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Chief? You’re Fired!

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 PO: Hello; ChiefReason?

 

CR: Yes; this is ChiefReason. Who’s this?

 

PO: This is President Obama.

 

CR: Mr. President; how are you?

 

PO: Not so good. I only have one (1) team left in the Final Four. And you?

 

CR: I have two (2) teams left, but it’s been a bad year for me.

 

PO: And it’s about to get worse.

 

CR: How is that?

 

PO: I want you to resign from the fire department. It’s just not working out. I was hoping to see more progress in your department during my mercurial first ninety days in office.

 

CR: I’m a little confused. I report to a board of trustees and I am elected by township residents; my shareholders, if you will. I am honored that you would think that I work for you, but I don’t believe that I do.

 

PO: Didn’t you ask your federal government, over which I am the boss, for money to buy equipment? I mean; you asked for a bailout because you needed money, right?

 

CR: Well, “need” isn’t exactly it. You offered us the program, so we took advantage of it.

 

PO: That’s right. You stuck your hand out and we put some money in it. I’m not happy with the results, so, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, I am firing you. I asked for and received from Congress-your representatives-more powers in matters of money.

 

CR: But I didn’t agree to being fired by the government. I signed a grant application, agreed to spend the money as stated and agreed to an audit if requested.

 

PO: And do you still owe money after receiving the grant?

 

CR: Yeah; but you said that we couldn’t use the grant to retire debt.

 

PO: Pish-posh. I owe it to my fellow Dem-I mean; my constituents-to protect their best interests and their investment in America’s future by relieving you as chief. Hey; did you see that putt Tiger made on the last hole of the Palmer tournament?

 

CR: Uh, yes I did, but I-

 

PO: Whoa; look at the time. I gotta get to the gym for some basketball. Look at the bright side: you got more time for golf. Read my book!

 

Now, at first blush, you might think that my imagination is working overtime again.

 

But, if you haven’t heard by now, Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, was told by the Obama Administration to step down as head of GM if they were to receive any more bailout money. The reason cited was that there just wasn’t enough being done to re-structure the company.

 

So, for the first time in our nation’s history, the federal government has fired an employee of a publicly traded, privately held company!

 

Doesn’t that send chills down your spine; that the federal government is running private business in this country? Does Amtrak, U.S. Postal Service, Katrina, Rita, No Child Left Behind, Enron, World Com, Bernie Madoff, AIG, Lehman Bros, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bernie Mac, Goldman Sachs and anywhere else the government was directly involved or should have been involved with oversight ring a bell?

 

Where stricter oversight should have been exerted, they turned a blind eye. They gave billions with no plan to monitor the program to banks and AIG, but yet, want to run an auto company right down to choosing who should be the CEO. Hmmm. Will they also consider the same demise for the International President of the UAW? Not likely, but I would listen if someone wants to explain the difference to me.

 

This could be the start of a journey down a road that I don’t think America wants to go down. It is so close to one of those “ism” words that we fight so desperately to deny. Our government needs to get out of the business of Business. Even if they would get their own house in order, there is no room in a free democracy for government intervention into private business beyond offering low interest assistance with a schedule for repayment.

 

I applaud states like Alaska and companies like Ford Motor Company for refusing to reach out to the long tentacle of this administration, knowing that the strings attached could wrap them in a debt beyond anything that money could repay.

 

We have to stop government sponsored attacks on our system of free enterprise NOW!

 

Or ChiefReason might be looking for another job in the REAL world.

 

TCSS.

 

 

The article submitted is protected by federal copyright under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. The article cannot be reproduced in any form without the expressed permission of Art Goodrich aka xchief22 and ChiefReason. You may view other articles at www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on March 30, 2009 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , ,

The Body Won’t Do What the Mind Tells It To!

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As we get older, we find ourselves saying that we can’t do some of the things we could do when we were younger because the body won’t let us.

 

Younger firefighters who haven’t yet challenged themselves aren’t sure if they can get their bodies to do what this job sometimes requires it to do.

 

Others simply choose not to for their own, personal reasons. These are usually the ones who had no idea of the mental and physical toll that fire/rescue can have on you. They will get out early.

 

But my article is about something else. It is about those who unexpectedly find themselves stricken with a medical condition that robs them of a normal existence in our very chaotic world.

 

A good friend of mine has a firefighter who is battling cancer with the help of an entire nation’s fire community. Davey and his department are making certain that this battle will be fought with the support of his brothers and sisters.

 

A little over a year ago, Bob Juarez of the Davenport, IA FD fell twenty feet from a ladder at the scene of a working fire and is now paralyzed from the waist down. The outpouring of support has been phenomenal. Bob is now working in Administration for the fire department.

 

I have a story about one of our members.

 

Matt was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) towards the end of 2004. With this type of MS, there are no periods of remission. It is also characterized by gradual progression. There may be periods of leveling off of disease activity and there will be good/bad days. This type also attacks the spinal cord but will migrate to the brain. Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis affects 10 to 15 percent of all MS patients.

 

I was chief of department when Matt got on in 1995. He came to us from another department, so I asked that chief about Matt. He told me that Matt was a real “cowboy” and to keep an eye on him.

 

Well, I kept an eye on Matt and what I saw was someone totally committed to our cause, someone who would hump hose, overhaul and clean up when we got back into quarters. He helped out at every fundraiser that we held. He made all of the meetings and was in the top ten for training hours every year. We took a couple of road trips together and if you didn’t know how to take him, you might think that he was opinionated. He was one of our work horses.

 

That’s why it is so emotional for me to see how this disease is taking that away from him. His motor skills have rapidly disappeared. It was very subtle in the beginning; almost undetectable. He would get up from sitting and would have to steady himself before walking. He would often walk near a wall or objects to steady himself as he walked. The tremors that now shake his body were small ones in the beginning. They resembled muscle “spasms”, so there was little concern in the beginning. He takes many medications, when the state authorizes the prescriptions and we all know how frustrating that can be.

 

From there, Matt had to use a cane and then a walker.

 

Now; Matt has an electric wheelchair. He is pretty much homebound in bad weather, but will get out in good weather and travel about town in his wheelchair.

Last year, some of the guys from the fire department went to his house and built him a wheelchair ramp.

 

Matt is not married and lives with his two little dogs, Billy and Darla.

 

To insure that Matt gets at least one, nutritional meal a day, several members of the department are on a monthly calendar to take him a meal. This also allows Matt to receive visitors to keep in touch on a social level. I am proud to say that the younger firefighters are participating as well as the ones who have been with Matt since he got on the department.

 

We participate in a firefighter golf outing every year and Matt is taken as a member of the chief’s team. Matt might get to hit a ball or two, but he will mostly just ride along and enjoy the day and the camaraderie of the many firefighters.

I know that it is killing him that he can’t be more active, but he is going to remain with us, because the support is what he needs.

 

In February, 2006, we staged a benefit for Matt; not so much to raise money, though he needed it, but more to let him know that we love him, support him and will be with him always. He loves being a firefighter and in my mind, he always will be.

 

I sent out a request via the Internet to the fire community and asked for patches and notes of encouragement. The response was overwhelming. I had my sister make a quilt for him from the 200 plus patches that we received. A picture of the quilt is on my home page at FFN.

 

On the day of the benefit, I had firefighters come from as far away as Canada, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana and all over Illinois. It was amazing. THAT is brotherhood!

 

I know that we have held discussions about unproductive members. I know that many of us have definite opinions about some who will not rise to their potential and meet expectations, though they do not suffer from a debilitating disease and only suffer from laziness, a lack of motivation or indifference.

 

But, what would you do if you had to live as Matt does, knowing the mind won’t let your body do what you want it to do anymore? To never know when the tremors will come, the muscles will let go and to wake up and not know if it will be a “good” day or a bad one?

 

And all the while wanting to turn the clock back to a day when you could ride the truck, grab a hose, cut a top off of a car,  play a round of golf with the guys and just be “normal” again.

 

When you have been given God’s gift of good health and an opportunity to serve your community, why would you want to waste it on things that leave you empty in the end? Why would you want to miss your calling?

 

Matt is still on our department and when he is feeling good, he will attend a meeting and participate in discussion. His gear still hangs on the wall.

 

He is a member for life.

 

TCSS.

Art

 

The article as submitted is published under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and is the intellectual property of Art Goodrich a.k.a. xchief22 and ChiefReason. It is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-printed in any form without expressed permission from the author. You may read other works by the author at www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on March 29, 2009 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , ,

A Defective Maintenance Program Defined

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…does not have a professional fleet manager or professional maintenance technicians, which is surprising given the size and costs of the fleet, the complexity of the vehicle3s and equipment comprising it and the criticality of these assets to the Department’s ability to fulfill its mission…

 

…these positions were eliminated for budgetary reasons in the early 1980s.

 

…fleet is overseen by a combination of career firefighters and civilians…

 

…Maintenance Department includes firefighter superintendent and assistant superintendent positions, both of which are currently unfilled…

 

…positions are not clearly defined…

 

…no formal position descriptions…

 

…some titles used…are clearly archaic…

 

…chiefs who oversee the Division generally are close to retirement…have no particular background in facility or fleet management and maintenance…

 

…firefighters assigned to the Division can leave and rejoin a field company, so there is no incentive to spend much effort or money to ensure that these technicians are properly trained…

 

…Has been reluctant to invest in the development of in-house fleet management expertise…

 

…this is the primary reason that the Department’s fleet management practices are deficient in many areas…

 

…staffing level is difficult to gauge. Normally, a fleet maintenance organization requires …detailed records on how they spend their time…to measure, among other things, technician productivity and efficiency…however, BFD does not maintain such records…

 

…day-to-day inspection of apparatus is inconsistent at best…the failure to perform such inspections is emblematic of a larger problem…has tended to react to problems…rather than trying to prevent them…

 

…lack of a sense of ownership of and responsibility for apparatus…the uneven and unpredictable utilization of apparatus…lack of appreciation for the costs of repairing vs. preventive maintenance…

 

On March 6, 2009, Report on Maintenance Practices Assessment for the Boston FD was released by Mercury Associates, Inc. to Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser, Jr. of the Boston FD.

 

If there has been a discussion on the report’s findings, then I must have been asleep at the wheel, because this report was commissioned AFTER Lt. Kevin Kelley died in an apparatus accident, where the mechanical condition of the apparatus was suspect.

 

I can sum up the report in one word: STARTLING!

 

Mercury Associates, Inc. is a company that provides fleet management consulting services. According to the report, in the last three years alone, they have provided their services to Boston Police Department (don’t they talk to the fire department?), Charlotte, Houston, Las Vegas, Louisville, Oakland (CA), Orlando, Philadelphia, Salt Lake, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, DC and Vancouver, British Columbia.

 

The last paragraph in the introduction opens a door to a culture that has existed at Boston FD for at least since the 1980s (see report). It states: Ideally, an assessment of this type would have included the review of policy and procedure statements and other documentation that specifies ‘how’ all maintenance and repair activities are to be performed and the calculation of a variety of key performance indicator statistics and their interpretation using suitable industry benchmarks so as to gauge ‘how well’ they are being performed. However, as will become clear in this report, neither of these types of information are readily available in BFD because they are not used to any significant degree to manage the maintenance and repair of the fleet.

 

I interpret this to mean that no one person was tasked with insuring the safety of Boston’s fleet of fire apparatus. An “informal” system to prevent problems, identify problems and correct problems with apparatus was in place, but was an orphan in its treatment by the city and FD leaders.

 

Again; remember the outcry after Lt. Kevin Kelley was killed. Remember that it was quickly noted in articles after the tragedy that this was not an isolated incident where the safety of the vehicle was identified as a potential problem.

 

It becomes very clear upon reading the report how apparatus with problems remained in service.

 

It leaves me wondering AGAIN why someone has to die in order for Change to occur.

 

How can a department as storied as Boston’s have a fleet maintenance department that is described in the report as ‘archaic’? How can ANY department treat maintenance of their equipment with such indifference?

 

Small departments, such as mine, understand the importance of keeping equipment properly maintained to avoid costly repairs because in many cases, they do not have a budget that could support them. Most likely, the money would have to be borrowed if not covered by warranty.

 

In larger departments, where apparatus sees multiple calls in a day, there has to be a clearly defined system for recognizing mechanical problems, taking the unit out of service for repair and a “loaner” to take its place until that unit is repaired and placed back into service. It cannot be left to chance.

 

At a time when the focus in on personal safety, what could possibly be more important than equipment that gets us to and from the scene?

 

What good does it do to hammer home the idea that we should only use professionally designed, professionally built apparatus if we’re not going to keep it in safe, operating condition?

 

Where I came from, it wasn’t unusual for a department to refurbish or rebuild their own trucks to save money. Water tanks could be increased in size without any regard for gross vehicle weight. No tank baffles and a higher center of gravity was a rollover waiting to happen. Forget about stopping quickly; the extra weight made sure that wasn’t going to happen, but again, it was about saving money and not about safety. The truck that AnnDee Huber died in was home-made, driven by a drunk that was home-grown!

 

Read the Report. Carefully review the twelve (12) recommendations that were made.

 

After you read the report, ask yourselves if any of it resembles how you regard vehicle maintenance and if it does, then it’s time to get something done about it!

 

Ignoring problems won’t make them go away.

 

It only makes for bigger problems and if you’re like my department, you won’t have enough money in the bank to cover it.

 

And most importantly, you won’t have enough heartache, sorrow or tears should it lead to a fatality.

 

TCSS.

Art

 

The article as submitted is published under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and is the intellectual property of Art Goodrich a.k.a. xchief22 and ChiefReason. It is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-printed in any form without expressed permission from the author. You may read other works by the author at www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on March 22, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , ,

Is It Complacency or Lack of Work?

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Shannon Pieper’s blog on complacency http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/routley-at-egh-summit got the little guy in my head excited. He had me googling all kinds of articles on complacency, statistical data and anything else that might have me whirling around in a frenzy of legal paper, pen and alternative metal music.

 

I found several perspectives on complacency, its causes, its cures and in a wide venue.

 

One theory that is out there, according to David W. Folk is that: occasionally, there is a level of complacency present prior to the occurrence of a serious accident. Then, during a span of time following an accident, complacency will eventually return accident prevention efforts to pre-accident levels.

 

The fire service has built strong training programs that require the tasks to be done over and over again to produce the mastered skills.

 

Folk also states in “The Workplace Complacency Trend in Accident Prevention”: However; when we perform tasks repetitiously, there is a tendency to become bored or complacent and we begin to perform them almost subconsciously. In an accident prevention program, a repetitious task has the tendency to create a lack of interest and complacency.

 

In other words; as we learn the safe way to perform repetitious and dangerous tasks, we are already growing complacent.

 

Before we go further, let me define “complacency” with the help of Dictionary.com. Complacency is “the feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.”

 

Keep this definition handy, as it will be central to the focus of this blog.

 

Are we growing complacency in our young recruits?

 

Earlier I mentioned repetition as a cause of complacency. That is, of course, if some departments are actually training. Are we training at a level that will fill the gap between what we learn and our call volume? That is; with departments that have less than a couple of calls a week (lack of work), are their training programs bridging to preparedness?

 

We’ll come back to that as we look at a “lack of work” as a cause of serious accidents with our firefighters.

 

Getting back to our young recruits; I was amazed at the number of articles that suggested that technology provided by parents was causing complacency in the next generation.

 

Tim O’Dell stated in “Are We Creating A Complacent Generation” that: My children have a television, a PC, DVD players and music centers in each of their bedrooms. At their age, I only had a television and record deck, which the whole family shared. So, why do my children need to struggle to get anything?

 

Let’s face it; that describes a pretty universal picture doesn’t it?

 

He continues: It is inevitable that young people today have Life easier than their parents and I believe the next generation will have it easier again. In this type of climate, complacency is bound to set in and young people will be inclined to sit back and let the world look after itself.”

 

This raises two thoughts in my mind: (1) Insert “young recruits” for “young people” and “officers/instructors” for “parents” and you have an interesting analogy and (2) Are we missing an important psychological indicator for their future behavior that is through no fault of their own?

 

O’Dell concludes: …modern living is creating a complacent generation, but I also think we need to accept some of the blame. As parents, we need to instill the need for hard work into our children, teach them that the good things in Life need to be striven for. If we don’t, then they will simply sit back and wait for things to happen. Is it really the attitude we want to nurture in future generations?

 

I don’t know if his last thought is profound, but it’s damned close. I also know that some of us raised our children to work hard and to strive for the good things in Life.

 

But, going forward, can you look at recruits as we always have or as O’Dell describes our future generation?

 

Drew Price, on the same question states: …our society is partly to blame for creating a somewhat complacent generation. We eventually destroy our children’s intrinsic value of learning, replacing it with a set of values that revolves around rewards and punishment. As students progress through school, they gradually become less enthusiastic about learning, because they are no longer learning for the sake of learning; they are learning to receive grades, to satisfy Mom and Dad, to satisfy teachers, but the intrinsic value no longer remains. Instead, students act to either earn a reward or avoid a punishment.

 

Think about that last statement.

 

How is our training structured? Are recruits receiving too much “clinical” training and not enough “street smarts” and are we expecting classroom training to translate into street smarts and punishing them if it doesn’t?

 

Fast forward to the NOW!

 

If this underlying, undetected complacency hasn’t been discovered and addressed in the early stages of our firefighters’ evolvement, then is it any wonder that we are seeing more injuries and no significant drop in LODDs?

 

Is complacency being cultivated somewhere between our training and our call volume or a lack of it?

 

If our training is not filling the gap between it and low call volume (Lack of Work), then the fire-ground discipline will break into complacency when there is a call.

 

I will end with words from my friend, Paul Grimwood: Systemic Failure: Various tactical and command failings have directly evolved from a triangle of complacency that is rife throughout the Fire Service. The result has been catastrophic system failure in numerous situations that have ended in tragedy. This issue is at the very root of the vast majority of traumatic fire-ground deaths and injuries amongst firefighters.

1. Lack of firefighting experience

2. Inadequate firefighter and command training

3. Complacency (Lack of discipline)

 

So; would you all at least think about it?

 

TCSS.

Art

 

The article as submitted is published under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and is the intellectual property of Art Goodrich a.k.a. xchief22 and ChiefReason. It is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-printed in any form without expressed permission from the author.

Posted by chiefreason on March 11, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , ,