Pride: It starts with you
You know the old saying, “It takes all kinds to make the world go around.” This may work in some places, but it has no place in the fire service. All of us in the brotherhood should strive to be the kind of firefighters who have vision and pride in what we do and make every effort to pass that down to our newer generation of firefighters.
I consider myself a career firefighter and an officer, which does not just mean that I am being paid but also that I am taking on the responsibility to train myself and my crew for whatever may come. It also means taking pride in everything we do, no matter how big or how small the task. Without these priorities, you simply are not a firefighter. We all know the type—someone who shows up for work, collects a paycheck, does the bare minimum, and grumbles about everything.
I’m not saying that everything that comes down the chain is golden, but we, as officers, must understand that our attitude about everything makes a lasting impression on our fellow firefighters and, in some cases, leaves a bad impression. Pride is a way of life that must come from within and cannot be forced on us. Too many times I have seen and heard fellow officers and firefighters complain about what others are doing and use that as an excuse to gripe and do the minimum. We should not be worrying about what others are doing but about what we can do to make things better.
We must understand that a fire department is like a building, and we are the building blocks that hold it in place. The more we take responsibility for ourselves and show a sense of pride, the stronger those building blocks become, and as we work to pass this onto others, it can only lead to a stronger department. So, pride in your craft and in your department has to start with you. Without that, everything is doomed to fail.
Konrad Walsh
Captain
Winston-Salem (NC) Fire Department
Passion vs. paycheck
I have met a wide variety of firefighters during my 30 years in the fire service. I served the vast majority of that time with a volunteer department and the last few years as a career firefighter in a combination department. I was a volunteer in the Northeast and am now a career firefighter in the Southeast. I have a good number of friends who work for a large urban fire department. Despite this diversity in my fire service experience, I encountered the same types of fire service members wherever I went. Although these firefighters fall into different categories, the two predominant types I have recognized are those on the job for a paycheck and those who are passionate about firefighting.
You might ask how I can group volunteers into the paycheck category. Let me explain. The volunteer fire service in the state I came from has a length of service award program (LOSAP) in which members are given a pension after a prescribed amount of service if they meet the necessary criteria. The volunteer fire departments also offer a variety of social events to aid in the recruitment and retention of volunteers. So it is not a stretch to view these benefits as a “paycheck” for volunteers. I have a huge amount of respect for the volunteers and very much subscribe to the notion that professionalism has nothing to do with a paycheck but is rather a state of mind. Along the same lines, I don’t care much for career firefighters who look down on their volunteer brethren. It is indisputable that the vast majority of fire departments in this country are volunteer and that there are many fine volunteer firefighters.
Paycheck firefighters are just that. The fire service is a job to them, nothing more. That’s not to say that they are not capable, but they generally don’t go above and beyond the call of duty. They attend training only when they have to. They don’t do any type of self-improvement on their off time such as attending conferences and seminars. They don’t subscribe to or read any fire service publications. They generally keep to themselves and do the minimum. They also tend not to go out of their way to help their fellow firefighters. On the volunteer side, at least in my neck of the woods, we call this type of firefighter a “knife-and-forker.” They are just around for the benefits.
Synonyms used for the word “passionate” include earnest, excited, ardent, fervent, and enthusiastic. Passionate firefighters are a totally different breed. They talk about firefighting whenever they get together, whether on or off duty. Unlike the paycheck firefighter, they are always trying to better themselves as firefighters. They train enthusiastically. They attend conferences and seminars on their own time and dime. They network whenever the opportunity arises. They stay current on the latest gear and techniques available to help them do their jobs in a better way. They embrace new members of the service and try to help them out however they can, readily recognizing that the team concept is a vital part of firefighting and, like a chain, a fire company is only as good as its weakest link. They don’t demean new firefighters who make a mistake but help them to improve so that it won’t happen again. Passionate firefighters tend to hang around together. New firefighters, fortunately, tend to be attracted to them. This is a good thing and should be encouraged. This is where they will learn what it takes to be a productive member of a team. This is where they will develop a sense of pride in their chosen profession as well as in the company they have joined or been assigned to.
It has been my experience that passionate firefighters are what the fire service needs. They strive to do a good job. They strive for promotion. They strive for a desired position. They advance themselves however they can, not to satisfy their egos but because they are totally absorbed in their profession. They project a professional image that reflects greatly on their department as well as on their chosen profession.
I guess this is the spot where I should say that there are also firefighters who are satisfied with their current assignment and choose to stay right where they are. They know their jobs as well as anyone. These firefighters are just as passionate as those previously mentioned. As a former supervisor, I appreciated these firefighters just as much. They can always be counted on to successfully complete their assigned duties to the very best of their abilities. They can be an irreplaceable asset to a company officer. They know their response areas like the back of their hands and almost always are rock solid members of their companies.
Supervisors should identify the passionate members in their departments and use them as mentors for new firefighters. Allow them to assist in any way they can. Have them serve on committees (writing standard operating procedures, specs for apparatus and equipment, and so on). Encourage and embrace the passionate firefighters. Their passion can be contagious. Which type of firefighter are you?
Carl Meyer
Firefighter
Horry County (SC) Fire Rescue
Chief (Ret.)
Seaford (NY) Fire Department
Combat ready?
What is “combat ready”? The term is popping up all over the fire service in articles, training, lectures, and day-to-day discussions in the firehouse. What exactly does it mean to be combat ready? More importantly, what does it mean to you and your department? Let us focus on just one aspect of being combat ready, something I see in departments time and time again. Our weapons (yes, I used the term “weapons”)—they are our tools, specifically the nozzle. They need to be considered as our day-to-day weapons against an enemy that will kill us. Do you think our military became the greatest force on earth by being complacent or assuming its weapons were in prime working order?
We check out our rigs every morning, look at these apparatus so important to our mission, and say, “They are good to go.” But, are they really good to go? How often do we pull them out on a morning check and ensure that the bail is operating properly or the pattern is set? How about ensuring no debris is in the screen? Would any of these things affect our operations? Absolutely! Do you think a solider would neglect to thoroughly check his assault rifle? I seriously doubt it. That is his weapon, and his and his brother’s lives depend on its operating properly.
Sound familiar? Maybe it is high time we start treating our tools as weapons and be combat ready. It is not too farfetched to see our tools as weapons against fires. That is exactly what they are, your weapons.
Casey Linton
Captain
Clear (AK) Fire Department
A look back
As always, I read Fire Engineering from cover to cover, and I seldom write letters about what I read unless it resonates deep down inside. As usual, the August edition contains a lot of powerful information. But, I want to make one observation about Paul Combs’ cartoon. As usual, he is right on with the outbox and the inbox, but we should recognize that no one goes back to the tailboard. I wonder how many of us who pursued a fire chief’s career in retrospect wishes he would have stayed at another rank. I know my best years were the days I spent as an operations chief in a fire department that had lots of fires. Keep up the good work.
Ronny J. Coleman
Fireforceone
Elk Grove, California
