G-T-L for Firefighter Survival

The television programming in my house is changing. Our children are getting older and the programming is moving to a more diverse genre. The other night my oldest was watching the show Jersey Shore on MTV;  so I sat down and decided to see what he was taking in.  It didn't take long to figure out the cast had a mantra for "summer life" on the shore.  Mike "The Situation" and another, Pauly D. often stated their day was going to consist of "G-T-L"; and it took me some time to figure out what the meaning of G-T-L was.  I am not sure if that was "the hook" from the producers but I was sucked in.  You see in their summer life mindset, G-T-L (or) Gym, Tan, Laundry were absolute necessities so they were looking good and ready for the nightlife on the shore.

Now after watching an episode and being a fireman who is constantly trying to better the service. I jokingly thought to myself about the term G-T-L and how it could be applied to the fire service.  You see firefighters absolutely need to go to the gym to stay physically fit and in shape for the demands required of our profession. Training is another absolute must!  So much so that I feel it should be a mandatory requirement that all members train each and every time they are on shift.  And with the last part of G-T-L, "Laundry" well I think we all understand that our personal protective ensemble MUST be laundered after every fire!  Without proper laundering of the PPE, we are exposing our personnel to carcinogens for no reason. Policies should be developed and put into place for regular and frequent washing of all PPE even without the exposure of a fire.

So sometimes the key to a long and healthy firefighter life is right there for the seeing, taking or in my case interpretation. No need to reinvent the wheel. 

G-T-L Fire Service Style.  

#livehealthy