Probationary FF's

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Permalink Reply by Dan Rice on August 29, 2010 at 8:21pm

Well just like anything you've got to weigh your pros and cons and whether he is worth putting money and time into. My opinion might be a little one sided just because I'm at the end of my rope with posers jumping into this service and waisting all that air standing in the front yard. I honestly believe if your attitude sucks, and you're not willing to man up and learn the job then see ya late. However if you feel like he might be alright and he honestly WANTS to be a firefighter then by all means put everything you've got into making him a good firefighter. But if not show him the door and end it. You must protect your firefighters from liabilities and dangers of the parade firefighter if you can. Just my Irritated opinion. Good questions brother, KTF.

Dan Rice

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Permalink Reply by John K. Murphy on August 30, 2010 at 9:03am

Mike

Is he claustrophobic and cannot wear the mask? If so, some additional training may help

If not then let him go – he may be a safety liability to your organization. You are in a good place.

You may want to consider some pre-screening for your firefighters that involves the wearing a SCBA mask in a maze similar to the CPAT

Be safe

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Permalink Reply by Mike France on August 30, 2010 at 9:18am

that's the issue we thought we had with him, he passed his fit test and phyiscal , we ran him thru twice dry runs in our training tower, he was fine other any normal issue as soon as it came to live fire [ 2 burns] he lasted no more than 10 ins , both times sent to the ER as per or SOG to be checked out. i have tryed all i can think of , having him gear up put the pack on and walk the building , he doe's not go past 1o mins. My biggest concern is th liability and that in FF1 they will bounce him.

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Permalink Reply by John K. Murphy on August 30, 2010 at 11:01am

Need to cut him loose - a potential liability that you already have recognized.

Mike France said:

that's the issue we thought we had with him, he passed his fit test and phyiscal , we ran him thru twice dry runs in our training tower, he was fine other any normal issue as soon as it came to live fire [ 2 burns] he lasted no more than 10 ins , both times sent to the ER as per or SOG to be checked out. i have tryed all i can think of , having him gear up put the pack on and walk the building , he doe's not go past 1o mins. My biggest concern is th liability and that in FF1 they will bounce him.

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Permalink Reply by Mike France on August 30, 2010 at 11:10am

Well i just met with the HR commissioner and we agreeded that he poses us a risk and will be dropped as of their next Board meeting, he has been placed on restricted duty till then.

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Permalink Reply by Mike France on September 3, 2010 at 6:10am

Well here is the Update FF has been dropped [ he resigned ] . After we brought him in and asat him down.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Lewis on September 3, 2010 at 5:48pm

Thats a tough situation...It seems that you tried everything. Sometimes it's easier to give birth than resurrect the dead...Meaning cut bait and go find another one!

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schwering on September 4, 2010 at 2:50pm

Well said Justin, that was a liability you didn't need Mike!

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Permalink Reply by Cholly Ogden on September 17, 2010 at 6:23am

I had a guy that wanted to cross train from paramedic to firefighter but freaked out everytime he put on a mask. We both put on masks and sat at the dinner table and just talked for a few shifts. Then we did station duties in the masks. When that became a non event we sat at the table with the masks blacked out and talked. Then we navigated around the firehouse while blacked out and advanced to searching. It took time but he got accostomed to it and was able to complete the confined space trailer and entanglement osbstacles we have here. I tell the recruits that when you feel anxiety coming up on you, to close your eyes. It shuts down the part of your brain that is desperatly trying to find a glimmer of light and puts you in control of the dark. When you are looking for light and can't find it there is a part of you that feels "out of control" and by closing your eyes you take that control back. It works for most of my recruits that have problems but nothing works for everybody.

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Permalink Reply by John K. Murphy on September 17, 2010 at 9:30am

That is a great method and I applaud your success with this individual. Psychologists do the same with those who have a fear of flying - almost like immersion therapy. Kudos to you and your department for the innovation

Cholly Ogden said:

I had a guy that wanted to cross train from paramedic to firefighter but freaked out everytime he put on a mask. We both put on masks and sat at the dinner table and just talked for a few shifts. Then we did station duties in the masks. When that became a non event we sat at the table with the masks blacked out and talked. Then we navigated around the firehouse while blacked out and advanced to searching. It took time but he got accostomed to it and was able to complete the confined space trailer and entanglement osbstacles we have here. I tell the recruits that when you feel anxiety coming up on you, to close your eyes. It shuts down the part of your brain that is desperatly trying to find a glimmer of light and puts you in control of the dark. When you are looking for light and can't find it there is a part of you that feels "out of control" and by closing your eyes you take that control back. It works for most of my recruits that have problems but nothing works for everybody.

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Permalink Reply by Gary Stevenson on September 17, 2010 at 10:32am

It's a task/benchmark that not only must be met to obtain a FF1 certificate, but also must be met throughout your career. I've had to sit recruits down and explain to them that this job is not for everyone and that's okay, there's no shame in it. We have a responsibility not only to the public we serve and the men and women that these new people will be riding with but also the individual and their families. Our ultimate goal is for each of us to return home safely after each shift or call.

We establish benchmarks and standards for what we expect as minimum acceptance. If you've tried everything and you feel this individual can't 'make the cut', have another Instructor work with them. Don't brief the new Instructor on more than what they need, i.e., don't prep the new Instructor so they have a negative feeling toward the Recruit. If the second Instructor has the same issues and the Recruit is dismissed, at least they had two different Instructors with (probably) two different teaching styles try to train them. You must objectively determine that the Recruit was not ready for the FF1 level.

I've explained to dismissed Recruits that this doesn't mean they cannot try again in the future. Just means that they aren't ready right now and need to prep themselves more before trying again.

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