The New Guy In The Firehouse

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on June 19, 2010 at 6:19pm

-Chris, I'm not so sure I buy in to the prevention idea doing such a good job that there is little experience. There are over 1.5 million fires in this country annually that result in over 3000 civilian fire deaths every year.
-In my humble opinion prevention is still mostly a joke in the United States. Every time the fire service attempts to make progress on this issue we end up loosing to special interest groups.
-Residential sprinklers are not mandatory, building codes have been changed to allow closer construction with flimsier materials and even the clothing industry no longer mandates fire retardant clothing for infants.
-If fires are down in your community I congratulate you; it is certainly not the case where I live. But more to the point, I think many firefighters don't truly look at the real numbers but get lost in statistical data that confuses the truth and inaccurately shows firefighting taking a back seat to ems calls and everything else we do. Looking at the actual numbers though one can see that we still go to far to many structure fires and there is plenty of experience. Mark Twain said, "There are lies, damn lies and statistics". City leaders and those that advocate everything but firefighting love to twist the statistics to distort the truth.
-As to the new guy amassing experience I would agree with old Tom Brennen when he said that it's not how many you go to but what you learn from each one. Tom often lamented that some of the busiest companies many times had some of the worst firefighters. I've have worked it into a simple question I throw at when I teach, "Do you have ten years of experience or one year of experience ten times?"
-Rookies are in reality, better trained than their counterparts of just 30 years ago. There are more training opportunities, and with wonderful sites like these there is so much to be gained by new firefighters.
-All veteran firefighters are instructors; whether they like it or not. The new guy looks at everything; how fast do they get to the truck, what tools do they carry, how serious do they take this call... Remember being new and watching how the others stored their gear on the apparatus?
-All firefighters must be mindful of the fact that, intentionally or not, they are training their own replacement. We must pass on everything we have learned, or passion for the job and our hopes for the future. After all, these young kids will be protecting us some day.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schwering on June 19, 2010 at 10:53pm

Chris, I have to agree with Brick on this, he says things much better than I. My advise is simple, well sort of. Can you look yourself in the mirror every morning knowing that you are DOING THE RIGHT THING! If you can Brother then you join the rest of us taking the OUR FIRE SERVICE back one Brother at a time. Those of us than understand can and do make a difference. KEEP THE FAITH Brother! It's not a Job, it's our Profession! Ask the next toddler that gets under your skin, if he/she knows the true definition of a professional Firefighter, doesn't matter paid, combination, or volunteer!

Be Safe
Jeff

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Permalink Reply by David Edwards on July 1, 2010 at 4:23pm

Hello Chriss: Both Mr. Bricault and Mr. Schwering make excellent points. I would add that having the "old hands" pass on information is a "double edged sword" as I believe Michael points out also. I believe our shared concerns are in regard what information is being passed along to the "rookies". I am a thirty plus year veteran of the fire service and I am appalled by many of the things I see our "tenured" guys teaching the "rookies". We still have over 100 fire deaths a year in the US Fire Service and many of these deaths are not a direct result of the duties we perform as much as an attitude some of our brothers adopted years ago. I was told long ago that "perfect practice makes perfect", and, while none of us are perfect the implications can be seen throughout the fire service today. It is obvious that "practice only makes one repeat what they practice, good, bad, or otherwise". I agree with you regarding experienced firefighters passing along learned experiences to recruits; this is going to happen in spite of what is correct or incorrect. We need to learn better communication practices so the recruit doesn't just hear "a great story". Today's recruits are much different than the recruits of my rookie days, if they are truly over - I still learn new things. Michael points out they are better trained than their predecessors; unfortunately they are also "ten foot tall and bulletprooof". I now hold the thought that "one can only teach those willing to be taught". Unfortunately only those willing to be taught properly, followed by "perfect practice" of what they have been taught will ever move closer to mastering this wonderful craft of being a professional firefighter. The remainder will continue to do the "same old things, the same old ways" and live on luck from shift to shift. Firefighters all use some type of MAP(ping) (MAP - Mental Aspects of Preparedness). Tradition is handling this, but, I submit those of us who are truly concerned about our brothers and sisters in the modern fire service need to step up to the plate with "a better MAP". We need to stand in front of the "story tellers" and help them communicate better by asking better questions regarding the intent of the "story". When incorrect (potentially harmful) information is disseminated we need to correct the information being absorbed by these young minds; often this may need to be done away from the "table" or if at the "table" points can be made or questions may be asked to help recruits consider other actions which will achieve the same outcome with a greater degree of safety. There is more than one way to saddle a horse, but there is only one proper way to saddle a horse. One novel approach might be to ask questions or make comments which naturally lead others to "wonder" what the department's procedures or guidelines speak on the issue. This will likely provide for a spirited discussion so be prepared. If one utilizes this approach often enough, the story tellers will still be able to tell stories but they will always know someone is listening and willing to stand up for those impressionable young minds, ensuring the right message is delivered.

Overall, I admire what you and others like you are doing and am honored to be able to add my .02 cents.

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