaster through a small public address system or just use the PA on the truck. This facilitates pride in both the families and recruits while all have a little fun in the process.
While the families are there, get pictures of the recruits dressed in their turnout gear posing with their loved ones. These make great keepsakes for the recruits and will come in handy later in this article. Get plenty of shots of them in action, saving lives by making heroic rescues and snuffing the fire. Incorporating the family into the training process will create an environment that allows recruits to flourish with enhanced pride and purpose.
CELEBRATE!
When I think back on completing my basic firefighter training, I remember getting a soggy, bent, ragged envelope in the mail. I opened the package to find what was left of my certificates. What a poor reflection of the commitment and dedication it took to complete that training challenge—a soggy, bent piece of paper. My graduation walk consisted of a cold jog in the rain back to the house to the applause of the neighbor’s barking dog. What sort of pride does this instill in our recruits for their achievement?
Some career departments have made formal graduations part of their traditions for some time; such ceremonies are less common in volunteer departments. Many of the career ceremonies have become more of a chore, maybe getting the chief to stop by for a few words, if you’re lucky. Shouldn’t achieving the title of firefighter be something the whole department stops to celebrate? These recruits have proven they are worthy to join our family—our brotherhood and sisterhood. They should be celebrated and welcomed to our family with great fanfare, not with the haphazard “yeah” they get from some organizations, if they get any recognition at all.
Make earning the title of firefighter as big a deal as possible! Bring out the media and the politicians. Have cake and ice cream, and take time to celebrate their achievements. Welcome them to the family as you would someone coming into your own family. Find a local auditorium, get the bagpipers lined up, send formal invitations, and give awards! Remember all those pictures we took at family day? Set them to music in a slick PowerPointT presentation or video. Celebrate the achievements of the recruits as if they had just won the Lifetime Achievement Award!
None of these philosophies are new to the fire service. Our instructors likely shared these philosophies with us long before we became company officers, instructors, or training officers. We’ve simply strayed from these principles because of limited resources, lack of time, and the inherent swing of the fire service pendulum. When we were recruits, the pendulum was swinging to the side of organizational values; today, it swings to the side of hyper-efficiency. As leaders in our organizations, we can push it back toward the middle simply by recognizing the need and meeting it.
How much will all this cost? Little or nothing! That’s entirely up to you. What does pride cost? Better yet, what is the value of a recruit who is proud to be a firefighter, who loves the job, and who is ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brothers and sisters? You’ll find the only thing it will cost you is a little time. We, as leaders in our organizations, have to step up and make the difference. We can push the pendulum back the other way! If we don’t, who will? Or, we will leave the next generation of the fire service scrambling for direction and wondering … O brother, where art thou?
EDDIE BUCHANAN, a member of the fire service since 1982, is a division chief with Hanover County (VA) Fire and EMS, assigned to the Training and Quality Assurance Division, and served as program coordinator for the Hanover County Fire Academy. A former district chief and life member of the Henry Volunteer Fire Department, Buchanan is the author of The Volunteer Training Officer’s Handbook (Fire Engineering, 2003). An adjunct instructor for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, he is also an FDIC H.O.T. instructor and lectures on various fire service training topics.
