Instructors must be motivators
I am a 25-year veteran of the fire service. I was recently appointed acting chief after serving 15 years as a lieutenant on an engine company. What’s with today’s recruits? Are these kids so different? I hear a lot that the kids today are out of shape, undisciplined, and not what they used to be or that it was so much tougher to go through the academy in the past, and other similar comments.
Yes, these kids are different. Their outlook on life and social skills is different. Instructors must change and adapt. We must motivate in new ways and change the program. If we don’t change and adapt, our Academy School will soon be out of business. Physical fitness and discipline in the fire service need to be addressed, but it can be done by changing our tactics on these “new school” kids. I’ve been a Detroit firefighter for 19 years and lucky to be teaching for 12 years. Instructing at the college level for Schoolcraft Fire Academy brings me right up to the front lines of our youth. I have nine weeks to get them through the candidate physical ability test twice, along with two of our own obstacle courses. Physical training (PT) occurs three to four times a week in the morning for one to two hours (depending on how they perform).
With one PT instructor per five students, for safety, we must get the ball rolling from Day 1 and keep it going until the end. It can be done. We instructors must change our workout routines to meet the needs of the students and motivate them. As PT instructors, we must keep up on new workout routines as well as on our personal trainer certifications. We must train in a new way, find out and use what fits our business, and throw away the rest. You can’t turn on your TV nowadays without seeing infomercials about P90X, Insanity, and Zumba CDs for sale or ads for Crossfit training.
At my academy, money is tight. There is no gym equipment; there are only a room and students. Body weight exercises involve using water jugs for weights, old tires for flip-and-carry, and towels for pull-ups and low crawls. Exercises are timed; students are taught about heart rate training and health and wellness.
Most importantly, lead by example! Be up front doing the exercise with them. Kids will follow you if you are doing it and not just standing there yelling. As instructors, we must be up to date on new exercises. We are not just stand-there-and-yell football coaches. These kids like sports and sports stats. Start keeping stats and numbers for them. Give them something to shoot for every PT session. We use colorful visuals sometimes to keep their attention. We must make more of an effort to reach them. If they don’t grow and learn, they don’t pass. That means they don’t come back, or they get on their social networks (Facebook, Twitter, and so on) and tell everyone not to go to your academy.
We are PT instructors, motivators, and cheerleaders. Some kids are self-starters. Some are fresh out of the military (these kids have had drill instructors; we don’t scare them. Let’s teach them instead).
And now we have the X-Box generation, the students who need us most. Motivate, counsel, educate, and be a role model for them. Talk them up; don’t push them down because they couldn’t do 10 push-ups in week 1. You are the coach of the team. You have only a short time to make a difference. Get them interested in physical fitness-not just while at the academy but also for life after the academy. Get them to compete in races. Talk to them about the Firefighter Combat Challenge, Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder. Get them to compete in life.
After a few years of PT training at school, I was put in charge of PT. My boss gave me the authority to acquire the PT instructors. It has taken some time, but we have a great core of instructors. They are from different cities and counties, and we learn everyone’s different fire department ways-men and women with personal trainer certifications. But, I look at who brings a level head, discipline, and passion for fitness. Our students thrive off our energy as do we from their enthusiasm. I try to find trainers who bring something new to the table all the time-those who ask questions and say, “Let’s try this today”; trainers with open minds for training today’s kids on health and wellness. We are passing the CPAT tests at almost a 100 percent rate. It’s not our job to run someone out of the academy; it’s our job to run with them through it to the finish line.
At the college academy level, they are paying their own money for this training. As a PT instructor, I don’t have to tear down and then build up. From Day 1, we have to motivate and educate to get the best out of them. When we push them, they will know if this is for them or not. Our job is to give them their money’s worth and us an opportunity to make a positive effect on their lives.
I know we are doing our jobs when they pass the CPAT and when they walk out of a PT session sweating and smiling. I love it when I hear, “I can’t believe I just did that” from our kids. We are more than PT instructors. We are for today’s generation motivators, educators, and even cheerleaders. Let’s get after it!
Don Woods
Sergeant
Physical Training Instructor
Detroit (MI) Fire Department
It is time to ban sky lanterns
In 2011, fire chiefs across California first became aware of a new product being sold in discount stores and on the Internet: sky lanterns. This seemingly new product to California is an airborne paper lantern that has been around for millennia in the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Thai cultures. They are typically constructed from oiled rice paper on a bamboo or wire frame. The lanterns contain a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material. When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, lowering its density and causing the lantern to rise into the air. The lanterns are known to travel significant distances from the point of release. They were featured in movies and advertisements as a benign celebratory device to be launched at night during weddings, memorials, or other celebrations. These inexpensive devices sell on the Internet for as little as a dollar each.
There is a serious fire and safety hazard associated with sky lanterns, including the potential to start an unintended fire on or off the property from which they are released. One such fire was near Pismo Beach, California-a wildland fire on July 30, 2012, on the hills above Pirates Cove. It threatened a radio and cellular site on the top of the ridge as well as homes in the city. This relatively small fire, which was contained within an hour of its starting, cost more than $10,000 to suppress, requiring both a ground and an air attack.
In the West Midlands of England, a fire burned for three days in a recycling storage facility when a sky lantern landed and ignited plastic materials. Chief fire officers there have called for an urgent review of the use of sky lanterns across the United Kingdom after evidence emerged that they caused the fire. Ten firefighters were injured. The fire was the largest ever in the West Midlands. More than 200 firefighters and nearly 40 fire engines tackled it; it sent a plume of smoke rising 6,000 feet.
The popularity of sky lanterns has significantly increased, and most people are unaware of the dangers associated with them. They are a threat to the wildlands, roofs of homes, agricultural crops, and storage facilities. They can even be a distraction to drivers as they cross over highways. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, they can be carried by the wind for several miles.
As a state that has catastrophic fires every fire season, California has very strict fire laws, including the banning of most fireworks and the prosecution of anyone who causes a fire through neglect. After a thorough review of California laws, State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover determined that this product does not fall within the definition of a firework (HSC §12511) or a pyrotechnic device (HSC §12526). Although it may be considered a fire hazard, no current state fire marshal law prevents the sale, possession, or use of sky lanterns specifically.
Although some communities in other states and even other countries have banned sky lanterns, in California only five jurisdictions, all in San Luis Obispo County, have; that was done in 2013 as the fire season was getting underway.
The process used in those jurisdictions to create the ordinance was to amend the locally adopted California Fire Code, which is derived from the International Fire Code. First, the local code was amended to include a definition of what a sky lantern is and then to ban its use, with an exception. The exception recognizes that sky lanterns may have a religious or cultural use; the ordinance allows an exception with approval from the fire department and the stipulation that the sky lantern be tethered.
Is it enough? Like fireworks, banning them in one community and not in the adjoining community has minimal effect. A statewide ban would be the most effective for decreasing the chance of ignition from one of these devices.
It is not enough to simply ban the use of sky lanterns. There must also be a concerted public education effort to get the word out on how dangerous these devices are. In San Luis Obispo County, we have made a commitment to educate the public first and enforce the code second. Signage has been placed in areas commonly used to launch sky lanterns, and event planners have been sent notices on the new code to make them aware of their dangers and the penalty for their use.
Robert Lewin
Unit and County Chief CAL FIRE
San Luis Obispo, California
Leadership vs. supervision
Everyone in the fire service at some point has worked with an officer who made an impression on them, good or bad, but those who leave the best impressions are officers who practice good leadership and are not only supervisors. A leader is one who leads or guides; a supervisor is one who supervises. These actions may seem similar, but they are far apart.
If you take the definitions at face value, just about anyone with good business sense can be a supervisor- make sure policy is followed and that staff is where they need to be, doing what they are told to do. Being a leader takes a bit more work, as leaders not only ensure that policy is followed, but they also explain and practice it themselves. A leader does not just tell someone to be there and do the work. He takes the time to guide the employee on what the job quality should be and provides the tools to complete the job with confidence.
A long-standing problem for the fire service is the officer who hoards information and does not pass down critical skills and experiences for fear of giving his employee an advantage. We need to get away from this practice; officers should always want to pass information and skills down because doing so creates stronger and more reliable crews.
Why strive to become a leader and go beyond a supervisor? The difference between the two are evident in their employees. The supervisor’s crew will show up at work, complete the daily cleanup (maybe), hang out until told what to do, and then complete tasks to a minimum standard. The quality of work and employee morale are often lacking. Employees of a leader do not need prompting to clean up the station and check off equipment before the shift gets going. They ask what needs to be done, perform above minimum standards, and are fully prepared to respond to an emergency every time.
Konrad Walsh
Captain
Winston-Salem (NC) Fire Department
Some things never change
Recently, I rescued about 40 issues of Fire and Water Engineering, The Fire Engineer, and Fire Engineering (all dating from 1924 to 1926) from a dumpster at one of my firehouses. Why someone would think that these are “trash” is another story, but I saw some value in them and took them back to my firehouse. I was curious to see what things I might find. In the very first issue I opened, I found an article titled “The Fire-Fighter of Today-What He Must Be” written by J.E. Florin (Feb 13, 1924, Fire and Water Engineering). I found of great interest Superintendent Florin’s account of the history of firefighting, especially his description of what was needed of the “modern” firefighter, which I recount here.
“It is said that wood, brick, and stone does not make a home; human hearts, souls, and minds alone can do that. It is equally true that equipment alone, even the best, does not make a successful fire department. The ever alert, thinking, guiding mind alone can bring the highest success.
“The modern firemen’s work is along two lines, extinguishment and prevention. The comic opera stuff and haphazard way of former times will not accomplish success along either line. Firemen’s work is a science, and it is serious. The fireman of today must understand water works systems, the efficiency of hose streams, the value of chemicals, the mechanism and operation of the high-powered auto pumper and aerial ladder and many other things unknown to his brother of the olden days. Through thorough preliminary inspection, he must make himself familiar with the construction and interior arrangement of the main buildings in his town. Without such knowledge, fire cannot be fought successfully, and firemen’s lives may needlessly be endangered. He must know what the buildings contain, what gases may be generated by the fire, and what other life dangers may develop during the course of the fire. He must understand the chemistry of fire and all its various and manifold causes.
“Along fire prevention lines, he must know building construction, gas and electrical installations, heating and power plant hazards, and the many fire hazards arising from a multitude of manufacturing processes. He must also be able to suggest a remedy in each case. As the inventive American mind is active in discovering new processes, bringing with them new hazards to life and property, he must equally be alert to discover means to safeguard these hazards. To be successful, he must be a student in the true sense of the word….
“The fireman of today must be a politician (not of the ward heeler type); at least he must have the tact of one in dealing with the municipal authorities, in efforts to secure the passage of proper building codes and fire prevention ordinances, and in getting the necessary equipment and men. So also only a man of ability and tact can secure the co-operation of the press, civic organizations, and the public generally in efforts to build up the department, and the elimination of fire hazards found by the department inspectors.
“The fireman of today must be a man of ideas and must be able to convey those ideas in talks to schools, commercial clubs, mothers’ and women’s clubs and other organizations to carry to them the message of greater safety and care. Some firemen are backward in this, because they think they are not polished orators, forgetting that in the final analysis the public will be more pleased with real ideas and practical suggestions than mere oratory.
“The success of fire prevention efforts particularly depends on the success in enlisting public support and co-operation.
“The fireman must realize that he is a public servant, and ‘service’ must ever be his watchword. From long experience I know, that earnest, intelligent and faithful service to the public will bring results, recognition and reward.”
How true, even today! Yet, I somehow feel that there are many firefighters and fire departments that have yet to respond to Superintendent Florin’s call for change. In any case, I wonder how much wisdom could be found in the back issues of your great magazine. As I write this e-mail, my probationary firefighter is reading a well-worn station copy of “Random Thoughts” by the late Tom Brennan, which again attests to the value of timeless writing. I’m looking forward to diving into the rest of the box!
Scott Carrigan
Captain Nashua (NH) Fire Rescue
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