U.S. Air Force firefighters with the 169th Civil Engineer Squadron at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, conduct a nighttime structural fire exercise at the Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center on February 5, 2013. (Photo by U.S. Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Caycee Watson.)
By Dominic Magagnini
“Showing up” seems to be the easiest part of not only our job but for life itself. There is a specific time that we start shift and a time we get off, but the things we do in between are what counts. Depending on how we “show up” to work that day dictates our influence on our crew, our department, and the citizens we serve; it’s the challenge we face once we show up. If we are unable to be present, we will never truly be able to be prepared to do our job.
The rank you hold within your department does not matter; being present and prepared will influence how your day, your tour, or your next call will go. Sometimes, we do not realize the repercussions our actions have on a daily basis. If we have things going on outside of work that are influencing the way we show up to do our job, our crew suffers; our shift suffers; and, most importantly, the people we serve suffer.
Many things can influence the way we show up to work. It could be as simple as an issue with your home that needs attention, or more serious issues with which some of our members deal that effect their day-to-day lives and their ability to show up. Without showing up, being present, and investing our time in our members, some of these issues can go overlooked. When we show up to work, the people we serve count on us and are tasked to make decisions not only affect ourselves and our crew but also the outcome of someone’s worst day.
What does showing up mean to you? This is a question I have asked myself, and I realize it is not an easy thing to do or an easy question to answer. As a husband, a father, a son, a firefighter, or a friend, I realize that I have to show up for a lot of people. The challenge was in how I make sure that all of these people in my life that count on me and deserve the best out of me get what they all deserve from me. That challenge is overwhelming to me, but realizing the role that I am in at any particular moment makes it a little bit easier for me to swallow. That, combined with having the support of the people around me and their ability to realize that I do make mistakes, makes my ability to be present that much easier.
Sometimes we show up to work for ourselves, and when we are so consumed by the “self” we lose sight of who we are here for. This can affect not only the people whom we serve but may also infect our brothers and sisters at the firehouse. As a leader, this attitude of self can destroy your company. Your ability to steer not only yourself but your crew, your shift, or your battalion away from the attitude of self can help motivate and rejuvenate your department; it all starts with the way you show up to work, show up for your company, and show up for the community you serve.
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Many times, the attitude of self is accompanied by ego. Knowing that your attitude is a reflection of who you are; that what you stand for and your ego is how you portray who you are; and that you have the ability to be humble and admit your faults, wrongdoings, and failures makes you a better leader. Humility is something that is learned; it is influential to the way we show up for everything in our lives and on the job. In my brief time as a company officer, I have been humbled greatly by the job and have leaned on my crew to help me in certain situations. Everyone has different experiences in life, from the recruitment of firefighters to the senior engineer, so use their experiences and attributes to make your company and your department better and to make you a stronger leader.
We are all going to show up to the job a little different each day, but if we can hold each other accountable and look out for each other when we show up, we can be just a little bit better than we were the last time we showed up to work. Preparing for your tour, shift, and or day starts long before you walk into the firehouse. Having a plan for what the day is going to be is “showing up,” and doing so prepared makes our decision making and our ability to repeat those decisions more likely.
Can you look at the firefighter in the mirror every day and say to him that you are as prepared as you can be mentally, physically, and emotionally to do the job? Can you look into the eyes of your family members prior to leaving for your shift, tell them goodbye, and have the feeling that you have done everything you can do to prepare for that shift so you can make it home to them safely? And, can you lead your group of firefighters knowing that they are prepared as they can be for our worst day?
Those are some very tough questions to ask yourself, but they are necessary. Knowing that we cannot prepare for every single emergency that the streets are going to throw at us, knowing our job is ever changing, makes these questions ever more important.
My Company had a “show-up” moment on October 7, 2016. While on a bread-and-butter residential fire in a duplex, my company was assigned vertical ventilation. After completing our first ventilation hole, we walked the peak of the roof to asses another ventilation hole on the exposed duplex. While walking the peak of the roof toward the exposure, I fell through the roof. The roof was solid up to this point, and we had nothing showing to us at the time to indicate that the rest of the roof was any different.
The trap door opened. It was not a slow fall; it was an immediate opening of the attic space, and I caught myself in the rafters, spread wide with my arms at a 90° angle—hanging, feet dangling, needing my company, my brothers to keep from falling all the way in.
This situation—and what we have learned from our actions—is a whole different topic of discussion, but I bring it up because those two firefighters [my engineer and my probationary firefighter (2½ months on the job)] showed up for me at that fire. They were able to do so because they had shown up to work that day mentally and physically ready for anything, prepared to serve the public for whom we get paid to protect.
Recently, I was reading an article in a magazine at the firehouse written by someone I have had the pleasure to listen speak and meet briefly: Fire Department of New York Captain Michael M. Dugan, who spoke to us that day in Sacramento, California, about the firehouse and how it should run. I remember sitting in that class thinking about all the things I was going to bring back to my department and how to make us even better than we are.
I have read countless articles by Dugan, but the followings sentence stood out to me and brought everything he was speaking about that day into perspective: “If you’re only willing to show up—but not step up—then you’re not part of the company our department you work for, and you’re putting the lives of your brothers and sisters at risk.”
The two go hand in hand. There is no way that you can step up if you are not prepared, and you prepare by showing up the right way. Many things influence our lives on a daily basis, and the ups and downs of the day can sometimes drive us into submission on the job and at home. Your ability to right the day; stay positive; and, most importantly, stay consistent will make your ability to show up that much easier.
We have to be ready every time that bell goes off, and we must be at our best every time no matter what is going on in our lives or at the firehouse. Think about the way you show up for your family, your brothers and sisters in the firehouse, and yourself; it might make all of your jobs in life go a little smoother and help you if and when you have a “show-up” moment on the job. As always, it only takes the actions of one to change the direction of many.
Dominic Magagnini is a member of the Ceres (CA) Fire Department assigned to its C Shift’s “Quint 18.”
