Buzzwords
Hugh Stott
Field Instructor
Illinois Fire Service Institute
Champaign, Illinois
Once again l received Fire Engineering and read the Editor`s Opinion (“Fighting Fires with Words,” January 1997) with great glee. Bill Manning has hit the nail on the head once again, in the same vein as “How White Is Your Helmet?” (August 1996), “Various and Sundry” (February 1996), and others.
The fire service has jumped on the management bandwagon at the expense of truly knowing how to train and remain prepared to do the job. Buzzwords and computers serve no purpose when they are not balanced with a sound, comprehensive training program based on firefighter and company competencies, not certification.
Every month, Tom Brennan writes on doing a task that may be complex or may be simple. However, the perspective of the article is always on conducting that task properly, aggressively, and safely. When I hear him speak, it is on knowing, doing, and training in the basics. The best people I have seen on the job are those who truly know the basics of our trade. In the March 1980 Fire Engineering, Jim Casey wrote the editorial “Basic Skills Mark the Pro.” The substance of his editorial holds as much true today as it did 17 years ago. His conclusion was, “The hallmark of a professional … lies in his mastery of the basics … without [which] there can be no professionalism ….”
I enjoy the Editor`s Opinions because in them there rings a true sense of responsibility toward the firefighter and the company. Manning always brings back that demand for competency, that ability to do the basic part of our job, and the fact that the real-world job of firefighting, EMS, haz mat, prevention, training, and so forth, must hinge on that fact. Well done! Keep them coming.
