Do as I say not as I do.

That title is so true to the fire service.

I mean let’s think about it. Probie school, we are told wear all your turnouts, how to wear them etc. Yet the same guys telling the probies this are wearing SCBA's without the waist straps on. I don’t know about you, but to me that is a double standard.

Or the one I love. Live training burns and you’re told to be on air, yet the instructors are breathing room air. Maybe there’s a clause that once your teaching classes or leading you don’t have to "practice what you preach"

What are we doing to the newer firefighters or other senior guys when we go and have a discussion on what we need to do as firefighters then we do something totally different on runs. It shows them that we either A) don’t hold ourselves to the same rules we preach or B) We think we are different than them. And in all honesty A and B are close to being the same thing.

IT’S NOT RIGHT.

How about burned up helmets? I remember in my PPE classes being taught to inspect my gear after each use and if it was burnt up take it out of service. Yet I still hear those things from instructors with helmets that look like you they had black top poured over it and a front shield that looks like a burnt piece of bacon.

Now before I get crucified for putting down burnt salty gear, hear me out. If you want that salty look, than don’t tell your recruits and other members of your department that salty gear is bad and shouldn’t be in service. In short PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH.

I think as a whole we have all done things that we preached against. I have! I am not perfect, neither are you. But we need to do different. I recall a story I was told and I won’t mention names or departments. They had some probies going thru drills on burn containers and the instructors were showing "black fire" and such, the instructors had all these probies watching from a safe distance and there in this thermal bath of this super heated thick turbulent black smoke aka black fire (for those that did not know what black fire is) another instructor came and told them how that looked. Long story short they got down low.

Lets not just tell them the right way of doing things lets SHOW them the right way as well.

I think as a whole we have all done things that we preached against. I have! I am not perfect, niether are you. but we need to do different. I recall a story I was told and I wont mention names or departments. They had some probies going thru drills on burn containers and the instructors were showing "black fire" and such, the instructors had all these probies watching from a safe distance and there in this thermal bath of this super heated thick turbulant black smoke aka black fire (for those that did not know what black fire is) another instructor came and told them how that looked. Long story short they got down low.

Lets not just tell them the right way of doing things lets SHOW them the right way as well.